10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 9, 2022

Our 9-day trip to Turkey in September was short, and it was not about birding. Our hosts wanted us to see at least one of Turkey’s biblical sites, along with a small archaeological site in the center of Smyrna that we had visited. I did not see many species. The historic center of Istanbu l offered urban and coastal birds.

Turkey 258

Turkey Pelicans Birds Spain 258

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 15, 2024

I have been lucky enough to get close views of two massive Old World Vulture species, the Eurasian Griffon and the Egyptian Vulture. Here in Mexico, I can almost always count on Black Vultures and Turkey Vultures to pad each outing’s list by two species. Black Vultures are a bit smaller than all these other species.

California Condor 242

California Condor Turkey Mexico Meat 242

10,000 Birds

MAY 8, 2013

The smellier the better, particularly as, unusually for birds, many species can boast a robust sense of smell. Maybe it’s important to note that Turkey Vultures , in particular, were well-loved by , and even inspirational to , the people that lived here before Europeans arrived. Vultures famously feed on carrion. Dead things.

California Condor 219

California Condor Turkey North America Jordan 219

10,000 Birds

MAY 27, 2020

Since the migratory season ended down here, I have not managed to see more than 20 species in any single day from my yard. The above-mentioned Rufous-naped Wren added some melodious notes to the mix, along with Tropical Flycatchers and several other species. Turkey Vulture. A Zone-tailed Hawk imitating a Turkey Vulture.

Turkey 246

Turkey Mexico Uruguay Guatemala 246

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 2, 2013

In truly absurd, I am not making this up news, villagers in Turkey recently accused a bird of being an Israeli spy. There’s a joke in here somewhere stemming from the fact that the country’s name is Turkey. Interestingly, this wasn’t the first time a stray Israeli-banded bird has come under suspicion in Turkey.

Israel 200

Israel Turkey Austin Stray 200

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 12, 2020

And while this poisonous species is usually red and spotted, older examples can lose their spots and take on an orange hue. My Laurelito trip was topped off by my discovery, when I walked back to my car, that it had been turned into a turkey perch. So I’m glad I didn’t taste my first examples.

Turkey 264

Turkey Birds Elephants Eggs 264

10,000 Birds

APRIL 6, 2023

Dave Gosney’s Finding Birds Series covers mostly the Western Palearctic and describes birding in various regions of Portugal, Spain, Morocco, France, Finland, Estonia, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, etc., with some additions, namely South Texas, The Gambia, and Goa (India).

Greece 246

Greece Macedonia Bulgaria Gambia 246

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 17, 2021

Still, the outing did not produce any new species for the year, or enough good photos for a post here. Instead, I have chosen to write about an idea I’ve had percolating for a while: to tell you what the most common species are down here. I’ll take the most common native species in taxonomic order.

Woodpeckers 362

Woodpeckers Mexico Cattle Turkey 362

10,000 Birds

MAY 10, 2024

There are 154 species of cuckoos in the world, and they’re all a fascinating bunch. It’s not a species you are likely to overlook, either, as it is extremely noisy, its cackling call carrying great distances. It is one of the most range-restricted of European birds, breeding only in Greece, Turkey and adjacent areas.

Cyprus 246

Cyprus Africa Europe Asia 246

10,000 Birds

JUNE 20, 2024

The first Monday out after the festival, I took six people to Las Mesas, because it is almost within the city of Morelia, but offers a wide collection of habitats and species. We saw 72 species, although in winter we could have found 30 more. And nobody was dissatisfied with the day’s total of 52 species.

Turkey 240

Turkey ALA Mexico Collecting 240

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 22, 2014

Most species are so relaxed down here, getting images of birds is like shooting fish in a barrel like the above Tricolored Heron. There was a point when Clay and I noticed a bunch Turkey Vultures gathering along the road ahead of us at Viera Wetlands (aka Ritch Grissom Memorial Wetlands). Birding otters Turkey Vultures'

Otters 188

Otters Turkey Minnesota Florida 188

10,000 Birds

JULY 6, 2022

Both Trinidad and Tobago share over a hundred species but within the mix are many that are found on one island and not the other. The disparity in species could be stark, for example if one were to bird on different sides of the planet. I don’t keep lists but one of my guests did and the final tally was 166 species.

