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Kestrel in Tempelhof – Guest Photo by Paul Miguel

Here’s a fantastic shot of a kestrel feeding on some kind of vole in Tempelhof, taken a few weeks ago by Paul Miguel of Nature Photography Courses UK.

Kestrel eating a Vole in Tempelhof by Paul Miguel

His description of the encounter:

“I was out on an incredibly cold morning with a biting easterly wind. Whilst it was cold, the sun was shining with beautiful soft light. I watched a kestrel in the distance hover then dive. Very quickly it was flying in my direction. I couldn’t believe it when it landed in front of me and began to eat the vole it had caught. I slowly inched closer, checking the bird’s reactions each time I moved. Eventually I was within about 15 feet. I watched as it devoured the whole vole then preened before flying off.”

Wow. This is the kind of Tempelhof experience I dreamed of but never had. (Probably because I was always accompanied by exuberant small children when I was there.)

Thanks so much Paul!

And, dear reader, if you have any great photos of birds in Berlin that you would like to share, please send me a note or make a comment. I’d love to share your encounters with Berlin bird life.

It’s here! Birds in Berlin: The Guidebook

Cover of Birds in Berlin: The Guidebook


Get the guidebook

It’s here!

Birds in Berlin: The Guidebook is an interactive pdf featuring over 50 birds (plus a few animals) that can be seen in central Berlin. The book features id pages for each bird, with photo, description, and information on where to look and what to look for. In addition you’ll find sites, tips, and resources on bird watching in the Hauptstadt.

The book is suitable for beginning birders and experienced birders alike. Whether you’re curious about something you saw in the Tiergarten, or want to know where to look for warblers, you’re sure to find some useful information.

The book is an interactive pdf, readable on any smartphone, tablet, or desktop.

Birds_in_Berlin_book_preview_Green_finch

Birds_in_Berlin_book_preview_Long-tailed_Tit


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Enjoying birds, from the couch.

sleetsnowToday I had hoped to do a little birdwatching in the Prenzlauerberg neighborhood after meeting a friend for coffee. But today the Berlin weather reached its nadir. Or perhaps I should say that it reached a point that had better well be the nadir. I still met my friend, but only after some terrible experiences for the both of us. Waiting for (delayed!) transit involved pools of slush encroaching from below, steady drips of icy water from above, and light but constant precipitation, of the just barely frozen kind, penetrating from all sides. Once the transit arrived things did not get much better, the trains being crammed with wet, grouchy commuters, some percentage of whom I am sure were carrying the flu virus that has recently struck a few of my friends. So I decided that today was a day I would happily leave to the birds to enjoy by themselves, and headed home immediately after coffee, where I sat on the couch with my warm cat and read about birds instead. Hopefully the weather will soon improve so that I can have some colorful photos and stories for you, dear reader. Until then I will be studying the nomenclature for wing feathers and techniques for identifying gulls.

Great Backyard Bird Count!

This weekend is the Great Backyard Bird Count organized by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Audobon. Traditionally this was just a North American count, but now it’s been extended worldwide, meaning that I can participate too! I just signed up to Cornell’s fantastic eBird site, which not only keeps track of my observations, but also makes them available to scientists.

You can watch a beautiful display of observations entered worldwide here. The little grey dot over Berlin is me!

And here are links to my counts so far:

Today from my balcony

Today from my kitchen window

Yesterday from my balcony

Greyness, and a wren

Crows in greyness
The last few days have been exceptionally grey here in Berlin. So to cheer myself up yesterday I went to visit my old colleagues at Allianz Climate Solutions for lunch.

Allianz tower I used to work near the very top of this tower, the tallest building in Berlin. I had an incredible view from my office and would see many birds, migrating or hanging around in the Spree, making concentration rather difficult! After lunch yesterday I decided to spend some time with the birds that I used to only watch from afar. Treptower Park is right next to the tower, so I took a little walk there. Continue reading

Birds these days…

are getting very loud, and starting to get on my nerves.

Unfortunately, today was not a day for wandering around in the park, but a day where I needed to stay inside and get some real work done on the computer. To help me out, some bird stayed outside, in the same spot, all day long, and sang for me. He chose to sing the same song for the entirety of the day. This song he chose consisted of only two notes, his favorite notes of the highest pitch, and never, ever, varied. It went something like this:

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Stranger in a Strange Land

Condor
About once a month I walk past the zoo on my way to the Asian grocery store, where I fill up my backpack with food. On my way today I had the pleasure of seeing this Andean condor sunning himself on a snowy stump. He stood like this for some time, turning himself around in the sun. When he stopped his sunning and folded his wings onto his back he did so with all the grace of a frustrated traveler attempting to fold up a large road map. Perhaps aired-out wings are like aired-out bedding, more difficult to fold. Notice how the feathers have been clipped on the interior of his wings.

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Listening

red brush

It was very cold today, so what I had intended to be a long walk became a short meandering near my apartment. I decided to go to a part of the Tiergarten that is nearest to us, but that is not well visited, except by strange old men. There is a shallow pond there that is always attractive no matter what the season. It did not disappoint today, surrounded by these wonderful bushes with red stems. I looked around very hard for birds but could only hear them high in the trees. “This is no problem!” I thought. “I’ll listen to their songs, remember them, and look them up later.” Fool. Continue reading