Tag Archives: Great Tit

Bird Behaviour, Birds of Western Palaearctic, Where to watch birds

Where and how to photograph Hawfinches

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Right now, there is a large invasion of Hawfinches (Coccothraustes coccothraustes) recorded for Great Britain. The peak took place in fall 2017, and good numbers have remained during the winter months. With fewer than 1,000 breeding pairs in Britain, Hawfinch populations are critically low and the bird is Red-listed as a Bird of Conservation Concern, according to the RSPB.

On the continent – especially in the eastern parts, Hawfinches are not as rare as in the western part of Europe. But to photograph them, is tricky enough.

Hawfinches are notable for their bright brown-orange-grey colors and for their unusually large beaks and strong jaws. Hawfinches are real beauties. Famous are their beaks, which can shear open hawthorn, cherry and even damson stones. Like all finches, Hawfinches use the cutting edge at the back of their bills to hold a stone while they crack it open and skilfully extract the kernel with their tongues.

Hawfinches love to feed on hornbeam seeds. If you find a suitable Continue reading Where and how to photograph Hawfinches →

Bird Migration, Birds of Western Palaearctic

Spring migration along the Baltic Sea coast

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BuchfinkSunrise over the southern shore of the Baltic Sea. Grey dots swinging in the air reveal themselves as migrating songbirds. And there were masses of grey dots. One flock after another passed the steep cliff of the island of Usedom in the morning of eastern. A fresh wind blowing from the south obviously pushed the birds from their wintering grounds up to the north. At the southern coast of the Baltic Sea the birds realized the huge area of open water and preferred to stay on an eastern direction to reach their breeding territories.

Up to that the sunny, windy Sunday morning only the very first migrating songbirds as Goldcrest (Regulus regulus) and European Robin (Erithacus rubecula) could be found quite numerous in the bushes of the island of Usedom in north-eastern Germany. But following the wind from the south, masses of Common Wood-Pigeon (Columba palumbus) appeared over the canopy Continue reading Spring migration along the Baltic Sea coast →

Verhalten, Vögel der West Paläarktik

Nahrungsspektrum des Raubwürgers im Winter

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RaubwürgerVor allem zur Brutzeit spießt ein Raubwürger (Lanius excubitor) seine Beute auf Dornen und Stacheldraht auf, um sie entweder besser als Futter bearbeiten zu können oder um die Beute für Notzeiten aufzubewahren. Im Winter scheinen die Nahrungsstrategien anders geartet zu sein. Die norddeutsch-polnische Tiefebene ist ein beliebter Winterrastplatz des Raubwürgers, da zu der Zeit auch Wintergäste aus nördlicheren und östlicheren Gebieten Europas einwandern und ausharren. Aber wie können die Würger im Winter zu überleben?

Horst Mester in seinem Artikel “Feeding habits of the Great Grey Shrike in winter” zu deutsch”Fressgewohnheiten der Raubwürger im Winter” beschreibt einige Strategien. Es gibt Autoren, die betonen die Vogeljagd dieses größen Würger der Westpaläarktis. Schon aus dem Jahr 1961 beschreibt u.a. Harrison wie Lanius excubitor nachhaltig Kleinvögel Continue reading Nahrungsspektrum des Raubwürgers im Winter →

Birds of Western Palaearctic, Rare Bird sightings, Verhalten, Vögel der West Paläarktik, Where to watch birds

Great Grey Shrikes in winter in Brandenburg

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RaubwürgerHaving seen the Northern Shrike (Lanius excubitor) sitting in a snowstorm during a trip to Lapland and Finmark in northern Norway in early spring, I decided to pay more attention to discover this bird – which is called Great Grey Shrike, too – in the lowlands of Brandenburg in Winter as well. It turned out, that it is a good strategy to drive low-traffic countryroads in farmlands. Often you can see the bird sitting remoteless in a low birch wood, a hazel bush of a cherry tree along the road. It does not matter whether the fields are cultivated intensively or whether it is fallow land. Important is a object which can be used as a perch. Photography of Northern Shrikes suffer from the fact, that Shrikes are first of all quite shy, second have big winter territories and third perch on top of higher objects like trees, pylons of power lines. This means you often have a boring grey winter sky as a background. Additionally this position poses quite a challenge in terms of contrast and saturation of colors.

