4 The Love Of Animals

SEPTEMBER 4, 2012

This year’s National Family Pack Walk will prove, once again, that it’s not your average walk in the park. mile walk around the National Mall will be led by Cesar and Scooby, followed by an afternoon packed with Scooby-Doo-themed activities such as arts & crafts, a reading lounge, game tents, a scavenger hunt, and more!

Family 100

Family North America Abandon Abandonment 100

10,000 Birds

JUNE 12, 2012

Namibia is politically stable and a safe country to visit offering spectacular scenery, untouched wildernesses, vast game reserves, superb wildlife and fascinating cultural experiences. This family group is performing their loud croaking territorial calls. A family group of Rüppell’s Bustards uttering their croaking territorial calls.

Namibia 272

Namibia Angola Lovebirds South Africa 272

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 11, 2020

We saw several species of this challenging family, after some time I managed to graduate with the ability to classify them as “streaked” or “unstreaked” When it came down to the actual species, however, I left it to the expert! Surely, there is much more to see in the land of big game safaris! Crested Francolin.

Kenya 279

Kenya Washington Groups Game 279

10,000 Birds

APRIL 29, 2015

By this I mean applying the term antelope to cover all of the family Bovidae, which would include the sheep, goats and ox. One of the spiral-horned antelope (the antelopes are a huge family and much sub-divided) it resembles an intermediate between a Lesser Kudu and a Bushbuck , albeit with much longer and more attractive hair on the males.

Africa 225

Africa Wolves Goats Sheep 225

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 14, 2012

The wonderful family Meropidae contains 27 dazzling species, of which Africa is endowed with no less than 20 species, the balance occurring across Asia and with one as far afield as Australia. These beaters usually take the form of grazing herds of game and domestic animals, and large flocks of carmine bee-eaters may gather overhead.

Africa 266

Africa Gabon South Africa Uganda 266

10,000 Birds

JULY 11, 2013

A dusty-red road leads me through Marico bushveld deeper into the 750 square kilometers large wilderness of the Madikwe Game Reserve – the 4th largest reserve in South Africa, home to 350 bird and 66 mammal species, some 4 hours’ drive from Johannesburg.

Africa 246

Africa South Africa Elephants Rhinos 246

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 30, 2011

One that could take close up shots when we were banding birds, get a wide view for establishing shots of habitat or just something to grab fun photos of friends and family–all while fitting easily in a jacket or pants pocket. However, the newer models of smart phones has changed the game of digiscoping. Then came smart phones.

Israel 266

Israel ALA Abandon Abandoning 266

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 20, 2016

It’s a fun game for New World birders to find equivalents to many of the Old World bird families that we are unfamiliar with, but there is no equivalent to turacos. Bustards are another quintessential Old World family, with their deliberate gait, fat bodies and long, snaky necks. It is weird and wonderful.

Uganda 221

Uganda Africa Squirrels Tanzania 221

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 11, 2012

They are not necessarily the biggest African animals, but represented those that were considered a real hunter’s worthy prey or “game” – the African Elephant, Cape Buffalo, Black Rhinoceros, Leopard and king of the jungle, the Lion (which of course doesn’t inhabit jungle but savanna!). They live for up to 100 years.

Buffalo 246

Buffalo Rhinoceros Leopards Elephants 246

10,000 Birds

JUNE 17, 2015

Sacramento River National Wildlife Refuge : Expand big game hunting. The refuge is already open to migratory bird hunting, upland game hunting, and sport fishing. Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge : Expand migratory bird hunting, upland game hunting, and big game hunting. The refuge is already open to sport fishing.

Fish 185

Fish Wildlife Hunting Louisiana 185

10,000 Birds

JULY 9, 2020

If hornbills had been part of the undead army in “Game of Thrones”, maybe they would look a bit like this. The Robert Smith of the lapwing family. A very peaceful looking bird, though of course, it may have quite violent thoughts that I know nothing about. Indian Grey Hornbill. Like, undead. Indian Pond Heron.

India 241

India Birds Zoos 2019 241

10,000 Birds

MARCH 17, 2015

I recently returned from my family’s annual spring trip to Florida, and unlike years previous I didn’t get any special time set aside to bird this time round. I’m not that old, but I have been in this birding game for 20 years and even I can remember when Wood Stork was a choice bird in central Florida.

