Red-backed Shrike (Lanius collurio)
On two days I visited my old home county, the canton of Thurgau in Eastern Switzerland. Besides foxes, deers and rabbits I found this Red-backed Shrike. This beautiful bird is quite famous because it spears its prey - mainly large insects - on spines. This strange behaviour serves in food storage for times with bad weather when the hunt for insects is not so fruitfully.
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Moonlight Sonata
In this picture the scene seems very peaceful. But those who have ever witnessed the thousands of crows taking their stands for the night in Aarau and the noise they make, they will probably not think about Beethoven. The moonlight allowed the reduction to the silhouettes of the animals.
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Great Tit (Parus major)
Before the beginning of winter, most birds leave Switzerland in order to spend the cold time in warmer climates. The Great Tit is one of the most frequent brood-birds in Switzerland and spends usually also the winter here. Now that the trees have lost their leaves, the chances are good to meet them in the forest. Here I had the luck to meet a whole group.
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Morning song
Colorful autumnal light surrounds the song of this Great Tit.
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Grey heron (Ardea cinerea)
Grey herons are very shy animals. They can rarely be observed or photographed from a close distance. Even a camouflage cover is of little use, they notice it somehow. But here I was lucky, because I was sitting camouflaged behind a reed belt when it landed. Afterwards the reed was pushed aside again and again thanks to strong gusts of wind, which made this photo possible.
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Grey heron (Ardea cinerea)
Bird species that spend winter in our latitudes sometimes have to endure hard times. Although increasingly rare due to climate change, there is regular snow in the lowlands of Switzerland. In the winter of 2020/21 this was the case several times. This gray heron, which I have encountered here frequently, was probably quite cold and also hungry, certainly dreaming of spring. But that still lasted a while. Meanwhile, however, three young gray herons fly there.
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Eurasian Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus scirpaceus)
If you are near a reed belt, you can often hear the song of the reed warbler. Usually it is not to be seen or only very briefly deep in the reeds, nervously jumping from one stalk to the next. This specimen, however, presented itself beautifully, reminding me of an opera singer, so that I could take quite a few photos.
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Green sandpiper (Tringa ochropus)
During the last weeks I had explored a new location near my home, where already during the first visits I discovered kingfishers and many other waterfowl. So finally I took a whole day off and spent about eight hours there, certainly not for the last time. Shortly after sunrise this Green Sandpiper strutted in front of me in search of food, only a few meters away from a dipper.
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White wagtail (Motacilla alba)
White wagtails are a common bird along these streams, as is the Grey Wagtail, which can also be found here. This wagtail hopped from stone to stone and landed in between in the light of the just risen sun, occasionally on a stick to rest briefly.
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Grey wagtail (Motacilla cinerea)
This year I found a nice location where I can see the dipper almost all the time and where the kingfisher shows up regularly. And in between, the grey wagtail keeps coming. These three beautiful birds live along streams and share their reserves. One could almost think that the frequent washing causes the beauty. Or the look in the mirror as in this picture?
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Grey wagtail (Motacilla cinerea)
Actually I was looking for dippers, when suddenly a grey wagtail flew in front of my camera. These birds living along streams fascinate me every time by their beautiful colors and also by their elegant flight. Because of the current high water it probably had to look for new places, the gravel banks at the shore were deeply under water. The dippers had less problems there and dived for their food.
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Grey wagtail (Motacilla cinerea)
Beside the quite frequent white wagtail there is also the mountain wagtail in Switzerland, which occurs however some more rarely. It is mostly found on the gravelly banks of watercourses, and contrary to its name, also in the lowlands. While I was watching the kingfishers, I suddenly noticed that there was another bird near the water. Since it did not notice me under the camouflage cover, I was able to photograph it for a few minutes.
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On the verge
This great tit unexpectedly jumped on the branch. The branches form a kind of frame around the bird. I especially like this because of the graphical effect it creates.
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Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo)
You can see the great cormorant almost anytime in the city of Aarau along the river Aare. In the nature reserve nearby I haven't seen them often, usually just flying by. That morning I sat next to the shore of the Aarschächli in the early morning and in the fog. Suddenly two cormorants swam along quite close. In the early morning light the don't appear black, but rather shiny.
