10,000 Birds

JANUARY 24, 2013

An Imposing Great Gray Owl, by Carlos Sanchez. Great Gray Owl , Northern Hawk Owl , Snowy Owl – this trinity captures the imagination of most birders with their imposing presence, unique adaptations, and beauty as among the most desired species of bird to see in the world.

Minnesota 191

Minnesota Owls Bald Eagle Hoarding 191

10,000 Birds

MAY 1, 2013

.” My question that I hope you can help me with is what would be considered a safe distance to photograph Northern Saw-what Owls? Would this be considered a threat to these owls?” First I applaud the photographer for actually asking the question of how close to get to a Saw-whet Owl. Six feet from a saw-whet?

Owls 267

Owls Barn Owls Agenda Zoos 267

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 2, 2020

Just yesterday I learned that the Barn Owl ( Tyto alba ) is the only breeding bird found in New York that has been documented nesting in every month of the year. Barn Owls will nest year round and are apparently just as happy to use brick ruins as barns, if this 18th-century painting is to be believed. Barn Owls with their Brood (c.

Barn Owls 243

Barn Owls 2017 Rodents Owls 243

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 26, 2024

Sadly, the HBW states that the species is “almost extinct in some areas in China owing to hunting and trapping for the cagebird trade and taxidermy” The Maroon Oriole looks much more interesting, though my photos do not really do it full justice. when living in suburbia. How is that for a link?

Nepal 167

Nepal Birds Owls Nigeria 167

10,000 Birds

JULY 12, 2023

Swifts are aplenty, one is likely to see Gray-rumped , Band-rumped , or Short-tailed Swift hunting insects each morning. One step away from swifts are hummingbirds, and at least 13 species of these winged jewels flutter about from sunrise to sunset. Interesting.

Trinidad 236

Trinidad Barn Owls Owls Reptiles 236

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 15, 2023

Lynford also boasts an arboretum, with 200 different species of trees. Today, in southern England, we rarely have the luxury of trying to tell the two species apart, as Willow T**s have declined so severely that they are now virtually extinct in East Anglia.

Barn Owls 220

Barn Owls Rats Japan Blackbirds 220

10,000 Birds

APRIL 26, 2024

Tucked away at the extreme eastern end of the Mediterranean, Cyprus is regarded politically as part of Europe, but when it comes to birds it’s very much Middle Eastern in flavour, with a number of species that are hard or even impossible to find in Europe, plus a trio of endemics. The song is highly distinctive.

Cyprus 224

Cyprus Breeders Falcons Hunters 224

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 21, 2013

Sunday morning dawned clear and cool, perfect weather in which to find some owls. Sunrise found me in a car with Rich Kelly and Seth Ausubel, on our way to Pelham Bay Park in the Bronx where we would be joined by Bob Dieterich and Gene Herskovics for an owl prowl. One owl down, two to go! We still needed Barred Owl !

Owls 170

Owls Skunks Hunting New York City 170

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 8, 2023

By Martin Garwood Martin has been interested in birds from an early age and has traveled extensively in pursuit of different species. He recently set up a charity, High Weald Swifts, to promote conservation in the UK of this now “red-listed” species. He has a particular passion for Swifts.

Shelters 226

Shelters Cattle Wildlife Hunting 226

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 25, 2020

Now that I have driven that to a state of relative completion and I am compelled to return to the forest, I learned that the government here has re-opened the hunting season. After experiencing the ebb and flow of energies over the years with the coming and going of the annual five month long hunting season, the strain is plain for me to see.

Trinidad 263

Trinidad Hunting Venezuela Woodpeckers 263

10,000 Birds

MARCH 27, 2017

”) that we drive up to the Adirondacks so I could finally connect with a Great Gray Owl. With much trepidation I told her the owl was in Keene, about four-and-a-half hours away and I could call my folks and see if they would put us up for the night at their house, half-way back from the long-range twitch. spotted the owl.

New York 101

New York Owls Beavers Puerto Rico 101

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 4, 2012

Western Screech-Owl ( Megascops kennicottii ) photos by Larry Jordan It’s been an interesting winter in my neck of the woods. Birders in Northern California have been treated to rare sightings of several species, sending avid twitchers from all over the west in our direction.

Owls 182

Owls California Jordan Turtles 182

10,000 Birds

JULY 7, 2021

With that logic those trees, if left to grow, should produce something of use to at least one or two species of birds. It’s been some years since I’ve seen any Short-tailed Hawks as the entire valley is now overrun with concrete – but I’m trying my best to create some sort of oasis for any species.

