A Eurasian Wryneck (Jynx torquilla) sits on a branch of Black Elder (Sambucus nigra) in the first light of morning. He sunbathes and yawns. He opens his beak wide. An extension shoots out like a dagger. The wryneck shows his tongue! The tongue of a Eurasian Wryneck is surprisingly long when fully extended. It’s pointed… Continue reading A Wryneck presenting its tongue
Tag: Berlin
Habicht-Weibchen im kraftvollen Anflug
Hohe, schrille, laute Rufe schallen durch den morgendlichen Kiefernwald im Osten der Norddeutschen Tiefebene. Plötzlich ist ein grauer Vogel mit weißer Unterseite elegant zwischen den teils eng stehenden Kiefern zu sehen. Es fliegt das Weibchen des Habichts (Accipiter gentilis) durch den Kiefernwald ein. Nach einer Runde kommt sie angeflogen und setzt sich in die Nähe… Continue reading Habicht-Weibchen im kraftvollen Anflug
Female Montagu’s Harrier from southern Brandenburg in the Czech Republic
A female Montagu’s Harrier (Circus pygargus) from southern Brandenburg – just 60 km south of Berlin – was found a few days ago as a breeding bird on the nest in Plzensky Kraj about 10 km west of Plzen. The Montagu’s Harrier was ringed 2021 when it was a nestling together with its 3 nest… Continue reading Female Montagu’s Harrier from southern Brandenburg in the Czech Republic
Große Rosin: Northern Shoveler after heavy hailstorm
A hailstorm sweeps across the countryside. Just after the thunderstorm ceased a male Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata) flies particularly beautifully in front of us on the watch tower. From the observation tower it can be admired in flight at eye level with its bright blue and green wings and the brown belly. Although it is… Continue reading Große Rosin: Northern Shoveler after heavy hailstorm
Snipes: Courtship in the air
A flooded area in the middle of the swampy lowland of the Nuthe, south of the Fläming in southern Brandenburg only 30 km south of Berlin. As soon as I arrive at the wetland at dawn, snipes (Gallinago gallinago) start flying. The area was heavily flooded in the winter. Now the highest water levels have… Continue reading Snipes: Courtship in the air
Bramblings in preparation for migration
Polyphonic, high-pitched calls resound from the dense tops of a pine forest at the edge of a sports field in southern Brandenburg, only 50 km away from Berlin. The calls can be heard from far away and are characterized by their rather squawking pitch. The birds can be heard from different directions. It must be… Continue reading Bramblings in preparation for migration
Red-footed falcon on migration in the Flaeming south of Berlin
It’s migration time again. Six Common Snipes (Gallinago gallinago) fly up from the wetland in the middle of the agricultural steppe. The reason seems unclear to me until I see 2 small raptors circling over the area. A raptor, the one with a gray upperside, looks like a sparrowhawk; not much larger or the same… Continue reading Red-footed falcon on migration in the Flaeming south of Berlin
Löffenten in heftigem Sommerschauer
Ein Hagelschauer geht über den Teichen von Stangenhagen nieder. Hatten viele Wat- und Wasservögel bisher noch stoisch auf oder am See gestanden, kommt jetzt Bewegung in die Vogelmassen, die sich hier im Spätsommer zur Mauser und zur ersten Rast auf dem Weg in die Winterquartiere treffen. Zuerst fliegen die Kiebitze (Vanellus vanellus) in einem dichten… Continue reading Löffenten in heftigem Sommerschauer
Spontaneous colonization at a retention basin by Little Ringed Plover
In the morning light, a bird with contrasting colors curves with sickle-like wings above a retention basin, which is only 6 months old and is part of a construction project for the renovation of a county road near a village in the middle of the countryside of southern Brandenburg, just 40 kilometers south of Germany´s… Continue reading Spontaneous colonization at a retention basin by Little Ringed Plover
Pink-footed Goose in Rudow-Altglienicke/ Berlin
This time there was no need to patiently monitor flocks of geese with a spotting scope in windy weather and sleet and snow showers. It was cool and wet, but the Pink-footed Goose (Anser brachyrhynchus) in the Landschaftspark (landscape park) Rudow-Altglienicke could be seen quickly in flocks with Greylag Geese (Anser anser) and 2 Greater… Continue reading Pink-footed Goose in Rudow-Altglienicke/ Berlin
Kurzschnabelgans in Berlin
Auf das geduldige Durchsuchen eines Gänsetrupps mit dem Spektiv bei windigem Wetter und Graupel- und Schneeschauern war man diesmal gar nicht angewiesen. Es war zwar kühl und nass, aber die Kurzschnabelgans (Anser brachyrhynchus) vom Landschaftspark Rudow-Altglienicke war in Trupps mit Graugänsen (Anser anser) und 2 Bläßgänsen (Anser albifrons) schnell zu sehen. Leider war es wieder… Continue reading Kurzschnabelgans in Berlin
Eurasian Hobby in Brandenburg’s pine forests
It is evening. A cloud bank blocks the sun. There will probably be rain. A flock of small reaptors flying gracefully low over the grasslands fascinates me. They look like falcons, I still think. Suddenly someone comes flying at high speed over the grove in front of me. Yes, definitely Eurasian Hobby (Falco subbuteo). They… Continue reading Eurasian Hobby in Brandenburg’s pine forests