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Anyone attempting some sort of Big Year Bird List who works for an airline and wants to see as many birds as possible (eg me, myself, I) needs to make at least one trip out to the Middle East, and preferably either in April or September/October, and even more preferably be able to hook up [...]

Sunday was a day with Daisy’s family, and what better way to spend it than with bawdy lasses, courageous jousters, hilarious jesters, and strong mead?  No better way, of course, which is why we headed to Sterling Forest in Tuxedo, New York, to the New York State Renaissance Fair.  For those who don’t know, Renaissance [...]

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 just realised I haven’t written a word of a visit to my home patch last week by the NY blogger and birder Carrie Laben of Great Auk - or Greatest Auk? If I visit a blogger somewhere and they don’t write about it within a few days I start fretting that I must have [...]

I really enjoy going to India - the birding is great,the people (not that I’ve met all of them of course) are friendly and have a great enthusiasm for life, and travelling inside the country is always - how can I put this, er, ‘interesting’. Perhaps I’m getting more relaxed as I slide slowly into [...]

I’m just back into the hotel after an excellent morning’s birding in Bangalore’s Nandi Hills with the extremely likeable and very knowledgeable Mike Prince (he of Bubo Listing). I’ll get a post online soon (I’m in rather desperate need of some sleep first), but highlights included the regionally-endemic Yellow-throated Bulbul, Indian Scimitar-babbler, Grey Junglefowl, a [...]

The taxonomy of the “Black Kite” Milvus migrans is a complicated affair. It appears that there may well be three species within the traditional Black Kite grouping: Yellow-billed Kite, consisting of both M. (m.) aegyptius and M. (m.) parasitus (breeding in northeastern and southern Africa, respectively); Black Kite M. (m.) migrans which breeds through Europe [...]

Identity theft is a serious crime. Birds, to my knowledge, rarely bring legal action against one another, but if they did, there is a serious suit brewing amongst the accipiters. Presenting the case of Cooper v. Sharpie!
Sharp-shinned Hawks and Cooper’s Hawks are so alike as to be nearly indistinguishable. These two birds are [...]

Autumn is upon us, which means that beloved birds are once again on the move. Millions of birds are flying south to their winter habitats. Every migrant responds to its own timetable and follows its own route. To spy smaller birds like warblers and waders, simply keep your eyes open as they filter stealthily through [...]

Female/immature Amur Falcons Falco amurensis
South Africa, March 2007

Closely related to the European Red-footed Falcon Falco vespertinus, the beautiful and agile Amur Falcon breeds in northern Asia and Siberia and winters in southern Africa. After breeding Amurs undertake what is probably the longest regular overwater passage of any raptor when they cross the Indian Ocean [...]

Looking for Regional Specialities, North of Pretoria
03 March 2007

I’ve been birding in South Africa many times - particularly around Johannesburg/Pretoria - but have been acutely aware for a while that without good local knowledge I was never going to find some of the region’s really difficult local specialities and tricky “LBJs” (those hard to find [...]

Many a lifelong birder picked up his or her first field guide because of raptors. Bird of prey like eagles, hawks, and owls inspire a level of interest or even passion that most other types of birds can only envy. And as cool as the raptor suite seems to casual observers, it reserves some of [...]

Western Red-tailed Hawks Buteo jamaicensis
California, various dates 2004 - 2007
 
By far the most common and widespread buteo in North America, the Red-tailed Hawk is a bird of woodland and of open country, frequently seen sitting on telegraph poles or bare branches where it watches for rodents in the grass below (it’s worth noting that in [...]

Jackal Buzzard Buteo rufofuscus
South Africa, December 2006

The Jackal Buzzard is an endemic to south-west Africa (South Africa, Lesotho, and Swaziland, Namibia, and marginally into Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique), and is closely related to the similar and more northerly Augur Buzzard. Both are clearly members of the buteo group of raptors that includes the Eurasian Common [...]

The Tanqua Karoo: Karooport and the R355 towards Calvinia (South Africa)
19 December 2006
 

 
I’m back at work after what seems like both a long time off AND nowhere near long enough (Jo and I adopted a little girl from China in November, and this is my first trip back to work). It’s been absolutely great being [...]

Now that Seattle’s football team is an NFL powerhouse, I’m getting a slew of inquiries asking, “What kind of bird is a seahawk?” Good question, sports fans!
Seahawk is but one of many nicknames for the awesome Osprey (Pandion haliaetus). This large, long-winged bird of prey cuts a striking figure, dark chocolate brown above and white [...]

Nairobi, Kenya, June 2005

It’s almost six months to the day since I started blogging. It’s quite amazing really how fast time has flown by. Not just time: I’ve already flown to North America seven or eight times times, to the Middle East five times, to India, Mexico, Brazil, Hong Kong twice, and to Africa three [...]