10,000 Birds

Charlie works for an airline and has birded all over the world for twenty years. He wants to be a writer, and thinks no-one would believe his life could be so charmed if he didn't take photos of as many of the birds he sees as possible. Blogging with 10,000 Birds fits his aims, needs, and insecurities perfectly. Really - do birders get much more fortunate than this?

At the end of last April I posted a short series of photos taken in India of a Black Kite feeding on the intestines of what I thought was probably a large dog. Judging by the number of page views this series attracted it seems that there are a fair few 10,000 Birds readers who […]

We’ve been saying some bold things lately about how we’d like 10,000 Birds to become involved in genuine conservation initiatives, and how we’d really like to support local “community-based” conservation projects. Time to put our blog where our mouths are, so to speak…

So, okay, if you add up the following, what do you get?

Sharpe’s Longclaw […]

Caspian Tern Hydroprogne caspia
Discovery Park, (north of) Seattle, Washington. August.

As large and as bulky as many gulls, the Caspian Tern is the largest tern in the world. Its thick coral red bill and very ‘front-heavy’/short-tailed appearance makes an adult Caspian one of the most easily identified terns throughout its worldwide range (despite its extensive range, […]

Last year I hardly went to New York at all (surprising, really, given that the airline I work for has seven daily flights), but this year I’ve been enough to apply for residency. No complaints from me, of course: I really like birding the State (and up until a few weeks ago when Mike moved […]

I recently wrote an enthusiastic review of “A Guide to the Birds of East Africa: a novel” by Nicholas Drayson (you’ve not read the review? You should - it’s a great book!). I really enjoyed this charming and highly entertaining novel - but did highlight a few mistakes I’d found concerning a couple of the […]

Common Moorhen Gallinula chloropus chloropus
UK. Various dates

As its colloquial name suggests this is a common breeding bird of marshy environments and lakes with plenty of bankside undergrowth. It is sometimes a secretive bird, scurrying back into cover when disturbed, but most birders (and many non-birders) will know them as being quite tame in many areas […]

 
Organisation: World Parrot Trust

The World Parrot Trust (WPT) works for the conservation and welfare of parrots, worldwide. Founded in 1989, the Trust has regional branches in North America (we are a US registered charity 501(c)), Asia, Australia, Africa and Europe; together they have aided the conservation of over 40 species of parrots in 22 countries.
 
Website:
http://www.parrots.org/ […]

We quite often mention Important Bird Areas (IBAs) on 10,000 Birds without explaining what they are. Perhaps we should…

IBAs are basically key sites for bird conservation. BirdLife International (the UK-based “global Partnership of conservation organisations that strives to conserve birds, their habitats and global biodiversity, working with people towards sustainability in the use of natural […]

As Mike mentioned in his Where are you birding this final weekend of July 2008? post, I’ve been wearing one of my other hats for the last two days as a co-founder of the conservation organisation Birds Korea. I was extremely happy/pleased/honoured to be able to help organise the UK part of a Europe-wide trip […]

Senegal Coucal Centropus senegalensis
Abuja, Nigeria. July 2008

Coucals are large members of the cuckoo family, with eleven representatives in Africa. The Senegal Coucal Centropus senegalensis ranges right across Africa from the Gambia to northern Sudan, with a separate population spread over a wide area of southern Africa. It’s a bird of grassy habitats with trees, such […]

It’s just been announced that a pair of Cattle Egrets have bred in Britain for the first time. There was a large influx of egrets from (presumably) southern Europe some months ago, and breeding has been anticipated for some years. A brief announcement is on the Somerset Ornithological Society website.

Pretty well, thanks for asking (and, yes, that is the best line I can come up with after just thirty minutes sleep and six hours wandering around a park in Nigeria, sorry).

I have to say I was really looking forward to this trip. My Year List has been idling rather than surging ahead (Graham has […]

Very important according to BirdLife International and Audubon Alaska (who both know about these things). The latter has just released a map of the State’s Important Bird Areas (IBAs), and it’ll be cold comfort for those in the White House still looking to drill Alaska into tiny pieces. Details are on the

Review: “A Guide to the Birds of East Africa - A Novel”
Nicholas Drayson
The summer holidays are coming (for some of us anyway) and perhaps you’re thinking about a book to read “on the beach” or in the hammock at home? If you are - and even if you’re not - I’d like to recommend […]

No, not by us but by Dave Bakewell on his excellent blog Dig Deep in a brilliant post looking at wader moult and the effects of feather wear. Well worth checking out.

Amazonian deforestation is accelerating again, and the Brazilian government’s answer seems to be to stop the rest of the world knowing about it - citing “national security” concerns for “reining in” foreign environmental groups. Refreshing attitude…The story is at New Zealand’s One News.

Blue Crane Anthropoides paradisea
Agulhas Plains, Cape Province, South Africa. April.

One of the smallest of the 15 crane species worldwide the Vulnerable Blue Crane is the national bird of South Africa. It’s endemic to southern Africa, with more than 99% of the population occurring within South Africa (a small disjunct breeding population of approximately 60 individuals […]

Raptors are still being killed in the UK despite it being illegal for decades. The RSPB is launching a programme that needs your signature as a sign of support. Please go to www.rspb.org.uk/~/campaigns/birdsofprey and sign the pledge. Thanks.

I just came across a series of photos I mean to post earlier in the year and then add to our ever-growing collection of photo-galleries, but, what the hey, I’ll post them now. Unseasonal they may be, but I think they’re interesting nonetheless. I don’t suppose many of us will be seeing Short-eared Owls this […]

 

 
“I and the Bird” is three years old! That’s amazing. I remember the conversation Mike and I had when we first met back in 2005 (we went to Jamaica Bay if you’re interested) and he talked about an idea he’d had for a new blog carnival he was launching called “I and the Bird” (IATB). […]