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See you later...
Together with its male companion this mallard invaded the carved out territory of a coot in a pond at the Rohrer Schachen near Aarau, Switzerland. After some minutes of loud twitter the coot started an attack and the mallards took their heels.
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Insufficient Privacy
Along the steep coast line of the british islands there are various free standing rocks that are full of birds. This picture shows a rock of that kind, located at Farne Island, Northumberland. Just before the main breeding season I'm sure it got even denser the following weeks.
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Guillemots
Guillemots are among the most common sea birds along the coast of Great Britain. On Farne Island they breed in huge numbers. A intersting visual mark of this birds is a color variation that can be seen at about every eighth bird in this area. It is a white ring around the eyes. So the two birds on this picture are the same species.
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Seagull
Hidden between the rocks this seagull watches its environment from its nest in Seahouses, Northumberland. They build their nests in small holes in the rocks. That gives them protection from weather influences and predators.
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Arctic Tern
I could observe two Arctic Terns hunting around a little pond in Mecklenburg-West Pomerania. They were flying their circles around the pond and from time to time they plunged into the water to catch little fishes. They ignored the signpost clarifying that it was a private area and fishing was forbidden.
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Arctic Tern
There are not only puffins that can be found on Farne Island in Northumberland but many other kinds of sea birds. One of the most prevalent are the arctic terns (Sterna paradisaea). They are quite easy to take pictures of just before landing. Then they use to fly quite still in the adverse winds.
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Arctic Tern
This arctic tern posed on a nature stone wall on Farne Island in Northumberland. The background shows the approaching thunderstorm.
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Puffin, Farne Island
On a photography workshop with Alan Hewitt on Farne Island I had the focus on this puffin for quite a long time. I waited for it to start another flight. Unfortunately it was very happy there and had no intention to leave. Anyway, I think I got paid well with this picture.
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Puffin taking off, Farne Island
On a photography workshop with Alan Hewitt on Farne Island I had the chance to take pictures of many puffins (Fratercula arctica). The waiting time was long before the first one of this group left the rock. Finally it took off and flew into the abyss.
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Puffin, Farne Island
During our second holidays in Northumberland I joined Alan Hewittfor a very intensive, but also very successful photography workshop on Farne Island. I was hoping for beautiful pictures of puffins, this is one of the resulting images.
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Red Kite
It is an interesting fact that the number of Red Kites is growing in Switzerland in contrast to most other countries. It is nothing unusual to see one of these raptors in the sky. Still it was quite special when I could see about ten of these animals flying in circles above me. The reason was a farmer who was cutting the grass and by that probably made available some food that they were diving for. I could even observe as one of the birds caught a big dragonfly in flight.
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Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus)
On the way back after a long unsuccessful time in a hide, I noticed a bird of prey ten meters from my bike through the bushes. It was maybe three meters away and even remained sitting while I photographed it from all possible directions. Only when a dog came close did it leave the branch. At home, the difficult identification of the species then began, although I must admit that I first thought of a hawk. However, thanks to the support of my friend Ambroise Marchand, I then came up with the sparrowhawk, my first conscious observation of this bird species.
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White-throated dipper (Cinclus cinclus)
Immediately after a beaver passed through this spot, the dipper came flying over and seemed to mark its territory again. Gladly I took the opportunity in the fresh morning light to take this and many more photos of her. Besides searching for food, she was also intensively occupied with the care of her already fledged child.
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Juvenile White-throated dipper (Cinclus cinclus)
As wintering birds, the dippers start breeding early in the year. Accordingly, the young birds are already on the move in mid-April, even though this one still seems quite insecure and dependent on the care of the parents.
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White-throated dipper
Fast, small and difficult to find they are, the white-throated dippers (cinclus cinclus). Standing along a stream and looking for them chances are quite good to see them. They are the only kind of singing birds that not only know swimming but also diving. This picture was taken at the Rohrer Schachen near Aarau, Switzerland.
