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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Long-eared Owls breeding in Kestrel nest box
The default nesting location of Long-eared Owl / Waldohreule (Asio otus) are abandoned nests of corvids like Carrion Crow, Hooded Crow or Eurasian Magpie, as well as other large nests (e.g. of Common Buzzard, Grey …
Continue readingDifferent appearances of hybrids of Red-crested Pochards x Mallard
Photos of two different hybrids of Red-crested Pochard / Kolbenente (Netta rufina) x Mallard / Stockente (Anas platyrhynchos), taken in the same place (Rheindelta, Austria), 18 years apart in May 2005 and November 2023. This …
Continue readingPutative hybrid Red-crested Pochard x Tufted Duck
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 …
Continue readingA 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 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 readingStrange sounds of a European Robin
A first-year European Robin / Rotkehlchen (Erithacus rubecula) caught during a standardized bird ringing operation at St. Martins Lodge, Frauenkirchen (Austria) gave strange, squeaking sounds while still in the net, while held in the cloth …
Continue readingRed Kite catches dragonfly in mid-air, then gets harassed by Kestrel
While watching this juvenile Red Kite / Rotmilan (Milvus milvus) in late fall, the bird suddenly performed a swift, aerial maneuver. I appreciated the move for the bird showing it’s underside nicely, but I didn’t …
Continue readingA very, very pale Shelduck
It’s not the first, whitish Common Shelduck / Brandgans (Tadorna tadorna) that I have come across at Seewinkel, Austria (but probably the only one I took some snapshots of). It seems that aberrantly colored individuals …
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