Numbers of the wintering population vary from year to year. It seems, that nowadays, the wintering population in Brandenburg has reduced, as severe winters appear to have become a something Continue reading Great Grey Shrikes in winter in Brandenburg →

Bird Behaviour, Bird Trips (Pictures & Stories), Birds of Western Palaearctic, Rare Bird sightings

Patience for a G(h)ost-Hawk

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Habicht….no birds and no squirrels to hear around. Snow is falling. The table for the Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis) finally is beautifully covered with snow. This gives great pictures from the Northern Goshawk – if he is coming. After a while, the first Chicadees are to be seen. First Blue Tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) and Great Tits (Parus major) and finally the rest of the bunch: Willow Tits (Poecile montanus), Coal Tits (Periparus ater) and Crested Tit (Lophophanes cristatus). All can be observed around the feeders filled to the top with grain. A little later, the first Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius) arrives. At some time in the morning, there a intensively calling Eurasian Jays is to be heard. Is there about the Goshawk? Maybe just sitting in the neighborhood on a branch? Waiting for a secure situation to feed? Nothing to see. It’s almost midday and I’m already a bit discouraged. I am sitting here for more than 6 hours and I still have not triggered a single shot. Continue reading Patience for a G(h)ost-Hawk →

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Singvögel am Habicht-Luderplatz

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EichelhäherWintereinbruch in Deutschland. Aber für die Habichtfotografie muß man doch nach Norwegen fahren. Früh geht es los. Der Luderplatz liegt mitten in einem schönen, urtümlichen Kiefernwäldchen. Jetzt – so gegen um 6:45 – ist es in dem recht geschlossenen Kiefernwald natürlich noch sehr dunkel. So gegen 08:00 Uhr scheinen sich die Lichtverhältnisse zu verbessern. Nun beim ersten Licht sind auch die ersten Eichhörnchen zu sehen. Immer wieder wippen sie aufgeregt mit dem Schwanz. Später sind auch mal die ersten Vögel zu hören. Ich tippe mal auf Häher im Hintergrund, aber es sind auch Meisen dabei. Und dann tatsächlich: Die Kohlmeisen (Parus major) und schließlich auch einige, wenige Blaumeisen (Cyanistes caeruleus) sind die ersten. Noch im ersten Büchsenlicht sind sie zu sehen. Dann sind wenig später aber auch andere Meisenarten zu sehen. Zuerst Weidenmeise (Poecile montanus), Tannenmeise (Periparus ater) und Haubenmeise (Lophophanes cristatus). Wenig später dann auch der erste Eichelhäher (Garrulus glandarius). Insgesamt 3 Exemplare zähle ich. Die Meisen und dann auch die Eichhörnchen liefern sich mit den Eichelhähern ein Wettrennen und die Körner und das Fett. Sie scheinen recht hungrig. So richtig klar ist mir die doch sehr aufwändige Fütterung der Singvögel direkt am Habicht-Luderplatz nicht. Da der Habicht (Accipiter gentilis) sehr vorsichtig Continue reading Singvögel am Habicht-Luderplatz →

Bird Trips (Pictures & Stories), Birds of Western Palaearctic, Rare Bird sightings, Where to watch birds

