10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 21, 2021

From that year onward my work became dedicated to the protection of the area, as well as promotion of local ecotourism possibilities. With more than 312 so far recorded bird species, Lake Kerkini National Park offers great birding year-round. Kerkini is one of the most important wintering areas throughout Europe.

Greece 264

Greece Wildlife Boars Otters 264

10,000 Birds

JULY 9, 2015

Birds included common species such as Black Drongos , Jungle Babblers and a Hoopoe. During the Pleistocene, Dholes were found across the Northern Hemisphere, including Europe and North America, sharing their space with sabre-toothed cats. These days, the species shares habitats with Tigers, Snow Leopard, Bears, etc.

Tigers 252

Tigers Dogs India Snow Leopard 252

10,000 Birds

JULY 10, 2014

With about 110 recorded species, the Kozara becomes truly magical place when the Danube swells and reclaims what is rightfully his. On the other side of the river, underneath the very buttresses of the Belgrade Fortress, with its 170 recorded bird species lies the Veliko Ratno Island (44°49’53.20″N, 20°26’4.98″E).

Serbia 247

Serbia Stray Dog Botswana Protection 247

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 24, 2015

Worried by the lack of appropriate action by the authorities (as described in the previous post ), this year I invited two more wildlife protection organisations to take part in the annual census of Pygmy Cormorants in Belgrade. “The Pygmy Cormorant is a strictly protected bird species in Serbia, as well as in the European Union.

Serbia 190

Serbia Protection Europe 2007 190

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 11, 2014

Up to the mid-20th century, Pygmy Cormorants were a common breeding species of wetlands around Belgrade… until the wetlands were drained and the birds were lost, at one moment – from the whole of Serbia. Since the roosts of Pygmy Cormorants should receive official protection, how bright is the future? Or wiser, perhaps?

Serbia 249

Serbia Legislation Protection Europe 249

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 17, 2020

This is a bit of a dilemma for local authorities – on the one hand, they would presumably like to protect the birds, on the other hand, they also want to draw as many tourists to the place as possible. Black-bellied Plover: Known as Grey Plover in Europe and Asia. Cuckoo species (Common?): Far Eastern Curlew: Endangered.

China 306

China Birds Asia Fish 306

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 20, 2014

I observed this species in the Little Rann of Kutch in India and since then, have been burning with desire to see them back home. The world record holder is the town of Kikinda, further north, with 700 birds in their town square which has recently become an officially protected owl habitat – a small, urban nature reserve.

Serbia 247

Serbia Owls Rodents India 247

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 1, 2015

My guess is, those nervous ones were some migrants, while the majority were locally breeding birds – the southernmost population of Europe! In all that swirling of swallows, I am not certain was there a third species, so I keep watching. The smaller part of the flock was nervous and soon took flight, while the majority remained.

Greece 252

Greece Pelicans Geese Albania 252

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 13, 2011

In May 1992 European Union governments adopted legislation designed to protect the most seriously threatened habitats and species across Europe. Noudar has recorded 184 different species since 1999. This legislation is called the Habitats Directive and complements the Birds Directive adopted in 1979.

Portugal 255

Portugal Legislation 2000 Adoptable 255

10,000 Birds

JUNE 15, 2012

Specifically, rural northwestern Spain, at various points along the Camino de Santiago, an ancient pilgrimage route to the supposed burial place of Saint James the apostle and, before that, to the westernmost point in continental Europe, the supposed End of the Earth, the Finis Terra. My journey started off in the city of Leon.

Spain 223

Spain Europe Rodents France 223

10,000 Birds

JUNE 18, 2021

Of the thirty or so members of the family Icteridae that go by the name “oriole” on the western side of the Atlantic Ocean, several species are partial enough to fruit that they even visit feeders that offer it as jelly, as the sugar-preserved form usually reserved for human consumption is known.

2017 263

2017 Portugal Europe Africa 263

10,000 Birds

MAY 9, 2019

someone capable of telling the CGI masterminds that the crows at the corpses couldn’t be the Carrion Crows of Western, but the Hooded Crows of Eastern Europe? I do count, write and eBird all crow species I encounter, but, I admit, without much excitement. And protect them, too. True, I do not pay much attention to crows.

Protection 201

Protection Elephants Owls Laws 201

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 19, 2019

And here in Europe, they are the real deal, an indigenous species and not domesticated animals gone wild. These handsome finches breed in the far north of Europe and come here for the winter only. Annex II of the Bern Convention lists 45 of Beljarica’s bird species, with a further 91 species in Annex III.

