After hatching, young Great Spotted Woodpeckers (Dendrocopos major) are completely helpless but soon they take on a life of their own. Spring is a wonderful time for nature watchers. The forests are full of life and activity, and one of the most beautiful sights is that of a young Great Spotted Woodpecker curiously looking out… Continue reading Curious Young Great Spotted Woodpecker
Tag: Great Spotted Woodpecker
Pygmy Owl in the upper Harz Mountains
A hike in the highlands around the Brocken, the highest mountain far and wide. It’s foggy and windless. It also snowed for a few days. Then suddenly a rhythmic song, a scale, can be heard. It is a Eurasian Pygmy Owl (Glaucidium passerinum), which sits a little later on a dead, thickly icy spruce tree… Continue reading Pygmy Owl in the upper Harz Mountains
Lesser Spotted Woodpecker: an often overlooked winter visitor
What is this miniature version of a woodpecker in the garden in winter? He’s hanging on a fat ball. It’s lucky that we get a visit from a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos minor). Although the smallest native woodpecker is actually an insect eater, it doesn’t miss out on such a nutritious calorie bomb in the… Continue reading Lesser Spotted Woodpecker: an often overlooked winter visitor
Bird photography in your backyard: What to consider
20 small birds are constantly on the move between a garden bush and the nearby birdhouse. Right away I can identify Great Tits (Parus major), Blue Tits (Cyanistes caeruleus), Nuthatches (Sitta europaea), Greenfinches (Chloris chloris), Goldfinches (Carduelis carduelis) and House Sparrows (Passer domesticus). While Great Tits and Blue Tits prefer to fly to the feeder,… Continue reading Bird photography in your backyard: What to consider
Cuckoo on fight on robin’s nest
A sunny day in the forest and at the lake near Strzalowo in Masuria. Arriving at the parking lot at 3pm we see a Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) being chased through the canopy of a large Linden tree at high speed by a songbird. We want to take the signposted circular hiking trail in the… Continue reading Cuckoo on fight on robin’s nest
Wryneck in Brandenburg/ Germany
A game protection fence separates the meadow from a growth area for the Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris). High rhythmic, choppy sounds and a bird flying into a Guelder-rose (Viburnum opulus), rests a few seconds suggest a nest. The enthusiasm is great when the view through the binoculars shows a brown-grey bird with a striking black… Continue reading Wryneck in Brandenburg/ Germany
Junge Kleinspechte sind aus dem Nest
Noch vorgestern wurden die Jungen an der Brutröhre gefüttert. Immer wieder steckten junge Kleinspechte (Dendrocopos minor) ihren Kopf aus dem Loch einer abgestorbenen, gar nicht so dicken Erle (Alnus sp.). Gestern war die Fütterungsaktivität an der Bruthöhle eingestellt. Das Brutloch schien aufgemeißelt, Rinde abgehebelt zu sein. Schnell kam die Befürchtung hoch, daß sich hier ein… Continue reading Junge Kleinspechte sind aus dem Nest
Kleinspecht beim Füttern an Bruthöhle
Im minütlichen Abstand kommen nun, Ende Mai, die Eltern des Kleinspechts (Dendrocopos minor) an einer abgestorbenen, gar nicht so dicken Erle (Alnus sp.). Hier befinden sich bereits mehrere Spechtlöcher, doch die Kleinspechte haben extra eine neue Bruthöhle in die Erle gemeißelt. Nun hört man die Jungen ganz leise rhythmisch rufen. Bei weitem nicht so laut… Continue reading Kleinspecht beim Füttern an Bruthöhle
Bramblings in autumn forest
It prevails, wonderfully calm autumn weather. Otherwise, autumn is associated with rain and storm. It promises to be a sunny October day. In the morning I set off for a longer walk in the Brandenburg quarry forests. The sun penetrates the haze, over which is a steel-blue sky spread. After the first few meters, a… Continue reading Bramblings in autumn forest
Der Grauspecht: eher heimlich & nur selten gut zu sehen
Im Gegensatz zum großen Bruder, dem Grünspecht (Picus viridis) der offene oder halboffene “Parklandschaften” und Obstwiesen bevorzugt, ist der Grauspecht (Picus canus) eher ein Bewohner alter, strukturreicher, lichter Laubmischwälder. Dabei werden jedoch auch Feldgehölze, Streuobstwiesen und Auenwälder besiedelt. Nur lokal kommt dieser Specht in Kiefern-Eichen- (Pinus-Quercus) Wäldern vor. In der Norddeutschen Tiefebene fehlt die Art,… Continue reading Der Grauspecht: eher heimlich & nur selten gut zu sehen
After nesting: Young Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers are out of the nest
The day before yesterday the young woodpeckers were fed at the brood tube. From time to time, young Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers (Dendrocopos minor) stuck their heads out of the hole of a dead, not so thick Alder tree (Alnus sp.). Yesterday the feeding activity in the breeding cave has been stopped. The breeding hole appeared… Continue reading After nesting: Young Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers are out of the nest
Feeding at a breeding cave: a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker family
While the male of the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos minor) usually approached the breeding cave in a lean Alder tree (Alnus sp.) approx. 10 cm below the lower edge and then took action a little later, i.e. to hatch, the female more often first flew first to a dry branch above the cave and then… Continue reading Feeding at a breeding cave: a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker family