10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 18, 2022

All month long we’ll be visiting – in spirits, at least – the rugged Celtic landscapes of Scotland and Ireland where whiskey was born and – with luck – have a look at the birds that inhabit them. On that unhappy note, perhaps it’s best to get on with the tasting and drink to a better life for eagles in Scotland.

Eagles 190

Eagles Ireland Deer 2014 190

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 15, 2017

It’s Christmas Bird Count season, and if you know Christmas Bird Counts you have probably heard the tale of how Frank Chapman invented this winter tradition to replace the older and considerably less optimal for birds tradition of the Christmas side hunt. And in Ireland, well… In Ireland they killed Wrens.

Ireland 131

Ireland New Zealand Hunting Cooking 131

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 15, 2023

Nuthatches are garden birds for many people in England and Wales (they are rare in Scotland and don’t occur in Ireland), but they like beech trees, and if you haven’t any beech trees in or near your garden, you are unlikely to see them. However, the best bird of the day I came across when just a couple of miles from home.

Barn Owls 209

Barn Owls Rats Japan Blackbirds 209

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 24, 2020

But seeing as the month is also bookended by Hogmanay and Burns Night, we’ll gladly take the opportunity to visit– in spirits, at least – the rugged Celtic landscapes of Scotland and Ireland where whisky was born and – with luck – have a look at the birds that inhabit them.

Sheep 194

Sheep Branding Ireland Fowl 194

Critter News

APRIL 12, 2010

This complaint is the result of proposed legislation to ban puppy mills in Ireland. They also want an exemption for hunt kennels which do not breed dogs for commercial purposes. Tags: Ireland legislation puppy mills dogs. Legislators are being contacted by people around the world to support the legislation.

Puppy Mills 100

Puppy Mills Animal Welfare Ireland Legislation 100

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 17, 2020

But seeing as the month is also bookended by Hogmanay and Burns Night, we’ll gladly take the opportunity to visit– in spirits, at least – the rugged Celtic landscapes of Scotland and Ireland where whiskey was born and – with luck – have a look at the birds that inhabit them. A Golden Eagle (1916), another painting by Archibald Thornburn.

Lions 159

Lions Eagles Hunting Lamb 159

10,000 Birds

MARCH 15, 2019

Gyrfalcons have long been prized for their ability to hunt prey considerably larger than themselves, as depicted in this painting by Louis Agassiz Fuertes, where the unlucky victim is a Gray Heron (note the jesses on the falcon).

2016 100

2016 Iceland Falcons Egypt 100