Serbia 246

Serbia Otters Boars Hunters 246

10,000 Birds

MARCH 25, 2024

Steve Dudley, a bird guide and author of the Lesvos birding guide, once told me: “Greece is THE premier birding location in Europe for me [and for yours truly as well]. There is one more reason to take my hat off: all funds raised from selling the books go directly towards bird protection projects in Greece.

Greece 279

Greece Spain India Europe 279

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 19, 2015

The aim was to ring as many gulls as we could, to provide some reading material for birders all around Europe. When you count some 40,000 gulls of four species and find the fifth or the sixth species among them, represented by only one individual – that one becomes the most interesting. Birds city birds Europe gulls Serbia'

Serbia 176

Serbia Ukraine Europe Birds 176

10,000 Birds

JUNE 3, 2021

Once I observed a man walking his two small dogs here, passing by a perched White-tailed Eagle but looking down at grass and not noticing the largest raptor in Europe at all. The eagle seemed well-used to people and paid no attention either.

Otters 264

Otters Protest Protesting Protesters 264

10,000 Birds

MAY 10, 2014

Restricted to northern Europe, their real stronghold is in Britain where more than half of the world’s flowers can be seen during early May. The English Channel acted as a barrier to prevent other flowers from recovering their former footholds, so our wildflower species count is low, but the blooms are magnificently profuse.

Laws 198

Laws Europe America Protection 198

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 2, 2014

Even among the protected areas of Serbia, the Iron Gates National Park (in Serbian: Djerdap) stands out as better preserved. Keep in mind that the special nature reserves (dark green on the park map) enjoy the highest level of protection and are off limits to visitors (possible only with research permits issued by the park authorities).

Serbia 242

Serbia Turtles Romania Eagles 242

10,000 Birds

MAY 1, 2014

A range of hills protects the cove from the eastern wind, yet, the bushes are swaying in the rythm of it. Nick finds a bird-shaped protrusion at the top of the rock – Black-eared Wheatear , not exactly a species I expect to observe from a boat deck. The Sun already sets and I haven’t seen a new species in a while.

Greece 252

Greece Malta Croatia Italy 252

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 1, 2016

The majority are clearly Mallards , followed by Garganeys , with one and possibly more Green-winged Teals , also Ferruginous Ducks … Surprises among them are one Common Shelduck , a species that most likely breeds some 15 mi from here (and my first shelduck of the year) and an even greater surprise: two Eurasian Wigeons.

Serbia 189

Serbia Eagles Protection Ducks 189

10,000 Birds

APRIL 3, 2020

Foreboding superstitions about the waxwing persisted into the twentieth century: an irruption of this species in Great Britain during the winter of 1913-1914 was viewed in hindsight as a harbinger of World War I, which broke out the following summer, as depicted in Pestvogel (2016) by American artist Walton Ford (born 1960).

Farming 233

Farming New York Europe France 233

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 8, 2013

This park protects the largest remaining tract of dry deciduous forest in the west of India, offering visitors 37 species of reptiles, 38 species of mammals and, not to be forgotten – almost 300 bird species. It belongs to the same species as those in Europe, but a smaller subspecies ( Sus scrofa davidi ).

Lions 250

Lions India Mammals Boars 250

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 4, 2016

So many beaches of Central Europe ended up here, mostly in the Deliblato Sands (Delibatska pescara) reserve in the southeast of the Vojvodina province – the largest sandy terrain of Europe. We saw 50+ species together, several lifers for him, the Tawny Pipit among them. And slowed waters deposit silt.

Sheep 179

Sheep Turtles Squirrels Europe 179

10,000 Birds

JUNE 26, 2013

If you are a migratory bird in Europe and western Asia, this is your sweet spot. Fearing that a natural disaster, introduced species, or disease could wipe this fragile population out, the U.S. The survival of songbirds depends in part upon eliminating illegal hunting. Photo by David Guttenfelder, courtesy of National Geographic ).

Cambodia 167

Cambodia Slaughter Slaughtered Cyprus 167

10,000 Birds

JUNE 8, 2024

Here in the British Isles we are lucky enough to have some of the largest and most important seabird colonies in Europe. Gannets have also benefitted from the European Union’s fisheries policies, which led to huge numbers of fish being discarded because they were the wrong size or species. These birds are all cliff nesters.

