Category Archives: Nature

Cottbus Bird Census IV

Posted on December 31, 2025 by admin

I didn’t think I had any chance of beating the 80 species I saw last year in Brandenburg, but a few surprises got me up to 85 this time round. I’ve simplified my post somewhat this year, including all birds … Continue reading →

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Vogels

Posted on April 21, 2025 by admin

A very occasional non-book post, to gather the prettiest birds we found in and around Groningen this year. The town itself is small enough that you can easily get to the outskirts and find, for example, an avocet pretending to … Continue reading →

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Cottbus Bird Census III

Posted on December 31, 2024 by admin

Continuing my annual tradition of trying to record (photo or audio) 50 species of birds in and around Cottbus each December, I had most of the usual suspects and some weirdos. Apologies for the dirty record shots. As before, I’ve … Continue reading →

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Cottbus Bird Census II

Posted on December 31, 2023 by admin

It’s become an annual tradition for me to try to record (photo or audio) 50 species of birds in and around Cottbus each December. This year’s results (photos of almost everything this time, but including some dirty record shots): 34 … Continue reading →

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Cottbus Bird Census

Posted on December 31, 2022 by admin

I took the monthly ebird challenge (50 photos/recordings) as an opportunity to try to get records of 50 different species in December. Here’s my census of our local area! Passerines Starting with the 29 passerines, the greatest of these are … Continue reading →

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Holey Birds

Posted on April 18, 2022 by admin

This is the season to find your hole, defend your hole, and sit in your hole. Fortunately, our locals are well-provided for. The buildings in our area come with pre-installed jackdaw holes; all that’s necessary is to add the semi-circular … Continue reading →

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Catalogue d’oiseaux

Posted on December 26, 2021 by admin

The ebird bird-listing site has a different challenge each month, and December’s was to make 50 documents — recordings or pictures — of birds. I decided to challenge myself a little more and try for 50 species. We usually see … Continue reading →

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Cottbusian Corvids

Posted on April 23, 2021 by admin

An unexpected pleasure of life in Cottbus is the number of corvids we share the city with. Most characteristic is perhaps the Hooded Crow, which has weirdly divided the European continent with the Carrion Crow roughly along the lines of … Continue reading →

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Proper Winter

Posted on January 9, 2021 by admin

Our first proper winter for several years is upon us. The safest view is from inside: Outside it’s pretty stark: Rooks keep an eye on things: While blackbirds nibble: The larger animals are on the move, looking for food: Or … Continue reading →

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In Praise of the Treecreeper

Posted on December 31, 2020 by admin

One great advantage of the winter months is the disappearance of all those pesky leaves. As a result, treecreepers in particular seem to appear from nowhere. That doesn’t mean they’re necessarily obvious though; while they’re quite common, their resemblance to … Continue reading →

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