Opossums 264

Opossums Barn Owls Reptiles Hunting 264

10,000 Birds

APRIL 5, 2024

Nor have I chased particular birds, either: almost all the birds I have seen have been encountered during a normal day’s birding, not a targeted twitch for a particular species. A lone Whooper Swan on a grey January day in Norfolk As for the ducks – I’m now up to 15 species.

Spain 130

Spain Eagles North America Cyprus 130

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 2, 2024

He has written and co-written over 400 scientific papers on brood parasitism, Common Cuckoos, egg rejection and other nesting behaviors, and fairy wren learning in addition to T he Book of Eggs: A Life-Size Guide to the Eggs of Six Hundred of the World’s Bird Species (Univ. of Chicago Press, 2014).

Barn Owls 187

Barn Owls Chicago Penguins New Zealand 187

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 18, 2021

Two more aspects contribute to bird diversity: these are the inner city waters, so hunting is forbidden, and the Danube rarely freezes, and even then it would be the last water to freeze. Yes, other species easier to spot in winter include the Long-eared Owl and the Peregrine , but I am not going to discuss their whereabouts openly.

Serbia 302

Serbia Woodpeckers Ducks Birds 302

10,000 Birds

MARCH 31, 2011

I waited until now to post about the owl because the small size of the marsh at Plum Beach and the ease with which people can get into the marsh made it likely that if the owl’s location had been publicized it would have faced repeated disturbances from those hoping to see or photograph it. How cool is that?

Owls 145

Owls New York City Rodents New York 145

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 4, 2021

Some call them trash, tours might not visit, but they can host more than the expected and common species. Some such vegetated spots can also attract oddball birds, species that wander to find a home in urban circumstances. Three species of seedeaters sing from the tall grass, one of them being the Yellow-bellied Seedeater.

Costa Rica 258

Costa Rica Sparrows Rodents Rats 258

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 13, 2019

Owling on Christmas Bird Counts is a peculiar business. There’s the whole role of chance in owling, too. In birding, perhaps only the proverbial wild goose chase and snipe hunt rank below owling in terms of expected success. Other birders are – quite understandably – less keen about the whole ordeal.

2017 139

2017 Owls Game Fowl 139

10,000 Birds

JULY 18, 2020

Which tours saw the most roosting owls? This odd nocturnal creature is around the same size as a Barred Owl. With around 400 species recorded for the area, yeah, it’s where we might all like to quarantine for a bit! Want to see a high quality video showing 53 species only be found in Costa Rica and adjacent western Panama?

Costa Rica 221

Costa Rica Birds Thailand Farming 221

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 24, 2021

On a recent visit I threw my bags in the hotel room and went straight there, and got over 60 species of birds in a few hours and fantastic views of Nilgai , the largest antelope in India. Commoner species include Bar-headed Geese , parakeets, shrikes, mynas and minivets. You should also see Gharial and Mugger Crocodiles there.

India 195

India Wildlife Tigers Otters 195

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 29, 2023

My British total was a mere 172 species – not bad, but not very good. Every one of my 171 species was a bird that I found myself. It keeps a monthly record of sightings, so I can tell you that it was in February that I recorded my highest monthly species total (106), while my lowest total was in August (39).

Estonia 232

Estonia Portugal Greece Barn Owls 232

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 15, 2017

Many countries have private reserves and concessions, run for tourism or hunting, that provide outstanding wildlife watching opportunities. Southern White-faced Scops Owl or African Scops Owl? Brown-hooded Kingfishers hunt far from water. Spotted Eagle Owls are one of several owls that can be seen here.

Zimbabwe 100

Zimbabwe Botswana South Africa Endangered Species 100

10,000 Birds

JULY 27, 2023

When you have birded a single area as much and for as long as I have birded Michoacán, it becomes progressively harder to find first-time species (“lifers”) there. I had seen several species turn up in new and unexpected places there, but none of them were birds that I had never seen before. … or Green Herons.

Bats 130

Bats Mexico ALA 2019 130

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 9, 2016

Many of us picture owls in the sky, silently soaring, or perched atop tree branches or light poles as they sleep or keep an eye out for prey. However, on my first trip to Aruba I scanned the ground for a very special type of small owl, known for its terrestrial antics.

