Just over a month ago the afternoons and evenings here in Berlin were still filled with the beautiful songs of blackbirds, blackcaps and nightingales. Now our yard is much quieter, with the exception of a few noisemakers.

This robin wakes early every morning and begin its many tasks, one of them being clucking at the neighbor’s cat. The robin must have a little brood somewhere in the yard that needs plenty of feeding and defending. While I took this picture, it had been clucking at the cat for some time, despite having a collection of insects in its mouth.

This beautiful Common Redstart is still busy defending his territory around our apartment. His song is loud, repetitive and insistent, and therefore tiring after about 15 minutes, but he is still endearing thanks to his beautiful coloration and cheery tail-bobbing.

The Spotted Flycatchers are very quiet, yet are actively swooping around the yard whenever I look out. Here is one in a rare moment of repose.

In addition to these birds, there are some tantalizing songs coming from the treetops lately. I don’t know if they are new or if I just never noticed them before, what with the pretty constant noise of blackbird excitement over the last few months. Unfortunately the leaves are so thick that I can’t yet identify the singers, but maybe in the coming days…