This is a documentation of the shocking massacre of tens of thousands of migratory Amur falcons (Falco amurensis) in the remote state of Nagaland in India’s northeast. We estimate that during the peak migration 12,000 – 14,000 birds are being hunted for consumption and commercial sale everyday. We further estimate that a mind-boggling 120,000 to […]
Red Squirrels
As this is my first post on this site I’ll introduce my self. My name is Tom Smit and I live in the Netherlands near the German border. I’m an IT-speciliast and a side-job photographer mainly as nature- and wildlife. Sometimes also doing something else like sports, products or a wedding. Last year I also […]
Brewhaha
During late October, Shakespeare’s recipe for chaos and conflict comes to mind with the sudden appearance on our very doorsteps of all manner of terrifying witches, ghosts and goblins… and political advertising. The former can be bought off easily enough with bite-sized Butterfingers (a sticky booby trap that guarantees revenge for the extortion in the […]
Bird Tour Report
From Sunday midday until Wednesday afternoon I guided a visiting birder from Canada around places in Kumamoto, Nagasaki and Saga prefectures. Firstly we went to Yatsushiro and Hikawa Estuary, where we saw gulls and shorebirds, however the Black-faced Spoonbills that I had expected there were not to be found. The next morning we watched Streaked […]
North American Vultures
The United States is home to three species of the new world vultures, the Black Vulture, the Turkey Vulture, and the California Condor. Most people consider vultures as ugly dirty birds. In fact, they have their own natural beauty about them. Of the black and Turkey vultures, which one is “better looking,” Is an interesting […]
Amur Falcon | Falco amurensis
Each year at Isahaya, several Amur Falcons visit to stock up before embarking on their incredible journey to the east coast of Africa where they spend the northern hemisphere winter. It is only in autumn that they occur in Japan, as they return to their breeding grounds in the Russian Far East via a different […]
Froggers
I’m not going to lie, that first photo may be my new favorite. It’s like they’re posing for their family portrait in a studio. It’s ridiculous. Ridiculously cute, I mean. Come on! His hand is resting on the other guy’s shoulder!? Absurd. Thanks for being such laid back subjects, tree frog buds!
Memories of Summer
The pull of a daisy strands a honey bee in orbit, wings reflecting memories of summer. Honey bee | Apis mellifera