Those Little Bustards
2009-11-13 10:19:00 A little more than a week ago, BirdLife Cyprus’s field trip officer Stavros Christodoulides was put into contact with a Larnaca-area taxidermist who reportedly had been given three Little Bustards Tetrax tetrax to stuff over the last two years. Why is that interesting, you ask? Because the presence of Little Bustards in Cyprus is news ...
By: Migrations
Creationists and Birding
2009-11-04 10:17:00 Perhaps in an effort to stir the pot so to speak, Corey at 10,000 Birds raised an interesting question a few days ago: Can Creationists Be Birders? The short answer is “Of course!” For most birders, the appreciation of birds does not extend much beyond the aesthetic beauty of the birds and the ability to ...
By: Migrations
Weekend Birding ? Black Storks
2009-10-12 11:17:00 Black Stork (Ciconia nigra) — A scarce passage migrant in Cyprus, it is generally seen in single figures in late April/early May and from September to November. I was lucky to see seven this past Saturday on the Akrotiri Salt Flats, and four of them again a while later, probably the same birds. Seeing seven ...
By: Migrations
Birds in the Scope
2009-10-04 07:48:00 Found on the web, this clip has a cool feel to it, taking a view through a spotting scope with a camcorder. The effect is to give the sensation of actually being there, looking through the scope, which probably was itself shaking simply due to the wind. Moreover, the Demoiselle Cranes are just as you ...
By: Migrations
Image of the Day ? Spoonbill
2009-09-30 11:17:00 Eurasian Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia) – A passage migrant in Cyprus, with a few seen in wetland areas every Spring and Autumn. I saw my first two of this Autumn this past Sunday. Some background on Spoonbills: Range: The wide but fragmented breeding range of the Eurasian Spoonbill extends from Europe to northwest Africa, the Red Sea, ...
By: Migrations
Cyprus Birds email-list
2009-08-25 11:37:00 Want to hear more about birdwatching in Cyprus? On one of my many whims, I started an email-list (Cyprus-birds) to help stir discussion and build community about wild birds here. Anyone can join. There are a lot of things that this email-list could do for birdwatchers in Cyprus, including providing leadership to newer birders by ...
By: Migrations
On Listing in Cyprus
2009-08-06 11:08:00 As Fatbirder tells it: Many (but by no means all) birders are inveterate list keepers. Some settle for a world life list… a list of all the species of birds they have seen at home and abroad, others will also keep a list of their home country and separate lists for each country they have visited. ...
By: Migrations
How to Birdwatch
2009-08-05 13:30:00 Jane of BirdLife Cyprus recently posted on ‘Gaining Identification Skills’: It is stating the obvious to say that once you start bird watching you will want to be able to put a name to the different types or species that you see. When you start, trying to put the right name to the bird can be ...
By: Migrations
Warblers on Limesticks
2009-04-11 13:28:00 Today’s birdwatching outing was a productive one, with 10 new year birds added to the list. However, there was one big negative: finding limesticks (sticky glue on sticks for trapping birds, which are later served as an illegal delicacy called ambelopoulia). Stavros and I found four limesticks set, two with birds already caught. We freed ...
By: Migrations
Birdwatching Ethics
2009-04-03 14:39:00 The March newsletter for BirdLife Cyprus has a “Code of Practice” (based on one developed by British bird conservation groups and birdwatching magazines) that bears repeating: A growing number of people enjoy birdwatching in Cyprus ? this code puts the interests of birds first and respects the countryside and other people, whether or not they are interested in ...
By: Migrations
Migration in Full Swing
2009-03-22 09:55:00 Yesterday was really just an awesome day for me, going out birdwatching again with Stavros. Sure, we kinda ‘ditched’ the rest of the BirdLife Cyprus fieldtrip in Cape Greco, but I’m sure they had a great day birding too. For starters, we went looking for a bird that had been reported along Mazatos beach on Friday ...
By: Migrations
Checklist for Birds of Cyprus
2009-03-02 09:51:00 In my free time about a week ago, I put together a handy brochure-type checklist for birdwatching in Cyprus [.doc], especially for those people who keep lists (e.g. life lists, year lists, records of individual field trips, etc.). I used it this past weekend, and intend to share it with others in BirdLife Cyprus. I ...
By: Migrations
Desert Warbler and Gloger?s Rule
2009-01-22 09:03:00 The bird of the month for me was seeing a Desert Warbler, Sylvia nana, with it being the only the eighth recorded bird of its species in Cyprus to date, as I’ve been told. Quite cool, as it simply wanted to hide in the desert shrubs of the area in which it had been hanging ...