Trinidad 278

Trinidad Turkey Squirrels Cows 278

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 5, 2024

But here goes, a list of my favorite sightings for 2023: You stole my heart, you rascal you: We made a major trip to Europe, North Africa, and Turkey in late October, November and early December, combining work with some down time. In 2022, while in Turkey for our first time, I saw my first Dipper , a White-throated Dipper.

Morocco 223

Morocco Turkey Mexico Birds 223

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 27, 2020

BOC has 95 colour plates illustrating more than 400 species (three country endemics, Cyprus Wheatear , Cyprus Scops Owl and Cyprus Warbler , among them), with text and distribution maps on facing pages. His work in Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey remains inspirational to researchers throughout the region.

Cyprus 264

Cyprus Saudi Arabia Europe Birds 264

10,000 Birds

MAY 7, 2020

First, 800 km of driving from Belgrade through Bulgaria to very NE corner of Greece and the Dadia Forest National Park with its 36 species of diurnal raptors, out of Europe’s 38. From there to the nearby Evros River Delta, at the very border with Turkey, with more easterly species such as the Spur-winged Plover.

Greece 284

Greece Bulgaria Serbia 2000 284

10,000 Birds

APRIL 11, 2023

The bike path (listed as Ruta de Bicicleta a Playa Linda on eBird’s hotspot map) begins by a very artificial water-storage pond, but even so, I managed to see several hoped-for species there. It used to be considered a single species with the Broad-billed Hummingbirds that visit my garden in Morelia every day.

Mexico 264

Mexico Birds Turkey Sparrows 264

10,000 Birds

MARCH 24, 2015

Raising my binoculars, I picked out not only Turkey Vultures , with their red heads and silver flight feathers, but also Black Vultures , with gray heads and just their wing tips sporting silver. We ended the day with over a dozen species for me and six or seven landed fish for Brian. Definitely a prime photo opportunity!

Fish 213

Fish North Carolina Turkey Woodpeckers 213

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 20, 2015

This map shows the distribution of the World’s bird species, based on overlying the breeding and wintering ranges of all known species. I used to live in Botswana, where there are about 450 bird species in an area a few dozen miles from the capital; then somewhat naively moved back to Serbia with mere 250 species around the capital.

Sri Lanka 257

Sri Lanka Botswana Africa Serbia 257

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 25, 2021

There is also a short description of each bird species (which may be quite detailed where necessary) covering the size, structure and shape, colouration, flight (the flight manner of individual birds), flock (the structure and behaviour of flocks), transliterations of flight calls followed by sonograms, and with QR code to 131 online recordings.

Europe 264

Europe Asia Cyprus Turkey 264

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 1, 2014

The final tally for this thirty year old count circle was 123 species. There has been a high count of 130 species in the past with an average species count of 115 and lows of 95 species on two occasions. There were also new high counts of the following species: Green-winged Teal 412 birds with a previous high of 237.

California 167

California Blackbirds Turkey Owls 167

10,000 Birds

MARCH 9, 2022

As I write this, on March 8th, my 2022 year list includes 230 species. After ten major outings this year, I am still picking up 5-7 new species each week. (No What I did not manage was decent photos of either species. I never know quite what to think when Turkey Vultures show such a strong interest in me.

Turkey 244

Turkey Falcons Mexico Sparrows 244

10,000 Birds

MARCH 8, 2012

The various islands also support more adaptable civilized species like Mourning Dove , Common Ground-Dove , and Rock Pigeon. Eurasian Collared-Dove Streptopeleia decaocto is one of the most active invasive bird species of our day. At the beginning of the 20th century, this species started to expand its range.

Bahamas 205

Bahamas Russia 2006 Turtles 205

10,000 Birds

MARCH 5, 2023

First, we had our five-week trip to Spain, Turkey and Jordan in September and October. This meant I saw some truly domesticated species there, like these Graylag and African (domesticated Swan ) Geese : Fortunately, all the other birds I saw there were truly wild. To summarize, I managed to see 42 species with a quick two-hour visit.

Jordan 246

Jordan Mexico Ohio Spain 246

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 11, 2014

The story of the White-winged Guan , in some ways resembles the re-discovery of some species thought to be extinct. The decades of storage in a museum came after it was regarded as an extinct species. This came as rumor of a turkey-like bird occurs in the steep canyons on the foothill of the western Andes. What a horror!

