tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26473953130011004412024-03-14T10:11:23.488+01:00Bell Tower BirdingSporadic Musings about Birds and Birding on both Sides of the AtlanticJochenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10852825311605464857noreply@blogger.comBlogger252125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2647395313001100441.post-59404153681930697502011-02-14T12:19:00.010+01:002011-02-14T15:16:12.502+01:00Pity the GullI have a <a href="http://10000birds.com/good-gully-a-birders-oddity.htm">new post</a> up at 10,000 Birds (well, it's been up since the 10th, which means I am slow on my own blog) about the ways gulls confuse me.<br /><br />Having had all weekend to reflect on what I wrote, I realized how utterly unjust my post is. After all, my confusion points* were not so much about the gulls themselves but about the ways in which we abuse them, namely their taxonomy and the confusion arising out of a comparison between their English and ill-translated German names.<br /><br />I felt bad. But then I glanced at a few pictures I took on our Christmas Holiday at the in-laws in Stralsund at the end of 2010 and realized that gull must be so thick-skinned they likely didn't even notice my picking on them.<br /><br />After all, they share their living space with Coots.<br />And Coots loathe gulls.<br />They loathe everything.<br />They thrive on loathing.<br />For the sake of loathing.<br /><br />And I may be bad, but I am no Coot.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oocOPQHDLHk/TVk2alO6uvI/AAAAAAAAEOc/10PYImFG9Ac/s1600/gull1.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573545844146879218" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 267px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oocOPQHDLHk/TVk2alO6uvI/AAAAAAAAEOc/10PYImFG9Ac/s400/gull1.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sfeFNUk3yXY/TVk2asDNp1I/AAAAAAAAEOU/vEzpd0Y-8QA/s1600/gull2.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573545845976835922" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 267px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sfeFNUk3yXY/TVk2asDNp1I/AAAAAAAAEOU/vEzpd0Y-8QA/s400/gull2.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-N89hFTJOi_0/TVk2afCfYXI/AAAAAAAAEOM/45E80lTr7hU/s1600/gull3.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573545842484142450" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 267px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-N89hFTJOi_0/TVk2afCfYXI/AAAAAAAAEOM/45E80lTr7hU/s400/gull3.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WTSzAPHVQxw/TVk2aLhzfjI/AAAAAAAAEOE/Qt_tN27TZMU/s1600/gull4.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573545837246774834" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 267px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WTSzAPHVQxw/TVk2aLhzfjI/AAAAAAAAEOE/Qt_tN27TZMU/s400/gull4.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><strong>The cast in alphabetical order</strong>:</div><div>Common Gull, <em>Larus canus</em> - Sturmmöwe - Storm Gull</div><div>Eurasian Coot, <em>Fulica atra</em> - Bläßhuhn - Blaze Chicken</div><br /><br /><div></div><div></div><div></div><div>* "Confusion Points" - watch out for my up-coming book on how I got misunderestimated by everyone, right on the heels of George Walker's account on how he got misunderestimated by everyone.</div><div></div></div></div></div>Jochenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10852825311605464857noreply@blogger.com51tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2647395313001100441.post-44081432186150428872011-01-27T10:11:00.002+01:002011-01-27T10:19:43.266+01:00Beach Birding"<em>The world is grown so bad, that teens make prey where birders dare not perch</em>."<br /><br />A short comment on the comments to my last post:<br /><br />Stroll along a Florida beach during spring break toting a DSLR with a telephoto lens and binoculars.<br />Walk up to a group of teenage cheerleaders hanging out with a few college football players and tell them:<br />"Looking at Tits and Boobies is fun and all - no doubt - but nothing beats a wild Shag on the beach!"<br /><br />If they agree, they are from Cornell.Jochenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10852825311605464857noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2647395313001100441.post-5884076937376471032011-01-21T16:36:00.003+01:002011-01-21T16:38:45.515+01:00Why birders will always lose<span style="color:#ccccff;">.</span><br /><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ash-breasted_Tit-Tyrant">Ash-breasted Tit-tyrant</a><br /><br />Is it any wonder birding gets absolutely no mainstream recognition as a respectable hobby?Jochenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10852825311605464857noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2647395313001100441.post-64774886961996141402011-01-20T16:29:00.003+01:002011-01-20T16:37:43.182+01:00Jeepers CreepersWell, I haven't been compleeetely lazy lately, and posted the story of my life Wallcreeper over at <a href="http://10000birds.com/">10,000 Birds</a>, in three parts:<br /><br /><a href="http://10000birds.com/float-like-a-butterfly-sting-like-a-bee-part-1-of-3.htm">part 1</a><br /><br /><a href="http://10000birds.com/float-like-a-butterfly-sting-like-a-bee-part-2-of-3.htm">part 2</a><br /><br /><a href="http://10000birds.com/float-like-a-butterfly-sting-like-a-bee-part-3-of-3.htm">part 3</a><br /><br />This blog isn't dead, no worries, just sleeping soundly. Like the gov'ner said: I'll be back.Jochenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10852825311605464857noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2647395313001100441.post-50778513048422751312010-11-10T10:33:00.001+01:002010-11-10T10:33:55.543+01:00YES!That's me, right <a href="http://10000birds.com/call-it-by-its-call-the-onomatopoeic-approach-to-naming-a-bird.htm">here</a>.Jochenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10852825311605464857noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2647395313001100441.post-55603677389214127952010-11-09T16:19:00.007+01:002010-11-10T10:57:02.467+01:00Kidnapped! part 1The black haze slowly gave way to a white and blinding mist. Upon trying to raise my head the immense pain became apparent, and the veins in my temple felt as if they were about to burst. Slowly regaining more of my consciousness, I noticed that I was lying on a wooden floor. Everything around me was swaying in a constant motion, turning my head from left to right, to left, to right. It was only after a few minutes had passed that the white mist cleared and I could recognize distinct shapes. I was in a darkened room, with beams across the boarded ceiling and several linen hammocks suspended between posts along two opposing walls. Then I noticed the smell, the stench of urine and algae mixed with the salty air of the open sea. Where was I - and what had happened? After a few moments of intense concentration, the control over my limbs was such that I managed to raise my head, and then my torso to a sitting position, using the arms to stabilize my body against the rocking motion of the floor.<br />“Ah, you’re finally awake. A few more hours and your corpse would have been thrown to the fishes. You’ll surely be thirsty.”<br />I turned my head towards the direction of the voice and discovered <a href="http://10000birds.com/author/clare-m">Clare</a> in the corner across the room, forcing a smile on her bruised face and pointing towards a jug of murky water that had been placed on the floor next to me.<br />“Where am I?”