10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 16, 2024

There were, however, compensations, such as finding breeding Yellow Wagtails on a nearby farm where I’d never seen them before. There were plenty of birds on the water to keep me entertained, with close to 60 Greylag geese, 50 Canada Geese, 80 Wigeon, 250 Coots, plus a good assortment of Tufted Ducks, Gadwall, Shoveler and Mallard.

Ireland 246

Ireland Turtles Geese Farming 246

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 4, 2016

At the snowy Danube riverbank, we are waiting for geese to come to their roost inside the mostly submerged island. A shot or two coming from the opposite bank, but they do not sound like geese shooting – more like boar hunting. warns me of two locally rare Bean Geese. An hour and 20,000+ geese later, we head back.

Geese 189

Geese Boars Hunting Serbia 189

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 17, 2019

A Great Egret , a few Pygmy Cormorants and, by the middle of the Danube, about a hundred Greylag Geese. Two hundred yards further, the first Common Goldeneye and Smew started to appear and, while counting Smew and geese, a Great Bittern took flight from one stand of reeds to another, right in front of us.

Geese 200

Geese Serbia Estonia Ukraine 200

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 12, 2012

Though Corey had a host of good birds to choose from (again) he has decided that his Best Bird of the Weekend was the one he found because he took the time to scope through a ginormous flock of Canada Geese : a diminutive Cackling Goose at Blue Chip Farm in southern Ulster County, New York.

Polar Bears 205

Polar Bears 2012 Bears Geese 205

10,000 Birds

MAY 31, 2012

And if you have a small kid and are in the vicinity of some ducks and geese? Also, if lots of ducks and geese gather in a spot where they don’t normally the amount of bird poop could certainly be a problem. Do you toss the bird your leftovers? Do you feed the birds then? Some parks offer pretty darn good reasons for it too.

New York City 263

New York City Birds Geese Fast Food 263

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 8, 2012

As I’ve switched over to paid corporate birding (doing bird surveys for companies that want to put up wind farms or transmission lines), I’ve been fascinated by the world that has been opened to me and differences from the bird feeding world.

Industry 220

Industry Wildlife Coyotes Battery 220

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 5, 2024

Despite their name, they are not common here, but this farm is always a good site for them in January and February. Marsh Tit , not always the easiest of birds to find when you want one A nearby farm reservoir is often productive, but it disappointed today, with just three additions to the list: Little Grebe, Mallard and Cormorant.

Albatross 246

Albatross Barn Owls Birds Sparrows 246

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 16, 2018

Sombre T**s are easier, but require traditional farming landscapes and old orchards. Usually about 40K geese overwinter in Serbia, but the last cold spell, when the Danube was mostly frozen solid, pushed twice as many to Serbia. Red-backed Shrike is common, Lesser Grey is uncommon and Woodchat is rare.

Serbia 189

Serbia Macedonia Geese Owls 189

10,000 Birds

MAY 11, 2024

Barnacle Geese even made it to “agricultural pest” status. Case in point: the Spanish populists would sacrifice Doñana National Park to provide more water to strawberry farms. In the book, one picture stood out in particular: the White-headed Duck. The picture was not even in focus, like a UFO sighting! Water security isn’t easy.

Spain 246

Spain Ducks Morocco Europe 246

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 30, 2011

A lot of the stuff I’m really hoping to see are from families (and even species) I’ve seen before but haven’t seen in a long time (bustards, stone-curlews, jacanas, cranes, magpie-geese, pittas). But as I read about what was possible up there it occurred to me that I could also get quite a few new families.

Family 200

Family Wombats Uganda Fiji 200

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 2, 2023

As the Hooded Cranes know that I am a consultant, they sometimes ask me whether they should forage together with geese or preferably seek areas in which geese are not present. Seek geese in meadows and mudflats, but avoid them in paddy fields ( source ). I am giving them the typical consultant answer: It depends.

Geese 147

Geese Birds Fish Sparrows 147

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 3, 2019

Lesser White-fronted Geese, of course. With one Black Stork near them, some 80 LWfG were foraging in the distance, where the sun was just now clearing the mist. Then 20 more joined them, so I entered 100 in my notebook.

2018 159

2018 Serbia Greece Falcons 159

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 22, 2014

A Hermit Thrush at the Queens County Farm Museum was a nice find. Add to that my early morning Eastern Screech-Owl at Cunningham Park (My first in Queens!) and I had a pretty good day.

2005 154

2005 Blackbirds Birds Ducks 154

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 11, 2016

Only the car-park down the hill has parking with flat access to the walking trails and the car-park on the other side of the village heading towards Whitton is much larger, but requires you to walk down a permissive path through the farm down some steps to join the trail. Greylag Geese on the move.

Geese 140

Geese 2006 Australia Investigation 140

Animal Equality

JUNE 26, 2024

For over a decade, Animal Equality has been on a global mission to end the force-feeding of ducks and geese for foie gras. From the bustling streets of Brazil to the historic halls of the UK Parliament, Animal Equality is driving change for animals in Italy, Spain, Germany, Brazil, India, the US, and the UK.

Foie Gras 52

Foie Gras Geese Ducks Italy 52

4 The Love Of Animals

JULY 5, 2011

The purpose is therefore to provide a Forever Home for those companion and farm animals that have virtually no chance of being adopted due to their age or condition. A Chance for Bliss takes in and provides lifetime care for senior and special needs animals, as well as those others who are facing end of life circumstances.

Sanctuary 100

Sanctuary Horses Goats Sheep 100

10,000 Birds

MAY 10, 2015

In the darkening evening and rain, I found the goose among a flock of golf course Canada Geese. I headed out to the corner of the county, a place I’d known from a survey I did on an organic farm. We had a nice morning, finding first of year Hooded Warbler , Black-and-White Warbler , and Worm-eating Warbler, among others.