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Schwan
Kontrastreiche Aufnahme eines weissen Schwans an der Aare
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Early morning Mallard
As it can be seen quite often along small lakes Etang de la Gruyère in the Swiss canton Jura had ground fog just above the water line. This mallard did not care, and I was happy about the opportunity. By the way, this picture is not black & white.
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Entenflug auf Öl
Am Aarschächli konnte ich diese drei Enten im Flug photographieren. Erstaunlich ist für mich der Unterschied des Verhaltens der Enten hier im Vergleich zu jenen nur wenige Kilometer entfernt in Aarau. Dort kann man sie fast streicheln, im Naturschutzgebiet haben sie ihre ursprüngliche Angst vor Menschen behalten
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Mandarinentenpaar
Diese Art gehört eigentlich nicht nach Europa, sie wurde wegen Ihres Aussehens aus Asien hergebracht. Dieses Paar scheint jedenfalls zufrieden zu sein und geniesst scheinbar die Aussicht.
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Seeadler auf Vancouver Island
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Pool frog (Pelophylax lessonae)
Since the frogs had enough action this morning with their quarrels, I could approach the pond almost without problems and they did not immediately take flight as usual. So I calmly placed the camera at water level and made a whole series of such photos. I would call it a successful morning.
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Pool frog (Pelophylax lessonae)
Quietly it was sitting on the branch swimming in the water. As always when approaching pool frogs I had to be very careful because the slightest movement on my part would force it to jump into the protecting water of the pool. That would mean that one has to wait for a long time for its reappearance - hopefully at the very same location. I could take this picture of the pool frog from a very low position through the reed.
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Pool frog (Pelophylax lessonae)
I took pictures of pool frogs in the Rohrer Schachen quite often. Usually they immediatly take flight when you approach and it takes longer telephoto lenses than there are in my possession. Or they hide in the reed. There they are very difficult to see. When I took this picture the light was a big help, the result was a study in green.
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Pool frog
Rare picture of a pool frog that is not in the water or at least on close proximity. My idea was to come close at a very slow speed and to finally motivate it to jump. So I could get a picture of the flying frog. It really jumped, but the picture does not exist.
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Teichfrosch
Ja, diese Art heisst tatsächlich so. Ein beschreibender Name, wie ich ihn bisher nur im Grand Teton Nationalpark in den USA als Vogelname gehört hatte: "Yellow eyed black bird". Alles klar.
Im Rohrer Schachen hört man zu dieser Jahreszeit die Frösche mindestens ebenso gut wie die Vögel. Es ist auch recht einfach, sie zu photographieren: Hören, lokalisieren, langsam anpirschen, dann ruhig bleiben und warten, bis einer möglichst nahe als Motiv auftaucht. Oft muss man allerdings den Schilf ein wenig zur Seite drücken, um eine tiefe Position der Kamera realisieren zu können. Erstmals konnte ich heute die Schallblasen aufnehmen, die diese Froschart beim lauten Rufen unterstützen.
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Aggressive crab
One evening on my holidays at the North Sea I was sitting on the floor at the mudflat when the sea was receding. I was hoping for some good pictures of sea birds when something rather unexpected happened: Some crabs suddenly started comming out of the water and were looking for a hide behind stones. This crab was pretty sure that I was a stone. It was difficult convincing it that I wasn't a stone and that I didn't want to be one until I started pushing it softly with my feet.
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Beaver
It had been quite a long time since I went to the nature reserve Auenschutzpark Aarau-Wildegg to take pictures of beavers. Since recently the work of these animals has become ubiquitous in the area I was once again motivated to lie in ambush in the early morning hours. Successfully as it should turn out. But not at all surprising as I know very well where to find beavers. Occasionally some nutria and mallard ducks passed by as well, so it was diversified.
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Biber
Im Juni muss man sehr früh aufstehen, wenn man Biber sehen möchte - hatte ich mir gedacht. Also stellte ich den Wecker auf halb vier Uhr und war bereits um vier Uhr im Naturschutzgebiet. Es war stockdunkel, und überraschenderweise mucksmäuschenstill. Aber schon etwa eine Viertelstunde später, die Dämmerung begann einzusetzen, ging das Pfeiffen der Vögel im Wald los. Im Gegensatz zur vorher herrschenden Stille war das schon ein richtiger Lärm. Ich sass an diesem Morgen vier Stunden möglichst ruhig unter meinem Tarnnetz. Dreimal sah ich einen Biber, erst beim letzten Mal schaffte ich es, Photos zu machen. Allerdings hätte ich mir das frühe Aufstehen sparen können, denn der Zeitpunkt der Photos war fast derselbe wie bei meinen vorangehenden Sichtungen vor zwei Monaten.