<br />“You are onboard the <a href="http://10000birds.com/">10,000 Birds</a>.” The grave tone and a voice strained by what must have been days without food and drinking water almost concealed the identity of the speaker, but I was still able to recognize him as <a href="http://10000birds.com/author/duncan">Duncan</a>, and old companion from my whaling days in New Zealand. Duncan looked terrible. The chain around his ankles had cut into the flesh, his eyes were reddened and sunk deeply into his skull, and a severe cut ran across his left cheek. I looked around the room and found that I was in good company, and was also not alone in my physical miseries. There was <a href="http://migration.wordpress.com/">Dan</a> sitting a few feet to the right of me, a chain around his chest firmly fixing him to the wall. His left wrist looked like it was broken. He used his right arm attending to the wounds of someone I barely recognized as <a href="http://redgannet.blogspot.com/">Redgannet</a>, who was too weak to move or support himself. They had gotten <a href="http://www.birdingadventures.com/">James</a> as well. He had sustained no apparent injuries, but the hollow expression in his empty stare, his slow and rhythmic rocking back and forth, arms wrapped tightly around his shoulders, had everyone sense the horrors he had seen. Renato was the last I spotted, crouched on the floor behind one of the hammock poles. He did not move and was apparently still unconscious. There was a small pool of dried blood next to him which boded ill for his overall condition.<br />All these formidable birders and writers caught and captured onboard the 10,000 Birds, the terror of the seven blogospheres, commanded by <a href="http://10000birds.com/team">Captain Black Bird Bergin </a>himself and his hit-thirsty crew of Internet Pirates.<br />It appeared that Clare had best recovered from her capture, so I turned to her once more. “What has happened, and why are we here? The last thing I remember is sitting at the bar of the Laughing Seagull in Portland. I was celebrating a successful Shorelark twitch when a scar-faced mariner walks up to me with a bottle of Rum. From then on, everything seems blank and blackened.”<br />Clare gave a short disdainful laugh that was quickly choked by her coughing. “The Scar-face was <a href="http://10000birds.com/charlie-moores">Charlie Sharky Moores</a>, and judging by the sorry state you’re in, there sure was no Rum in that bottle. I got captured at the beaches of Broome checking an Oystercatcher nest. When I noticed a shadow approaching from behind, I turned around and the last thing I remember is seeing <a href="http://10000birds.com/corey-finger">Corey Cutlass Finger </a>with a club raised above his head.”<br />She ran her fingers through her hair towards the back of her head, where she paused with clear agony. Then she resumed her tale.<br />“I have been here for roughly a week now, and they tossed your unconscious body in about a day ago. As to why we are here and not amongst the dead, we can only guess. You surely know that Black Bird and his crew recently expanded their blogging territory even further, and their frequent sweeping raids on the Internet, the fact that no one in the NBN seemed able or daring enough to halt their reign, have kept the entire online community terrified. Now it seems someone is finally determined to challenge their dominance. A ship called the <a href="http://birdingblogs.com/">BirdingBlogs</a> recently left port, captained by Cardinal <a href="http://www.kolibriexpeditions.com/birdingperu/blog/">Gunnar the Gunner Richelengblom </a>and manned with the fiercest sea-faring mercenaries of our time, amongst them <a href="http://birdingblogs.com/author/tommckinney">Tom Mack the Knife McKinney</a>, <a href="http://alpinebirds.blogspot.com/">Dale Dagger Forbes </a>and <a href="http://birdingwithkennandkim.blogspot.com/">Kenn Coffin Kaufman</a>. They are out to hunt down the 10,000 Birds and send her and the crew to the bottom of the deep for a dance with Davy Jones.”<br />It was at this point that an eerie hissing brought the conversation to an end. All heads turned towards James, who had silently walked to the locked door of our confinement and gazed out onto the deck through a small crack between two of the door’s boards. “I can see them! They’re walking around the deck, back and forth, back and forth like rats in a cage. The BirdingBlogs must be near.”<br />As he turned towards the rest of our group, the immense change in his expression chilled us to the marrow of our bones: the hollowness was gone, and his face seemed calm and quiet. His blank stare had given way to a sparkle of determined aggression, and as he looked down upon me, a short smile flickered across his face.<br />“We are their only hope of survival. They know that Richelengblom will give no quarter to anyone onboard the 10,000 Birds. It is do or die for us and we must serve the ship or go down with her. We are the reinforcements that will carry them to victory. Now it is the BirdingBlogs that’s being hunted by Black Bird, a remarkable change of events. You know, … “ - he paused to looked at me with an expression of pity and superiority – “we are not the first bloggers they shanghaied. About a week or two ago they got six others, amongst them <a href="http://thedrinkingbirdblog.com/">Nitro Nate </a>and <a href="http://pinguinus.wordpress.com/">Carrie the Great Auk</a>. The BirdingBlogs was last seen near Iceland, and Black Bird suspects the ship’s lair to be on Geirfuglasker. If anyone knows how to navigate these waters it is Carrie, which is what sealed her fate. It seems pretty clear what kind of service they are expecting from Nitro Nate.”<br />“But if we are twelve against three, why don’t we just take over the ship and surrender to Richelengblom?” I burst out.<br />James gave a deep and hollow laugh that slowly rose in pitch until it gave way to the same drawn-out hissing noise that had silenced us all before.<br />“Do you really think Black Bird hasn’t taken care of this? Do you really expect you can out-wit the old pirate? Why do you think he captured us in two waves?”<br />He bent down until his face was a mere inches away from mine, and his words, spoken swiftly through grinding teeth, bore through me like a bolt of white heat. “We do not know for certain if it is twelve against three. We do not know if anyone from the first wave or anyone in this room got onboard voluntarily and has joined the crew by their own will and choosing. We can’t trust anyone. If you started a mutiny, whose dagger you reckon would pierce your back? Carrie’s? Renato’s? Or would I be the one to put an end to your pity hope of survival?”<br />At this he rose up again, straightened his body and looked around at each of us in triumphant determination. “No, we have no choice but to fight with them or be doomed. And by their preparations and the scurrying all across the deck, it would seem judgement day can’t be too far away.”<br /><br /><br />To be continued.Jochenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10852825311605464857noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2647395313001100441.post-8746756108151268892010-11-03T18:23:00.004+01:002010-11-03T18:55:17.721+01:00Birding & PoliticsWho'd have thought that the US election today would have an impact on birding in Germany?<br /><br />Well, apparently a female-type <strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">Red</span></strong>-flanked <span style="color:#3333ff;"><strong>Blue</strong></span>tail (<em>Tarsiger cyanurus</em>) thought so as it decided to show itself to me for the typical 2-or-so seconds just before darkness fell on the land south of Heidelberg.