Yellow-billed Stork: a special for the western Palearctic

As if they had swallowed a stick, two individuals of a species known from Africa are standing on the banks of a chanal ot the Toshka Project. Between many Gray Herons (Ardea cinerea) two Yellow-billed Stork (Mycteria ibis) stand upright with hanging beaks. The colors are beautiful to see in the morning sun. I was… Continue reading Yellow-billed Stork: a special for the western Palearctic

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

A Plain Leaf-Warbler – winter visitor at the Hajar Mountains – UAE

In the early morning light we go to Green Mubazzarah, which is located at the foot of the Hajar Mountains. Green Mubazzarah is a true paradise in the morning. Green Mubazzarah is a picnic area with streams, grass and chalets at the north foot of Jebel Hafeet before the road begins to climb to the… Continue reading A Plain Leaf-Warbler – winter visitor at the Hajar Mountains – UAE

Sikkim Wedge-billed Babbler in the Mishmi Hills

An early morning at 5:50 am in the Mishmi Hills. The morning sun, not yet there, will shine again from a cloudless sky. Only above the Brahmaputra can one see the first white clouds, which can also be morning mist. It is 6:30 a.m. and we are at 1,900m above sea level at a mighty… Continue reading Sikkim Wedge-billed Babbler in the Mishmi Hills

Gulls and Ducks in winter fog

A foggy morning in the harbor, and the thick mist seems to be clinging to the masts of the ships in the harbor. There’s a feeling of mystery in the air as the fog creates an eerie atmosphere and obscures the details of the vessels. The kutter in the harbor is not really a majestic… Continue reading Gulls and Ducks in winter fog

Photographing at Common Bush-Tanager’s nest

A Common Bush-Tanager (Chlorospingus flavopectus) of the subspecies fulvigularis of southern Bolivia has built a nest in a clay quarry along a shady forest trail. 4 hungry beaks are fed intensively in the Yungas of Bolivia near Remates. I had already found the nest yesterday during an afternoon stalk. I now decide to set up… Continue reading Photographing at Common Bush-Tanager’s nest

Greyish Saltator in Brazil: News from Taxonomy

A Greyish Saltator (Saltator coerulescens) sits on the edge of a bush and spits fruit. The pulp is spilling out of the edges of its beak. I was just about to go to the sparsly vegetated gallery forest. There is a beautiful morning light. Right at the beginning, in the light forest with its cactus… Continue reading Greyish Saltator in Brazil: News from Taxonomy

Radde’s Accentor in Turkish Ski resort in eastern Turkey

A spring, well hidden by willow bushes, seems to be a very good bird attraction here in the barren landscape. Again and again dripping wet birds come out of a thicket of willows, shake their feathers and dry themselves. So they bathe in the hiding place of the willow. A Red-backed Shrike (Lanius collurio) is… Continue reading Radde’s Accentor in Turkish Ski resort in eastern Turkey

Finsch’s Wheatear at Gobustan museum and visitor center

Unfazed by the passing coaches, a male Finsch’s Wheatear (Oenanthe finschii) stands on a rock. On the way down from the famous Gobustan rock paintings in the south of the Azerbaijani capital, Baku, I want to give the male Finsch’s Wheatear a chance for a photo. In fact, the male cannot be seen at first.… Continue reading Finsch’s Wheatear at Gobustan museum and visitor center

R’as al-Khor: a paradiese for Waterfowl

Nowhere else in Europe or the Middle East can you get so close to Greater Flamingos (Phoenicopterus phoenicopterus) or Western Reef-Herons (Egretta gularis schistacea) as in the R’as al-Khor. Many waders fish in the shallow waters just meters from tourists armed with binoculars and cameras. The Western Reef-Heron´s plumage shows two color phases. There is… Continue reading R’as al-Khor: a paradiese for Waterfowl

Giant Otters in Manu

A tropical thunderstorm is just unloading; when the murmur of the rain fades, we continue on a muddy path through the forest. Then we go by boat on a curici, a lake that consists of a truncated oxbow lake. “Lobo,” Luis suddenly calls into the unreal silence. “Lobo de Rio”, wolf of the rivers, as… Continue reading Giant Otters in Manu

Saih al-Salam, paradise in the midst of semi-desert and acacia savannah in the Emirates

The first chains of Sandgrouse appear early in the morning. Still, it is remarkably cool. But very soon, the air will be heatened up to the highest degrees. Sandgrouses do not only arrive quenching their thirst on the extensive waters. Species such as the Arabian Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse (Pterocles exustus erlangeri) and Pin-tailed Sandgrouse (Pterocles alchata)… Continue reading Saih al-Salam, paradise in the midst of semi-desert and acacia savannah in the Emirates