A sacrifice for a Goshawk – winter photography in Norway

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HabichtIn the depths of Norwegians winter forest I stroll in the pitch darkness over a small path. It is just 6:00 am. I woke up early to visit a Goshawk photography hide with Ole Martin Dahle. During a very successful Eagle photography session in November 2013 I made my first attempts to shot the Goshawk with my Canons. But in vain. This time is late winter and I am about 90 minutes earlier on the way to be in the hide prior to activity time of the Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis). The night before it has snowed. Now the air is cold and the land lies under a thin, icy snow. Ideal conditions for the Goshawk Photography. We travel a narrow road out of the village and a short time later Ole place the car at the edge of a pine forest. Now it is time for the walk through the pine forest. The path is just poorly lit only with a meager torch light. Soon we are in the spacious, well-isolated cabin. Good thing, that I brought enough tripod heads. These are each fastened with a large wing nut under the window. The “loopholes” of hide are now equipped with the lenses, cameras are mounted and secured: Ready! Meanwhile Ole prepares the table with a Willow Ptarmigan (Lagopus lagopus)-bait. The bait is draped on the table, that it looks as if it is laying on the forest floor.

Now everything is ready for hard-core photography. It is now 5:45 am and it is completely dark in the closed pine forest. In the dark I hear the first bird: a Eurasian Blackbird (Turdus merula). At about 07:00 am the forest looks something brighter now. But no birds and no squirrels far and wide to hear. It begins to snow. Luckily no rain. The table is beautifully covered with snow. This gives great pictures from the Goshawk – if he is coming. Well, at first light Continue reading A sacrifice for a Goshawk – winter photography in Norway →

Seltenheiten, Vögel der West Paläarktik, Vogelreisen

Habicht am winterlichen Luderplatz

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HabichtIn den Tiefen des norwegischen winterlichen Küstenwaldes bin ich schon vor 6:00 morgens unterwegs. Es ist stockdunkel. Früh war ich mit Ole Martin Dahle aufgebrochen, um noch im Dunkeln in einem Hide zur Habichtfotografie zu sein. Bei einer sehr erfolgreichen Adlerfotografie in Nord-Trondelag hatte es nur erfolglose Versuche mit dem Habichtansitz im Jahr 2013 gegeben. Diesmal war ich etwa 90 Minuten früher auf dem Weg, um möglichst weit vor der Aktivitätszeit des Habichts in meinem Versteck zu sein. In der Nacht zuvor hat es geschneit. Nun ist die Luft kalt und das Land liegt still unter einer dünnen, vereisten Schneedecke. Fast ein richtiger Winter, dazu Schnee. Ideale Bedingungen für die Habichtfotografie. Wir fahren eine schmale Straße aus dem Ort heraus und schon wenig später stellt Ole den Wagen Continue reading Habicht am winterlichen Luderplatz →

Verhalten, Vögel der West Paläarktik

Kleinspecht im Winter bei Nahrungsaufnahme

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KleinspechtDie Havelaue nördlich von Rathenow liegt bei Temperaturen um 0° unter einer dicken Hochnebeldecke. Die Luft ist feucht-kalt und das Land liegt still wie in Watte gepackt. Die von den ergiebigen und häufigen Regenfällen der vergangenen Tage überschwemmten Wiesen liegen unter einer brüchigen Eisdecke. Träge fließt die Havel zuerst gen Westen, dann ab Parey gen Norden. Das ist kein einladendes Wetter. Kein Schnee und auch kein Sonnenschein. Ideale Bedingungen für einen Naturfotografen. Ein Damm zu einer Schleuse scheint einladend. Ein paar Singvögeln hört man vereinzelt mit ihrem verhaltenen Zwitschern. Eine Trupp Meisen – Meisenschule hätte man früher gesagt – mit Sumpfmeisen (Poecile palustris), Kohlmeisen (Parus major) und Blaumeisen (Cyanistes caeruleus) fliegt am Deich entlang und sucht die dünnen und dicken Stämme der hier stehenden Pappeln, Weiden und auch die vielen Weißdörner (Crataegus monogyna) am Deichfuß nach Nahrung ab. Auch ein Continue reading Kleinspecht im Winter bei Nahrungsaufnahme →

