We found this Redstart flitting around a playground in Tiergarten. He appears to be molting. It was quite hot and he seemed to be cooling himself in the dust.
Common Redstart, Molting Male
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Category Archives: Berlin
Back in Berlin
After 9 years I’m back in Berlin for a short visit, this time with my daughter, Athena. We’re staying in the Tiergarten and finding the birds there to be just as interesting as ever. In fact we even have a pigeon family living on our rental balcony! We’ll be posting whatever we find here in the next week. It’s wonderful to be back!
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.
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.
From the Balcony: Redstart, Robin and Flycatcher
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…
Juvenile Robin in the Englischer Garten
This little robin and his brothers and sisters and cousins were all making quite a ruckus in the Englischer Garten the other day.
He was curious about me, and I was curious about him.
Grooming Crows
  
My husband took these shots of an adult Hooded Crow grooming an adolescent on an opposite roof the other day. They remind me of being a child and trying to stand patient and still while my mother combed my hair and fussed over my clothes. 
Spotted Flycatcher
After dinner tonight I looked over the balcony and saw this marvelous bird gracefully swooping to catch insects a few feet above the grass. It catches its dinner by repeatedly flying in short loops, taking a brief rest between each loop. It maneuvers wonderfully, flies upside-down and seems to pause mid-air when catching a bug. This is the first Spotted Flycatcher I’ve seen!
Juvenile Moorhen
This juvenile Moorhen was slurping up slime in the Englischer Garten the other day, looking very much like a dinosaur.
Grey Heron, Fishing
I caught this Grey Heron catching a fish in the Spree yesterday evening.
Bats on the Balcony
Trying to photograph birds will drive any sane person mad, but photographing bats is pure madness. Every evening at dusk a stream of bats flies out of a small opening above our drainpipe. The bats fly in large circles around the yard and even circle through our balcony area, driving our cat wild. Last night I was mad enough to try to capture one, so I stood on the balcony for some time, shooting randomly into the dark in the hopes that one of these swift creatures would happen to be flying across my viewfinder. And I caught some! They are blurry, but they are mine.
I suppose that I am so used to seeing the sleek bodies of birds in my viewfinder that I was a little shocked when I saw the images I captured. They truly are winged mice flying through the night! While standing so close to them as they flew out I noticed that they made swishing sounds, as if their wings were made of satin.
Unfortunately I don’t know anything about bat identification, so I can’t tell you what species these are. If anyone has any hints, please let me know.