Females of Red-backed Shrike / Neuntöter (Lanius collurio) show some variety of plumage features. While the „typical“ female has a brown head and nape with a slight grey tinge and medium (reddish) brown ear coverts, …
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Common Moorhens mating
When Common Moorhens / Teichhühner (Gallinula chloropus) mate, the female lies down on her tarsi and arches her neck, looking down to the ground. If the copulation happens in shallow water, this leads to the …
Continue readingOne fish is not enough to take a break
After this Osprey / Fischadler (Pandion haliaetus) had caught a medium-sized fish, it didn’t fly off to eat it. Instead, it repositioned over the water again and continued to hover. In the meantime, the fish …
Continue readingThe winner of the Eastern Marsh Harrier look-alike contest
The plumage of Western Marsh Harriers / Rohrweihen (Circus aeruginosus) can be amazingly variable thanks to different morphs, individual variation and depending on sex and age. Some variation in adult male Western Marsh Harriers: I …
Continue readingRedshank catching flying insects
Some photos of a special Common Redshank / Rotschenkel (Tringa totanus), catching flying insects by jumping in the air. This individual was ringed in September 2015 in Comacchio, Italy and returned to Seewinkel to breed …
Continue readingJack Snipes forage at night
I’ve not seen too many Jack Snipes / Zwergschnepfen (Lymnocryptes minimutus) in my life and I guess that most observers haven’t had a lot of sightings either. A main reason for this is the species‘ …
Continue readingBlack-winged Stilts overwinter successfully in Austria for the first time
The first attempt of Black-winged Stilt / Stelzenläufer to overwinter in Austria.
Continue readingHow fast is a White-tailed Eagle in active flight?
When I drove through Seewinkel recently, an immature White-tailed Eagle / Seeadler (Haliaeetus albicilla) took off on a field, right next to the road. As it continued its active, powerful flight low over the ground, …
Continue readingFemale Red-backed Shrike with one male tail feather
Every once in a while, I think back about a bird that I encountered in June/July 2013 in Seewinkel. This female Red-backed Shrike / Neuntöter (Lanius collurio) was paired to a male. Her special feature …
Continue readingKleptoparasitism by a Goosander
Edit 2024: This observation turned into this short note. While shooting a new episode of the #gobirdingvlog at the Gralla reservoir, Austria in December 2019, I encountered a male Goosander / Gänsesäger (Mergus merganser) aggressively …
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