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The Grey Teal Anas gracilis - not perhaps the most spectacular of the world’s anatidae it has to be said - is found in open wetlands in New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand, Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands. Sexes are alike. In Australia it is nomadic, rapidly colonising suitable habitat following rain: conversely in 1957 large [...]

A few months ago (actually it was Nov 4th, so only a week or so ago, it just feels much longer) I went to Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve (SBWR) in north-west Singapore - a protected area of mangroves just across the Johor(e) Strait from the Malayan mainland - and posted some ‘mood’ photos and a [...]

Coming from the UK where our reptiles are rarely thicker than a USB cable and only fearsome if you happen to be the size of a fruit fly, one common denizen of Singapore’s wonderful Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve (which I was fortunate to visit last week) that never fails to fascinate me is the Asian [...]

I spent the morning in glorious sunshine (and the afternoon in a tropical storm!) at the wonderful Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve in northern Singapore (which being a small island isn’t far from southern Singapore in fact which makes access nice and easy…). Sungei Buloh protects one of the last patches of mangroves and tidal mudflat [...]

Right. Hands up all those of you fed-up with Mike and Corey’s posts on tens of thousands of wood-warblers migrating through various parks and forests in New York. Anyone? Do I see a hand, any hand…just one would do…how about you sir, over in the corner? No? There must be someone…? I guess not - [...]

There are just two common species of coot in the whole of the northern hemisphere - the Eurasian or Black Coot Fulica atra and the American Coot F. americana (the Red-knobbed Coot F. cristata is found throughout Africa and reaches southern Europe, but nowhere north of the equator is it found in such huge numbers [...]

 
John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge, Philadelphia
27 September 2007

The last time (and in fact only other) time I visited Philadelphia’s John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge - the largest remaining freshwater marsh in Pennsylvania, and re-named in 1992 from ‘Tinicum Marsh’ after the Senator who worked so hard to protect the refuge’s 1000 or so acres from [...]

‘Light-footed’ Clapper Rail Rallus longirostris flavipes
Newport Back Bay, California. 14 March 2005
 
Mike’s “On the Rail at Oceanside” post yesterday, and his and Mary’s subsequent comments about Clapper Rails, reminded me of one the most memorable birding encounters I’ve ever had.
Two years ago, on a bright and beautiful morning, I was parked up by some [...]

Suikerbosrand Nature Reserve, 11 January 2006.
 

Suikerbosrand Nature Reserve

 
After a few hours in the morning spent at the Ramsar-designated wetlands of Marievale, the rest of the day was spent driving slowly around Suikerbosrand Nature Reserve, a beautiful and peaceful 13000ha island of protected highveld grassland and thornveld just off the N3 - one of the [...]

African Reed Warbler Acrocephalus baeticatus
Marievale Nature Reserve, Gauteng, South Africa. 11 January 2006
 
The African Reed Warbler is common, summer breeding inter-African migrant to Gauteng. The first birds arrive in August, with the main mass of breeding birds arriving in September. After breeding, numbers drop off gradually with most birds having departed by the last week [...]

Long-billed Curlew Numenius americanus
San Francisco, California. 02 January 2006
 
The Long-billed Curlew is the largest shorebird, and the most southerly breeding curlew, in North America. Two subspecies occur in North America: those occurring in Canada (parvus) are smaller and have shorter bills than their southern nominate counterparts which are found only in the United States. Once [...]

Mai Po Marshes, Hong Kong
06 September 2005
 
The wetlands around the Mai Po Marshes and Inner Deep Bay in the northwestern corner of Hong Kong, have been known as an important staging and wintering area for migratory waterbirds (including threatened species such as Black-faced Spoonbills and Spoon-billed Sandpipers) for many decades. Not recognized as any form [...]

San Francisco, California (with Jack Cole and Ed Frost) 07 March 2005
 
Ed (left) and Jack (right)
 
The “Burger King” Round Trip: 07 March 2005
A great day in San Joaquin Valley with two very good friends of mine - Jack Cole (who, with wife Jeannie, I met back in 1991) and Ed Frost (who I met a [...]

Whooper Swans Cygnus cygnus
Martin Mere WWT Centre, Lancashire, England, 13 January 2005
 

 
All photographs © Charlie Moores.