During a trip in the 1st half of October 2012 to experience migrating birds on Helgoland several remarkable sighting could be noted. Just one sighting very short. A beautiful Great Grey Shrike, Lanius excubitor, could be seen in perfect light in the afternoon of the 13th of October in the area of the former Suedhafen… Continue reading Great Grey Shrike, Lanius excubitor on Helgoland
Category: Bird Trips (Pictures & Stories)
What could be seen, what to see, the landscape…
Black Kite on migration along Black Sea coast Romania
During a trip from September 21st till 24th 2012 to experience migrating birds in Romania a remarkable sighting could be noted. A juvenile Black Kite was seen flying against heavy wind southward on his migration route along the Black Sea coast near the town of Eforie over Lake (Lacul) Techirghiol. Lacul Techirghiol and Eforie are… Continue reading Black Kite on migration along Black Sea coast Romania
Looking for larks in Morocco, PART II
…. A pre-adult Thick-billed Lark (Ramphocoris clotbey) was the next mornings highlight. After spending the night not too far away from the town of Boumalne, I started the day already at dawn. Behind the village, the road winds back to a plateau. Because I missed the turnoff, I drove on and finally stopped in an… Continue reading Looking for larks in Morocco, PART II
Fall bird migration and waterfowl in southwestern USA – August 2013
In late summer (mid-late August/early September), the Brehm Fund for International Bird Conservation, Bonn, offers an ornithological tour to the United States. The southwestern part – located between the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico – provides numerous ornithological highlights, which we will do in California and Texas Station. California, because of its exposed… Continue reading Fall bird migration and waterfowl in southwestern USA – August 2013
Spring migration and birds of prey in Extremadura – April 2013
In spring 2013, there will be an ornithological study tour to the region of Extremadura, southwesternSpain. It includes the provinces ofBadajozand Cáceres east of the border withPortugal, and is not only famous for the best-preserved medieval monuments inSpainbut among nature lovers for its unique combination of oak woodlands, grasslands, agricultural landscapes, lakes and rocky regions.… Continue reading Spring migration and birds of prey in Extremadura – April 2013
Looking for larks in Morocco, PART I
Many species of larks are one of the big treasures of Morocco. If you want to see the most larks in the Western Palearctic (in quality and even in quantity) you have to go for that north-african country which besides the larks offer much more birdingwise. Beginning of June might be regarded as already quite… Continue reading Looking for larks in Morocco, PART I
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
Cream-colored Courser with young in Morocco
Beginning of June might be regarded as already quite late to look for birds in the deserts of Boumalne du Dades (called Tagdilt), Morocco. But The Cream-colored Courser (Cursorius cursor) a bird of dry open country, preferably semi-desert is hatching the offspring at that time of the year. Thus a good chance to take images… Continue reading Cream-colored Courser with young in Morocco
Black Terns catching flies in the Danube Delta
I was almost titeling Black Tern flycatching… but then I found an interesting nice article in Wikipedia, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawking_(birds)) to the meaning of feeding strategies of birds involving catching flying insects in the air. Wikipedia says, that the term “flycatching” refers to a technique of sallying out from a perch to snatch an insect and then… Continue reading Black Terns catching flies in the Danube Delta
Cattle Egret taking a shower under a lawn sprinkler
This species of heron is renown to spend a lot of time close to livestock like grazing cattle and grab insects and worms that their hooves disturb. But on these pictures you can see, that the Cattle Egret feels attracted to other human environment as well. Weather the egret seeks the spray of the lawn… Continue reading Cattle Egret taking a shower under a lawn sprinkler
Top Birds at Romania´s Black Sea Coast
South of the Danube Delta is a wide stretch of a sandy shoreline with shallow lagoons. This is part of Romania´s Black Sea coast. May is Migration and early breeding time. Whereas the association of the east Romanian countryside is normally with the core Danube Delta with its speciality birds like Pelicans, Black-necked and Red-necked… Continue reading Top Birds at Romania´s Black Sea Coast
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