Vagrant Eurasian Golden-Oriole on Bird Island

In the early morning a quiet walk in the wood to Passe Hirondelle. Right near the farm building quite a big thrush-like bird landed on some vegetation. Just a second, than the bird flew away. Fortunately not far so I could follow for a while and took a picture of the bird which turned out… Continue reading Vagrant Eurasian Golden-Oriole on Bird Island

Bee-eaters in Majete Game Reserve near Lengwe NP

The trip to the Majete Game Reserve makes me stop at a bush. A remarkable bird party can be seen here. After some minutes I can detect Fork-tailed Drongos (Dicrurus adsimilis), Livingstone’s Flycatcher (Erythrocercus livingstonei), Red-capped Robin-Chats (Cossypha natalensis), Bearded Scrub-Robins (Cercotrichas quadrivirgata) and a Holub’s Golden-Weaver (Ploceus xanthops) – with a strikingly flesh-colored beak… Continue reading Bee-eaters in Majete Game Reserve near Lengwe NP

Ospreys attack White-tailed Eagle at the nest

Their nests are never far from water. The bulky structures are often high on a pylon for the power supply. Sometimes the nests are scattered over the landscape, sometimes they are not far from a road or a village. A nest of the Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) not far from a parallel main road made me… Continue reading Ospreys attack White-tailed Eagle at the nest

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

Pirol in Obstbaumspitze

Ein leuchtendes Gelb ist aus einer Baumkrone im ersten Licht zu erkennen. Ein goldgelber Pirol (Oriolus oriolus) sitzt auf einem flechtenüberzogenen, spärlich belaubten Ast. Natürlich kann man einen Pirol auch in Deutschland entdecken. Denn in den warmen Sommermonaten, zwischen Anfang Mai und Ende August, leben und nisten sie fast überall. Doch häufig hört man nur… Continue reading Pirol in Obstbaumspitze

Grauschnäpper: hungriges Junges lässt sich füttern

Die Brutzeit ist vorbei. Nun sammeln sich die Eltern mit ihren Jungen, um diese in das Geheimnis des Nahrungserwerbs einzuweihen. So jagt wohl ein ganzer Familienverband von Grauschnäppern (Muscicapa striata) immer wieder aus einem Eichenhain aus Stieleichen (Quercus robur) hinaus auf eine Pferdeweide. Besonders die Drähte der Weide wurden gerne als Warte genommen. Von den… Continue reading Grauschnäpper: hungriges Junges lässt sich füttern

Irrgäste auf Bird Island/ Seychellen

Mit ohrenbetäubenden Schreien segeln Rußseeschwalben (Sterna fuscota) Tag und Nacht über der Lichtung des Palmenwaldes. Nicht nur für die Massen an Rußseeschwalben oder die Sichtung der wunderschönen Reiherläufer (Dromas ardeola) machten den Trip auf die Seychellen zu einem großen Erfolg. Es war für die  Beobachtung der Zugvögel – und damit für die „selteneren“ Arten der… Continue reading Irrgäste auf Bird Island/ Seychellen

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

A night in Brandenburg heath: The Eurasian Nightjar

The late sun of the day still shines through some pine trees. The sun stays already very low, but is not yet set. A discreet purring is suddenly heard from a wood right in the heath landscape in front of me. The calls of the Eurasian Golden Oriole (Oriolus oriolus) are still much more dominant.… Continue reading A night in Brandenburg heath: The Eurasian Nightjar

Ziegenmelker im Revierflug

Schweißperlen stehen auf der Stirn. Die Sonne steht tief, ist aber noch nicht untergegangen. Da hört man schon das dezente Schnurren aus dem Heidewäldchen. Noch sind die Rufe des Pirols (Oriolus oriolus) viel dominanter und spielen sich in den Vordergrund. Das rhythmische Schnurren des Ziegenmelker (Caprimulgus europaeus) nimmt aber sowohl an Lautstärke wie auch an… Continue reading Ziegenmelker im Revierflug

Eurasian Wryneck and other birds in Bulgaria

I am now back from a trip to Bulgaria for quite a while. As I wrote already in the Bee-eater-Blog, the main purpose was to photograph European Bee-eater (Merops apiaster). But as I mentioned in the recent blog, Bulgaria is full of wildlife which could be found relatively easy. As most of the mornings were… Continue reading Eurasian Wryneck and other birds in Bulgaria

Irish Bird Trip to the Frankfurt area in Germany; 16thMay-19th May 2014

We flew in from Kerry airport Ireland and landed at Hahn to met by Johannes Ferdinand from Bird-Lens our bird guide.  During our stay we had no rain, some cloud in the mornings and plenty of sunshine all day. We saw a total of 113 birds including lifers Marsh Warbler (Acrocephalus palustris), Wood Warbler (Phylloscopus… Continue reading Irish Bird Trip to the Frankfurt area in Germany; 16thMay-19th May 2014