By: Migrations
Passage of Raptors
2008-10-05 16:52:00 This morning I went out with fellow birdwatcher Stavros, who is much more knowledgeable, and others from BirdLife Cyprus. We went to Akrotiri and the surrounding area, and what a treat we had. We were there in a parking lot between a small but dense area of trees where hundreds of raptors had apparently been roosting ...
By: Migrations
House Martin colony
2008-08-03 17:32:00 House Martin (Delichon urbicum) colony at the Palekhori-Kambi Dam in Cyprus. This species is a migratory passerine bird of the swallow family which breeds in Europe, north Africa and temperate Asia; and winters in sub-Saharan Africa and tropical Asia. Images: my father (June 14, 2008)
By: Migrations
Cyprus Pied Wheatear
2008-07-27 14:53:00 Cyprus Pied Wheatear, Oenanthe cypriaca, from home in Engomi, Cyprus. This species is an Old World flycatcher, and one of two bird species endemic to Cyprus. It was formerly treated as a subspecies of Pied Wheatear but given full species status, on the basis of differences in biometrics and especially song, and the lack of ...
By: Migrations
Birding Trails New Jersey
2008-07-05 21:24:00 The Stone Harbor Bird Sanctuary used to be a closed area - for birds only! Now that is all changing as the sanctuary will be getting trails. It took a change of ordinance but there will 4 trails completed by end of summer. Do the trails and people walking through bother the birds? ...
By: Bird Brain Blog
Tricolored Heron
2008-05-25 11:20:00 Tricolored Heron, Egretta tricolor Picture: Larry (Dan’s father), April 24, in the Everglades
By: Migrations
Fishing, birding bonanza at Walt Disney World
2008-05-18 11:07:00 WALT DISNEY WORLD, Fla. -- In this kingdom of fantasy, there's magic in reality, too.Birds, some of them rare or unusual, come here to spend the summer or take a break in their travels. And silvery bass swirl the waters of Seve...
Oh to Be Young (at Birding) Again!
2008-05-18 05:45:00 One of my dearest friends called me this afternoon to report that the birds had been exceedingly good to her over the past two weeks. She had managed to see five life birds, three of them warblers (not an easy accomplishment in the relatively warbler-deprived Pacific Northwest). I was extremely happy to hear her good news but I was perhaps even more gladdened to partake in her excitement over her good birding fortunes, for it is this very excitement that I hope never to, but sometimes fear that I am, losing.The last bird whose name I added to my life list was the Common Black-hawk, Buteogallus anthracinus, I saw while attending the Verde Valley Birding & Nature Festival in Cottonwood, Arizona this past April. The one before that was a Cackling Goose, Branta hutchinsii, I observed on Sauvie Island in Oregon back in March of 2007 following the AOU’s decision to split the subspecies of the Canada Goose, Branta Canadensis, into two distinct species. Such is the domestic birding li...
Free Santa Cruz Birding and Wildlife Viewing Kit
2008-05-11 18:08:00 http://santacruz.org/things/wil-dlife_request.cfm
By: Free Stuff Times
Birding with David Attenborough
2008-04-20 11:27:00 Greg Laden likes YouTube clips, and some originating with David Attenborough really stand out. Take this first one listening to the Magnificent Lyre Bird, a second with raising Whooping Crane chicks, and a third displaying the Superb Bird Of Paradise. Attenborough has produced over 150 hours of video of the highest caliber, covering ...
By: Migrations
Holbox Island Mexico A Quiet Birding and Whale Shark Watching Paradise
2008-03-13 07:15:00 Holbox Island, the last retreat in paradise to spend the vacations you have always imagined: rest, look, swim, walk or get lost. A well kept secret not known to many Mexicans outside of the Yucatan - Isla Holbox was settled by pirates who intermarried with local Mayans living in the area. Beautiful tropical fishermen island , romantic and ecological , it provides the ideal getaway to relax. Beautiful beach houses on Isla Holbox, Yucatan Peninsula Mexico, available for vacation rental. To rent this villa you can contact me at investmex@yahoo.com The world’s largest aggregation of Whale Sharks can be seen at the very tip of the Yucatan Peninsula, near Isla Holbox. A marine park has been created to protect the sharks while they are in the area and from June until the end of August half of the local fishermen become tour guides. The rules governing the interaction are fairly strict and no scuba equipment is allowed. On snorkel however, it is possible to get extremely close to ...
Discovering Spring with BirdLife International
2008-02-09 13:37:00 I came across this interesting annual program run by partners of Birdlife International in Europe. It’s a simple, fun survey that asks us to marvel at the return of some of the most fascinating migratory birds to Europe and to enter first sightings of swallows, swifts, storks and cuckoos onto the Spring Alive Website. The ...