<br /><br />The Red-flanked Bluetail - which is actually now called "Orange-flanked Bush Robin", but the name hasn't found much acceptance amongst birders, and gee I wonder why - is an extreme rarity in Germany which doesn't even occur annually, yet this year has seen an unprecedented influx of this largely Siberian species to Europe with probably a handful of reports from Germany and a staggering 30-something observations in the UK.<br />Ironically, it is my second observation of the species in Germany, although the first one was twitched and not self-found, which is always much nicer.<br /><br />I'll try to relocate it tomorrow morning and take some pictures, which would help as it might be the first-ever for the Southwest of Germany and maybe only the second bird ever away from the coast.<br />If I manage anything, I'll make sure to let you know.<br /><br />By the way, I saw more blue than red, so maybe the US election wasn't the driving factor behind the bird's appearance. Who knows - the way migrants surprise us, ey?<br /><br />In the meantime, <a href="http://www.tarsiger.com/gallery/index.php?lista=ok&species=79780&family=&sp=search&lang=eng&manner=&sel=2&sex=0&age=0&year=&photo=&pic_method=0&pic_type=0&country=&place=&order=lisays_paiva+DESC&sel=2">here</a> is a very beautiful gallery of the species.Jochenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10852825311605464857noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2647395313001100441.post-38366647292561706512010-10-28T10:55:00.006+02:002010-10-28T11:32:03.037+02:00From Hiatus to HibernationOkay, so I realize that "a couple' months" have been over for well over a "couple' months" now.<br /><br />Time to act.<br /><br />Well, when I announced that I would be taking a hiatus because of private stuff and work, I didn't know that the private stuff would not only entail the things I knew back then but also that I'd have to move to a new apartment in early October.<br /><br />Clearly one of the hard-hitting unknown unknowns.<br /><br />So that's what I did in early October: move approximately three miles to the North of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Leimen</span>, right into a more or less lovely neighbourhood of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Rohrbach</span> - still south of Heidelberg and still as ugly as it gets for a birder.<br /><br />I also realized that this hiatus would likely last longer than I had expected it to last, and as the stats show that - understandably - hardly anyone still visits this blog on occasion, I decided to follow the luring calls of the good folks of 10,000 Birds to become one of their <a href="http://10000birds.com/second-wave-of-10000-birds-beat-writers.htm">beat writers</a>.<br /><p>This means you'll at least get to avoid one new post from me each months, which will appear on the 10,000 Birds blog that you are all reading anyway and which therefore makes much more sense than to post it here where only Asian <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">spammers</span> occasionally make themselves heard.</p><p>The details on how exactly I ended up joining the 10,000 Birds beat blogger cast will be published here on <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Belltower</span> Birding on the day my first post goes up on 10,000 Birds, which will be November the 10<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">th</span>.</p><br />And in case you were wondering what I was taking a picture of on the picture of me in the profile:<br /><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5533026404391759618" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 312px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__lXB1dimuC0/TMlCMxagrwI/AAAAAAAAEC0/yVfv22IxcV4/s400/mantis1.JPG" border="0" />Jochenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10852825311605464857noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2647395313001100441.post-58224621298741575122010-05-07T20:23:00.003+02:002010-05-07T20:31:50.460+02:00Haaa...haaa...HIATUS !! [Bless you]Well, it's time for me to temporarily go again.<br /><br />With a few technical problems to overcome, heaps of private stuff on my mind and equally impressive heaps of work on my desk, I am unlikely to find the time to post anything ... er ... to keep on trying to post anything that makes sense.<br />I don't think it will be a true hiatus and even if it turns out to be, it won't be too long. Maybe a couple' months. I might occasionally blog something, we'll see.<br /><br />However, one thing is different this time from the times before: I am unlikely to appear in the comments section of other blogs as well.<br />This time, I'll be truly and largely off-line.<br /><br />Geez, just writing it feels frightening!<br /><br />I'll be seeing you.<br /><br />Have a happy spring migration - and if you happen to travel to Montana by any chance, have a safe trip with some awesome longspurs and don't forget to say hello to the Prairies from me.Jochenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10852825311605464857noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2647395313001100441.post-27264062472837219652010-05-04T09:19:00.004+02:002010-05-04T11:22:24.581+02:00Off Topic: A remarkable coinincidence?Last Sunday, I went to visit my mom who lives around 200 km's south of Heidelberg by train.<br /><div>To make the boring train trip seem less boring, I sat down at the train's Bistro and got myself a ... *cough*cough*cough* ... chilled barley tea.</div><div>Upon checking my change, I noticed one coin was a Greek 10 cent coin.</div><div> </div><div></div><div><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_European_sovereign_debt_crisis">A Greek Euro Coin</a>.</div><div> </div><div></div><div>I am not entirely sure this is what I wanted to see on Sunday.</div><div></div><div><span style="color:#ccccff;">.</span></div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467311780803315010" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 306px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__lXB1dimuC0/S9_LGPsXBUI/AAAAAAAADZA/CW4zCCDsAQU/s400/euro.JPG" border="0" /></div>Jochenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10852825311605464857noreply@blogger.com142tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2647395313001100441.post-22881507292650156592010-05-03T09:36:00.005+02:002010-05-03T09:45:45.694+02:00Northern Sweetear<div align="left">This is what I recently found on one of my lunch breaks doing a breeding bird survey 150 kms south of Heidelberg: A pair of Northern Wheatears.<br /><br /><br /></div><p align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5466944847929413266" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 267px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__lXB1dimuC0/S959X8N8DpI/AAAAAAAADYg/wsih4VHS4LI/s400/wheart.JPG" border="0" /><em>The scene: sweet</em><br /><br /></p><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__lXB1dimuC0/S959Yti16UI/AAAAAAAADY4/Aom7rIH2YTU/s1600/wheat4.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5466944861170428226" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 266px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__lXB1dimuC0/S959Yti16UI/AAAAAAAADY4/Aom7rIH2YTU/s400/wheat4.JPG" border="0" /></a><em></em></div><div align="center"><em>The female: sweet.<br /></em><br /><br /></div><div align="center"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__lXB1dimuC0/S959YFy-XCI/AAAAAAAADYo/PhWGGHlbEk4/s1600/wheat2.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5466944850500672546" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 256px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__lXB1dimuC0/S959YFy-XCI/AAAAAAAADYo/PhWGGHlbEk4/s400/wheat2.JPG" border="0" /></a><em>The male: sweet.