Puffins 245

Puffins Eggs Fish Culling 245

10,000 Birds

APRIL 27, 2017

I am a birder and I can claim that out of Serbia’s total of 350+ bird species, highly urbanised inner city areas of Belgrade hold almost 100 birds, while the outskirts have more than 200 species. eBird says that, at the time of writing (April 2017), there are some ten hotspots that have crossed the 100 bird species mark.

Birds 214

Birds Eagles 2017 Otters 214

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 6, 2022

This is “the deep cradle of Western ornithology: the birthplace of bird study,” he tells us as he writes about gazing at the 8,000-year old depictions of “flamingos, herons, raptors, avocets and many other species” (p. Common Guillemot research at Skomer Island, Wales. Birkhead knows that these are sensitive topics.

Dissection 264

Dissection Birds Europe Eggs 264

Critter News

MAY 9, 2010

The European Commission said on Wednesday it is pursuing legal action against Portugal for breaching nature protection legislation. The resort falls within a site protected by the Habitats Directive and in the vicinity of a Special Area of Conservation for wild birds (Costa Sudoeste sites). But I'm glad the EU is calling them on it.

Portugal 100

Portugal Endangered Species Legislation 2000 100

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2019

From the Amazon basin through the towering Andes to the endemic-rich Choco, it is possible to observe 600 species in two weeks and even 800 in three weeks – they could all find themselves on your life list. The next question is which is the best bird guide for the country? I haven’t birded South America yet.

Ecuador 200

Ecuador South America 2006 Venezuela 200

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 11, 2022

Iron Gates, after the ancient Roman name for the gorge, Porta Ferrea) National Park lies in the north-eastern Serbia, where the Danube has incised the longest gorge of Europe, extending for over 100 kilometre (62 mi), stretching from the medieval Golubac Fortress to the Roman castrum Diana. Other species include Grey Wagtail and Marsh Tit.

Serbia 264

Serbia Woodpeckers Birds Romania 264

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 4, 2016

Over 3,200 photographs have been used, most showing species in their habitats. There is also text, distribution maps, a dark red bar “warning” about similar looking rare species, and conservation symbols. So, how do you find the species account for Kestrel if falcons are not placed between woodpeckers and parakeet?

Ireland 199

Ireland Birds Falcons Turtles 199

10,000 Birds

APRIL 6, 2021

I was especially interested in “To Hide From God,” the chapter on songbird slaughter and protection in Cyprus. Has it really been 21 years (almost) from the publication of Jonathan Franzen’s New Yorker article, “ Emptying the Skies ,” six years since the documentary with the same name?

Cyprus 264

Cyprus Slaughter Slaughtered Research 264

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 11, 2018

I chalked up 132 species in a pretty relaxed eight days, during which birds shared the agenda with culture. With 154 eBirded species almost single-handedly spotted by the UK expat Geoff Laight, the Paljuvi is the latest addition to the top-5 list. With 154 eBirded species, the Beljarica shares the 4th place on the list.

Serbia 202

Serbia Bulgaria Farming Turtles 202

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 4, 2012

The descriptions of the territory’s birds, seals, whales, introduced mammals, invertebrates, and plants are written within the framework of the conversationist, so it is more than a field guide, it is a record of endangered wildlife and the efforts being made to protect it.

Georgia 193

Georgia Penguins Wildlife Whaling 193

Critter News

SEPTEMBER 6, 2009

In a co-ordinated protest, members of the League for the Protection of Birds (LPO) destroyed hundreds of traps and set free the birds inside. The hunting and selling of ortolans, which have suffered a Europe-wide decline of 40-50% in the last 40 years, has been illegal in France since 1999. From the Guardian.

France 100

France Endangered Species Protesters Protest 100

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 26, 2015

No, I took a paddle and discovered the Danube backwaters (cover photo: 1995), the very same area I am fighting to protect now, but the Government, it seems, has an interested investor… Seeing the most valuable habitats disappearing in front of our eyes, environmentalists are quite prone to depression, but that is another story.

Serbia 190

Serbia Bosnia Lions Horses 190

10,000 Birds

JULY 21, 2022

The one bird I did not see here, however, was the Bateleur Eagle … One highlight in the area is the Saddle-billed Stork , likely to be the tallest species in the stork family. The African Spoonbill is one of the six global spoonbill species, and the main African one (there are also some Eurasian Spoonbills in Africa).

Ostriches 147

Ostriches Parrots Eggs Africa 147