During an exhibition in Kronach (southern FRGermany) I stood at a hostel
situated at a fortress called Festung Rosenberg (builded around 1250)
for 4 days .
Kestrels Falco tinnunculus, a lot of Common Swifts Apus apus and
Western Jackdaws Corvus monedula were breeding there. Up to 40
individuals of Jackdaws was screeming at the inner courtyard every morning.

17. July 2009, 6am, Western Jackdaws Corvus monedula, Common Swift Apus apus 

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© Pic by Marcus Held

What do you think you hear in this recording?
A clockwork? A model railroad? Or maybe a snake?

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Yesterday we ringed some juvenile Wrynecks Jynx torquila.
What you can hear is their defense call.
For us it was a really impressive experience to hear and see
this bunch of hissing and clicking young birds in the nest-box.
This defence behaviour is optical remarkable too.
The Wrynecks turn their heads all the time to impersonate a snake.
Combined with the sound it didn´t miss its effect :-)

05. March 2009, Oberholz (Sachsen, FRGermany), 2,56 pm, 10°C,
a flock of around 40 European Starlings Sturnus vulgaris, some aeroplanes and the autobahn…
 

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2 Eurasian Jays Garrulus glandarius, recorded at “Volkshain Stünz, Leipzig, (FRGermany)
 

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It´s February, the first songbirds are singing in the first warm shafts of sunlight.
After a few of month recording with hard conditions a friendlier time is about to begin.
To my surprise yesterday a flock of Common Starlings Sturnus vulgaris was sitting
in a apple tree and chatting. One of them gave a short lesson in what a Starling can achieve.

15. February 2009 3.37pm
Common Starling Sturnus vulgaris, Imitation of: female Tawny Owl Strix aluco,
Eurasian Golden Oriole O. oriolous, Great Spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopos major and
House Sparrow Passer domesticus.
 

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Since one week a flock of 25 Hawfinches C. coccothraustes was straying around.
With a “contact call” the flock seemed to sync their activities. One by one was calling
till all individuals were together.

13. February 2009, 3.20pm
Hawfinches C. coccothraustes, calls and contact calls, flock of 6-8 individuals
 

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Last year I tryed to record their curious whispering song. Now with my new Telinga
parabola microphon i have better prospects. Here my first attempt:

13. February 2009, 3.31pm
Hawfinches C. coccothraustes, calls and (sub?)song,
in background a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopos minor was looking for food.
 

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During this winter were a lot of Long Tailed Bushtits´s Aegithalos caudatus flocks in Leipzig.
What i like about this recording is the contrast of the urban surrounding and the Bushtit´s
delicate voices.

13. February 2009, 2.21pm
Long Tailed Bushtits´s Aegithalos caudatus, calls
 

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13. February 2009, 3.12pm
A Lesser Spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopos minor was looking for food.
 

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During my second journey to the island “Greifswalder Oie” in December 2008
I found a complete new situation there. No migrating birds; on the whole island
where only a few songbirds. A pair of Ravens Corvus corax made their display flights,
a straying flock of Hooded Crows Corvus corone cornix, and 5 or 6 clicking
Water Rails Rallus aquaticus. But on the costline and at the water where a lot of seabirds.

A sleeping place of Great Cormorants Phalacrocorax carbo are located in the little wood.
It´s wonderfull to hear and see a flock of them, sitting down and clamouring through
the trees. There´s no stupid hunter or fisherman who attacks the birds…

17. December 2008, Great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo
 

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One day a small flock of Bohemian Waxwings Bombycilla garrulus strayed around.
This should be an small foretaste for the weeks after my return home. Up to 150
individuals migrated through my hometown Leipzig in January 2009. But unfortunately
at bad acoustic surroundings…

19. December 2008, Bohemian Waxwing Bombycilla garrulus
 

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After one week I finally managed to record the long call of a Water Rail Rallus aquaticus.
Prior to this the individuals hid within blackberry bushes and were clicking all the day,
but rarely “cried” their pig-like long calls.

26. December 2008, Water Rail Rallus aquaticus
 

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After a short daylight period I had enough time to collate my recordings. Another recording
of a Deer Capreolus capreolus giving a alarm call is a nice one I found.

27. September 2008, Deer Capreolus capreolus, alarm call
 

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Every Autumn during the last years I tried to go to a wonderful
place called “Wildenhainer Bruch” at the “Dübener Heide”
(near Leipzig, FRGermany). There´s a watching point from which you
can hear at this time Cranes, Red Deers, different Orthoptera´s or
watch a Sea Eagle without disturbing.
This Autumn I only managed to make this single recording.

27. August 2008, Red Deer Cervus elaphus, Common Crane Grus grus and Pholidoptera griseoaptera. 

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© Snapshot by Marcus Held

Whithin October 2008 Marcus and I were at a ringing station on isle
“Greifswalder Oie” in north of FRGermany.
For me, this offered a complete new view/hearing on this topic.
At my hometown Leipzig, the bird migration only appears with
large flocks of greater birds like Cranes or Geese. Now there were
mainly songbirds. One of the most frequent appearing birds on the island
were Goldcrests Regulus regulus – their high pitched calls were anywhere.

During the hourly “control-walks” along the nets, i notice a sound, seemingly
of geese, always from the same direction. Once a day, Marcus told me
about a tree nearby the nets that sounded like White-Fronted-Geese Anser albifrons
or kind of New Music!?

The acoustic highlight for me was two days of heavy migration
of Trushes. At morning. i walked a bit around, as i noticed hundreds
of ascending Blackbirds Turdus merula, Song Thrushes Turdus philomelos,
Mistle Thrushes Turdus viscivorus, Fieldfares Turdus pilaris, Redwings Turdus iliacus
and a single Ring Ouzel Turdus torquatus.

12. October 2008, Goldcrest Regulus regulus
 

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22. October 2008, a tree
 

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12. October 2008, various migrating songbirds
 

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© Picture by Marcus Held

Within the last weeks we went to an area called “Geiseltal”
near Merseburg (FRG).
It was a brown coal pit till 1994. Now the area will be changed to
a immense water landscpae for all kinds of sports.
Some animals which life there today would disappear.
One of the fine species there are the Bee-Eaters Merops apiaster.
There´s a breeding colony and at the last times we saw up to 60 birds…

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© Pictures by Marcus Held

On spring 2008 the ornithologist Reinhold Brennecke (Haldensleben, near Magdeburg, FRGermany)
told me about a Corn Bunting Emberiza calandra he watched for 3 years, which singing like
a Yellowhammer Emberiza citrinella. At the Forum of “Verein Sächsischer Ornithlogen” (VSO) i read
a report about the same topic. On early summer i visit the described place and had the luck to see and
hear the bird. Actually it was a Corn Bunting (on Dick Forsman´s homepage i read 1 month ago about nearly
grey Yellowhammers!)
While our SINGWARTE camp in July 2008 Marcus Held and i went out to record the singer.
The bird sang 2 different kinds of songs. A nearly equal Yellowhammer and a mixed
Yellowhammer/Corn Bunting song. The mixed one starts with Corn Bunting like short single sounds,
followed by a Yellowhammer part (typical first part double sounds in Yellowhammer song). The song
of our Corn Bunting ends with the typical short Corn Bunting sounds.

Corn Bunting, typical song

 

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Corn Bunting, atypical song – mixed one

 

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Corn Bunting, atypical song – nearly equal to Yellowhammer

 

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Yellowhammer, typical song

 

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