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 nature reserve. 15 minutes later the astonishingly high-pitched cuckoo cries can still be heard. Overall, the path leads through the best forest that we have had in Masuria so far. Great, old oaks can be found in abundance and we pass a few beautiful idyllic bogs, which we then take appropriate photos of. When we get back to the parking lot and are drinking our well-deserved after-work beer, we see that the cuckoo and the songbird are still competing. Hey, they’re getting there. A real madness. I’m trying some photos. After a long three-hour walk, the fight seems endless, the bullying between the birds is still in full swing. bird-lens.com manages to capture at least an hour of combat between a European Robin (Erithacus rubecula) — mainly the male — and the Cuckoo.
A few times I see the female cuckoo pressing her abdomen against the narrow gap in the Hornbeam (Carpinus betulus). I wonder how this large bird can expect to lay its egg through an entrance of 3 centimeters or less.
The area around Strzalowo, the Rezerwat przyrody Strzałowo is beautiful. We already have a newcomer right on the first meters. It’s a Common Redstart (Phoenicurus phoenicurus), a male, which responds very well to playing his song from the tape. We then walk along the lake, see an old German cemetery and then set out to explore the loop trail. On a forest path we see a juvenile Song Thrush (Turdus philomelos) just emerging from the nest. I don’t think I’ve photographed the juvenile variant yet. In the further course we also see a female and a young specimen of a Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major). The young bird has just fledged. Coming back to the parking lot, we see that there are calling bird. It is a Wood Warbler (Phylloscopus sibilatrix). I stand in the forest and a real photo orgy begins. The female Common Cuckoo keeps trying to get to the nest of the Robin, which has chosen a hornbeam split by lightning as its nesting site and – as I can see from the flashlight – has already built the nest. There aren’t any eggs in there (yet). It is not entirely clear to me why both birds – together with the wood warbler – defend their territory so vehemently. I then position myself less than 8 meters in front of the gap in the hornbeam. In fact, the cuckoo comes flying and flapping its wings tries to get into the gap. Vain. In the end, however, he flies up again and again and is then attacked by the robin on the head and then always whines very pathetically. A great spectacle to which we devote a good 1 hour. Finally it gets twilight – it is now 7:00 p.m. – and in the end a Fieldfare (Turdus pilaris) makes sure that the Common Cuckoo has to leave without having achieved anything.
In order to meet the growing demand for top images of the rarer species of Palaearctic Bird-lens.com has specifically made trips to remote places. Additionally every chance is used, if a rare bird is around the homeground. This to do everything to ensure excellent photos of the Birds of the Western Palearctic . The yield of pictures also of rare Western Palaearctic birds is very good. There are other nice images of birds, that you will find behind the tab “Picture Shop“. Just give a notice if you need a picture of a bird which is not online.