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Alpine marmot
Usually you only see or hear marmots from far away. This time I could approach this male and its female as close as about five meters and observe the two for a longer time. Sometimes the male wanted to tag its patch with its loud whistles. That can be seen on this picture because of the wide open mouth.
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Alpine marmot (Marmota marmota)
During the annual general assembly event with the nature photographers of Switzerland we were allowed to experience - and photograph - great scenes of the marmots. Seven really young marmots were playing in the meadow, under the watchful eye of their parents. They gave themselves to eating and playing, but in between the rowdies also came back to their mother and got a few tender nudges on their noses.
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European Hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus)
In our neighborhood I had seen a hedgehog again and again for years. But that was always late in the evening, much too little light to be able to photograph him. Exactly on my birthday, this young hedgehog, probably born last year, gave me the gift of presenting himself a little earlier in the evening, so that I could finally take photos of a hedgehog. He came out after a rain in the early evening because the meadows were full of worms and snails: a real land of plenty.
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Reh im Schilf
Im Jægersborg Deer Park beim Vorort Klampenborg von Kopenhagen, Dänemark, habe ich im hohen Schilf zwei Rehe bei der Tagesruhe entdeckt. Sie waren so gut versteckt, dass sie wohl kaum einer der vielen anderen Besucher des Stadtparks gesehen hat. Spuren zeigten, dass sie regelmässig an der Stelle ruhen
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Deer
While spending summer holidays in Northern Germany, in the countryside not far from the Baltic Sea, one evening I decided to go to a forest where I thought there could be some animals. And yes, shortly after I had installed myself under the camouflage four deer approached and enjoyed eating on the lush pasture. Later they were joined by some hares. When I had decided to return home something thrilling started: An off-road car was approaching me across the pasture at high speed. As it turned out it was the local hunter to whom the ground belonged where I was just standing. We had a nice chat. As I had to learn the hunt season had already started. Means that it is somehow dangerous strolling around forest in Northern Germany.
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Rehbock im Wasser
Während ich frühmorgens am Steiner-Kanal im Rohrer Schachen hockte und auf einen Biber wartete, erschien plötzlich am anderen Ufer ein Rehbock. Ohne zu zögern schritt er die Böschung hinunter und begann, den Bach in meine Richtung zu queren. Das nutzte ich durch das Gebüsch hindurch für dieses Photo. Er entschied sich dann zwar, wieder zurückzugehen, aber Angst hatte er offensichtlich nicht.
Bei späteren Besuchen in diesem Naturschutzgebiet habe ich während Gesprächen mit anderen Leuten erfahren, dass schon mehrfach beobachtet wurde, wie Rehe das Aarschächli, einen kleinen See, durchschwommen haben. Zu gerne würde ich das selber einmal beobachten.
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Eichhörnchen
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Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) landing
In autumn there is a larger number of cormorants along the river Aare. That morning I was already hidden under my camouflage cover before dusk and waited for the awakening of the animal world. Several times I saw kingfishers, great crested grebes and mallards passed by, until I could finally take a picture of this cormorant in the warm morning light.
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Eurasian blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla)
Once again the English name for a bird is much more descriptive than the German one. Nonetheless, this male blackcap was obviously on the search for a female partner as it was singing at full force.
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Crested Tit (Lophophanes cristatus)
I spent two days on the Col du Marchairuz to take pictures for a new project. Unfortunately, the motif I was looking for was not to be found. With the Crested Tit I was still able to find a species that was missing in my photo collection, although it occurs frequently in Switzerland. The reason is that the Crested Tit tends to live in higher altitudes than Aarau, so I can't find it at home.
'Wildlife Wild' shows pictures of animals living in the great outdoors.
