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Posts Tagged ‘Munich’

Little birds in Germany

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Travel, wildlife, Winter, tagged , , , , , , on February 17, 2019| 3 Comments »

There were several groves of trees near the Munich airport hotel that I stayed in prior to my return flight to the United States. I figured there might be some birds to photograph and was happy when I spotted birds flitting about. They reminded me of chickadees, but were much more colorful.

I did a little research on-line and think that the bird in the first photo is a Eurasian Blue Tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) and the one in the second image looks to be a Great Tit (Parus major).  Apparently they are both pretty common, but they seem rare and exotic to me because they are not to be found in the area in which I live.

Eurasian Blue Tit

Great Tit

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Eurasian Kestrel near Munich

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged , , , , , on February 16, 2019| 3 Comments »

I spotted this bird on Friday as I explored the area around my hotel near the airport in Munich, Germany. I am not sure of the exact name of the town, but it is one of many airport hotels that are in a relatively rural area adjacent to the airport.

I spotted the bird, which I was sure was some kind of a raptor, from a distance and was able to move a little closer to the mound on which it was perched. My initial thought was that it was some kind of hawk or falcon, but it was different from any of the ones that I have seen in my home area of Northern Virginia.

Thanks to the experts on a Facebook birding forum, I learned that this is a Eurasian Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus). It is somewhat similar to the American Kestrel, the smallest falcon that we have in North America, a species that I have seen a few times.

Eurasian Kestrel

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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