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. Gilbert: The Famous Grouse.

Sheep 248

Sheep Branding Ireland Fowl 248

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 9, 2023

There was one odd reprint in 2018, when the Subalpine Warbler was split into the Eastern and Western species, but the changes in the guide weren’t sufficient to call it a 3rd edition, so it remained the updated reprint of the 2nd edition. I haven’t noticed changes in the few descriptions of harder to ID species that I compared.

Europe 264

Europe Birds Woodpeckers Ireland 264

10,000 Birds

JULY 12, 2024

My target at the start of the year was 200 species in the UK and 300 in Europe, so I’ve achieved the latter, while the chances of reaching the former are pretty good. Nor have I see a skua (jaeger) of any species. An everyday bird, the Woodpigeon. This one was photographed in my garden on a wet day in April.

Cyprus 245

Cyprus Greece Spain Europe 245

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 15, 2017

And in Ireland, well… In Ireland they killed Wrens. Stephen, leading to his martyrdom, and the species needed to be punished; or that a Wren had woken a band of Viking warriors prior to a raid by the Irish on their camp, leading to the defeat of the Irish forces and lasting interspecies animosity. Or does it?

Ireland 147

Ireland New Zealand Hunting Cooking 147

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 12, 2012

Perhaps the biggest event of this winter has been the late winter occurrence of hundreds of ‘white-winged gulls’ from Shetland to Dover and seemingly at all points in between we, in Britain & Ireland, have been inundated with Iceland Gulls and Glaucous Gulls in recent weeks. for a drake Baer’s Pochard.

Ireland 158

Ireland Iceland Japan Albatross 158

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 245

Barn Owls Rats Japan Blackbirds 245

10,000 Birds

JULY 23, 2014

There are the endemics, which are odd in their own way, and then there introduced species, which are so varied in their type and origin that you get the feeling you’ve arrived at the aftermath of a small zoo that escaped. What is surprising is quite how many species did end up here, and how economically unimportant they were.

New Zealand 165

New Zealand Possums Rabbits Ferrets 165

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 7, 2016

I am planning to have this post be the first in a (very) small series on Europe’s “large white-headed gulls” It will of course only be a small series since there aren’t that many large white-headed gull species in Europe and particularly because I don’t want to cause too harsh a drop in the blog’s visitor numbers.

Europe 156

Europe Spain Italy Ireland 156

10,000 Birds

MARCH 8, 2024

Secondly, much of the appeal is that this is a bird we don’t see in the UK very often, for Waxwings are an irruptive species, and in most years only a few ever reach our shores from their breeding grounds in the boreal forests of Scandinavia. They are fast and efficient fliers, quite capable of covering considerable distances in a short time.

Finland 245

Finland Estonia Bears Ireland 245

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 4, 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.

Owls 260

Owls Ireland United States Europe 260

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 17, 2011

ForestPuffin was targeting this species as it is very habitat dependent and, unbeknownst to me, such habitat exists within a big stone’s throw of my house. During this time the chrysalis is constantly attended by the ants and it is thought unlikely that the species would be able to survive without the ants’ ministration.

Rabbits 158

Rabbits Ireland 2002 Sheep 158

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 31, 2012

I even managed to shoot a video with hands trembling of excitement, probably a first of the species. Graham Clarke liked Dotterel , a bird he needed for Ireland. Dotterel are not exceptionally rare in Ireland occurring during both spring and autumn migration. It was a mythical bird I didn’t ever expect to see.

2012 133

2012 Ghana Ireland Costa Rica 133

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 5, 2015

Steve Falk gives authoritative accounts and Richard Lewington provides the detailed illustrations in the Field Guide to the Bees of Great Britain and Ireland (a British Wildlife Guide published by Bloomsbury ). Although the guide describes species from a limited range, the importance of bees throughout the world cannot be overstated.

Ireland 104

Ireland United States 2010 Game 104

10,000 Birds

MARCH 2, 2023

Not a cover species The Black Kite is not actually black, but of course, misleading bird names are not exactly rare. No surprise then that the species is listed as Vulnerable. But then, sanity (or maybe respect for you, the reader) prevailed. Fortunately, they are quite common in Shanghai. It is also called Chinese Bulbul.