Verhalten, Vögel der West Paläarktik

Mäusebussard fängt Kohlmeise

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MäusebussardEin traumhafter Spätherbstmorgen. Nur leichte Schleierwolken sind am Himmel zu sehen. In der Nacht hat es Temperaturen unter 0° Grad gegeben. Reif bedeckt im Schatten der Bäume noch Blätter und Grashalme. Die Sonne scheint schräg durch die Büsche und überhängenden Zweige und entfaltet ein zauberhaftes Licht. Ein Weg führt in einen Tunnel aus mittelhohen Eichen. Auf einmal fliegt im wunderschönsten Gegenlicht ein Mäusebussard (Buteo buteo) auf den Eingang des „Tunnels“ zu. Mit ausgebreiteten Schwingen fliegt er durch die „hohle Gasse“ und landet mit erstaunlicher Präzision und Geschwindigkeit auf dem sandigen Feldweg. Ein kurzes Quieken!

Ich bin wie gebannt. Keine Bewegung. Doch auch dem Bussard bleibt meine Anwesenheit nicht verborgen. Die Entfernung beträgt Continue reading Mäusebussard fängt Kohlmeise →

Bird Behaviour, Birds of Western Palaearctic

Woodpeckers at the winter feeder

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Great Spotted Woodpecker

A few years ago, I was a guest at a commercial winter feeding site for raptors. Great shooting conditions, beautiful scenery, great birds. Unfortunatelly not quite around the corner of my home located in the Eifel. ” …this I can do that, too” ,I thought. But then it turned out to be not so easy. Since there had been problems with the farmer who owned the land, then the tenant hunter. But finally I succeeded. A great advantage of my hide, built from wood and carpet remnants is that although it is right along the edge of a forest, it is only about 200 meters from my house. Of course you are thinking about the expected guests already when you plan the construction of the hide and the feeding site in front of it. Besides chickadees, finches and blackbirds, the Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major) was “booked” in my plans. This is the most common woodpecker species in our landscape, not only in forests of all types, but also in urban parks and bigger gardens. And the plans turned right. After a short time this woodpecker counted to the regular guests in front of the winter hide, from which I made my shots in all distances, sometimes only 3.5 to 7 meters away. Most times he announced himself with a loud ” KiKiKiK ” before he came rushing in his undulating flight. The favorite food of the woodpeckers observed and photographed in recent winters is a product made from beef tallow and fat oatmeal mixture that is commonly known as bird seed. Hazelnuts cause very little attention, walnuts are beloved and Continue reading Woodpeckers at the winter feeder →

Bird Migration, Birds of Western Palaearctic, Where to watch birds

Bird migration at the Stockert in the Eifel hills

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Crested Tit, resting in sloe

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A beautiful autumn day. Indian Summer, as written in the books. This time it is to go to the Eifel to hill Stockert south of Euskirchen where bird migration at day can be observed. It was still dark when I arrived. The first bird whispers were heard already . It was mainly chickadees whose calls were audible. Then it went very quick. Within minutes, the bushes were full. Of course, especially Great Tit (Parus major) and Blue Tit (Cyanistes caeruleus ) were seen in the sloe (or Blackthorn), Prunus spinosa, and rosehip, Rosa canina, bushes. A wonderful contrast to the blue and red fruits that hung plentiful on the branches everywhere. Migration unrest obviously hit two species of tits too that are usually not associated with the open countryside but with conifers in the forests. There were some Coal Tits (Periparus ater) and Crested Tit (Lophophanes cristatus), which rested for a while on the branches of a sloe . Only short – about 2 minutes – then they were gone again.

