Top Ten Birding Hot Spots?

Hi, Birdsters..

http://www.nature.org/initiatives/programs/birds/animals/

I found this Top Ten list of birding hot spots in the USA on the Nature Conservancy website and wondered what everyone thought about them?

-- do you live near/in one? have you birded any of the areas? Are migratory birds passing through now?

I just wanted a little idea of what the experience is like to bird in one of these places! Thanks. t.

Top ten in North America, anyway, one of them's in Canada ;-)

I'll have to see if I can think of a similar top ten for Europe

Resin

First stab at a list for Europe:
1 Myvatn, Iceland - volcanically heated lake holding vast numbers of ducks
2 St Kilda, off western Scotland - Seabird City
3 The Waddensee, southwest Denmark, northwest Germany, northern Netherlands - shorebirds by the several million
4 The Dehesas in Extremadura, Spain, and adjoining Alentejo, Portugal - steppe habitat with incredible biodiversity (see this thread: http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/696392/ )
5 The Biebrza Marshes, Poland - huge area of marshland
6 Bialowieza Forest, Poland - the largest (effectively, only) area of primaeval forest left in western & central Europe
7 The Danube delta, Romania - another vast wetland
8 The western Caucasus Mountains, Russia - probably the best diversity of high mountain species, witn many endemics
9 Istanbul, Turkey - huge raptor passage crossing from Europe to Asia
10 Las Marismas, Guadalquivir delta, southern Spain - the only place in Europe many mainly African species can be seen
11 (sorry, couldn't stop at ten!!) Varangerfjord, Norway - lots of arctic birds here

Just wish I could go to them all . . . !

Resin

Ten really isn't enough!!

12 The Pripet Marshes, Belarus - large unspoilt wetland area very rich in birds
13 Hardangervidda, Norway - alpine plateau in southern Norway
14 The Rhône delta, southern France
15 Ilhas Selvagens, Maderia, Portugal - very important colonies of warm-water seabirds
16 Kattegat and Baltic Seas, Denmark/Sweden - wintering area for millions of seaduck
17 Hortobagý, Hungary - important area of steppe grassland
18 Poluostrov Yamal, Russia - bird-rich arctic tundra

Resin

I have been to Point Pelee many times years ago (9) when we lived in Michigan .Not only a great place to see birds , but the annual migration of the monarch butterfly. It is the southern most tip of Canada , they rest on the beach till they get up the nerve to cross the water . some days there looks like several thousands.

Resin-- A very interesting list of hot spots on the other side of the pond. What an exciting adventure it would be to travel to some of those-- and it would really boost up one's life list!

gardengus--I hope to get to Point Pelee sometime this year. I have read so much about it, both on the butterfly sites and bird sites. A fascinating phenomenon!

We are seeing hints of spring migration around here...the Buzzards are starting to arrive in the Hinkley, Ohio, area--not exactly an international birding hot spot, but a nice spring birdy festival takes place March 15 in honor of the vultures...

I just moved to Sierra Vista, AZ, which is a big birding area in SE Arizona. I have some feeders out and get lots of house finches, doves and the yellow finches, (can't think of their name right now). I also see tons of hawks, woodpeckers and just today we frightened, what I think was a western screech owl, that was in a tree in our neighborhood. It was gorgeous! I have also seen quite a few hummingbirds, but I didn't have much luck with my feeder so I put it away until we move to our new house, which is in a much more rural area. I am hoping to have better luck there.

I must say, I am enjoying the birds very much, since you never know what you might see next. :)

Dion :)

Hi Dion, When you get settled be sure to post some pics of the birds you see. I know AZ has a lot of interesting birds.

Hi dionosaur and everybody
That is a great area for Hummingbirds, no doubt about it! I guess it's possible to see twenty or so different kinds near there?

I've been to Cape May a few times, that's a great place, too. It surprises me that Hawk Mountain, Pennsylvania didn't make the list... here's a list of raptors I saw there one October day a few years ago:

American Kestrel 10+
Merlin 5
Peregrine Falcon 2
Sharp-shinned 100+
Cooper's 1
Osprey 10+
Northern Harrier 5

It's a short hike to a mountain peak where you can see the birds flying directly towards you from a ridge a mile or two north. During fall migration there will be a few dozen people with spotting scopes and binoculars calling out the birds as they appear. The larger ones are visible from quite a distance... there's a row of peaks that resemble the knuckles on your fist if your arm were stretched out, and someone will say which peak of the five they see a bird coming from. The birds have to fly down one valley or the other, where they're easy to see, or they might fly right over you! There's a dummy of a Great Horned Owl on top of a dead tree where the people gather, and some of the birds swoop at it as if to scare it away, which is great because you can sit right there and watch close-by. Depending when in the fall you go, you might see any of the Buteos from the east (Broad-winged, Red-shouldered, Rough-legged, and Red-tailed Hawks) and Bald and Golden Eagles. And lots of other birds.

I think it's just a $5 fee to park there, and there is a short wheelchair accessible path to a viewing area if you're not up to the one mile hike to the top. The flora and geology are really something, too.


http://www.hawkmountain.org/default.shtml