By: Migrations
Rehabilitation of a Buzzard
2008-02-05 12:52:00 A treat this past weekend while birdwatching with Birdlife Cyprus - an ornithologist with the group had brought along a rehabilitated Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo) to be released. The buzzard, or hawk as Americans such as myself might say, was found by a local of the area about a week prior, and was dead ...
By: Migrations
Updates
2008-01-11 11:09:00 Living in a new country is requiring HUGE adjustments personally, as one might expect. To reflect those changes, and the move to the “Old World,” I’ve updated the Wordpress theme and header accordingly. The header is a photo that I took on a visit here to Cyprus in January 2005, at an archaeological ...
By: Migrations
Must Have Birding Book
2007-11-04 19:33:00 I just finished, or I should say, I have just finished flipping through the book “Bird - The Definitive Visual Guide”. It’s not a book you read, it’s a reference. It has stunning visual photos and renderings in it and will be at home either on the coffee table or out in the ...
By: Bird Brain Blog
Evening Grosbeaks
2007-11-03 22:20:00 Today I had a chance to go birdwatching, and took advantage of directions posted to the Cayuga Bird Club’s email listserv for a chance to see Evening Grosbeaks (Coccothraustes vespertinus). The directions took me to a private residence north of Summerhil State Forest near the northern edge of Fall Creek’s drainage, and the owners ...
By: Migrations
Corbin Bleu to star in ?Metal Birding?
2007-10-21 04:10:00 There are more details about the new movie Corbin Bleu is set to appear in, Metal Birding. It?s set to start filming in November and you can read the full article HERE and here are some snippets: ?Bleu will portray a motocross racer who dreams of winning the Amateur National Championships, but must juggle his passion ...
Corbin Bleu Takes On 'Metal Birding'
2007-10-20 00:00:00 Crazy-haired High School Musical star Corbin Bleu is set to portray a motocross racer who dreams of winning the Amateur...
By: SnagWire
Back Yard Birding
2007-09-30 04:50:00 Last year, a baby cardinal fell from its nest into the backyard. Frances (Scottie supreme) kept barking for us to come outside. She ran into little spurts, back and forth in front of our fence where we have a lot of brush piled up for the birds to hang out in. Val noticed the bird ...
By: macewan
California Boy has Bright Future in Birding Photography
2007-09-28 23:36:00 Ben Knoot, a San Mateo middle school student is a serious photographer of birds. He has won awards for his photography and recently a photo he took of the an American Bittern was featured in Ranger Rick magazine. His work can be viewed at his website (link here). It’s amazing work for an 11 year ...
By: Bird Brain Blog
Back Yard Birding
2007-09-28 22:08:00 Last year, a baby cardinal fell from its nest into the backyard. Frances (Scottie supreme) kept barking for us to come outside. She ran into little spurts, back and forth in front of our fence where we have a lot of brush piled up for the birds to hang out in. Val noticed the bird ...
By: macewan
Maryland Marshlands ready for Birding Trail
2007-09-19 20:11:00 Birding trails are popping up everywhere! This is great news for those of us who like to travel. It looks like a new one is getting starting in the Chesapeake Bay marsh region of Maryland. Jim Rapp of Delmarva Low-Impact Tourism Experiences is working on what he calls a ‘Cape to Cape Trail’ which will ...
By: Bird Brain Blog
Sojourns: Glimpses of the Fall Migration
2007-09-18 14:19:00 Though it’s been a while since I’ve had the time to get away for a weekend morning to go birdwatching, it is a migration time of year again. Natalie Angier (whose recent Cornell talk I missed, sadly) has a nice piece on the wonder of bird migrations at the NY Times: Songs and Sojourns of ...
By: Migrations
Organize a Birding Field Trip
2007-09-16 17:12:00 Organize a Birding Field Trip Below is a story about local bird watching trip. Mundane to read about because I wish we could have gone! But what about organizing your own trip? The trip below was just a small group of people led and organized by an expert birder with 25 years behind her. If you’re experienced ...
By: Bird Brain Blog
Pacific Shorebird Migration Project
2007-08-24 18:39:00 Wow - Alaska shorebird migration is indeed cool. From the Pacific Shorebird Migration Project, which is: …an international, collaborative study using the latest remote sensing technology to fill key information gaps on how the tribe Numeniini, to which godwits and curlews belong, migrate within and across continents. During 2007-2008, four species (Bar-tailed Godwit, Hudsonian Godwit, Bristle-thighed Curlew, ...
