10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 3, 2014

I actually have many targets, in a way, a I want to see lots and lots, but there is one species that the reason that the trip is even happening, the animal that has been pretty much the top of my animal bucket list for well over a decade. It’s a species that has bedeviled and bewitched me over the years. The African Wild Dog.

Sharks 170

Sharks Leopards Snow Leopard Whales 170

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 1, 2015

If I were to describe my long time wildlife nemesis, my ultimate dip of dips, I would reach for a nemesis cat, not a nemesis bird. For there is no species that I had more comprehensively failed to see than the Leopard. Leopards were problem species for me. The cats are, almost to a species, elusive.

Cats 103

Cats Leopards South Africa Tigers 103

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 12, 2015

Tell me, what happens if we rip away hunting when hunting protects more wildlife land in Africa than national parks? Conservation is concerned about protecting populations, species, habitats, ecosystems. There is a reason we talk about wildlife and habitat conservation, not wildlife and habitat preservation. I mean it.

Lions 201

Lions Sierra Leone Hunting Buffalo 201

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 21, 2016

So close to the pole only a handful of bird species can survive, and even so, death toll is very high, hence their populations must be huge (millions). There are 11 species of birds that breed in the Ross Sea region. Finally – the Seabirds. As a consequence, the Ross Sea has one of the highest concentrations of seabirds in the world.

Russia 165

Russia Penguins Whales Whaling 165

10,000 Birds

MARCH 16, 2016

Great wildlife preserves, reserves and parks exist for a number of reasons. I was planning a trip to South Africa, I had about five days to fill, I wanted to get a bunch of desert species (particularly the Springbok – not a bird) in a way that wasn’t too hard to reach from Johannesburg. And lo, it was good.

South Africa 141

South Africa Leopards Giraffes Africa 141

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 13, 2021

I am a wildlife artist based in the UK, I have never had a real job! Other than paint, the only other thing I do is organize and joint-lead wildlife tours, mostly in Africa and India. It teems with wildlife of every kind and is justifiably known as “The Jewel of the Kalahari”. My name is Ashley Boon.

Botswana 170

Botswana Africa Angola Elephants 170

4 The Love Of Animals

DECEMBER 7, 2012

From Cougars, tigers, cheetahs, jaguars, and snow leopards and more, it’s a great time to learn more about these amazing cats! Tune in Sunday to watch the first ever capture and release of an endangered snow leopard in Afghanistan! Snow Leopard of Afghanistan. Snow Leopard of Afghanistan: Boone’s Mission.

Snow Leopard 100

Snow Leopard Cats Afghanistan 2012 100

4 The Love Of Animals

JULY 11, 2011

Steve travels to Namibia, a land of rolling dunes, sand and plenty of dangerous wildlife. Steve dons a camouflage suit for a once-in-a-lifetime experience that gets him closer to a wild leopard than he ever hoped. Africa’s big cats are among the most iconic predators. Will Steve be able to out climb this speedy creature?

Cats 100

Cats Leopards Namibia Lions 100

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 1, 2016

While I was at the Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival in January I spent most of one afternoon taking my time driving around the Viera Wetlands and digiscoping anything that crossed my path. And, when a Leopard Frog moved to escape my car, the Cattle Egret was proven correct. (I I wish I had nailed the focus on this one.).

Cattle 103

Cattle Leopards Cows Wildlife 103

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 9, 2019

The route Corey and I took in advance of the 2019 African Birding Expo may not be the only optimal way to go, but this approach yielded an absolute bounty of wildlife excitement in just 48 action-packed hours. What makes this destination so magnificent? Plus, the food, service, and accommodations meet the highest standards.

Uganda 178

Uganda Senegal Africa Game 178

10,000 Birds

APRIL 20, 2016

More than 30 different raptor species pass through this area, called the most vital flyway in the western Palearctic. But he’s got stiff competition, including peers working to save Tree Kangaroos in Papua New Guinea, Sumatran Orangutans in Indonesia, and Snow Leopards in Pakistan.