Florida 237

Florida North America Neglecting South America 237

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 12, 2024

One of my most memorable outings was a night-time game drive in Kenya when we saw an aardvark and a zorilla, so we ticked off both the first mammal in the field guide’s index, and the last. Why the weasel should be the head of the family doesn’t really make sense. Why not the stoat family or the badger family?)

Fur 245

Fur Otters Bulgaria Estonia 245

10,000 Birds

JULY 24, 2024

Using my scope and her cell phone, our daughter captured them flapping and jumping over each other, in a game of hawk leap frog. Addendum: My time with the Red-tailed Hawk family didn’t end with fledging. As they got bigger and stronger, there was even more action in the nest. On July 6, I was walking in a nearby ravine.

Squirrels 246

Squirrels Game Hunting Family 246

10,000 Birds

JULY 9, 2019

Last week, a good friend, Dan Weisz gave me a tip on the location of a family of Burrowing Owls that were extremely easy to access. I can’t begin to tell you how much fun I had sitting and watching the antics of this family of Burrowing Owls. Several times, a couple of the juvenile owls would take off in a game of chase.

Owls 202

Owls Arizona Tucson South Africa 202

10,000 Birds

JUNE 18, 2014

While you can easily find drab representatives of the pheasant family across most of the world – dull uninteresting birds like partridges, quail, francolins, grouse, or, God help you, turkeys, pheasants are usually found only in Asia. Borneo has a number of pheasants for the interested birder, as well as a peacock-pheasant.

Congo 145

Congo Asia Chickens Turkey 145

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2022

We played the dove game by slowly walking up the trail (given the high altitude, I couldn’t walk faster anyways) and looked for them from better spots. It would take more than simply looking from the parking lot to see these beautiful montane birds. That was alright with us, we understood shy birds, we could play by their rules.

Costa Rica 264

Costa Rica Birds Owls Geese 264

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2012

It can be reached by car or by bus, and parking is shared with a set of games fields that borders the park here (I once found a football on the path some way into the forest, so I took it back and threw it into the field!). The field overlooks the harbour, and I’ve seen White-bellied Sea-eagles here.

New Zealand 157

New Zealand Game India Eagles 157

10,000 Birds

MARCH 16, 2016

Madikwe may have been farmland once upon a time but these days it has been fully restored as an astonishing game reserve. It was here I managed to finally find my Brown Hyaena, making that family the first family of mammals of which I have seen every species (Spotted, Brown, Striped Hyaenas and Aardwolf)). Purple Roller.

South Africa 189

South Africa Leopards Giraffes Africa 189

10,000 Birds

JULY 24, 2021

Groups them by family too and by their shape” His extra long arm extended and passed me that precious book. I daresay Fred wanted to do the hike more than we did but being kids before the digital age, we were always game for outdoor adventures. “Check it out!” Have you heard the whistle of a Bobwhite ?

Costa Rica 264

Costa Rica Chickens Pennsylvania Litter 264

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 1, 2023

But he regularly visits family in Morelia. Talk about a collateral benefits — we now both have new birding buddies, they have a church (which made sure they had everything they could need upon arrival), and our church has a new family! Let the games begin! In my book, that’s real dedication.

Mexico 276

Mexico Cuba Species Turkey 276

10,000 Birds

JUNE 24, 2012

He told me where he’d found them, and we hung up and I went back to my card game. Birds arrive, and immediately start the business of breeding, so they can raise a family and be gone before winter arrives. .” But it would be an unusual sighting here, the north end of their range would be the far south end of Baffin Island.

Bald Eagle 222

Bald Eagle Breeding Whales Whaling 222

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 18, 2015

I found out on my second day in Mkuze, a great game reserve in South Africa, earlier this year when on my first dark night, poor visibility, uneven ground and unsteady footing resulted in a twisted ankle and a day in camp keeping weight off it. Long-billed Crombecs are members of the African warbler family. White-crested Helmetshrike.

South Africa 145

South Africa Tortoises Leopards Woodpeckers 145

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 17, 2013

Nemesis Bird has come on strong with a core of great young birders twitching rarities at a pace that astounds those of us with full-time jobs and families. Though there is still a constant stream of new bird bloggers getting into the bird blogging game the age of the individual running a well-read bird blog is essentially over.

Birds 256

Birds Groups Singapore 2014 256

10,000 Birds

JULY 18, 2012

A few families have a small number of eggs in the clutches, like gulls or cormorants. And let’s also hear it for teh hard working Cassin’s Auklet parents who are able to up their game in the good years. ••• Baby Bird Week is our celebration of the young, the cute, the adorable, the twee.