By: Migrations
Seven Birding Question Meme
2007-08-22 20:19:00 Patrick at The Hawl Owl’s Nest tagged me for the birding meme – seven very thought-provoking questions originally asked, I believe, by Cogresha at Earth House Hold.1. What is the coolest bird you have seen from your home?Without question, the coolest bird seen from my home has been the yellow (xanthochromic) Purple Finch (Carpodacus purpureus) that appears in the logo for Born Again Bird Watcher. This bird has become something of a personal totem for me as a symbol of the beauty to be found in being quietly different.2. If you compose lists of bird species seen, what is your favorite list and why?I use Avisys as well as a hand-written journal to keep my records of birds seen. I keep track of four essential area groupings with these lists – world, AOU area, ABA area, and the property around my home. I think I like the AOU area list best as unlike the ABA area, the geographic area covered includes North and Central America from the North Pole to the boundary of Panama and Colomb...
Birding Up!
2007-08-08 07:43:00 As I've been eagerly anticipating the release of the results of of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service survey "2006 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation" I'm not sure how I missed the news that last month the preliminary findings were released.For bird watchers (the largest portion of the survey's category "Wildlife Watchers") the trends appear to be positive:Nearly all 71 million who participated in wildlife watching participated around-the-home. Among the 67.8 million around-the-home participants, feeding wildlife was the most popular activity. It was enjoyed by nearly 56 million individuals, 78% of all wildlife watchers. Nearly 45 million people (63%) enjoyed observing wildlife, while 18.8 million (26%) enjoyed photographing wildlife. Another 13.3 million (19%) visited public parks or natural areas to enjoy wildlife, and 14.5 million recreationists (20%) maintained plantings or natural areas for the benefit of wildlife.Comparing the 2006 Surve...
June is Birding Month in Vermont
2007-06-06 04:18:00 Goldfinch photo from Wikipedia One of the things that virtually all our guests enjoy to one degree or another, is seeing the birds around our inn. We have a large window (actually seven pieces of glass) about 20 feet long and seven feet high. We have three bird feeders outside the window which are visited by a lively and colorful array of gold finches, blue jays, house finches, black capped chickadees, nuthatches, and mourning doves. We get the occasional rose breasted grosbeaks, evening grosbeaks, and orioles. Many of our guests have never seen a hummingbird and are fascinated by the flashy, iridescent ruby-throated hummingbirds which we get at the feeders all day long. If you are a casual bird watcher like most of our guests, or even an advanced birder, Stowe Vermont and the surrounding area would be a good place to visit this month. The village of Stowe is sponsoring "Wings Over Stowe," a month-long series of demonstrations, exhibits, walks, and films all focusing on the v...
Indigo Bunting
2007-05-25 09:49:00 Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea) Photo courtesy of a close friend, Aram deKoven. He’s a professor of education at an area college, on leave for the summer to captain ships to and from the Shoals Marine Lab in Maine. Thanks Aram!
By: Migrations
Florida Birding
2007-05-17 19:29:00 Last weekend I had the pleasure of a five-day weekend, and flew down to St. Petersburg, Florida. While I wasn’t there for birding, I couldn’t resist bringing my binoculars and camera along with. And, not having gone birding in Florida before, I was treated to several additions to my life list. First was this ...
By: Migrations
Bushnell Binoculars Aren't Just for Birding
2007-05-01 22:30:00 Having just returned from our vacation to the beach couple days ago I was looking over some photos I had taken. There is one of my son on the beach to the right of the picture but the main focus seems to be the ocean behind him. Looking closely I remembered why I took it. There were two dolphins playing in the surf! Too bad the best view I got of them was with the naked eye and with the zoom on my camera. What I might need to invest in is a good pair of binoculars, like bushnell binoculars or similar.For under a hundred bucks I can get a pair with a;Field of View 241-80 ft./1000 yds.Eye Relief 15-12 mmClose Focus 13 ft.and only weigh 9.9 oz. Which is perfect for packing and perfect my hand size. Eagle Optics offers them on their website, and they also offer a Google checkout payment option, great low prices, outstanding customer service and an excellent selection of not only Bushnell, but ALL the top names in binoculars. They also offer free financing on orders over $200.Wit...
Free Washington State Birding Trail Map
2007-02-07 08:15:01 http://wa.audubon.org/birds_Gre-atWABirdingTrail_OrderMaps.cfm- Discuss this in the forum
By: Free Stuff Times
Free Adirondack 2007 Snomobile Map, Birding Map, and more
2007-01-24 19:43:04 http://visitadirondacks.com/ Discuss this in the forum
By: Free Stuff Times
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