Laterally, the warm first sunlight falls on the exposed hedge. A fence post stands picturesquely in front of it. For a long time, I look out of a hide at the place illuminated with the rise of the sun. The hedgerow is still in the shade. Suddenly, there is a grey-brownish bird standing on a… Continue reading Young Nightingale in the countryside of Brandenburg
Category: Where to watch birds
Photographing European Bee-eater: How and Where
A thin branch in the most beautiful evening light and on it a European Bee-eater (Merops apiaster). This is an image many nature photographers want to shoot. This raises the question of course of what the Bee-eater’s habits and preferences are. If you take a closer look at Bee-eater photography, you ask yourself e.g. how… Continue reading Photographing European Bee-eater: How and Where
Great Crested Grebe in breeding season
A Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus) sits upright on its nest and hatches the cubs. Elegant feathers adorn the head on the long, thin neck. At the beginning of spring, harsh screams came from the reeds. On silent days one could hear the deep cries far over the smooth water of the lake. A couple… Continue reading Great Crested Grebe in breeding season
Photographing Rock Ptarmigans in winter
Rock Ptarmigans (Lagopus muta) are always high on the wish lists of birders and photographers visiting Scandinavia in winter. Finding Ptarmigan is one thing, but knowing where to photograph them is another challenge. It took me several trips between March and May to see and photograph Ptarmigan. Definitely are my favourite bird. You have to… Continue reading Photographing Rock Ptarmigans in winter
Forbes’s Plover in Mole National Park
It is incredibly hot. If you would leave the air-conditioned bus, you will be attacked by extremely annoying bees. But: we are looking for the Forbes’s Plover (Charadrius forbesi). The Forbes’s Plover has to be found now. We drive to a flat area in the middle of the dry savannah of northern Ghana, which is… Continue reading Forbes’s Plover in Mole National Park
Birding Berlin: Ducks in winter in Charlottenburg Palace
A splash drops of water, a wild tumult. Just a moment ago the two male Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) had been standing side by side on the ice-plate. Now they quarrel like crazy. Diving, swimming, fluttering and finally escaping, they obviously let their aggression run wild. Most of the short but intense fights end with the… Continue reading Birding Berlin: Ducks in winter in Charlottenburg Palace
Steppe habitat just outside Castilla de la Mancha
The Spanish province of Valencia was visited in summer. One reason was to relax for a week. The second argument was to get a feel for avian delights of an area of the country normally thought of in mainstream tourism terms. As a habitual visitor to the more well-known birding destination of Andalucía and Portugal,… Continue reading Steppe habitat just outside Castilla de la Mancha
Souza’s Shrike in Brachystegia dry forest / Malawi
In the morning we are already a while on the road in the sparse savanna forest with lots of brachystegia, the typical tree of the African wooded savannah. Now is dry season. Between the trees are tall grasses, which are usually dried up. Suddenly you can see a shrike. Immediately I remember the Red-backed Shrike… Continue reading Souza’s Shrike in Brachystegia dry forest / Malawi
Photographing Shining Blue Kingfisher at perch in Ghana
A blue twitch in the shadow of an overhanging bush directly near the path along the water. A Shining Blue Kingfisher (Alcedo quadribrachys) has established a perch just on a quite busy trail on an overhanging branch. The Shining Blue Kingfisher sits just 1m above water level – ie at eye level for us. A… Continue reading Photographing Shining Blue Kingfisher at perch in Ghana
White-throated Dippers in the valleys of the Vosges
A black bird with partially white belly rushes in a low flight along between huge boulders over the fast-flowing stream. For sure, this is a White-throated Dipper (Cinclus cinclus). Often you see them with nesting material in the beak. These are the classic photos that you see of dippers. They fly preferably to and from… Continue reading White-throated Dippers in the valleys of the Vosges
Heligoland and its Northern Gannets
A spectacular whitish bird almost effortless standing in the windy air on close distance. But also deafening screeching, biting fishy smell and occasionally a drop of bird droppings from the air. It is not a pure pleasure to photograph at the Heligoland bird cliffs. But you can exploit a unique approach in aerial photography –… Continue reading Heligoland and its Northern Gannets
Etchécopar’s Owlet in Shai Hills Resource Reserve
The target area of the morning is the Shai Hills Resource Reserve. We try to manage to see the scarce local form of African Barred Owlet sometimes split as Etchécopar’s Owlet (Glaucidium etchecopari). While the morning was still fresh we left the van to search for the bird in the dense thickets at Bat Cave.… Continue reading Etchécopar’s Owlet in Shai Hills Resource Reserve