<br /></em><br /><br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__lXB1dimuC0/S959XjXQGRI/AAAAAAAADYY/xCkJnCNU8Ao/s1600/kite.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5466944841257589010" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 249px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__lXB1dimuC0/S959XjXQGRI/AAAAAAAADYY/xCkJnCNU8Ao/s400/kite.JPG" border="0" /></a><em>And then a Black Kite flew over: sweet.<br /></em></div><div align="left"><br /><br /><strong>The cast in alphabetical order:</strong></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left">Black Kite - <em>Milvus migrans</em> - Schwarzmilan [Black "Milan", a specific word comparable to the English Hawk, Buzzard etc.]</div><div align="left"></div><div align="left">Northern Wheatear - <em>Oenanthe oenanthe</em> - Steinschmätzer [Stone chatterer]<br /><br /></div><div align="left"></div></div>Jochenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10852825311605464857noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2647395313001100441.post-19303606480444124152010-04-28T12:15:00.009+02:002010-04-28T14:48:49.578+02:00My Scope: Boon and BaneI have a scope for looking at birds.<br />My scope and I share some wonderful birding memories and have gone united through the rotten and the glory.<br />For this I love it dearly, yet it sometimes appears to be one of my most bizarre birding obstacles.<br />Why?<br /><br />Because it keeps me from digiscoping.<br /><br />You see, back in the late 1990s, my good old original scope - my first scope ever - broke down and died. I was a birder without a scope and thus as helpless as a fish on dry land without a bicycle.<br />Luckily, these were my days in Africa, and a friend from Germany came to visit me in Namibia for a little birding trip of 5 weeks, which was to take us from central Namibia (the Brandberg being our northern-most destination) all the way down to the Cape of Good Hope and back.<br />As we were going in my private, personal, wonderful Toyota Hilux, there was no need and cost for car rental, and to show his gratitude materialistically, he decided to help me out of my scopeless misery by bringing with him and giving me as a gift an old scope he got from a friend who didn't need it anymore, which will bring this awfully long sentence to an end and we can all take a moment to rest.<br /><br /><br />Okay. So he brought this scope along, which was an old Asiola that had been manufactured in the German Democratic Republic, likely sometime during the 1960s, making it older than even myself.<br />However, a free scope is a scope and is better than no scope.<br />I was very happy to receive it.<br /><br />Here you can see the scope during a recent heavy duty mission, scanning the fields south of Leimen for anything that might (still) live.<br /><br /><br /><br /><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5465143046970662994" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__lXB1dimuC0/S9gWpUlh4FI/AAAAAAAADXw/DAheCHfkYDY/s400/scope1.JPG" border="0" /><br /><br />Here is the proof of it being from the GDR (in German: DDR), and that means it's old. However, you can also see who made it:<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5465143058600577218" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__lXB1dimuC0/S9gWp_6USMI/AAAAAAAADYA/BDw_Q0VAUP4/s400/scope3.JPG" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5465143064922828562" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 313px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__lXB1dimuC0/S9gWqXdqLxI/AAAAAAAADYI/UVbwsi0y0pw/s400/scope+4.JPG" border="0" /><br /><br /><br />Carl Zeiss Jena.<br />Yes, folks, I own a Zeiss scope.<br /><br />And frankly, those lenses made by Carl Zeiss Jena (the East German branch during the times of there being two Germanies) were back then and still are today amazing!<br /><br />Seriously, they still rival the best modern lenses. I have frequently compared the sharpness of my scope to other, more modern scopes and have found that only the high-end brands like Swarovski, modern Zeiss, and Leica can match the old Carl Zeiss Jena lenses. Other brands found in the middle section of the price and quality range - like Optolyth - don't stand a fraction of a chance.<br /><br />Sounds good?<br />Well, it is!<br />However, my trusty old Asiola has one major disadvantage: its teensy tiny diametre of the eye piece. Look at it, it is pathetic.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5465143052399575522" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__lXB1dimuC0/S9gWpoz4geI/AAAAAAAADX4/74syyBBmB8E/s400/scope2.JPG" border="0" /><br /><br />Not only does this mean I had to get used to (and train my eyes for) handling and looking through this scope.<br />[Whenever other birders with modern scopes look through it, they are downright appalled - until I will describe subtle features on a distant bird that they can't even see. I mean the bird, not to mention said features.]<br />It also means that it is nearly impossible to line up that eye piece with a digital camera for digiscoping. The field of view is just way too small.<br />This here is a rather fine example of the best I can do at middle range (the starling was around 50 m away). At long range, there is no reason for even bothering to consider digiscoping.<br /><br /></p><br /><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5465143070071710194" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 271px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__lXB1dimuC0/S9gWqqpP4fI/AAAAAAAADYQ/5CGoJdm-FXY/s400/starling.JPG" border="0" /><br /></p><br /><p>And you see, this is my dilemma, my scope bane:<br />As a birder, I long for a scope that will allow for digiscoping. I sometimes feel like being stuck and lost in the 20th century and would consider this - apart from a notorious lack of time - to be my biggest birding obstacle.<br />However, having such a nice and brilliant scope, I would not be able to settle for a medium-priced, medium-quality scope. I would only accept to swap my scope for a modern Swaro.<br />And as a family man, that's just way beyond my wildest financial dreams.<br /><br />So I am stuck.<br />I really need to find next week's winning lottery ticket.<br />Maybe I'll scope it out?</p><p> </p><p><strong>The cast in alphabetical order</strong></p><p>Starling - <em>Sturnus vulgaris</em> - Star [Starling - the German word "star" does not mean what it means in English, with a star as in "star dust" being called "Stern" in German, yet I suspect that possibly the German "Star" could have its origin in the bird's tiny white "stars" on a black, nightly sky (rest of the bird's plumage). However, I don't know.]</p>Jochenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10852825311605464857noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2647395313001100441.post-69801005943214014252010-04-28T12:11:00.004+02:002010-04-28T12:13:52.066+02:00Suicidal Kitteh<div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><span style="color:#ccccff;">.</span></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__lXB1dimuC0/S9gJ_UcAsfI/AAAAAAAADXo/egC51ATQKmo/s1600/kitteh.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5465129131236700658" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 271px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__lXB1dimuC0/S9gJ_UcAsfI/AAAAAAAADXo/egC51ATQKmo/s400/kitteh.bmp" border="0" /></a><em> ... thinks life is pain<br /></em></div>Jochenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10852825311605464857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2647395313001100441.post-5426266415548632522010-04-26T11:36:00.004+02:002010-04-26T16:03:10.061+02:00Happy Birthday<strong>Happy Birthday, </strong><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_James_Audubon"><strong>John James Audubon</strong></a><strong>!