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Vogelschutzgebiet Haardtrand
Shame on me to not have spend a few more words on the grey heron. It is such a ubiquitous bird to see in Germany, not only close to water (wherein it stalks fish or amphibiae) but also on agricultural fields (where it stalks mice and maybe other rodents too). The Graureiher is the very epitome... -
Vogelschutzgebiet Haardtrand
You have to believe me, but this is Bubo bubo (Eurasian eagle-owl, German: "Uhu" -- nomen est omen!) on top of the tree. We saw and heard it several times in the past two months -- I wish taking a photo with the lightning of a thunderstorm in the background that one time had worked! We... -
Vogelschutzgebiet Haardtrand
Some more firsts, now May 2022: - Jynx torquilla (Eurasian wryneck, German: "Wendehals"). Hearing it, I at first mistook it for Falco tinnunculus before I spotted it. When I spotted another one, I had a camera with me but was not quick enough. - Sylvia borin (garden warbler, German... -
Vogelschutzgebiet Haardtrand
And should anyone be interested in more in-depth information on the Haardtrand and its birds, here's a little reading list in chronological order: Rosl Rößner, Hans-Wolfgang Helb, Annalena Schotthöfer & Oliver Röller, Vögel in Rheinland-Pfalz - beobachten und erkennen (Neustadt an der... -
Vogelschutzgebiet Haardtrand
A little April 2022 update: Photo 1: My first Milvus migrans (black kite, German: Schwarzmilan) in my Haardtrand patch. Photo 2: Two red kites. By the end of last week, most migratory birds which I have already listed had returned (though a -- rather rusty -- common nightingale could, as... -
Vogelschutzgebiet Haardtrand
The question has (been) moved to its own thread: Visiting Stuttgart April 2022 -
Vogelschutzgebiet Haardtrand
"Amsel, Drossel, Fink und Star / und die ganze Vogelschar / " -
Vogelschutzgebiet Haardtrand
Passeridae: Photo 1: Passer domesticus (German: Haussperling, often simply called Spatz; English: house sparrow) – One of the most common birds around. They occupy the bird feeders all year long. Numberswise, it belongs to the top 5 song birds in Germans, though allegedly the population has... -
Vogelschutzgebiet Haardtrand
And this post is quite a big one! Fringillidae: Photo 1: Fringilla coelebs (German: Buchfink, English: chaffinch) – A very common (forest) bird and a regular to the (winter) feeder (since I've written this on my computer, I have seen chaffinches both at the summer feeder as well as in the... -
Vogelschutzgebiet Haardtrand
Glad you like my little attempt at characterizing the Haardtrand! -
Vogelschutzgebiet Haardtrand
Thank you! There are many European serin around here. Which reminds to write the post about finches ... -
Vogelschutzgebiet Haardtrand
Sittidae: Photo 1: Sitta europaea (German: Kleiber, English: Eurasian nuthatch) – This bird’s other (though rather uncommon) German name, Spechtmeise (“woodpecker tit”), sums it up: small as a tit but mostly active on trees, especially along their trunks, like a (great spotted) woodpecker. The... -
Vogelschutzgebiet Haardtrand
Aegithalidae: Photo 1: Aegithalos caudatus (German: Schwanzmeise, English: long-tailed tit) – A winter regular at the bird feeder but rather scarce during the warmer months of the year. I suppose that among the winter visitors are many migrants from farther north. Paridae: Photo 2: Parus... -
Vogelschutzgebiet Haardtrand
Turdus: Photos 1 & 2: Turdus merula (German: Amsel or Schwarzdrossel, English: Eurasian blackbird) – One of Germany’s most numerous songbirds and also very common along the Haardtrand. 200 years ago, this was allegedly a shy woodland bird – now, one can find blackbirds in urban areas as well... -
Vogelschutzgebiet Haardtrand
Phylloscopus: No photo: Phylloscopus collybita (German: Zilpzalp, English: chiffchaff) – It is definitely there, you can hear it singing from seemingly every second tree in the zone between woods and vinyards. But it is so hidden and elusive – just as its “twin”, Phylloscopus trochilus (German... -
Vogelschutzgebiet Haardtrand
Prunellidae: Photo 1: Prunella modularis (German: Heckenbraunelle, English: dunnock) – This was one of the first birds that I had to "actively" identify with a field guide because it looks so similar to the house sparrow. A common winter visitor to the feeder (or rather to what falls down from... -
Vogelschutzgebiet Haardtrand
Picidae: Photo 1: Picus viridis (German: Grünspecht, English: European green woodpecker) – very common, seems to feel quite at home between woods and vinyards, especially after the vintners have mowed or plowed their fields. Photo 2: Dendrocopos major (German: Buntspecht, English: great... -
Vogelschutzgebiet Haardtrand
Columbidae: Photo 1: Columba palumbus (German: Ringeltaube, English: common wood pigeon) – Indeed very common. Photo 2: Streptopelia decaocto (German: Türkentaube, English: Eurasian collared dove) Strigidae: Photo 3: Strix aluco (German: Waldkauz, English: tawny owl) – The only owl I have... -
Vogelschutzgebiet Haardtrand
Circus: Photo 1: Circus aeruginosus (German: Rohrweihe, English: western marsh harrier) – O.K., here I have to contradict what I myself wrote in a previous post, as this harrier was not spotted in “my patch” but at that aforementioned special bird reserve. Please forgive me, but I have liked... -
Vogelschutzgebiet Haardtrand
Buteo: Buteo buteo (German: Mäusebussard, English: common buzzard) – The most plentiful large predator in “my patch”. The photos nicely show the Mäusebussard’s various morphs. One can see them circling all year long or hunting from a perched position such as old, already dead trees just above... -
Vogelschutzgebiet Haardtrand
Milvus: Photo 1: Milvus milvus (German: Rotmilan or Gabelweihe, English: red kite) – The only one I have seen so far in “my patch” on the Haardtrand; mid-February 2021. I saw another one elsewhere over the Haardtrand in mid-May 2021. The red kite is far more frequent in my other “patch” in the... -
Vogelschutzgebiet Haardtrand
I will now continue along the list of birds as used in Pareys Vogelbuch. Alle Vögel Mitteleuropas, Nordafrikas und des Mittleren Ostens (Hamburg & Berlin 1983, fourth edition) -- the German version of The Birds of Britain and Europe with North Africa and the Middle East (London 1972). There is... -
Vogelschutzgebiet Haardtrand
Oh, birds. Well, this is the Bird Forum, so I should probably, eventually, finally get to the point … Going back to the beginning of what has turned out to be a rather essay-ish string of posts, there are several “Zielarten” (I would roughly translate this as “target species”) in the Haardtrand... -
Vogelschutzgebiet Haardtrand
As there are still dry stone walls in the vinyards, you will also find European wall lizard; other reptiles are grass snake and slow worm. Among amphibians, there are fire salamander and various types of frogs and toads. I am not an expert on insects, but there are lots of honey bees, wild... -
Vogelschutzgebiet Haardtrand
Let us go back to the Haardtrand. It is not only that I grew up between woods and vinyards that makes me think it is a special place; this very location between the Pfälzerwald and the Upper Rhine Valley, with a very steep fall from the top of the Haardt with its pine forests to the hills just...