10,000 Birds

JANUARY 1, 2012

Here in Germany, we don’t wish we had. Yes, Germany has parrots, or parakeets to be more precise. Unlike North America, Germany has never had naturally occurring psittacines that went extinct, and the one we have is a true and complete invasive alien introduction. Because we never have had.

Germany 242

Germany Netherlands Zoos Costa Rica 242

10,000 Birds

MAY 13, 2022

Please keep that in mind if you ever think that Germany’s only contributions to the world are highways and world wars. If you take a feral pigeon, bleach it and then batik it using the right colors, the result might be a Pink-necked Green Pigeon (1). Next to me, a local birder tried to get a photo of a Common Iora.

Singapore 216

Singapore Birds Zebras Feral 216

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 9, 2023

Forget occasional escapees, there is an established feral population successfully breeding in the north of Germany, which was 131 birds strong last year. Here I missed one well known big bird in the #2, it cannot be much bigger or more obvious, and I do not see it in the #3 either: the Greater Rhea.

Europe 252

Europe Birds Woodpeckers Ireland 252

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 15, 2015

And if months of overcast days are what climate change has in store for Germany, I’ll volunteer for the first manned Mars mission that doesn’t include a return ticket. A decisively non-ruddy Ruddy Duck, a rare winter visitor from nearby feral populations. Birds chickadees and tits finches Germany waterfowl weather winter'

Germany 172

Germany Feral Ducks Suffering 172

10,000 Birds

MARCH 5, 2017

However, one of the little sweet candies Germany still enjoys today from its own disastrous colonial past is the Common Guillemot, or Common Murre. Germany has only one high seas island it calls its own, the mighty (from a birding perspective) island of Heligoland. km²) in the German Bight, approximately 70 km off the coast of Germany.

Germany 100

Germany Denmark Namibia Breeding 100

10,000 Birds

JULY 25, 2014

When I started birding in earnest during the 1980s in south-west Germany, no one talked about Egyptian Geese. During the early 1990s, rumours surrounding the occurrence of a few Egyptian Geese in far north-western Germany emerged, the result of an increasing and spreading Dutch feral population. The Netherlands were far away.

Germany 150

Germany Netherlands Geese Kenya 150

10,000 Birds

JULY 18, 2012

Contradicting this relentless shooting were efforts to establish feral populations in many regions of Europe, both within and outside its natural range. It is very likely that the white morph was directly promoted in captive breeding and favoured in releases to establish feral populations. So much for the blessings of beauty.

Feral 169

Feral Europe Asia North America 169