</strong><br /><br />And ... "<a href="http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_James_La_Forest_Audubon">La Forest</a>"?<br />Who knew?!<br /><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464380501351940370" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 383px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__lXB1dimuC0/S9VhHUynQRI/AAAAAAAADXg/Iy5aJ-3wq2A/s400/audubon.bmp" border="0" />Jochenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10852825311605464857noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2647395313001100441.post-32818238295292666412010-04-21T10:35:00.002+02:002010-04-21T10:39:02.795+02:00Mystery Turtles on Birder HydeI have found two released (former) pet turtles here in Germany yesterday, and have no idea what species they both belong to (two different species). My guess is that they are from North America, so any herper reading this might be interested in following <a href="http://birderhyde.blogspot.com/2010/04/schildkroten-turtles.html">this</a> link and leaving a comment or two.Jochenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10852825311605464857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2647395313001100441.post-20003656611121061972010-04-19T13:19:00.011+02:002010-04-21T10:24:53.774+02:00A short Appreciation of the Eurasian Magpie<div align="left">I recently saw a stunning image of a Eurasian Magpie on the Internet (but sadly forgot to memorize or save the link), and the title of the image was something like </div><br /><div align="left"><strong>Eurasian Magpie - the Northern Hemisphere's Bird of Paradise</strong><br /><br />I couldn't agree more.<br /></div><div align="left">The Magpie is a common breeder throughout Germany, but is mostly confined to settlements. It is rather unusual to find a breeding pair out in the fields or forest edges, and I actually cannot recall even finding a single nest in the countryside - or rather couldn't recall until recently. </div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left">Within the cities, Magpies prefer nesting in high trees and the main factor influencing their breeding sites seems to be the height of the tree (the higher the merrier), not the species, degree of disturbance (by city noise, traffic, etc.), and also not the location (in gardens, alleys, etc.). </div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left">In Leimen, all things <em>birds & birding</em> are different, of course.</div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left">There are barely any high trees within the city limits (well, legally it's a city, but really it is not), and as a consequence, Magpies are a comparatively scarce sight. </div><div align="left">However, and quite surprisingly so, there are quite a few Magpie pairs breeding within the roughly 1 km² of open fields and hedgerows to the south of Leimen (commonly known as the Boredom Flats and faaaamous for being the birding haunts of yours truly), and there it is one of the most conspicuous bird species. </div><div align="left">Well, the latter sentence might better be re-phrased: There it is one of the only - few - bird species to occur.</div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left">The lack of competition is likely what had me find a whole new appreciation of the Magpie, but this is not undeserving. It is indeed one of the most striking species in Europe (or wherever it roams), and a species often neglected by birders for lack of scarcity. This is a sorry fate it shares with the Eurasian Starling, the Mallard and the House Sparrow, amongst others. But this post is dedicated to the Magpie, and thus without further ado, here are a few images taken during my recent stroller expeditions. </div><div align="left"><br /> </div><div align="left">I hope you do enjoy them as much as I enjoy seeing Magpies. I know - I need a better camera.</div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left"><br /> </div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__lXB1dimuC0/S8w9eknSS1I/AAAAAAAADT4/E-trkYKUIng/s1600/elster1.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461808043527392082" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 278px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__lXB1dimuC0/S8w9eknSS1I/AAAAAAAADT4/E-trkYKUIng/s400/elster1.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__lXB1dimuC0/S8w9eZrbalI/AAAAAAAADTw/Qp44VoJJNRE/s1600/elster2.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461808040591977042" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 282px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__lXB1dimuC0/S8w9eZrbalI/AAAAAAAADTw/Qp44VoJJNRE/s400/elster2.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__lXB1dimuC0/S8w9eIids5I/AAAAAAAADTo/sZ9mhiqJVvI/s1600/elster3.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461808035990975378" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 276px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__lXB1dimuC0/S8w9eIids5I/AAAAAAAADTo/sZ9mhiqJVvI/s400/elster3.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__lXB1dimuC0/S8w9d1vOWXI/AAAAAAAADTg/eKto7iLNb4g/s1600/elster4.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461808030944221554" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 278px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__lXB1dimuC0/S8w9d1vOWXI/AAAAAAAADTg/eKto7iLNb4g/s400/elster4.JPG" border="0" /></a> </div><div> </div></div></div>Jochenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10852825311605464857noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2647395313001100441.post-40275534246848691632010-04-19T12:00:00.006+02:002010-04-19T13:40:28.733+02:00Mission AccomplishedTwo years and four months after the start of the project I can officially and loudly exclaim in pride that the task is achieved, the mission is accomplished and my son is now officially a<br /> <span style="font-size:180%;"><strong><span style="color:#ff6600;">BIRDER</span></strong>!</span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"></span><br />Well, I had suspected it for quite a while before the last weekend, and there were hints and hopes in his behaviour - like the intent listening to a Blackbird in song or the pointing out of crows - but the last days finally yielded the definite proof after I conducted a little field experiment.<br /><br />We had just started out on our usual stroller tour with the aim to squeeze at least some common migrants out of the area known as the Boredom Flats south of Leimen (possibly more my intention than my son's) and to run around as much as possible, throw as many stones in as many puddles as possible with the largest possible splash, and find the steepest slope to negotiate with a training bike - repeatedly (possibly more my son's than my ideals of a good Sunday walk) .<br />Anyway, whatever our respective intentions might have been, we suddenly spotted these two birds in someone's front yard, both not more than 5 metres away from us:<br />To the left a fine male Eurasian Blackbird (called "Amsel" = Ouzle in German), and to the right a Wood Pigeon (called Ringeltaube = Ringed Pigeon in German).<br /><br />This, I decided as I immediately recognized the scientific potential of the situation, was going to be the test set-up to see if he had actually learned by heart any of the bird species's names I had told him over the last few months.<br /><br />So, here is the course of the experiment:<br /><br />Father: "Where is the pigeon?"