After the thick cloud cover has broken up a bit and the sea is no longer too stormy, I can take really good pictures of a low-flying Eurasian Hobby (Falco subbuteo) in the early morning lights. It’s already the second of its kind. The first was so fast that it simply passes. But the second seems to be chasing. The bird probably went hunting for the Barn Swallows (Hirundo rustica), which also come flying over the sea. They may prefer the direct crossing straight from Crimea. Eurasian Hobbys inspire us with their elegant appearance, especially in flight. With their relatively long wings, they can fly extremely quickly and agilely and even hunt swifts and swallows. In late summer in Germany it is a special pleasure to watch them hunt dragonflies, which they bite off their wings “standing in the air” in flight by holding the dragonflies in their curved claws. They can then swallow them only a little later.
A little later comes a Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus), which obviously flies over the open sea, toll. The Eurasian Sparrowhawk comes flying very low over the water and then gains height over land. That reminds me a lot of the bird migration observations on Fehmarn in northern Germany, where the Sparrowhawks also fly directly over the Baltic Sea from Falsterbo. Does this Eurasian Sparrowhawk come directly from Crimea? And thus directly from the war zone in Ukraine?
The immediate Black Sea coast of Turkiye is really very productive during migration times. I had already seen a Greater Short-toed Lark (Calandrella brachydactyla longipennis) migrating on the pebble beach nearby. While the Short-toed Lark turns out to be quite shy but stays for a long time on the thick pebbles, some other birds, such as the Red-backed Shrike (Lanius collurio), are not so easily distorted.
On the last days of a Black Sea holiday in Turkey, I want to devote myself to bird migration along the Black Sea coast. Here I expect passing songbirds, especially in the unattractive and often littered ruderal areas of the immediate coastal area – and of course the raptors hunting them. Why shouldn’t these few remaining areas of the coast section, which is otherwise completely built up by traffic and settlement, not be at least as attractive for resting migratory birds as Heligoland?
In order to meet the growing demand for top images of the rarer species of Palaearctic Bird-lens.com has specifically made trips to remote places. Additionally every chance is used, if a rare bird is around the homeground. This to do everything to ensure excellent photos of the Birds of the Western Palearctic. The yield of pictures also of rare Western Palaearctic birds is very good. There are other nice images of birds, that you will find behind the tab “Picture Shop“. Just give a notice if you need a picture of a bird which is not online.