Prairie Dogs 101

Prairie Dogs Tortoises South America 2006 101

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 17, 2021

But this book taught me about eagles, owls, storks and herons. Not all the birds, of course, but many of the distinctive and conspicuous species. T&T has five recorded species of woodcreeper, all resident. I’ve seen this bird hunting, actively denuding dead branches in pursuit of what lies beneath.

Trinidad 185

Trinidad Laws Family Hunting 185

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 15, 2012

I’ve always had a bit of a soft spot for owls. Wander through my front door and glance upwards and you’ll find at least two watching you, a Tawny Owl and a Barn Owl , both sadly gathered as roadkills. Above our fireplace is a large painting of a Barn Owl.

Barn Owls 184

Barn Owls Finland Owls Portugal 184

10,000 Birds

JULY 9, 2015

Further down the road, we reach a derelict building with a large veranda hidden among the trees – an abandoned hunting lodge (if I were in a situation to invest, I would choose to upgrade this into a luxury wildlife lodge). Birds included common species such as Black Drongos , Jungle Babblers and a Hoopoe.

Tigers 243

Tigers Dogs India Snow Leopard 243

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 19, 2017

Like many “wildlife areas” it is open to waterfowl hunting during the season. In total we counted seventeen species at the rest stop! We stopped at the entrance to the wildlife area (see the sign above) where there is a small kiosk with bird lists and hunting regulations as well as maps of the facility.

Wildlife 100

Wildlife Chipmunks Sparrows Blackbirds 100

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 19, 2020

These large parrots are popular in the pet trade, and that’s a likely source of the population of this species on Trinidad. As I neared the shore, I spooked a hunting Striated Heron who in turn spooked a Neotropic Cormorant hunting the shallow water. Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl. Gradually, the bird drifted nearer.

Trinidad 212

Trinidad Birds Parrots Falcons 212

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 4, 2016

A shot or two coming from the opposite bank, but they do not sound like geese shooting – more like boar hunting. A goose hunt sounds like a WWII battle. Scanning the water for rarer species… S. We counted more than 35 of them, relaxed and fearless, clearly not hunted. Easy – it is forbidden to hunt at night.

Geese 180

Geese Boars Hunting Serbia 180

10,000 Birds

APRIL 6, 2021

212) who trap, follow, and analyze the migration paths of Snowy Owls, a project founded in 2013, the magic year of the Snowy Owl irruption. Author Scott Weidensaul and a Snow Owl. Photograph by Chris DeSorbo, © 2021 Scott Weidensaul. Pause while we all try to imagine what our lives would be like if we could do that.)

Cyprus 257

Cyprus Slaughter Slaughtered Research 257

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 3, 2019

It would be uber cool to lay eyes on a rare lifer, on species that only seem to live on the pages of a field guide but isn’t that somewhat discriminatory? And why spend time only looking for one or two species when those hours could be used to put binos focused on a few dozen? Aren’t all birds worth watching?

Costa Rica 203

Costa Rica Panama Birds Nicaragua 203

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 2, 2019

When we returned to Tucson, from the Bahamas, I was approaching a milestone number, 1300 bird species, and drove myself hard, climbing, hiking, searching, and driving all over the state of Arizona looking for those last eight birds. By 7:30, two of the owls starting calling back and forth across the small ravine, and I had my 1300th bird!

Costa Rica 135

Costa Rica Tucson South Africa Qatar 135

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 12, 2018

Once we were checked in, we headed straight out to begin our hunt. Our first three days were spent bouncing around from area to area, looking to find the species on my wish list. That lovely little owl represented bird number 34 for the run thru Texas! Here that Eastern Screech Owl. United States species – 350.

Texas 133

Texas Tucson San Antonio Owls 133

10,000 Birds

MARCH 14, 2019

a British expat birder who was living in Belgrade, for a suggestion: “The top species is undoubtedly White-tailed Eagle. commented further: “With a little work some species can be seen quite easily such as the divers, scaup, scoter, Goosander , Garganey and Long-eared Owl. Hence, I asked my friend B.C.,

Serbia 250

Serbia Woodpeckers Albania Eagles 250

10,000 Birds

MARCH 5, 2012

What this land-locked country lacks in endemic birds it more than makes up for in accessibility of tough species, numbers of birds and the overall wildlife experience. It is also home to the largest concentration of African Elephants on the planet and over 450 bird species. We are currently filming in Botswana.

Botswana 211

Botswana Lions Zebras Elephants 211