<br />Son: [points to the right] "There!"<br /><br />Father: "Where is the Blackbird?"<br />Son: [points to the left] "There!"<br /><br />Father: "Where is the pigeon?"<br />Son: [points to the right] "There!"<br /><br />Father: "Where is the pigeon?"<br />Son: [points to the right] "There!"<br /><br />Father: "Where is the Blackbird?"<br />Son: [points to the left] "There!"<br /><br />etc.<br /><br />Notice my cunning approach as I didn't ask alternating but irregularly, and he still got it right each time.<br /><br />Now, the pigeon is not a specific name, it denominates a whole group of birds. This is something he knew and did for a long time, e. g. duckies, birdies, chickens, etc.<br />But the Eurasian Blackbird is a specific name for a species and one species only. And by pointing it out correctly time and time again, he <em>identified</em> the bird on a species level, and I would say the first <em>identification</em> of a bird is what clearly marks him as a definite <span style="font-size:180%;color:#ff6600;"><strong>BIRDER</strong></span>.<br /><br />I should not forget to note that he has been pointing out "Amseln" (Eurasian Blackbirds) for many months now but all these situations included only this one species, so it wasn't clear if he had actually understood that I meant the black hop-arounds or if he just pointed out the next best bird he saw after my asking him. This time, however, the results were clear and definitive.<br /><br />Can you spell P-R-I-D-E !??<br /><br />Well ... Nate, and Corey, and Laurent, and Patrick.<br />Let's see what you've got.<br /><br /><br /><strong>The cast in alphabetical order</strong><br />Eurasian Blackbird - <em>Turdus merula -</em> Amsel [Ouzle]<br />Wood Pigeon - <em>Columba palumbus -</em> Ringeltaube [Ringed Dove]Jochenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10852825311605464857noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2647395313001100441.post-61848942345979425852010-04-12T09:26:00.006+02:002010-04-12T14:34:12.136+02:00Springtime - FlingtimeYes, I have done it, I can't deny: I have betrayed you.<br />I have blogged away from my blog, strayed away from familiar ground built on trust and loyalty, and gone to the meadows on the other side of the fence (where the grass is invariably greener).<br /><br />Go <a href="http://natureblognetwork.com/blog/featured-blog-bell-tower-birding/">here</a> to see what I have done and had to say.<br /><br /><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459228145951658402" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 267px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__lXB1dimuC0/S8MTExNDUaI/AAAAAAAADKo/EuY7ZqTEGtI/s400/IMG_3813.JPG" border="0" />Jochenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10852825311605464857noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2647395313001100441.post-83575945746405243972010-04-09T13:24:00.011+02:002010-04-09T14:05:03.382+02:00Wheatear methadone<div align="left">Someone recently wrote that seeing a wheatear in spring was better than something <a href="http://reservoircatz.blogspot.com/2010/03/wheatears-better-than-sex-say-birders.html">entirely different</a>. Of course I completely disagree - at least that's not the case as far as my private personal experiences go - but then I read on and found the following passages:<br /><br />"...local patch-watchers have been out all weekend straining to find themselves the only passage migrant they're likely to see all spring on their dismal inland beats."<br /><br />and<br /><br />"Tom Logan, a patch-watcher from Croydon said 'I found a male Wheatear yesterday morning on the area of miserable industrial wasteland I like to think of as semi-arid upland habitat'."<br /><br /><br />This is when the shocking truth unveiled its crimson deathly cloak and looked me right in the eye:<br /><br />That post's author is right - entirely and fully completely so!<br /><br />At the Baltic coast, wheatears were the sorry passerine bunch on the barren fields that I only glanced over or nonchalantly looked at with pity after a full force day filled with 25+ species of waders (the shorebirds of North America), a multitude of huge raptors, and waterfowl in their bazillions. I guess I sometimes forgot to even write them down in my note book.<br /><br />Then came the move to Leimen, a dismal inland location.<br /><br />I have been here for two years now.<br />This translates to 2 spring and 2 fall migration periods.<br />I am not entirely sure, but I can only recall one or maybe two wheatears.<br />Not for each migration period, no.<br />In total.<br /><br />This strikes me as sad.<br /><br />However, I do get to see a species of passerine that will regularly roost and hop around on ploughed fields and ... you know ... semi-arid upland habitat, thus stepping in to fill the gap left by the lack of wheatears.<br /><br />This is the Black Redstart, a species I have come to love dearly for its graciousness, and have therefore dubbed "Wheatear methadone".<br /><br />Here are a few pictures from last weekend.<br /><br /><br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5458105148007358706" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 189px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__lXB1dimuC0/S78Vtr21oPI/AAAAAAAAC-w/gXhLCaBLdsc/s400/habitat.bmp" border="0" /> <p align="center"><em>Vast expanses of semi-arid upland habitat (red arrow in case you missed it)</em></p><p align="center"><br /></p><p align="center"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__lXB1dimuC0/S78VtA5cxSI/AAAAAAAAC-o/HlUalcJ7ds0/s1600/female2.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5458105136475587874" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 272px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__lXB1dimuC0/S78VtA5cxSI/AAAAAAAAC-o/HlUalcJ7ds0/s400/female2.JPG" border="0" /></a> <em>Female demonstrating cunning habitat use</em></p><p align="center"></p><div align="center"> </div><div align="center"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__lXB1dimuC0/S78Vs6HD6FI/AAAAAAAAC-g/-H2jeXBnNhQ/s1600/female1.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5458105134653630546" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 270px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__lXB1dimuC0/S78Vs6HD6FI/AAAAAAAAC-g/-H2jeXBnNhQ/s400/female1.JPG" border="0" /></a> <em>Female surveying vastness of habitat on the wing </em></div><div align="center"><em></em> </div><div align="center"><em></em> </div><div align="center"><em></em></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><em></em></div><div align="center"><em></em></div><div align="center"><em></em></div><div align="center"><em></em><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__lXB1dimuC0/S78VsgjXJLI/AAAAAAAAC-Y/a_NPImMGWW0/s1600/male.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5458105127793009842" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 286px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__lXB1dimuC0/S78VsgjXJLI/AAAAAAAAC-Y/a_NPImMGWW0/s400/male.jpg" border="0" /></a><em>Male searching nearby prime rocky outcrop habitat for arthropods</em><br /><br /><br /><div align="left"><br /><strong></strong></div><div align="left"><strong>The cast in alphabetical order<br /></strong><br />Black Redstart - <em>Phoenicurus ochruros</em> - Hausrotschwanz [House Redtail]<br />Northern Wheatear - <em>Oenanthe oenanthe</em> - Steinschmätzer [Stone chatterer ... sort of]</div></div>Jochenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10852825311605464857noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2647395313001100441.post-84147868756608981972010-04-06T11:14:00.003+02:002010-04-06T11:19:31.743+02:00Spring - sprang - sproing, and what the f...lower?Spring is upon us here in Heidelberg and that can only mean one thing: more activity of yours truly on his alter ego blog, "<a href="http://birderhyde.blogspot.com/">Birder Hyde</a>".