2016 164

2016 North Carolina Raleigh 2015 164

10,000 Birds

MAY 2, 2016

En route to our next stop we slowed down next to a park and spotted the now countable Egyptian Geese. Only one cuckoo? If Carlos were as good as advertised we would have had several. Instead, he decided that my complaining about being hungry meant we had to head to a French bakery where I could gorge myself on unbelievably tasty croissants.

Florida 178

Florida Miami Birds Owls 178

AnimalEquality.net

JULY 22, 2024

Foie gras production involves force-feeding ducks and geese multiple times daily until their livers swell up to ten times their natural size. Over a month ago, Animal Equality’s global team launched a campaign to remove foie gras from the 2024 Olympic hospitality menu. Many animals bleed, pant, shake, and vomit during this process.

Foie Gras 76

Foie Gras Game Campaign Geese 76

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 24, 2018

This 57,331 acre refuge was set aside as a critical wintering location for tens of thousands of Geese, Ducks and Sandhill Cranes. Much like my visit to Malheur NWR, the actual wet Land areas are flooded once the cooperative farming is over.

New Mexico 113

New Mexico Mexico Tucson Costa Rica 113

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 26, 2017

Another big change in twenty two years is the presence of distant wind farms in the North Sea as in the above photo. They then used that to identify what they were looking at!

Blackbirds 100

Blackbirds 2013 2016 Sparrows 100

AnimalEquality.net

JULY 24, 2024

On July 22, just days before the Olympics, Animal Equality intensified its global campaign against foie gras by traveling to Paris. Advocates carried over 60,000 petition signatures, urging the Olympic organizers to remove foie gras from the VIP hospitality menu.

Foie Gras 57

Foie Gras Protesters Protest Protesting 57

10,000 Birds

MAY 2, 2018

Well in advance of my visit, he offered to give me a tour of “The Farm”, otherwise known as the Melbourne Waster Treatment Ponds. We did a long morning at The Farm, then, a quick trip to Little River, yes the name sake of the 70’s rock band. So, here are a few of my favorites, and some photos to go along with the short highlights list.

New Zealand 179

New Zealand Falcons Farming Ducks 179

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 23, 2023

The Lezírias de Vila Franca de Xira (often and erroneously named Ponta de Erva after the most southerly tip) are an extensively farmed area in the north of the estuary. If you feel guilty about that, scan the river for ducks and geese and check out the muddy margins.

Portugal 245

Portugal Geese Suffering Farming 245

10,000 Birds

MARCH 2, 2024

So yes, I needed to see this beast, this flying door, this scourge of all things’ geese, this modern Roc. Skeins of Greylag Geese completed the picture. The grazers are glorified farm animals, but they have been labelled by some very irresponsible people as “wild”. Our eagle makes Baldy look imparfait, even a bit manqué.

Beavers 214

Beavers Netherlands Eagles Geese 214

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 30, 2012

Magpie Geese, Purple Swamphen, Brolga and Pied Heron near the boardwalk The bird hide is shaded well and a nice breeze blows through it to save you from the dry 40c (105f) September days. Australian Pelicans Apart from the large Magpie Geese there were numerous Green Pygmy-geese and they happily paddled by the bird hide.

Pelicans 220

Pelicans Geese Australia Ducks 220

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 11, 2018

The birds were right next to an old abandoned farm house, and seemed quite happy to have their photo taken, up to a point, but then like the wind, they were gone, out thru the flat desert areas of New Mexico! A small group of Canada Geese fly over, and out in front of their formation was a pair of Sandhill Cranes. This was a first!

Albuquerque 176

Albuquerque New Mexico Mexico Sparrows 176

Animal Ethics

AUGUST 2, 2008

To the Editor: Re “ A Farm Boy Reflects ” (column, July 31): Hats off to Nicholas D. While this legislation would be an important step in transforming inhumane animal production, we must also call for change on the federal level, where the farm bill subsidizes this sector to the tune of billions of dollars.

New York Times 40

New York Times New York Factory Farming Factory Farm 40

Animal Ethics

FEBRUARY 25, 2008

And it is not just at the slaughterhouses but at the factory farms where these animals are tortured from the very beginning of their lives to the horrible end. The vast number of meat eaters brake for geese, call the A.S.P.C.A. Peters Paso Robles, Calif., Indeed, we have not come far from Upton Sinclair’s “ Jungle.”

New York Times 40

New York Times New York Factory Farming Factory Farm 40

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 19, 2014

The bird is very mobile and it requires long walks on extremely muddy farm roads until we – I had coincidentally met Michael Schmolz there, a birding friend from the mid-1980s! Jan 11 : The family gives me half a Saturday off to chase a long-staying Griffon Vulture in nearby Rheinland-Pfalz, about a 30 minutes drive from home.

2014 145

2014 France Germany Indonesia 145

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 10, 2011

A self introduced native, it is very common in farmed areas and you’ll even have to swerve to miss them as they feed on roadkill! As well as this species you might see Black Swans , Canada Geese and of course Mallards and Mallard/Grey Duck hybrids everywhere as well.

New Zealand 233

New Zealand Birds Thailand Falcons 233

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 29, 2019

I’ve never seen a Northern Hawk Owl ( Surnia ulula ) – and I think it’s been several years since one last strayed into New York – but I do know that in winter excursions south, they often favor open farm country and sitting atop prominent perches, from which they give their hard, disapproving stare to all passersby.

Owls 218

Owls Rights Michigan Stray 218