Golden Eagle at the Laguna de Gallocanta/ Spain

Going for Laguna de Gallocanta, this lake on 1,000 m asl in the middle of Northern Spain, seems to be good for impressive numbers of wintering birds as well as for surprises. Some years ago, there has been observations of a Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis). Actually, I wanted to watch and photograph Common Cranes (Grus… Continue reading Golden Eagle at the Laguna de Gallocanta/ Spain

Steinadler (Aquila chrysaetos) an der Laguna de Gallocanta

Diesen großen Greifvogel hatte ich zuletzt erst noch Ende November in Norwegen angetroffen. Eigentlich wollte ich Kraniche (Grus grus) in ihrem Rast- und Überwinterungsgebiet hier oben auf gut 1.000 m Höhe NN beobachten und fotografieren. Diese Vögel brüten in Deutschland, Fennoskandia und in den Baltischen Staaten und nehmen dann eine westliche Zugroute durch Europa zu… Continue reading Steinadler (Aquila chrysaetos) an der Laguna de Gallocanta

Vögel beobachten um Frankfurt: Die Mittlere Horloffaue

Der Frankfurt Flughafen (FRA) ist das Tor zum europäischen Festland. Viele Fluggesellschaften nutzen den Flughafen als Drehkreuz für Anschlußflüge in praktisch alle Länder der Welt. Wenn Sie etwas freie Zeit zwischen zwei Flügen übrig haben und ein Vogelbeobachter sind, sind Sie vielleicht daran interessiert zu wissen, wo sich lohnenswerte Orte für die Vogelbeobachtung befinden. Da… Continue reading Vögel beobachten um Frankfurt: Die Mittlere Horloffaue

Birding around Frankfurt – Mittlere Horloffaue/ Wetterau

Frankfurt is the financial capital of Germany. It is well known although the city limits inhabit only roughly 600,000 people. But the greater Frankfurt area of course is much more populated. If you are on business in Frankfurt and have some spare time between two meetings and you are a birdwatcher, you might be interested… Continue reading Birding around Frankfurt – Mittlere Horloffaue/ Wetterau

Taiga Bean Goose in Vorpommern (Pomerania)

In the Friedländer Große Wiese especially south of Mariawerth  but also north of Heinrichswalde 3,000 Bean Goose (Anser fabalis) could be seen in only about 2 hours in the early morning good of an early Novermber day. Obviously they flew up from the nature reserve “Galenbecker lake” which is right to the south. The preferred… Continue reading Taiga Bean Goose in Vorpommern (Pomerania)

Taigasaatgänse im Binnenland Vorpommerns

In der Friedländer Große Wiese vor allem südlich von Mariawerth  aber auch nördlich von Heinrichswalde konnten Anfang November in nur gut 2 Stunden am frühen Morgen gut 3000  Saatgänse (Anser fabalis)  gesehen werden. Offensichtlich flogen sie aus dem NSG “Galenbecker See” auf. Die bevorzugten Übernachtungsplätze müssen wohl der Polder 1 bei Heinrichswalde und der große… Continue reading Taigasaatgänse im Binnenland Vorpommerns

Cranes (Grus grus) at the Guenzer lake in Vorpommern

Cranes at their resting places during migration are a great subject of photography. The biggest resting places of the Common Cranes in Germany can be found in Brandenburg on the Linumer fish ponds and in Mecklenburg- Vorpommern at the Guenzer lake. During migration time over 70,000 Common Cranes has been reported. On the east side… Continue reading Cranes (Grus grus) at the Guenzer lake in Vorpommern

Kraniche (Grus grus) am Günzer See

Kraniche an ihren Rastplätzen sind ein tolles Motiv. Die größten Rastplätze der Kraniche in Deutschland findet man in Brandenburg an den Linumer Fischteichen und in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern am Günzer See. Dort halten sich zur Vogelzugzeit, wenn die Kraniche ziehen, fast 100.000 Kraniche auf. An der  Ostseite des Günzer Sees steht direkt neben der baumbestandenen Straße ein… Continue reading Kraniche (Grus grus) am Günzer See

Migratory birds herald spring

Last weekend, you could observe heavy traffic in the skies over Frankfurt/ Germany. Although winter is not ready to lower its grip the first returning migrants already point to the imminent end of the cold season. In recent weeks, Eurasian Skylarks  (Alauda arvensis), and Northern Lapwings (Vanellus vanellus), were seen already on their return. Particularly… Continue reading Migratory birds herald spring

Snowy surprise for Cranes & Geese in nature reserve Kuehkopf-Knoblochsaue in Germany

Although the winter’s chill hold finally broke last week the wintertime is not over, already. The mild conditions and temperatures of up to around 8 degrees did not last for a long time. By 19th a Scandinavian high pressure was fully in charge and a strengthening easterly flow and increasing cloud cover ensured that temperatures… Continue reading Snowy surprise for Cranes & Geese in nature reserve Kuehkopf-Knoblochsaue in Germany

Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis) at Laguna Gallocanta/ Spain

During the last days one Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis) continues to stay at the Laguna Gallocanta in the south-western part of Aragon, Spain. This bird is obviously only the 3rd record for Spain since 2009 although there are more observations from the northern part of the Western Palearctic. The Sandhill Crane is present at least… Continue reading Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis) at Laguna Gallocanta/ Spain

Birds at vulcano lakes in Debre Zeit – Ethiopia

Spending two full days during a stop-over from the Seychelles, we wanted to avoid the crowd in downtown Addis Ababa. We were lucky to arrange to stay in a lodge situated on the rim of a vulcano with a lake on the ground near Debre Zeit approx. 45 km south of Addis Ababa. Our main… Continue reading Birds at vulcano lakes in Debre Zeit – Ethiopia