<br /><br />More specifically, I have another mystery bird for your valued entertainment, a <a href="http://birderhyde.blogspot.com/2010/04/dang-phyllo.html">danged Phyllo</a>.<br /><br />So if you feel the masochistic need for a bit of Phylloscopus ID, jump over to Birder Hyde and leave a comment.Jochenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10852825311605464857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2647395313001100441.post-59214997800942103122010-04-01T08:52:00.008+02:002010-04-01T09:48:41.886+02:00Scream Treason !We have a traitor amongst our ranks, a person who has put his personal benefit above the Greater Good of bird and birder's welfare. He clearly must think that his act of severe treason will elevate him to the rank of an internationally well-known birder, as his field knowledge will obviously never suffice to achieve this aim of his.<br /><br />I am talking about Corey F., of <a href="http://10000birds.com/">10,000Birds</a>.<br /><br />You see, I had trusted him, and have done so once too often, which I regret severely now. He misused my trust and <a href="http://10000birds.com/short-toed-treecreepers-do-not-exist.htm">went public</a> with one of the best-kept secrets of ornithological history, the European Treecreeper mystery.<br /><br />When I learned about his intentions, I tried to convince him to abandon his endeavor in an email I wrote to him. It was of no use. He didn't even have the guts to cite me correctly, stating my "comment" was too long.<br /><br />This, Corey F., is pure and sheer cowardice.<br /><br />And as the secret is out now and the web is abuzz, I - as one of the Treecreeper Secret Keepers - may as well come forward with the entire story behind what is commonly referred to now as a "prank".<br />Here is the email I wrote to Corey F., in full length, uncensored and unaltered.<br />May your birding career rest in peace, Corey.<br /><br /><br />"Corey, I am not entirely sure you are fully aware of what you have done! My only hope is that 10,000Birds is too small a platform to make this go public any further than it already has, and I sincerely urge you to back out of this before more damage is done.<br /><br />This "prank" has a very long and honorable history, and I think this needs to be respected. To emphasize my points, I'll give you a quick summary of the events.<br />You see, the "prank" (let's call it prank for now, even though it deserves a more respectable naming) started in Germany in 1820, which is 190 years ago, Corey. Please, this is a historic dimension I urge you - again - to respect! It was initially directed at the British ornithologists and only later evolved into the trans-Atlantic dimension we see today.<br /><br />Back then, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Ludwig_Brehm">Christian Ludwig Brehm</a> discovered that the Treecreeper of continental Europe shows not only sexual dimorphism in its plumage but that male and female Treecreepers also have distinct songs and vocalizations. Their reproduction strategy is comparable to e. g. the phalaropes in that the females also take a more active role in courtship. This difference in plumage and vocalizations is far less pronounced on the British Isles, likely as a result of genetic drift or other island-related factors.<br />Christian Ludwig Brehm immediately recognized the opportunity to use this against the British.<br /><br />Well, I guess you'll need some historic background about the ornithological "community" of the Old World in the early 1800's to appreciate why he did this.<br /><br />Back then, Germany was at the forefront of ornithological research worldwide. Those nations in the lead today, e. g. the British, were still largely in the hunter and gatherer state while the scientific standard in Germany was particularly high. Christian Ludwig Brehm for example was an "ordinary" man, not a professional scientist, yet he had the largest collection of bird skins in the world, numbering 15,000 specimens. More important still, those specimens were labelled and allowed for biogeographical and seasonal studies of birds and their variation. Most other collections of that time were simply very "showy", and no particular importance was given to the labelling. He also was the father of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Edmund_Brehm">Alfred Edmund Brehm</a>, who is to German ornithology what <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_James_Audubon">Audubon</a> is to you and your hobby, and who must rate as one of the most popular and influential zoologists of his time worldwide.<br /><br />I have now hopefully demonstrated to you how prestigious German ornithology was back then. In the first half of the 19th century however, the British ornithologists increased their knowledge and scientific expertise gradually and Brehm felt that the pioneering role of Germany was jeopardized by this development. Germany as a nation didn't exist back then, it was made up of numerous independent states, but a feeling of patriotism and unity was starting to emerge, and this patriotic trend (so to speak) made the newly arisen challenge of the British so unbearable to Brehm.<br /><br />You have to understand all this, Corey, even if it might bore you at the moment.<br /><br />So, thanks to the labelling of his specimens he discovered the sexual dimorphism in the Treecreeper and that this was less pronounced in Britain. To give German ornithology a permanent and unbreakable lead (to give them a "blocker" in modern twitching slang), he decided to "split" the Treecreeper and assign species rank to the two genders. More specifically, he scientifically described the female as the Short-toed Treecreeper and split it from the male, further stating that the "Short-toed Treecreeper" only occurs in western mainland Europe and not the British isles.<br /><br />By doing this, he completely fooled the British. As the sexual dimorphism was far less pronounced on their territory, they had no means whatsoever to double-check his findings and thus had to accept the split as scientific fact without giving it too much consideration. Those British ornithologists who had the rare privilege of travelling through mainland Europe tried to investigate the situation but invariably failed to see through the "prank" as the differences are so subtle. Whenever a British ornithologist would notice that e.g. "Short-toed" and ordinary Treecreeper were attending to the same nest (as all bird parents are wont to do), a German ornithologist who was privy to the conspiracy would step in and state that individual variation was significant as well, that correct identification required substantial field experience which the British lacked due to there being only one form on their islands and that the Brit had therefore simply misidentified the birds.<br /><br />As a consequence, the British got the clear impression that they weren't "advanced" enough yet to tackle such complex identification challenges and the superiority of German ornithology was saved and preserved for the time being.<br /><br />During the course of the following decades, the "prank" gradually became more and more known in Germany and also amongst the British. This is not something you can cover up indefinitely, of course.