Birdraces or Big Days are fun events to raise money for bird conservation. I have been a keen participant in the Austrian version of this ‚competition‘ in many years, fortunate enough to be on the …
Continue readingAutor: LK
Intersex Eurasian Teal
Intersex birds are usually females exhibiting male characteristics. This Eurasian Teal / Krickente (Anas crecca) was the first of its kind that I encountered. Intersex of this species seem to show a characteristic set of …
Continue readingBlue-cheeked Bee-eater bathing
Since I saw bee-eaters and orioles taking a dip for the first time, I watched out and had numerous observations of various species. This set shows how Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters / Blauwangenspint (Merops persicus) does it, …
Continue readingRuff forgot to cut toenails
I have wondered for a long time, why Ruff / Kampfläufer (Calidris pugnax) seem to show leg injuries (much) more often than other shorebirds at Seewinkel, Austria. Is it just that Ruff appear in larger …
Continue readingComplete post-breeding moult of a Red-backed Shrike in Austria
An adult female Red-backed Shrike / Neuntöter (Lanius collurio) ringed on 10th August 2023 at St. Martins Lodge, Frauenkirchen/Austria showed advanced moult of remiges with corresponding greater coverts and tertials in both wings as well …
Continue readingPelagic trips off Guatemala’s Pacific Coast: Birds, Dolphins, Whales etc.
Since there’s little information to find on seabird abundances and phenology off Guatemala’s Pacific coast – especially if you’re not trying to dig into and make sense of single ebird checklists (which unfortunately often contain …
Continue readingBee-eaters and Golden Orioles bathing behaviour
On a hot evening on 13th May 2024 on the island of Pag, Croatia I observed European Bee-eaters / Bienenfresser (Merops apiaster) and Eurasian Golden Orioles / Pirole (Oriolus oriolus) bathing together at the same …
Continue readingWhite-throated Magpie-Jay picks ectoparasites off White-tailed Deer
While at Los Tarrale Natural Reserve, Guatemala on 9th August 2024, I observed a White-throated Magpie-Jay / Weißkehl-Elsternhäher (Cyanocorax formosus) perching on the back of a ruminating young male White-tailed Deer / Weißwedelhirsch (Odocoileus virginianus). …
Continue readingPeregrine Falcon cuts off entire wing in collision with power line
A Peregrine Falcon / Wanderfalke (Falco peregrinus) that I had ringed in Graz, Austria as a chick in 2021 (female SJS/Viktoria), was recovered in the city of Maribor, Slovenia on 16th December 2024 (61 km …
Continue readingStock Dove tries to mate with Collared Dove
On 16th March 2024 Martin Suanjak and me observed an apparent male Stock Dove / Hohltaube (Columba oenas) persistently following and trying to mate with a Eurasian Collard-Dove / Türkentaube (Streptopelia decaocto) at St. Martins …
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