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The Species per Square Mile Approach. While Colombia may have almost 2000 bird species, it is a huge country with, still, complicated long-distance travel logistics. On the other hand, small countries with relatively long bird lists offer higher species densities per square mile. And why 1000?
Whatever the reason for getting involved with this massive day of birding, every GBD has been a success where literally thousands of species are found by thousands of birders. I have been able to do that in Costa Rica because literally hundreds of bird species can be accessed in a question of hours.
One of the target bird species for birders when they visit the Broome area is Yellow Chat. The colour on this bird species is incredible and not easily hidden in the environment. For scale I will include some photographs of the Orange Chat with other bird species. It always seems odd when only one of a bird species shows up.
But Morelia is part of a large relatively homogenous ecosystem, while the La Escalera area sits right on the junction of our highland pine-oak forest system and the lowland tropical thorn forest biome. Double the ecosystems, double the species. And, in birding as in real estate, the key is location, location, location.
First birds came in the form of migrants and resident species that live in an oasis of precious green space near home. Those kept me below the 700 species threshhold but I won’t complain about 691 species. 48 Hummingbird Species. I also saw a high percentage of the raptor species possible in Costa Rica.
There is a thing parents know very well – how important it is to choose the right name for a child. Birders normally care about species and make species lists, how do families fit into those? Adding more species brings a lot of excitement, as long as you bird your own country or a continent. Families perhaps?
Hongbenghe, a small village right at the border of China’s Yunnan province and Myanmar, has a number of woodpeckers. And most birders (though not all – see here for an exception) quite like woodpeckers, making it a good topic for a dedicated post.
The boreal forest belt that runs from Scandinavia right across to the Pacific and beyond holds some resilient bird species, which are able to survive the harsh and dark winters.
It is the kind of small place that still offers some living space to birds right in the town – witness this Chestnut-tailed Starling nesting in a lamppost. The professional b *s/ChatGPT users from our friends of Nepaldesk appreciate the species in their typical way: “The Chestnut… Source
That’s right, and neither could the person (Michael Gottlieb) who posted the photo, taken the day before, on Halloween morning. Awesome, right? Western” refers to a two-species complex, the Cordilleran Flycatcher and the Pacific-slope Flycatcher. I couldn’t identify it? A new bird for Queens! I’m glad you asked!
Trinidad and Tobago has historically had seventeen species on record, sixteen on Trinidad and six on Tobago. Oftentimes even the uncommon to scarce residents play nice, one can easily view fifteen species on a single visit to the twin island republic. And why are these new species suddenly being recorded? Climate change?
I was very glad to see some different species to the ones I have seen in the recent months, quite refreshing after having spent a significant amount of my birding time in the local park (see my last post , amongst others…).”I The area is a military training ground and as a result, some areas are inaccessible.
The official bird list is well over 900 species and literally hundreds of fantastic tropical birds are accessible but when to go? According to eBird bar charts, most of the resident species are also seen at other times of the year. The high and dry season just also happens to be when most folks would rather escape the winter blues.
That time when if you were keeping track of the bird species you had identified, and wanted to reach a certain number, you better come up with some strict birding strategies. As of today, with my year list standing at 664 species, I suppose I still do have a chance but only if I get moving! It’s getting to be that time of year.
The muted colors of Blackburnians, Black-throated Greens, and Blackpolls fit right in with the dull greens and golden highlights of the early fall vegetation. This being an uncommon species in upstate New York, I appreciate having an abundance of Cliff Swallows to look at. Birds Can Fly Right Over Costa Rica.
In Costa Rica, with around 50 hummingbird species on the list, we have our fair share of minute feathered stars. These unreal birds zip through every level of forest, use every habitat, and, like various others of their kind, several are found right in the garden. I feel fortunate to see one or more of this species on a daily basis.
Go to Hispaniola and a birder has the pleasure of admiring two species of tody for the price of one, checking out the odd, mono familiar Palmchat , and listening to the parrotish calls of the White-necked Crow. Watch the streams for fish, we saw a few, unidentified yet cool looking tropical species! Want to see a roosting potoo?
The data are in: the nesting season proved successful for some species of Florida’s wading birds and… less so for others. Note: Erika works for Audubon Florida. They depend on specific hydrological conditions in order to find enough food for their voracious chicks. If not, nesting can simply fail.
As the rice paddies near Kota Kinabalu described in an earlier post , Tanjung Aru beach is not really a major birding spot in its own right. Even better, just a few meters away from the food vendors, it is not too crowded, and the palm trees attract a number of birds, including two species of parrots. Or US$ 8 for the pair below.
and 180 bird species ( Ferruginous Duck , Black Woodpecker ; Icterine , Eastern Olivaceous and Barred Warblers ) recorded so far. I made this tour myself several days ago (late July), and will report mostly on the species I actually found, as well as some mammals. It is a spacious floodplain between the River Danube and the levee, 2.1
The Gulf of Cadiz, from Cadiz itself, right along the coasts of Huelva and the Algarve to Cape St Vincent in Portugal, is a favourite hunting ground of mine and the operators willing to take you out have been on the increase in recent years. Wilson’s Storm Petrel Oceanodroma oceani cus seems to be everyone’s target species.
A cuckoo (don`t ask me about the species) sat in a daze on the ground, having apparently been attacked. My favorite species is the Oriental Scops Owl , a small owl that can be almost invisible if given the right motivation (e.g., After that, vicious drying on a nearby tree. Not all of them wanted/needed a bath. Almost invisible.
Last weekend I ended up spending some time with a few Glossy Ibises at a nearby wetland here on Trinidad and it got me thinking about some of the other ibis species I’ve managed to see. They are the most widespread ibis species, occurring in every continent except Antarctica. Glossy Ibis. Interesting times.
