Alpine Accentor on migration on top of the Grosser Feldberg near Frankfurt / Main

No less than 3 Alpine Accentor (Prunella collaris) could be observed on April 11th, 2014 at the Grosser Feldberg just 20 km from the city center of Frankfurt / Main. After Ingo Roessler had found the species in searching for Ring Ouzel, Turdus torquatus, around the little town of Schmitten, several ornithologists had already been… Continue reading Alpine Accentor on migration on top of the Grosser Feldberg near Frankfurt / Main

Golden Eagle at the Laguna de Gallocanta/ Spain

Going for Laguna de Gallocanta, this lake on 1,000 m asl in the middle of Northern Spain, seems to be good for impressive numbers of wintering birds as well as for surprises. Some years ago, there has been observations of a Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis). Actually, I wanted to watch and photograph Common Cranes (Grus… Continue reading Golden Eagle at the Laguna de Gallocanta/ Spain

Angola Pitta in Mvuu Camp/ Malawi

The African Pitta (Pitta angolensis) also called Angola Pitta is certainly one of the top prizes for birdwatchers going for Africa. Some years ago I spent 3 days at the end of the so-called Green (i.e. rainy) Season in the Liwonde National Park. I decided to stay in the Mvuu Lodge. One of the highlights… Continue reading Angola Pitta in Mvuu Camp/ Malawi

Snowy Owl in nature reserve near Hanstholm/ North Jutland

Right now, it is possible to see a rare Owl at Hanstholm at the coast of northern Jytland, Denmark. A young female Snowy Owl (Bubo scandiacus) can be observed in the south of  Hanstholm in the first National Park of Denmark, called Hanstedreservatet. After the first days, around the 21st of December 2013  – when the… Continue reading Snowy Owl in nature reserve near Hanstholm/ North Jutland

Adventure: driving to the Keoladeo National Park

It is November. A trip to Arunachal Pradesh in north-eastern India is scheduled. Due to delays in domestic flights I find out, that there are still three days left . Now you can spend the time in New Delhi, the capital of India, of course. According to some strange statistics the human population of New… Continue reading Adventure: driving to the Keoladeo National Park

Hawk Owl in Gristede in Lower Saxonia

According to reports in Ornitho.de there is a good chance that twitchers of the north of Middle Europe can observe Hawk Owls (Surnia ulula) this winter/ late fall quite close to their homegrounds in the northern parts of Germany. The location of a Hawk Owl spending already several days in that area is in Gristede… Continue reading Hawk Owl in Gristede in Lower Saxonia

Taiga Bean Goose in Vorpommern (Pomerania)

In the Friedländer Große Wiese especially south of Mariawerth  but also north of Heinrichswalde 3,000 Bean Goose (Anser fabalis) could be seen in only about 2 hours in the early morning good of an early Novermber day. Obviously they flew up from the nature reserve “Galenbecker lake” which is right to the south. The preferred… Continue reading Taiga Bean Goose in Vorpommern (Pomerania)

Cranes (Grus grus) at the Guenzer lake in Vorpommern

Cranes at their resting places during migration are a great subject of photography. The biggest resting places of the Common Cranes in Germany can be found in Brandenburg on the Linumer fish ponds and in Mecklenburg- Vorpommern at the Guenzer lake. During migration time over 70,000 Common Cranes has been reported. On the east side… Continue reading Cranes (Grus grus) at the Guenzer lake in Vorpommern

Sabine’s Gull occurrence in California and Western Europe

One of the beauties in the Gull-family, Sabine’s Gulls (Xema sabini) is rarely seen in western Europe albeit on exposed seawatching spots or pelagic trips mainly in fall. Sabine’s Gull breed on coastal tundra around the shores of the Arctic Oceans. They migrate mainly at sea. On Migration, Siberian and Alaskan birds winter off the… Continue reading Sabine’s Gull occurrence in California and Western Europe

Resultate 2013; Results of Euro BirdWatch in Switzerland

On the weekend of 5/6 October 2013 BirdLife International and its national partner institutions organized the pan-european Euro BirdWatch. Migratory birds on their way south were observed in 33 European and some countries in central Asia. In total 2,509 visitors were inspired by the natural phenomenon of bird migration in spite of bad weather.  In… Continue reading Resultate 2013; Results of Euro BirdWatch in Switzerland

Bird migration at the Stockert in the Eifel hills

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… Continue reading Bird migration at the Stockert in the Eifel hills

A day for birders in the Black Forest, Euro BirdWatch in South-west Germany

The pan-european “Euro BirdWatch” major event will perform this year for the 20th times. As in Switzerland the migratory birds on their way south are observed on this weekend of 5/6 October 2013 at the invitation of BirdLife International in 33 European and Central Asian countries. On Sunday, 6th October the “Euro BirdWatch” is organized… Continue reading A day for birders in the Black Forest, Euro BirdWatch in South-west Germany