Ever heard of a bucket list? Well it’s that list of things
that you want to do before you “kick the bucket”. I have lots of things I want
to do—places I want to go. Skydiving, climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, hike the Grand Canyon, Katmandu (yeah that's really, really where I'm going to...) —you know,
ordinary stuff like that. I think it’s
important to have a list of wild and crazy things you want to do because there’s
only so much time and tons of wonderful things to do! Dream big! For many folks it helps to focus
their lives and perhaps give them goals to shoot for. We all need that.
But then I have another bucket list. It’s my birding bucket
list. For now I’m going to tease with a partial list. It only includes my
international wants! Maybe next time I’ll share my good ol’ US of A list. So here you go, the places and birds that I
would like to experience before that last great “tick” sends me to—well—wherever.
So here goes. My international “birdy” bucket list top 5!
Check out the Cornell Birds of Paradise project Cornell Birds of Paradise Project and perhaps you’ll be as anxious to fly to the ends of the earth as I am to witness the “miracle of evolution” in action!
Oh yeah, picking up a Cassowary while I’m
there—to see what can be a real life (and very dangerous) “Angry Bird” stalking
through the forest understory like a feathered dinosaur—that would be pretty
cool too!
2. Harpy Eagle and forest falcons in Amazonia. So I’m
not really an uber raptor guy but the sight of a Harpy eagle swooping through
an Amazonian forest canopy, snatching a sloth the trunk of a tree or a Capuchin
monkey from the midst of its troop would be beyond awesome. It would be the
tick of a lifetime! With a steely stare that intimidates and monstrous talons
that could do some serious damage—maybe sending a careless human to an earlier
bucket kicking---it is a very lethal eagle.
For neotropical primates Harpies are the grim
reapers that can appear out of nowhere to send them to monkey heaven. If you haven't already seen this amazing PBS documentary stop what you're doing right now and watch it! Simply amazing! PBS Harpy Eagle Documentary
And then
there are the “other raptors” that defy bird of prey decorum and actually sing! The Micrastur genus is amazing. They wake the lowland forests with amazingly beautiful and haunting calls and songs. I
must return to the deep recesses of Amazonia to witness it for myself. My PhD student Peggy Shrum is doing research on some of these amazing birds has invited me down there to experience it. I can't wait to go!
Listen to the haunting call of the Buckley's Forest Falcon (Micrastur buckleyi) here:
Here’s another blogger with East Africa on the bird brain:East African Bird Blogger
Just be careful scoping sand grouse at the
Mara river. There are some big ,scaly, toothy reptiles that will kick your
bucket for you!
4. Botswana and the Okavango
Delta . “Water water everywhere and more birds than you might think”. The
Okavango drains huge portions of South Africa and when the seasonal floods
come, the birds concentrate in a diversity and abundance that is astounding. So yeah, so a bite from a Tsetse fly or a mosquito might give you a lot more than
an itch, the risk would be well worth the risk to see Malachite Kingfisher, Shoebill
storks, Pel’s Fishing Owl, Hammerkop and on and on. Did that “whet” your
appetite?
Start your virtual safari here: Okavango Bird Adventure
5. Brazilian Pantanal. Yes, another
wetland. Another BIG wetland! Yes
wetlands are where it’s at and few can rival the Brazilian Pantanal (other than
my #4 choice!). With the bird count
nearing 1,000 species and the chance to see things like Jabiru storks and the critically
endangered Hyacinth Macaw, there’s no question that this is the neotropical
wetland that I want to be knee deep in—just watch for anacondas. Yeah.
So there you go my fellow Fun Birders! My top five choices
for places I MUST see across the sea before I punt the pail! There are of course others that
are on my list but I’ll let these marinate for a while. In the meantime I'm gonna update the passport, get some shots and dust off another bucket!
So what’s on your birdy
bucket list? Do tell!
Bird—and have fun y'all!
Drew
amazing and beautiful photos
ReplyDeleteAfter reading this wonderful post, I'd like to add all the places you mentioned to my bucket list. Years ago, before I became very interested in birding, I was fortunate to travel to Kenya, Uganda, Namibia and South Africa. The birds I saw were AMAZING, as well as the wildlife! I hope you can knock a few of these wondrous destinations off you bucket list in the near future. Fantastic post!
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