Tag Archives: Tiergarten

Arrivals from Africa

Suddenly the Tiergarten is full of new arrivals, many of them having braved the long journey from central Africa to arrive in central Berlin. Today I saw a wonderful little common redstart, just landed, hopping around eating insects in the Englisher Garten. Two days ago I saw and heard a lesser whitethroat, who supposedly also spends his summers in Africa and was jumping around on bushes near the Spree. And today I heard the lovely song of the male blackcap and saw his lady, with a dusty red cap, eating buds on a branch.

And to top all of this off, last night I heard the song of the nightingale for the first time this year. It is hard to believe that these little birds have the strength to fly over the Sahara and immediately start belting their hearts out as soon as they land in the city. I am very grateful to them, and I’m happy that they all arrived safely.

More listening

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Today I noticed that my camera battery had died, just after I left the house to go observing. This turned out to be a good thing, as I decided to focus on listening again, and to see if I could identify not only every bird that I saw, but also every bird that I heard. I walked by the Spree, where in the past months the waterfowl would be hanging around in their usual spots. But now, thanks to the constant parade of pleasure boats that churn up and down the river as soon as the weather improves, there was hardly a duck or coot to be seen, and no more swans or grebes or moorhens at all. (Many of these seem to have relocated to the pond in the Englischer Garten.)

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A Hungry Hawk

Stranger in a Strange Land

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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.