The TV, or Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) as it is more formally known, is a common and widespread New World species that birders largely take for granted. In terms of identification, beginners enjoy learning the differences between TV and BV (or Black Vulture), and later on the TV is a […]
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It is perhaps the most fascinating phenomenon in the birding world, but unfortunately not without danger: bird migration. And Eilat, Israel, is one of the best places in the world to experience this spectacular phenomenon. It should therefore come as no surprise that here, for the third time, the international […]
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March 2016. Late evening, the light is changing into a deep orange-red. I am driving up the mountains in the High Atlas, Middle Morocco. By Andrea Corso. I’m thinking about the many exlorers who came in the 18th and 19th century to North Africa to study the fauna and discover […]
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Size isn’t everything, especially when it comes to binoculars. I have always been amused and bemused by the fact that in movies whenever people use bins they are enormous. The bins, that is. By BILL ODDIE Fair enough if it is a black and white naval saga – binoculars were […]
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One of the unique and most charismatic birds in South America, high if not top on any birders’ list of target species when they visit its range, is Phegornis mitchellii, long known as Diademed Sandpiper-Plover, or affectionately abbreviated as DSP. Its long and droop-tipped bill is unlike that of typical […]
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Geoff Hilton is Head of Research & Chief Scientist at the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust. The work of Geoff and his team supports the conservation of numerous species including spoon-billed sandpiper, Madagascar pochard, Greenland white-fronted geese, red-breasted geese and common scoter. The Gulf of Mottama is the ideal place to […]
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Whether Pink-footed Shearwater has a (very rare) dark morph, or whether occasional individuals are melanistic, are interesting semantic questions. But the bottom line for field observers is that apparently dark-plumaged Pink-footed Shearwaters are out there, and they could be confused with Flesh-footed Shearwater. Although some have questioned this assumption (e.g., […]
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Málaga, situated on the sun-kissed Costa del Sol in Andalucia, southern Spain would hardly seem like a venue for urban birding. But surprisingly, it has a lot to offer. The city, which is one of the oldest in the world, is one of Spain’s major tourist spots but yet even […]
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In August 2013, my friend Jonathan Meyrav of the Israel Ornithological Center approached me at the British Bird Fair & first told me of the Champions of the Flyway. A fantastic new bird race (or Big Day) to benefit bird conservation along the flyways between Africa & Eurasia. The event […]
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In 2016 a team of expert birders is being formed by members of Lonely Birder in conjunction with The Urban Birder. We are being sponsored by the Department of Tourism at the Regional Government of Extremadura (Spain) and suported by the Israel Ministry of Tourism and Leica to take part […]
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