Even photos of the rarest of birds can be found, even heart-wrenching images of bird species that are no longer with us. Species like the Gyrfalcon , the aerial powerhouse of the tundra, of stunning, breeding-plumaged May warblers. These are all of the toucan species that occur in Costa Rica.
First, rangers would show some animal dung and teach their guests how to identify it (big deal – it is going nowhere, nor hiding away) and then show, let’s say, a herd of antelopes to their left – only to use the time when no one is watching to print some lion spurs in the dust on the right hand side, so they would be nicely fresh for photographing.
At least most of the resident species can still be seen right along the road, you just have to keep an eye out for cyclists and vehicles on their way up and down the volcano. Either way, its all good, its still birding and if you try it in the right places on Poas, the avian treats will delight you. Just keep watching!
When you travel north along the highway from Broome towards Willare and Derby you come to a wide bridge with a sign that says “Cockatoo Creek” I would highly recommend that you pull up on the right after you have crossed the bridge and park where the plaque is for the official opening of it. Small dam at Cockatoo Creek.
But it wasn’t until 2021 that I figured out where they are most common: right around our church! I had only seen this species once here, in 2018. Virginia Warbler: The Virginia Warbler is a common species in the thorn forest of the Balsas River Basin, so I had seen it often. I have seen them fairly often over the years.
But when I felt familiar with perhaps half of the species around my town, I started to feel that my field guide is now too bulky and too hefty to carry, and that was the era before smartphones and phone apps. of January 2019, which resulted in 10,711 species, 40 orders, 246 families and 2,313 genera. Subspecies are not included.
The stars of the bird world take many forms and fame is often related to location but some species, some cool groups of birds are accorded priority no matter when or where they are seen. The Olive-crowned Yellowthroat is one of Costa Rica’s resident wood-warbler species. Yes, you read that right. Violet Sabrewing.
Surrounded by native plants and at the edge of the woods, her feeders were always hotspots for interesting migratory and wintering species. On this particular day, I wanted to see one species and one species only: the Purple Finch. I never expected another opportunity to see a Purple Finch in 2021.
You can park by the side and check the Boljetinska River Canyon at your right, a true geological history book. Other species include Grey Wagtail and Marsh Tit. Easy species here are Corn Bunting , Hawfinch , Spotted Flycatcher , Red-backed Shrike , Woodlark , Eurasian Golden Oriole , European Turtle Dove.
I’ve been fortunate to see two Penguin species in the wild (African and Galapagos) and have dreamed of seeing more–maybe even all!–especially The goal of Around the World For Penguins is simple: Describe the 18 species of penguin and their breeding grounds “from the perspective of a traveller.”
By late March, hordes of Laughing Gulls and multiple species of pelagic terns gather for their turn. I did however manage to be in the right place at the right time to experience a gang of Magnificent Frigatebirds that had a Red-footed Booby surrounded. If you look carefully, you can just see its meal about to be ejected.
The Amur Paradise Flycatcher is another species breeding in Shanghai. Some herons: a beautiful adult Black-crowned Night Heron … … and a rather less attractive kindergarten of the same species. A Chinese Pond Heron … … and the same species pretending to be a giraffe. Yes, you are right: Yellow Bittern.
” and you will know they are right. However, the truth about birding trips is that one rarely sees every single bird, especially on trips to places with bird lists that surpass 900 species. Right, say what?! This bird is a classic heard only species. .” Social Flycatchers are also camera loving flycatchers.
In terms of birding, they more easily bring us to a vast variety of species, Costa Rica included. There are several birds in Costa Rica that require walks on forest trails and stalks in deep primary forest but a high percentage can also be seen right from the edge of a road, maybe even from your rental car window.
Grey-tailed Tattler: I already made fun of this poor species in my last post. Cuckoo species (Common?): Black-winged Kite: I could tell it was a juvenile as it was listening to rap music Common Coot: Preparing the stage for the music festival Common Kingfisher: Took a lot of effort to glue the bird right on top of the spiderweb.
In late July, I travelled a half hour north of Morelia to Lake Cuitzeo (kweet-SAY-oh) to see if our two inevitable first migratory species from up north, Baird’s Sandpiper and Wilson’s Phalarope, had begun arriving. At that point, neither species was yet present, and there wasn’t much of a lake, either. So trusting.
As is my self-declared tradition of speaking of groups of birds within the species gamut of Trinidad & Tobago, allow me to introduce you to yet another group of three. While the entire Tyrannidae family of Tyrant Flycatchers is massive, the Myiarchus group of those recorded on these two islands comprises just three species.
Nonetheless, November can really cook when the birding conditions are just right. I finally chased down what has been a nemesis species for me at Webster Park, which seems to be one of Rochester’s most reliable winter finch hotspots. They are also easily his Best Bird of the Weekend. How about you?
With around 400 species recorded for the area, yeah, it’s where we might all like to quarantine for a bit! As it learns to hunt and live on its own, the young bird has taken up residence in a tree right in front of the farm. A Fantastic Day of 200 Plus Species. Check it out: Juvenile Tiny Hawk Show in Sarapiqui.
I drove out a bit late because of an almost-flat tire that needed attention, and then managed to drive right past the reservoir without seeing it. This species loves to sing while high up in pine trees. But I was delighted to see a Black-chinned Sparrow near the shore; this is only my eighth sighting of this species.
Fortunately, we have birds to look at, so let’s focus on them right now. Of the species I spotted at Carbon Canyon Regional Park the bird I most appreciated was the California Thrasher , especially the one that cooperated for some portrait photography. So that will be my Best Bird of the Weekend. At least, I hope he is.)
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