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Memel in September

By Charlie • September 26, 2008 • 1 comment

Even after nearly twenty years of flying international routes, travelling between the northern and southern hemispheres like a (slightly moody it has it be admitted) jet-propelled swallow, I still forget that ’summer’ is something that happens north of the equator in June, July, and August and then happens again to the south in November, December, [...]

White-throated Swallow, South Africa

By Charlie • September 24, 2008 • 6 comments

The beautiful White-throated Swallow Hirundo albigularis breeds in southern Africa from Angola and Zambia southwards to the Cape in South Africa. It is mainly migratory, wintering in Angola, Zambia and southern Zaire. A bird of open country and grassland, White-throated Swallows typically occur in the highlands and are almost always found near water (even small [...]

Harmony at Mahem: the dawn chorus in the Free State, SA

By Charlie • September 15, 2008 • 11 comments

Okay, so you’ve got two days in Johannesburg, the weather is gorgeous, the birding excellent - what (if you were me) would you do: stay nearby and have a relaxed time visiting reliably excellent sites like Suikerbosrand or Marievale, or rent a car and drive to Memel, a place you know very little about on [...]

Asides

The Birder’s Report becomes a Species Champion

Excellent news from Larry Jordan, the force behind The Birder’s Report: he’s joined BirdLife’s ‘Preventing Extinctions Programme’ as a Species Champion. The PEP focusses on saving the 192 most threatened birds on the planet, and with supporters with the conservation creds of someone like Larry perhaps it will become far better known in North America than currently. Let’s hope so - and who’ll be next to join I wonder?

First Bird of 2010

What was your first bird of 2010? Let us know in the comments…and, if you wrote a blog post or have a picture of your first bird of the year online somewhere, well, leave a link in the comments too.
Happy New Year from all three of us at 10,000 Birds! And here’s hoping you see many great birds, including lots of lifers, in 2010!

‘Mermaids’ battered by boats

“Each year, about 87 manatees are killed by collisions with boats, the single greatest cause of premature mortalities. This is more than seven times number of manatees that the Fish and Wildlife Service estimates can be killed without impairing the species’ recovery. Meanwhile, boating in Florida is at an all-time high and increasing with more boats in the water…”. Another good example of why the International Year of Biodiversity ought to matter.

Residents Crying Foul…

…over Common Peafowl. Seems that Longboat Key, Florida, has way too many of the gorgeous gregarious birds and has to continually cull the flock. And Longboat Key isn’t the only community in the U.S. with a peafowl problem: apparently California and Texas locations have had issues as well. So introducing non-native birds because they are pretty might not be the best idea? Who would’ve thunk it?