Just to complement the blog Great White Pelican taking flight in Danube Delta, this blog shows the moment just after starting from the water surface. Even here, you see that the Pelican with the scientific name Pelecanus onocrotalus with up to 11 kg weight needs quite an effort to evenutally take-off and fly. Hope that these… Continue reading White Pelican having taken flight
Canon 400mm f4,0 DO IS USM, ein Erfahrungsbericht
Dieses Objektiv, vielleicht mehr als jedes andere Canon-Objektiv, ist Gegenstand eines breiten Spektrums von Meinungen. Natürlich werden, wie bei jeder größeren Anschaffung, Meinungen von Emotionen und finanziellen Faktoren beeinflußt. Die quick & dirty-Zusammenfassung der verschiedenen Stimmen im Netz ist in der Regel: Die Schärfe ist sehr gut, aber fällt dramatisch mit Konvertern ab Kontrast sehr… Continue reading Canon 400mm f4,0 DO IS USM, ein Erfahrungsbericht
Canon 400mm f4 DO review; a practical experience
This lens, perhaps more than any other Canon lens, brings out a diverse range of opinions. Of course, as with any major purchase, opinions are always going to be influcenced by emotions and financial factors. The quick and dirty summary normally is: • Sharpness is very good, but falls off dramatically with TCs • Contrast… Continue reading Canon 400mm f4 DO review; a practical experience
Great White Pelican takes flight in Danube Delta
The Danube Delta is home of two species of pelicans. The pelican is the symbol of the Delta. Here is home to Europe’s most important colony: 3.500 pairs live in the Danube Delta . we decided to visit this site in May 2012 on a photographer trip with Sakertours. One of the highlights were photoshots… Continue reading Great White Pelican takes flight in Danube Delta
Common Kestrel feeding on trapped bird
loud alarms calls of Blackbirds draw my attention to a place in neighbor´s garden. First I saw a moving wing – white with black pattern. Then the moustache. Hey, this is a female Common Kestrel, Falco tinnunculus, feeding on a Eurasian Blackbird. The dead Blackbird had been accidentally trapped by a fruit net, provided to… Continue reading Common Kestrel feeding on trapped bird
Birds in Macin Mountains National Park/ Romania
Just south-west of the Danube Delta only 1 hour drive from Tulcea is the location of the Macin Mountains with its granite hills. With an altitude of max. 450 m asl Macin Mountains are showing nevertheless an impressive outline. Macin Mountains belong to the oldest mountains of Europe. The Macin Mountains feature some significant steppe… Continue reading Birds in Macin Mountains National Park/ Romania
An Eurasian Sparrowhawk with Long-legged Buzzard in Romania
May is migration time at Romania´s Black Sea coast. Thus it is prime birdwatching time. After having seen many of the speciality birds like Pelicans, Grebes, Glossy Ibises, Spoonbills in the Danube Delta, a small group of bird photographers went for steppe habitats further south. There were already lots of excellent sightings of raptors (e.g.… Continue reading An Eurasian Sparrowhawk with Long-legged Buzzard in Romania
Black Stork over Altenhain/ Bad Soden
A look in the sky this evening. Hey, this is the silhouette of a stork – isn´t it? Yes, indeed a Black Stork, Ciconia nigra, could be seen over the nice little village of Altenhain on 250 m asl. The Black Stork was coming straight forward from the west (from Kelkheim, Main-Taunus-Kreis) circled three times… Continue reading Black Stork over Altenhain/ Bad Soden
Long-eared Owl chased by a Magpie
A rainy day in May at Romania´s Black Sea coast. Some good birds for a western birdwatcher like Reed, Corn and Black-headed Bunting, Great Reed-Warbler, Barred Warbler and a flying Lesser Spotted Eagle could be seen. A big surprise was what you see on the pictures: a Long-eared Owl, Asio otus, staying in a bush,… Continue reading Long-eared Owl chased by a Magpie
Eurasian Spoonbill in Germany
2012 might become a good year for the Eurasian Spoonbill , Platalea leucorodia, in Germay – and a good year for the birdwatcher to observe one far away from the coasts. Right now, you can see up to 8 individuals at the “Große Flutmulde” on the Bislicher Insel near Wesel/ Lower rhine valley. Another location… Continue reading Eurasian Spoonbill in Germany
Robin attack on Cuckoo´s head
The European Common Cuckoo, Cuculus canorus, has always been a miraculous bird. His loud and simple song and his arrival as a migrant in Europe signaling spring time made him one of the best-known birds in Europe. Quite recently his migration made the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) track Cuckoos via attached satellite-tracking devices to… Continue reading Robin attack on Cuckoo´s head
Syrian Woodpecker and Fall webworm moth
The Fall webworm moth (Hyphantria cunea) seems to like the Bazilescu Park, a small park near the home of Cristian Mihai in Bucharest. During the last weeks beginning in May he saw maybe hundreds of individuals from this species, most of them entirely white, only a few showing a variable number of black dots (see… Continue reading Syrian Woodpecker and Fall webworm moth