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
Category: Where to watch birds
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
Observation site for spring migration on the river Oder
After having presented protected nature areas in the Havellaendisches Luch or the Guelper See, a recent blog was dealing with the Oder valley in general and The National Park Lower Oder especially. The National Park protects a flood plain, the last still intact in large parts of the estuary of Central Europe. A rainy, cloudy… Continue reading Observation site for spring migration on the river Oder
Black Grouse on leks in the snowy spring of Finland
Nature photographers, who visit the snow-capped central Finland in early April, might observe a very special natural event: the mating display of the Black Grouse (Tetrao tetrix). If you want to take pictures of the mating display, you should go to Scandinavia for nature conservation reasons alone. For the last remnants of domestic populations the… Continue reading Black Grouse on leks in the snowy spring of Finland
Photographing Tanagers at Itatiaia NP/ Brazil
Stumbling out of the cabin you will be enchanted by the expansive view looking out over the valley below. A blue-grey carpet of clouds is normally lying over the lowlands. In the half light of dawn, Cliff Flycatchers (Hirundinea ferruginea) are already gathering on the roofs of cabins nearby. A first priority should be a… Continue reading Photographing Tanagers at Itatiaia NP/ Brazil
Red-legged Kittiwake on the Pribilofs
A sticky grey fills the sky. Fog lays over the sea. Only a shade of white on the water is visible when the waves crush to the rocky coast. A narrow trails gives way to the cliffs – called bluffs – on the southern edge of the island of St. Paul. St. Paul, the biggest… Continue reading Red-legged Kittiwake on the Pribilofs
Graveyard Blackbirds in the snow
It is cold in Germany. There had been snow the last few nights before. But now it thaws again. The air is cold and clear. The main part in a vast park cemetery is still as packed with a 5 cm thick layer of snow. Only the paths are cleared temporarily by a snow plow.… Continue reading Graveyard Blackbirds in the snow
Yellow-billed Loon in the middle of Germany
A dam in the middle of the Sauerland in Germany in hazy weather with low-lying clouds combined with drizzle, wind from the west with in gusts 4 bofors at 8 ° Celsius normally is not the place to stay and watch. But this is the place to add a vagrant Yellow-billed Loons or White-billed Divers… Continue reading Yellow-billed Loon in the middle of Germany
Vagrant Mongolian Plover: seawatching surprise on St. Lawrence Island
Seawatching along the arctic coasts of north-west Alaska – with Siberia on the horizon – was the thrill at the end of May till the first days of June 2016. Along the edges pf St. Lawrence Island seabirds are living and migrating not only in the Nearctic region but also to the Palearctic. Migration was… Continue reading Vagrant Mongolian Plover: seawatching surprise on St. Lawrence Island
Tripreport Southern Red Sea Coast/ Egypt, September/ October 2016
Introduction Mid of July 2016 we decided to visit the southern Red Sea Coast of Egypt. The main reasons of the trip, were to relax in the sun in early fall and to see some Western Palearctic specialities in an interesting and not very often visited region during fall migration. With this in mind we… Continue reading Tripreport Southern Red Sea Coast/ Egypt, September/ October 2016
Shalatayn – birding in the south-east corner of the WP
The main target of the trip was the Lappet-faced Vulture (Torgos tracheliotus). This uncommon resident breeder of the south-east corner of Egypt can be found sporadically from Gebel Elba down to the Somali border. The best place to see the species is at Bir Shalatayn. Here a dozen of these vultures can be seen feeding… Continue reading Shalatayn – birding in the south-east corner of the WP
Young Whinchat on summer morning
A fresh morning. Thick layers of fog are lying over the wetlands of the Nuthe floodplain south of Berlin. The weather forecast was perfect and everywhere there were numerous motives. So I took advantage of every free minute in the morning to be outside. The meadows along the river offer a diverse habitat structure. One… Continue reading Young Whinchat on summer morning