Having been in Campo Ma’an National Park in southern Cameroon already the 2nd day, we experienced a heavy thunderstorm with endless rain. Probably not the first front of the rainy season brought heavy rain and thunder – and myriads of flying insects. Just outside our basic camp, birds made sallies into the air, to catch… Continue reading Little Greenbuls fly catching insects in the rain
Category: Bird Trips (Pictures & Stories)
What could be seen, what to see, the landscape…
Grey-necked Picathartes in Campo-Ma’an National Park/ Cameroon
Now the afternoon was for the Grey-necked Picathartes or Grey-necked Rockfowl (Picathartes oreas). We expected an arduous trip of hiking for hours through tropical heat in the National Park. Some people say, that the bird only appears after rain storms. If this would be true, we would be unlucky, as on our first day in… Continue reading Grey-necked Picathartes in Campo-Ma’an National Park/ Cameroon
Blue-crowned Motmot in Pantanal
The Blue-crowned Motmot (Momotus momota) is so common in the Pantanal, that you hardly can miss it. Besides being one of the most colorful birds of the Pantanal, it is also one of the most spectacular birds of the Pantanal by the colorful and unique shape of the tail feathers. The bird is specialized in… Continue reading Blue-crowned Motmot in Pantanal
Dull-capped Attila in Pantanal
The Dull-capped Attila (Attila bolivianus) has rufous-brown upperparts and tail and it has a gray-brown crown. The underparts and the rump are rufous as well. Remarkable is the white iris. Also known as the White-eyed Attila, the Dull-capped Attila is principally an uncommon inhabitant of seasonally flooded forests, including on river islands, as well as… Continue reading Dull-capped Attila in Pantanal
Neumann’s Starling flight along cliffs in Bamenda/ Cameroon
Having birded the Bamenda highlands until midday, we expected an impressive rainstorm, over the buzzling town of Bamenda while admiring several Neumann’s Starling (Onychognathus neumanni) obviously feeding on the cliffs just below the plateau of the upper parts of the suburbs. Neumann’s Starling are said to be observed from some rocks in the a semi-suburban/… Continue reading Neumann’s Starling flight along cliffs in Bamenda/ Cameroon
Birdphotographie in the Picos De Europa
While the southern landscapes in Spain – like the Estremadura – are among the most popular photo destinations on the Iberian Peninsula, the mountains in the north, like the Picos De Europa, are largely unknown to many bird photographers. On my travels to Spain mountainous birds of the Hochgebirge had been too short. They were… Continue reading Birdphotographie in the Picos De Europa
Cricket Longtail sightings in northern Cameroon
The Cricket Warbler or Cricket Longtail (Spiloptila clamans) is another excellent contribution to the portfolio of Western Palearctic birds for bird-lens.com. Although only recently encountered inside the boundary of the Western Palearctic this cute, small bird native to the Sahel region is highly welcome. In April 2017, bird-lens.com went on a Rockjumper-tour to bird northern… Continue reading Cricket Longtail sightings in northern Cameroon
Cameroon: bird photography on a guided birding tour
The Birdlife of West Africa was on the schedule for April 2017. I decided for the Africa specialist Rockjumper. Cameroon is a vast and diverse land; lying just north of the equator. This bird-rich nation forms the inter-grade between West and Central Africa and harbors a wide range of habitats, ranging from steamy lowland rainforest… Continue reading Cameroon: bird photography on a guided birding tour
Hartlaub’s Duck near Douala in southern Cameroon
High on the list of a Rockjumper-trip in Cameroon was the Hartlaub’s Duck (Pteronetta hartlaubii). We found four on the morning going to the Sanaga River, Cameroon in April 2017. Probably they were 2 pairs in the area. On the road from Douala to Yaoundé lies the remnant of a lake that has grown to… Continue reading Hartlaub’s Duck near Douala in southern Cameroon
Tree Pipit: back from Africa
A remembrance of a song, beautiful and both familiar and strange. It took a while until I got the clue. It was a Tree Pipit (Anthus trivialis) singing in a woodland in the heath on sunday. Singing now south of Berlin, seen 20 days ago in Cameroon. There the subspecies trivialis was still fairly common… Continue reading Tree Pipit: back from Africa
Black Jacobin in the Itatiaia NP/ Rio de Janeiro
White flashes on the tail of an almost completely black bird is hovering in the air. Not far from me, a hummingbird is feeding on a nectar stick. The ornitologist and German naturalist Helmut Sick described the Black Jacobin (Florisuga fusca) as abundant and the most frequent species of hummingbird in Macai de Cima (or… Continue reading Black Jacobin in the Itatiaia NP/ Rio de Janeiro
Remarks to wintering Solitary Sandpipers (Tringa solitaria) in the Pantanal
During scientific research in the northern Pantanal between the 20th of December 2012 and the 10th of January 2013 I often observe Solitary Sandpipers along the muddy ditches on a farm. Of the two subspecies of the solitary sandpiper recognized the subspecies present probably was Tringa solitaria solitaria which usually has a more well-defined streak… Continue reading Remarks to wintering Solitary Sandpipers (Tringa solitaria) in the Pantanal