When photographing it was obvious to see that migration is in full swing. Singing and other territorial habits were rare and restricted to the earliest morning. This early morning on a sunny day (but quite cold in the first hours) was a real pleasure – also from the point of ornithology. In addition Continue reading Bird migration at the Stockert in the Eifel hills →

Bird Migration, Birds of Western Palaearctic

Migratory birds herald spring

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Common Cranes flying overLast weekend, you could observe heavy traffic in the skies over Frankfurt/ Germany. Although winter is not ready to lower its grip the first returning migrants already point to the imminent end of the cold season. In recent weeks, Eurasian Skylarks  (Alauda arvensis), and Northern Lapwings (Vanellus vanellus), were seen already on their return. Particularly striking are currently the Common Cranes  (Grus grus) flying in wedge-shaped formations over western Germany.  On the 9th of march you could see at least 30 individuals over the outskirts of Kelkheim/ Main-Taunus-Kreis. The southern slopes of the Taunus are one of the pathways of the western migration corridor of these tall, slender birds before they are heading further north of the Wetterau

For the Bay of Cologne, which is 200km further north located, the long-term statistical average is between 5th and 13th of March. What this mean in terms of quantity you can see by the fact that highest count in crane observation was made by the NABU Aachen (further to the west), who observed more than 8,000 cranes in the region between that time period (5th and 13th of March in 1991).

The birds spend the winter mainly in sunny Spain or France. Their main wintering area is located in the Extremadura in western Spain. There, the cranes in the clear Mediterranean oak forests searched for the fruits of holm and cork oaks. On the way back to their breeding grounds, the cranes Germany crossed on quite a narrow corridor toward the southern shores of the Baltic sea in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
But there are even more flocks of birds expected in the coming weeks: Blackcaps (Sylvia atricapilla), Continue reading Migratory birds herald spring →

Bird Migration, Bird Trips (Pictures & Stories), Birds of Romania in September 2012, Birds of Western Palaearctic

Migration of raptors over the Macin Mountains National Park

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Because Macin Mountains is famous as an important migration hotspot for raptors in autumn, we decided to visit this site after a visit in May again at the end of September.

An excellent choice. Arriving only at around 11:00h the activity of the “normal” birds were low. But the highlight, we were looking for, was the migration of flying raptors anyway. This time of the day was just right – as you can see in the gallery. We did manage to observe two adult, White-tailed Eagle, Haliaeetus albicilla in a heavy fight with a pair of Common Raven, and a juvenile individual just flying slowly overhead. Short after a Long-legged Buzzard, Buteo rufinus, hovered over our observation point in search of prey.

Long-legged Buzzard, Buteo rufinus, is one of the largest buzzards of Europe and is the most common bird of prey in the Macin Mountains National Park. He usually builds his nest on cliffs. Other breeding raptors of that area include Short-toed Eagle, Booted Eagle, Levant Sparrowhawk and Saker Falcon. But of the rarer breeding raptors we did not see one, but one (or more) migrating Pallid Harrier, Circus macrourus , were seen hovering on the cliff along. We were surprised to see so often (or so many) Pallid Harriers here in Macin again – as we were happy to see the migration of Pallid Harrier along the Black Sea coast north of Constanta. An Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Accipiter nisus, could be observed in a furious air combat with a Eurasian Hobby, Falco subbuteo.

Common Buzzard, Buteo buteo, and Lesser Spotted Eagle, Aquila pomarina, were seen just migrating against the steel-blue sky in the wonderful mountainous scenery. It was a brilliant afternoon with not to many images today and large crops to some of them. But the birds which were photographed were top quality.

Of course we did not find any of the breeding songbirds we found in May. As you can read in a blog or see in the gallery at that time we had two species of Continue reading Migration of raptors over the Macin Mountains National Park →

Birds of Western Palaearctic

New Bird Images in Picture Shop

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Bird Lens is proud to show some excellent images of the birds shot from a hide in Hungary in December in the gallery of the pictures shop. The hide is located in the eastern part of Hungary in a superb old oak forest. The hide has a drinking pool in front of the window of the hide and a feeder attracted woodpeckers and some passerine birds, mainly tits. That year, it was a winter poor in snow. The temperatures and the colors of the fallen leaves created a feeling of fall or even late indian summer. Excellent conditions to photograph on 2 days from inside the hide. Besides the birds who showed up were Continue reading New Bird Images in Picture Shop →