During the last days one male King Eider, Somateria spectabilis, continues to stay at Kalkhorst at the shores of the Baltic Sea. The german sea resort is approx. 15km distance east of Travemünde, Lübeck. This male King Eider in beautiful breeding plumage is obviously only one of the few records for 2013 so far south… Continue reading Male King Eider on Baltic Sea of Germany
Category: Bird Identification Aid
Ferruginous Duck near Frankfurt – Germany
Now that winter has proceeded quite well some good birds show up on “stupid” spots like recreation areas and parks. In a series of blogs Bird-lens has already described some excellent spots like the Langener Waldseen to observe birds, but this spot came to my awareness the first time. This was due to the fact… Continue reading Ferruginous Duck near Frankfurt – Germany
Harriers on wintering grounds in Awash NP – Ethiopia
Having seen the Pallid Harrier (Circus macrourus), a species of a graceful flying raptor already during trips in September on its migration route along the Black Sea coast near the town of Constanta south of the Danube delta at the Black Sea coast of Romania and north of Astrakhan along the Volga river in Russia… Continue reading Harriers on wintering grounds in Awash NP – Ethiopia
The birds of Remseck
Die Vögel von Remseck – im Großraum Stuttgart is a new book which describes local avifauna in the south-western part of Germany. It is intended primarily to show that common birds can be found at what time and at what locations without much trouble. If you follow some advice, then we can observe in the… Continue reading The birds of Remseck
Vagrant Fox Sparrow in Estonia
During the last days one Fox Sparrow Zonotrichia or Passerella iliaca, continues to stay in the town of Haapsalu, Estonia at the Baltic Sea. The bird was first spotted on last Sunday. The location Läänemaa/ Haapsalu is roughly 100km away from the Estonian capital, Tallinn. This thrush is obviously only the 5th record for the… Continue reading Vagrant Fox Sparrow in Estonia
An early Common Gull, Larus canus on Romania´s Black Sea coast
September is fall migration time in Romania´s Black Sea coast. After having seen the spectacular mass migration of Red-footed Falcon, Falco vespertinus, in an area south of the Danube Delta with its wide stretch of a sandy shoreline with shallow lagoons we arrived at the sandy beach near the little town of Vadu. The shoreline… Continue reading An early Common Gull, Larus canus on Romania´s Black Sea coast
NABU | Vogel des Jahres 2013: Die Bekassine
Common Snipe is “Bird of the Year 2013” NABU and the national federation for Birds (LBV), NABU partner in Bavaria have voted in Germany endangered Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago) to the “Bird of the Year 2013” as you can see here: NABU | Vogel des Jahres 2013: Die Bekassine. More information, you will find following… Continue reading NABU | Vogel des Jahres 2013: Die Bekassine
Rare buntings in the western Palearctic
For middle Europe, Urs N. Glutz von Blotzheim listed 16 species of buntings of the genus Emberiza plus the Corn Bunting, Miliaria calandra, of the genus Miliaria, the Snow Bunting, Plectrophenax nivalis, of the genus Plectrophenax the Lapland Bunting (also known as Lapland Longspur), Calcarius lapponicus, of the genus Plectrophenax in his „Handbuch der Vögel… Continue reading Rare buntings in the western Palearctic
Identifcation of flying Chlidonias Terns in breeding plumage
Looking at field guides like „ Collins Bird Guide“ from Peter Grant, Dan Zetterstrom, Lars Svenson and Killian Mullarney the ID look quite simple. But even in the breeding plumage Chlidonias – or Marsh – Terns can cause some headache identifying in the field. Then even the Whiskered Tern (Chlidonias hybridus) can be confused with… Continue reading Identifcation of flying Chlidonias Terns in breeding plumage
More Bird Images in Picture Shop
Having checked the output of trips to the Emirates, Oman, Romania & Poland, Bird Lens is proud to show more excellent images of birds shot in these countries at excellent destinations in the gallery of the pictures shop. There were some excellent opportunities to photograph on several occasions in the desert, in the mountains and… Continue reading More Bird Images in Picture Shop
Identification of Sternula Terns in Asia/Africa
When you are going to eastern Arabia in spring, you have good chances to see (and compare) 2 small terns of the genus Sternula. Sternula is a genus of small white terns, which is often subsumed into the larger genus Sterna. Saunder’s Tern, Sternula saundersi, was formerly considered to be subspecies of Little Tern but… Continue reading Identification of Sternula Terns in Asia/Africa