Collecting 270

Collecting Peru Neglecting Ecuador 270

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 1, 2013

Now that Thanksgiving is over, we can ease up on the turkey talk. I do regret that I saw no Wild Turkeys this weekend, only subdued, succulently prepared ones. Corey had way too many birds to choose from for his Best Bird of the Weekend, with exactly 100 species for the four-day weeekend. How about you? How about you?

2013 154

2013 Turkey New York Owls 154

10,000 Birds

JUNE 22, 2019

The tropical habitats of Costa Rica are home to a surprising number of raptor species. Although the country is around the same size as West Virginia, 39 species of diurnal raptors are on the list. As is often the case for tropical ecosystems, there may be hundreds of species of birds at a site, but many of them are naturally rare.

Costa Rica 203

Costa Rica Eagles West Virginia Opossums 203

10,000 Birds

MAY 6, 2011

Benjamin Franklin was famously not happy about the decision to use the Bald Eagle as a symbol of the United States (he preferred the Wild Turkey ). The banning of DDT and subsequent management of the species led to Bald Eagles being the poster child for the success of the Endangered Species Act.

United States 223

United States Bald Eagle Eagles Seals 223

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 7, 2021

When you see a photo of a Snowcap, it’s easy to see why this species is a perennial top target for birding trips to Costa Rica. However, as with so many other bird species that must be seen to confirm their improbable existence, the Snowcap can be elusive. I’m sure several other species also occur.

Costa Rica 264

Costa Rica San Jose Birds Farming 264

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 18, 2012

But how birds use these different senses, like the diversity in bill size and shape, varies almost as much from species to species. Chickens come in at around 24, pigeons have around 40-50 and some duck species may have a whopping 400. And again, there is great variation amongst different species.

Mammals 253

Mammals Mozambique Birds Colombia 253

10,000 Birds

MARCH 14, 2020

In the Amazon, many more species are accepted as normal, everyday birds including potoos with haunting calls, flocks of screeching parakeets, and dozens of other fantastic birds too loud in voice or plumage to be ignored. For kids in the Yucatan, Turquoise-browed Motmots and parrots are part of the regular avian scene. Know where to look.

Costa Rica 264

Costa Rica Cleveland Turkey Parrots 264

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 18, 2021

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. This shimmering mega species is regular on Poas and, when feeding, is often joined by the Black Guan , an arboreal black turkey-like bird with a blue face.

Costa Rica 264

Costa Rica Birds Cows Hunters 264

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 26, 2022

And I did manage to see a large number of new birds — 45 new species, to be specific. I will start by telling you about encounters in Turkey with two special bird families. But no, I had to travel to Turkey to meet them in the wild. Turkey can get really hot in the summer. (It New places, new birds!

Spain 162

Spain Turkey Mexico Agenda 162

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 29, 2019

I recently despaired of ending this calendar year without seeing a single Wild Turkey when that species used to be so reliable in my part of New York. Luckily, we spied a large flock of turkeys from the highway between Syracuse and Binghamton.

2019 156

2019 Nevada Turkey New York 156

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 12, 2014

So: we have bird identification shorthand, which is usually the bird’s North American Ornithological Society abbreviation, but which could be just one particular rehabber’s nickname for the species. It’s the rehabber version of turducken.”. I had never heard of turducken, and was filled with apprehension as I googled it.

Wildlife Rehabilitation 250

Wildlife Rehabilitation Turtles Turkey Rodents 250

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 26, 2020

This is when we might see the greatest variety and numbers of wood-warblers, where we can watch dizzying groups of swallows zip through the skies as kettles of Turkey Vultures , and Broad-winged and Swainson’s Hawks flow towards South America. It picks up in September but the biggest numbers seem to pass through Costa Rica in October.

Costa Rica 338

Costa Rica West Virginia New York South America 338

10,000 Birds

APRIL 4, 2013

In the end, it was birding that has taken him from his native Serbia, across the Balkans and Turkey, to the very borders of the Old World: East Anglia and Spain, southern Africa and, in the instance of this epic report, India. The Forest Owlet is an endemic species of this mountain range. Trips endangered species India owlets owls'

India 260

India Owls Tigers Endangered Species 260

10,000 Birds

JUNE 26, 2021

If the avian realm had self-conscious, talking ambassadors, “spokebirds”, which species would partake in birding conferences? Without careful attention paid to the needs of the shyer birds, such conventions would run the risk of being overrun with the bolder species, the birds that love the spotlight. Ditto for the Kea.

Costa Rica 264

Costa Rica Belize Guatemala Protest 264