There is a pair of Red-Backed Shrikes in my neighbourhood that I haven't yet been able to see. I knew, however, where they typically hang out so I went there yesterday with my camera and tripod, set up the camera to point and potential perches and finally managed to see them and take a few short videos!

Their German name, Neuntöter, translates to "Nine Killer". It is said that they kill nine things before they actually eat one. This isn't actually too far fetched as Red-Backed Shrikes kill insects, small rodents or baby birds and hang them up on thorny bushes and other plants for later. The bush the female is perched on later on in the video is a blackberry bush which has thorns.

Wagtails are always fun to watch! Here's a White Wagtail I saw on my morning walk hovering above the (honestly rather disgusting-looking) water with its mouth already full of insects.

Went for a walk and managed to take a photo of a bird I hadn’t been able to photograph yet: A Spotted Flycatcher!

Its German name, Grauschnäpper, translates to “Grey Snatcher” — probably because it likes snatching flies and other insects!

cross-posted from: https://beehaw.org/post/555041

Managed to get a decent recording of the Common Firecrest I heard today and it was a lot of fun! I mostly do bird photography, but I want to start recording birds' songs and calls with something that has better audio quality than my iPhone.

Basically: Does anyone know of a good and not outlandishly (≤ €200) expensive audio recorder you can use? Preferably one that also has microphones that can deal with wind noise.

Managed to get a decent recording of the Common Firecrest I heard today and it was a lot of fun! I mostly do bird photography, but I want to start recording birds' songs and calls with something that has better audio quality than my iPhone.

Basically: Does anyone know of a good and not outlandishly (≤ €200) expensive audio recorder you can use? Preferably one that also has microphones that can deal with wind noise.

cross-posted from: https://beehaw.org/post/548613

I always take a walk around my office during lunch. Finally managed to see and also record a firecrest. Such a tiny but cool-looking bird!

I always take a walk around my office during lunch. Finally managed to see and also record a firecrest. Such a tiny but cool-looking bird!

https://beehaw.org/post/545914

Seeing a glowing (b)orb in the trees is always a delight! So here's a male Eurasian Bullfinch (Gimpel / Dompfaff in Germany) after just having preened, his feathers still slightly fluffed up.

He was sitting in a tree really far away, but spotting him was simple — so colourful! Saw him on the weekend in North-Western Germany.

Seeing a glowing (b)orb in the trees is always a delight! So here's a male Eurasian Bullfinch (Gimpel / Dompfaff in Germany) after just having preened, his feathers still slightly fluffed up.

He was sitting in a tree really far away, but spotting him was simple — so colourful! Saw him on the weekend in North-Western Germany.

This frequently happens to me - I open the website and I am briefly logged in as another user as can be seen at the top right corner. It takes about a second and then I'm logged in as myself again. Managed to take a quick screenshot before it changed back.

The website theme is also changed from what I have it set to.

I find it a bit concerning how frequently this happens. Anyone have any idea as to why this happens?

https://beehaw.org/post/526754

I really like how this photo turned out! I took it one evening a few days ago in North-Western Germany. A very common bird around here with a distinctive call you can hear basically everywhere.

I really like how this photo turned out! I took it one evening a few days ago in North-Western Germany. A very common bird around here with a distinctive call you can hear basically everywhere.

cross-posted from: https://beehaw.org/post/518744

I was playing a game and heard a lot of loud cawing outside that sounded a bit "off", i.e. not like the cawing of the regular crows.

Therefore, I decided to look outside and saw this rook perched on a cable right next to my window!

Its beak is probably slightly open because of the heat. If I remember correctly, this is how bird's try to dissipate heat (their form of "panting", I guess) since they cannot sweat.

I was playing a game and heard a lot of loud cawing outside that sounded a bit "off", i.e. not like the cawing of the regular crows.

Therefore, I decided to look outside and saw this rook perched on a cable right next to my window!

Its beak is probably slightly open because of the heat. If I remember correctly, this is how bird's try to dissipate heat (their form of "panting", I guess) since they cannot sweat.

I was taking a walk (as I always do) on Saturday morning around my neighbourhood. There's a couple of ponds around and on the bank of one of those ponds, I saw two strange ducks. Their bright yellow beaks really caught my attention and I took a couple of photos, but I thought they were just strange mallards.

Upon further research once I got home, however, it turned out that these ducks were, in fact, Yellow-Billed Ducks! They are only native to some parts of Africa. Not sure how or why they came here to North-Western Germany! Maybe escaped pets?

I was taking a walk (as I always do) on Saturday morning around my neighbourhood. There's a couple of ponds around and on the bank of one of those ponds, I saw two strange ducks. Their bright yellow beaks really caught my attention and I took a couple of photos, but I thought they were just strange mallards.

Upon further research once I got home, however, it turned out that these ducks were, in fact, Yellow-Billed Ducks! They are only native to some parts of Africa. Not sure how or why they came here to North-Western Germany! Maybe escaped pets?

cross-posted from: https://beehaw.org/post/498187

After having eluded me for months, I finally managed to see a Green Woodpecker again! I often hear their laugh-like call, but haven't been able to see them for a while. They're one of my favourites!

If you haven't heard their calls yet, I strongly encourage you to go to YouTube and listen to them — they're fantastic. They really sound like someone's laughing at you.

After having eluded me for months, I finally managed to see a Green Woodpecker again! I often hear their laugh-like call, but haven't been able to see them for a while. They're one of my favourites!

If you haven't heard their calls yet, I strongly encourage you to go to YouTube and listen to them — they're fantastic. They really sound like someone's laughing at you.

I know these guys are frowned upon in the US, but they are a pleasant sight here in Germany!

In fact, their numbers in many of their native habitats (for example here in Germany) have actually been declining in the past years, so I am always happy to see some of them running around.

This particular bird was collecting some bugs and insects to feed to the young birds that were nearby. He ruffled his feathers a bit which is when I took this photo — looks so fluffy!

I know these guys are frowned upon in the US, but they are a pleasant sight here in Germany!

In fact, their numbers in many of their native habitats (for example here in Germany) have actually been declining in the past years, so I am always happy to see some of them running around.

This particular bird was collecting some bugs and insects to feed to the young birds that were nearby. He ruffled his feathers a bit which is when I took this photo — looks so fluffy!