Eggs 210

Eggs Puffins Breeding Albatross 210

10,000 Birds

MARCH 11, 2024

This is the home of the Rusty-naped Pitta , admittedly one of the less glamorous of the family, particularly the subspecies found in Yunnan, but still a nice sight and still a pitta. No doubt, the Lesser NLT will be relieved not to be bossed around by its erstwhile bigger family member anymore.

Burma 246

Burma India Thailand Indonesia 246

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 7, 2011

I then flew south to Sydney to have the weekend with my sister and family. We played a game where we thought of a number and then looked it up in the bird book to see what it was. It is lovely to see the influence that Grant and I have had on our two young nephews from afar.

South Korea 160

South Korea Penguins Sharks Singapore 160

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 15, 2017

While much of the attention that Africa’s tourism industry gets is for its (deservedly) popular national parks and game reserves, a lot of wildlife viewing is possible away from the big name places. Red-crested Korhaans are attractive members of the bustard family. The reserve had several francolins, like this Crested Francolin.

Zimbabwe 113

Zimbabwe Botswana South Africa Endangered Species 113

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 28, 2024

Called home to the Oregon Coast to operate the family motel, in her free time she leads Tufted Puffin walks and escapes to guide at birding festivals and explore the world as often as possible. The first we went to was a family home with generations of mezcaleros and the process being completed in their front courtyard.

Mexico 246

Mexico Birds Oregon Puffins 246

10,000 Birds

JULY 25, 2018

Today, I saw a handful of Mallards , two Common Mergansers, and a Wood Duck Family. Here is one of our pick-a-boo games. This Western Wood Pewee was going back and forth with a mouth full of bugs as well. In the winter this place is alive with thousand of ducks and geese. eBird Checklists – 237.

New Zealand 172

New Zealand Seattle Qatar South Africa 172

10,000 Birds

JUNE 21, 2024

Families of Starlings with freshly fledged chicks were feeding in the fields, along with Carrion Crows and Meadow Pipits. Though they were easily picked up with binoculars I put the scope up so we could enjoy them, for these handsome game birds are a special bird of the area, and never an easy one to see.

Sheep 246

Sheep Breeding Ducks Hunters 246

10,000 Birds

APRIL 13, 2016

There are a few, mostly confined to domestic or game birds that people may be familiar with at all stages of their lives – young pigeons are squabs, ducks are duckings, swans are cygnets, geese are gosling. Honestly, it’s enough to make me wish I was a native speaker of German.

New Zealand 150

New Zealand Parrots Rats Bats 150

10,000 Birds

JUNE 8, 2019

In the outfield, I was entertained by the mechanical song and flight antics of a choice meadow bird, I can still recall my best friend’s mom telling me, “Patrick, don’t go watching those Bobolinks during the game!” Snowcap and White-tipped Sicklebill – Choice hummingbirds in a speciose, fantastic family of birds.

Costa Rica 203

Costa Rica Species Birds New York 203

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 21, 2015

Say’s Phoebe – A self-found rarity at Edgemere while accompanied by my family made my day back on 05 October 2014. Golden Eagle – Two weeks to the day after the Say’s Phoebe I was once again at Edgemere with my family and picked up a Golden Eagle flying past , a surprise bird for sure!

2010 160

2010 2013 2011 2012 160

10,000 Birds

MARCH 31, 2018

If the families are the same, that might not be too much of a problem. If they are different, though, it’s a whole new tropical ball game. Whether we have someone guiding us or not, we still need to prepare ourselves to identify dozens, or even hundreds, of unfamiliar birds. Prong-billed Barbe t- not found up north.

Costa Rica 157

Costa Rica San Jose Birds Game 157

10,000 Birds

MARCH 6, 2016

The world is still turning, the blog didn’t crash, no anonymous threats against my family on social media … I guess my small series on gulls may continue with part 2 of 3, which will focus on the Herring Gull ‘s second side-kick: Caspian Gull Larus cachinnans. Why does “steppe” win over “Caspian”?

Kazakhstan 173

Kazakhstan Germany Ukraine Asia 173

4 The Love Of Animals

AUGUST 20, 2012

Any type of pet is game, be it dog, cat, horse, ferret, rabbit, etc. Don’t forget pet portraits make the perfect gift for your friend or family member pet lover. The custom portraits are painted in acrylic on a gallery style wrapped canvas. You can choose the color and the amount of texture or flatness of the background.

Pets 100

Pets Ferrets Horses Rabbits 100