<br /><br />Then, however, things evolved miraculously. By the time the truth started to leak through, Britain had evolved into the Great British Empire and British pride and prejudice made it completely impossible for its ornithologists to acknowledge being fooled for so long. Therefore, the British became part of the conspiracy and promoted the "prank" further to the point we are at today: the "prank" is even maintained in the world's most modern and advanced field guide, written by a team of Irish, British and Swedish bird identification experts - who definitely knew what they were doing.<br /><br />Of course, even today most birders in Europe and Britain aren't aware of the "prank" and readily identify and tick the two Treecreepers. Whenever I get a birding visitor from the USA or elsewhere, I always nonchalantly bring up the Treecreeper in a conversation. If the other birder is evidently not aware of the true situation, I'll always ask if they are missing one species. If that's the case, I'll either call the first Treecreeper we see their "lifer" or the one they already have - depending on whether they had bought me some decent beers the night before or not.<br /><br />It is great, it is big fun, and even you, my dear Corey, fell for it easily when we met at the Baltic!<br /><br />You might therefore reconsider your decision to uncover the "prank".This issue is bound to get very messy once discussed openly, a lot of high-profile birder careers are at stake and if the truth emerges, those - like you - who had been fooled so easily will look increasingly stupid.<br />And, Corey, this is not a threat but a warning: if you proceed further with this mad endeavour, you'll regret it. I know for a fact that influential US birders are involved, too. This means your birding career will definitely come to an end. Surely, you can still watch the House Sparrows and European Starlings at your Queens feeder and keep it all to yourself, but you will have no option whatsoever to proceed with a more open, public birder career - and you won't even have to bother ever reporting anything to a records committee.<br /><br />You'll be deleted as a birder.<br /><br />Therefore, I urge you even in your very own interest: do not post your article on the blog. You have been warned by a friend. "<br /><br />He just wouldn't listen.Jochenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10852825311605464857noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2647395313001100441.post-56517771541243234562010-03-31T10:17:00.004+02:002010-03-31T12:50:04.771+02:00Important Question!I have a question that I kindly ask readers from Europe or with field experience on European raptors to answer in the comments:<br /><div></div><div></div><div><strong>Have you ever seen a Common Kestrel fly very, very high during migration? And if so: have you ever seen small parties or groups - 4, 7, 10,... - migrating together ?</strong></div><br /><div>I am talking about 500+ metres above the ground, so high that you could either only barely spot it with your unaided eyes - or - that you only accidentally discovered the bird waaay up high in the background of another soaring raptor/bird you were looking at with binoculars - or - in the middle of a kettle of soaring/migrating buzzards you check with your binoculars, so high the kestrel itself is not discernible by naked eye only?</div><br /><div></div><div>I can't recall a single situation where this happened to me, but that could be old age or prolongued fatigue. Which is why the field experiences of others are important for me to find out.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454717881159303442" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 248px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__lXB1dimuC0/S7MNAzh4wRI/AAAAAAAAC8A/u7sc9bZ918g/s400/kestrel.JPG" border="0" /><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div><strong>The cast in alphabetical order</strong>:</div><br /><div>Common Kestrel, <em>Falco tinnunculus</em>, Turmfalke [tower falcon]</div>Jochenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10852825311605464857noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2647395313001100441.post-13030559498977366582010-03-30T11:52:00.001+02:002010-03-31T12:09:07.075+02:00You are doing it WRONG, WRONG, WRONG!<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__lXB1dimuC0/S6eFrFpJMuI/AAAAAAAAC7g/JaJlge3N1Bw/s1600-h/wrong1.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451472849250890466" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 266px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__lXB1dimuC0/S6eFrFpJMuI/AAAAAAAAC7g/JaJlge3N1Bw/s400/wrong1.bmp" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451472862416965794" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 266px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__lXB1dimuC0/S6eFr2sLkKI/AAAAAAAAC7o/6Ckjhas9808/s400/wrong2.bmp" border="0" /></div><br /><br /><p align="left"><span style="color:#3333ff;">* <span style="font-size:85%;">natural sausage casings; direct translation from German: natural guts. </span></span><span style="font-size:85%;color:#3333ff;">I don’t know about you, but I prefer not to be reminded by one metre high letters that the sausage casing I eat once held the stuff that makes a pigpen smell the way it does…</span></p><p align="center"><span style="color:#3333ff;"></span></p><br /><p align="center"><span style="color:#3333ff;"></span></p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454361962771567842" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 274px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__lXB1dimuC0/S7HJToNm1OI/AAAAAAAAC74/xrc0Yv9Ckvs/s400/joneses.bmp" border="0" /><br /><p align="center"></p>Jochenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10852825311605464857noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2647395313001100441.post-32166389410386191022010-03-29T09:09:00.005+02:002010-03-29T09:17:24.349+02:00Another bird's name finally makes senseBruce Bowman, of <a href="http://www-personal.umich.edu/~bbowman/birds/">Bowman's Bird Stuff</a> fame, has finally captured on film (as the old folks still call the process of taking a picture, digital or not) what was long suspected yet never proven, that the name "Sandhill Crane" can occasionally make sense:<br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.grovestreet.com/PicPage.do?id=1303555">Sandhill Cranes </a>!Jochenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10852825311605464857noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2647395313001100441.post-47612336407438144402010-03-22T12:27:00.005+01:002010-03-22T12:59:07.950+01:00Introducing "The Cast in alphabetical order"Hilke of "<a href="http://onejackdawbirding.blogspot.com/">One Jackdaw Birding</a>" recently <a href="http://belltowerbirding.blogspot.com/2010/03/thrush-saturation-saturday.html">commented</a> that she had trouble finding the bird species I mentioned in one of my posts in her German field guides as I only provided the English names.<br /><br />This had me thinking, and even successfully so as I realized that she's got a significant point there:<br />Even though I blog in English, this is still a German bird blog (sometimes), so I really ought to also mention the German names in those posts that are about the birds of Germany, or more generally about European bird species.<br /><br />Therefore, from this day on my blog posts (those with European content) will conclude with a list of the birds mentioned. Therein I will provide the English name, the scientific name, the German name and the English translation of the German name (as in <a href="http://belltowerbirding.blogspot.com/2009/08/names-games-part-1.html">this</a> post of mine).Jochenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10852825311605464857noreply@blogger.com7