Papua New Guinea 100

Papua New Guinea Snow Leopard Pakistan illegal 100

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 25, 2015

Early starts are the rule when monitoring endagered species in Mkuze Game Reserve, in South Africa, but there’s a particular urgency to this morning’s start. And the two species were not inclined to get on, by which I mean that Lions will kill other large predators including Painted Wolves. Her concern was well founded.

Wolves 188

Wolves Lions Vet Dogs 188

10,000 Birds

MAY 9, 2016

After five hours, a stop for McDonald’s and gas, lots of crappy incidental checklists in eBird, a call from Brooklyn birders saying they didn’t have the bird, and a traffic stop that somehow didn’t result in a speeding ticket, we made it to Conesus Inlet State Wildlife Management Area where we were greeted by a Yellow Warbler.

New York 101

New York Bald Eagle McDonalds Fast Food 101

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 27, 2013

My best bird of the year is based on the sighting rather than the species. Obviously my best bird of the year is going to come during this trip, what with several species of endemic pitta and broadbill possible, not to mention 8 species of hornbill and numerous babblers, storks, kingfishers, trogons and even the endemic Bornean Bristlehead.

2013 167

2013 Costa Rica Birds India 167

10,000 Birds

JUNE 17, 2015

That’s a threatened habitat, and one much sought after by wildlife enthusiasts. There wasn’t much around, and aside from a lifer Yellow-bellied Bulbul the two most impressive species were heard not seen – a Blue-headed Pitta an a Banded Kingfisher. This is the place, after all, that people see Sunda Clouded Leopards!

Lemurs 158

Lemurs Rhinoceros Uganda Leopards 158

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 5, 2020

Knowing that there are reserves with long lists of 600 or more species, I set my threshold at more than 600 birds… and found only a few such hotspots. In early November 2020, there were 15 countries with more than 1000 species eBirded so far. Other than that, there are barely a few hotspots with over 500 species.

Asia 266

Asia Malaysia Papua New Guinea Thailand 266

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 1, 2016

And one that is easy to use, because, let’s face it, you want to spend most of your time looking at wildlife, not searching for information. Tall grass, grass in burnt areas, leaves stems, small mammals, large mammals, invertebrates, birds, bird eggs, even hyena feces (that’s the Leopard Tortoise).

Rhinos 233

Rhinos Animal Mammals White Rhinos 233

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 30, 2020

As Bill Oddie noticed in his foreword to ‘Wild Sri Lanka’ (2nd edition) by Gehan De Silva Wijeyeratne, this island paradise is probably the only country in the world where almost all books on wildlife were authored by a single person. 465 species have been recorded and the list keeps growing.

Sri Lanka 191

Sri Lanka Leopards Whaling Whales 191

10,000 Birds

JUNE 30, 2022

In addition, it has over 450 bird species and more than 30 in-country endemics, of which it is possible to see every single species! It covers everything, but what puts Philip Briggs’s Sri Lanka into a class of its own is a special emphasis on nature and wildlife-watching tourism. Where to look for the birds?

Sri Lanka 147

Sri Lanka Ghana Uganda Protesting 147

10,000 Birds

JULY 28, 2022

Lango Camp deck overlooking Lango Baï, by Congo Conservation Company The forests of the Congo Basin contain more than a 1,000 species of birds, together with 400 species of mammals, including Okapi, Hippos, Leopards, Chimpanzees and Bonobos.

Central African Republic 280

Central African Republic Congo Gabon Gorillas 280

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2014

The reason Borneo lends itself to this type of birding holiday is that tourism in Borneo leans towards outdoorsy, wildlife based tourism anyway. Contrast this in Asia to, say, Singapore, Hong Kong or Bangkok, all of which have great birding nearby but are destinations people go to for reasons other than wildlife. And the birds?

Bats 180

Bats Birds Elephants Badgers 180

10,000 Birds

JUNE 28, 2018

Lacey of Iowa introduced the nation’s first wildlife-protection law, which banned the interstate shipping of unlawfully killed game. Even with today’s environmental laws, we are losing species at an alarming rate, and with Ryan Zinke as Interior Secretary it’s no wonder. People don’t respect wildlife.

Hunting 109

Hunting Hunters Gorillas Wolves 109