Photos of a what I believe to be a female hybrid Red-crested Pochard / Kolbenente (Netta rufina) x Tufted Duck / Reiherente (Aythya fuligula). The bird was associated with a spring flock of Red-crested Pochards …
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A very pale Hooded Crow
Seewinkel in eastern Austria lies in the area of Hooded Crow / Nebelkrähe (Corvus cornix) – but barely. While Carrion Crows / Rabenkrähen (C. corone) also do occur here, they are vastly outnumbered by Hooded …
Continue readingA Ruff with two leg colors
On 22nd April 2023 I saw this adult male Ruff / Kampfläufer (Calidris puganx) at Racó de l’Olla/Albufera de Valencia, Spain. It shows a different color on each leg. The color appeared not to be …
Continue readingBee-eaters remove dead nestling from nest
On 10. August 2023 we noticed a dead nestling in the entrance of a nest of European Bee-eaters / Bienenfresser (Merops apiaster) in a colony in Frauenkirchen, Austria. We tried to remove it, but it …
Continue readingLengths of nest tunnels of European Bee-eater
In fall 2023 I measured 56 nest tunnels of European Bee-eater / Bienenfresser (Merops apiaster). 10 in Frauenkirchen, Austria and 46 on the Adriatic island of Susak, Croatia. All nests were found in loess cliffs …
Continue readingShades of Pink and Yellow: „omissus“ Herring Gulls from the German Baltic coast
… yellow-legged individuals are present throughout the whole of Scandinavia. (…) We still do not have a solution as to why some argentatus have yellow legs and others not, but it may simply be diet-related. …
Continue readingHouse Martins nesting in woodpecker holes in styrofoam facade
In the breeding season 2022, House Martins / Mehlschwalben (Delichon urbicum) in a colony of roughly 80 natural nests started to occupy and build nests in three holes that a Green Woodpecker / Grünspecht (Picus …
Continue reading„Rusty“ Greylag Geese
On 7th July 2022 I spotted three adult Greylag Geese / Graugänse (Anser anser) among a big flock, that stood out due to their rusty-looking plumage. Judging from the stained undertail coverts these birds were …
Continue readingA pale Common Snipe
When taking pictures of a small group of Common Snipe / Bekassine (Gallinago gallinago) from the bird photo hide of St. Martins Lodge in Frauenkirchen, Austria, this very pale individual, with buff-colored breast, head and …
Continue readingSublingual fistula in a Red-crested Pochard
Do you notice the thing below the female Red-crested Pochards / Kolbenente (Netta rufina) bill? It’s the tongue of the bird, hanging through the mandible. A condition known as oral or sublingual fistula. A sublingual …
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