Iraq 130

Iraq Birds China Ireland 130

10,000 Birds

MARCH 1, 2024

They are of the race islandica , a sub species of the nominate race, limosa. Most of the Icelandic population winters in the British isles The sightings stopped, but then on 18 February 2019 EY70 137 was observed on Lady’s Island Lake, Wexford, Ireland. Did it then move on to Ireland? Was this where it spent its winters?

Lithuania 130

Lithuania Morocco Iceland Ireland 130

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 29, 2013

More importantly however, there used to be a time when identification guides were published that focussed entirely on the British Isles, leaving out many species of “continental” Europe, and these were labelled “of Britain and Europe” to promote sales outside the UK and Ireland. Next are the tracks of birds.

Europe 167

Europe Mammals Animal Reindeer 167

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.

Lions 184

Lions Eagles Hunting Lamb 184

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 16, 2024

Counting the Birds I was in my teens when I undertook my first bird-survey: it was field work for the British Trust for Ornithology’s The Atlas of Breeding Birds in Britain and Ireland. The breeding and wintering birds of Britain and Ireland. Published in 1976, The Atlas was, I believe, the very first work of its kind.

Ireland 246

Ireland Turtles Geese Farming 246

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 3, 2013

Fortunately, I had T he Crossley ID Guide: Britain & Ireland by Richard Crossley and Dominic Couzens on my desk. Conceived and authored by Richard Crossley, birder, traveler, and photographer, The Crossley ID Guide: Britain & Ireland is the third book of the series. The description sounded a lot like a House Finch.

Ireland 181

Ireland 2013 Breeders United Kingdom 181

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 6, 2013

I couldn’t wait to give names to all my new species. I tried using the Internet, but found it frustrating for all the usual reasons; websites either didn’t include all species or were difficult to use for identification. Britain’s Dragonflies: A field guide to the damselflies and dragonflies of Britain and Ireland.

Ireland 207

Ireland France Breeding Eggs 207

10,000 Birds

JULY 22, 2014

Other species have certainly expanded their ranges, but never in such a rapid and global scale. For reasons that are not quite clear, this species underwent a massive range expansion. In the east, this species can be found along the east coast of Africa, the Nile Valley,and into parts of the middle east and India and southeast Asia.

Cattle 173

Cattle South Korea Suriname Seychelles 173

10,000 Birds

MAY 7, 2013

Raptors (as I’m going to call the book) continues the unique Crossley method of presenting multiple bird images of a species, 8 to 25 photographs, in a one or two-page plate, with a background representative of the species’ typical habitat. Thirty-four species of hawks are covered in the book.

Bald Eagle 249

Bald Eagle North America Falcons Owls 249

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 3, 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.

Ireland 203

Ireland Branding Spain Compassion 203

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 7, 2019

In publishing the most current thinking, eBird have become the month’s biggest contributor to the life list, expanding it by 7 brand new species and pushing it to 3774. 7 species were added to the life list in the time-honoured fashion of actually identifying the birds in the field. I just live for this stuff! 03 Aug 2019.

2019 125

2019 Arizona Ghana Tucson 125

10,000 Birds

MARCH 16, 2018

Sacrilege perhaps, but unless we’re talking invasive species, snake extirpation doesn’t cut it here at 10,000 Birds. Perhaps the mention of a species gives the story a veracity that “bird sp.” Sorry, Patrick. Saint Kevin of Glendalough was a very long-lived saint (498-618!) just doesn’t provide.

Blackbirds 117

Blackbirds Wounded Stray 2013 117

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 10, 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. Be sure to bundle up. Let’s go with European Herring Gull.

Ireland 239

Ireland Suffering Species Branding 239

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 23, 2024

The film, directed by Kathleen Harris, follows ornithologist Seán Ronayne in his epic quest to record the calls of all the bird species in Ireland. Buy your tickets and set your alarms for this Sunday, November 24th at 7pm GMT, for the international online premier of the award-winning environmental documentary, Birdsong.

Ireland 246

Ireland Species Birds 246

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 7, 2017

The Crossley ID Guide: Waterfowl covers every residential, migrating, vagrant, exotic, and introduced swan, goose, dabbling and diving duck in North America (Canada and the United States): 62 Species Accounts on four swan species and one vagrant subspecies; 15 goose species; 46 duck species; plus accounts for hybrid geese, ducks and exotics.

Ducks 149

Ducks Geese North America Hunters 149