Archimedes was a Pygmy Owl / May 1, 2020 by Arne Bischoff

Do you remember Disney’s Sword in the stone? There is Archimedes, a rather dwarfish, but very hilarious owl with a taunting sense of humour. The ten-year-old me loved it. Archimedes might be an Eurasian pygmy owl, although I think an actual Little owl (Athene noctua) is far more likely to be the inspiration for the character, given its mythological pedigree.

Fast forward nearly thirty years, I met Archimedes in the woods, sort of. I was out counting Eurasian pygmy and Boreal owls on behalf of the local national park Harz. I did this kind of bird monitoring quite a lot in recent months. In order to deliver comparable data, it is a highly standardised way of scientific monitoring. Usually this takes place around the breeding season and you play a call of your target-species and hope that it responds. From the number of responding males you conclude on the number of breeding pairs. Without this systematic approach you would solely rely on incidental findings. Because this way of counting means stress for the birds, it is highly restricted to professional use. I do this, because it is a great way to learn about birds, to be out and about and help conservation a little. As I once said here, if I have to choose between watching and photographing, I’d choose the former. Nevertheless, I take my camera with me, when I go monitoring. Firstly, because I love taking images, secondly because images help from a conservation standpoint, too. You only protect what you know and love.

It was my second outing on this particular route. I had been out for about one and a half hour, without seeing or hearing any sign of an owl. When I arrived at my checkpoint and played the pygmy call, this male immediately responded. I instantly quit playing the call and held my breath. A very inquisitive and adventurous male approached me directly, flew over and took perch on a nearby fir tree. It called and called for at least five minutes and I watched speechless before I finally took some images. The spectacle carried on for a little while before I finally left my Archimedes and headed for the next checkpoint. When I arrived there and played the call, I was just stunned. Archimedes had followed me and took another perch in a nearby tree. By this time, it was too dark to photograph. So, I just watched and listened.

“Like in the movie, my Archimedes is a really courageous and curious little bird.
And I am one really happy birdwatcher.”

Editor’s note: Don’t use calls to attract birds on your own and without scientific reasons or supervision. Unfortunately, a lot of wildlife photographers discovered this “trick” in recent years. From an environmental standpoint, this is an absolute no. The scientific counting rules demand you to stop as soon as a species responds, in order to not disturb it any more than absolutely necessary to gather data which helps protecting wildlife. This is the exact opposite of what so called wildlife photographers do, who play the calls over and over again and whose only goal is to take images, not to help science protecting animals.

The real meaning of 1st. / March 29, 2020 by Arne Bischoff

**A Bohemian waxwing taking off with its favorite food.**

Seeing a bird for the first time is a special and thrilling feat for most birdwatchers and -enthusiasts. Back in January I had this very pleasure. Bohemian waxwings came in quite some numbers to Northern Germany. This isn’t too unusual and happens every few years. But since I am still a newbie in terms of birdwatching, I did not yet experience this occasion.

From the very beginning of my birding-thing, I was fascinated with some species in particular. First of all, there is my much beloved Raven - all kinds of Corvidae in fact. And I really have a fancy for the wonderful Spotted nutcrackers, Sanderlings and Common Ringed Plovers. Less originally though, I have always been fond of some of the the more colorful species since I acquired the great “Kosmos Vogelführer” - such as the Atlantic puffin, the Great kingfisher, the Bluethroat and of course the Bohemian Waxwing. Scandinavia-lover who I am, those Waxwings had a head start into my heart and the fact that one of my most appreciated wildlife photographers, Markus Varesvuo from Finland, often shared waxwing images helped with my fascination.

“When word spread that Waxwings were here, I became a little thrilled.”

I had to wait until this year to see it. When word spread with the local ornithologists that Waxwings were here, I became a little thrilled. I went out with my trusted binoculars, but without success on the first outing. Since they usually feast on Mistletoes, Rowan-berries and Common snowball I kept my good mood and was sincere to find it. One day later a large flock has been reported at a local camping site - easily accessible via car. What happened next was an unpleasant surprise. Loads of birdlovers and -photographers swarmed the place. All well equipped with hiking boots and trousers and heavy packs and what not - right within the city. More annoyingly they behaved as if this was there place, coursing the campers for scaring off the birds, getting in the way of everyone, noising and being way too full of themselves.

What was missing was the waxwings - smart little birds they are. I decided that this was not my place and went for a long stroll around a nearby lake, breathed deeply and forgot all the annoyance, came back - all those Waxwing-hunters had been gone, sat down and waited for ten minutes or so and was rewarded with a flock of 37 birds: noising and brawling and enjoying the Snowball berries. The light was wonderfully subdued. Short: I couldn’t have been more lucky.

“It’s not about ticking some species off of a list.”

The rest is history they say. One happy photographer with a shitload of images to process. Forgotten my irritation about those noisy birdloving photographers I met before. The magic of the moment took over. So I put aside the camera, grabbed my binoculars and watched and listened. Isn’t this what it’s all about? It’s not about ticking some species off of a list. It’s not about hunting for an image as inquisitive passerby oft ask. It’s about experiencing the moment, learning about the ways and behaviour of wild animals that are not subject to man. This is the real meaning of a first. The moment that you will only experience once. This excitement, this joy.

Misconceptions about wildlife photography / February 19, 2020 by Arne Bischoff

There is this common misconception about wildlife photography that you grab your camera, go out, press the shutter and come back with beautiful images of elusive birds. More often that not, it's the complete opposite. When you live in Germany, there is not a lot of wildlife around. Most of its so called nature is agricultural wastelands. Even the remaining stretches of nature are too small and too scattered to support wildlife in strong numbers. An immeasurable amount of streets are cutting each and every habitat to pieces.

In spite of all this, sometimes I fall under this spell myself. When I am sitting in my office chair, doing my day to day work and dreaming away to what I gonna do this weekend. In this daydreaming, I imagine perfect light, beautiful nature, no people, but a lot of wildlife.

With exactly this idea in mind, I went to the mountain range nearby to see at least one day of winter. It was mid-February. In the flatlands where I live, there has been not a single snowflake all season. The local Harz mountains did not disappoint. I had a wonderful day out, with snow and sunshine. All went to plan. I have scarcely seen any animals though, a raven, a crossbill, a woodpecker, but it was a great day nonetheless. I have been lucky. To have a day out is what really matters. If you get your image, fine. If not, consider yourself lucky anyways. It’s a process.

Swiss-Alps paradise / August 13, 2019 by Arne Bischoff

Heading into holidays always fills me with great expectations. What will I see, what will I experience and - since I started photographing wildlife - which images will I be able to capture? This was correct for my last trip as well, all the more because I know the eastern parts of the Alps and South Tyrol quite well but the more west I go, the more blind this spot is to me.

Entering Valais! My loved one found this beautiful mountain hut (a Maiensäss) sitting just below 2,000 m of altitude and making for a wonderful accommodation. Italy is near, the coffee is great, and the apricot juice is exceptional. Our host, Roberto was simply the best we could wish for and the view from our balcony is nothing short of breathtaking. Gazing across the Rhône valley you see 4,000 m summits like pearls: Weisshorn, Zinalrothorn, Bishorn, Dent Blanche, Matterhorn, Breithorn, Liskamm and towering above all - Dofourspitze.

The northern side of the Rhône valley - facing south, sunny, dry, warm - may be a little less spectacular, but it is really beautiful as well. Beautiful as long as you can either ignore or flee the abomination of ski tourism.

What a scenery! From Weisshorn (left) to Liskamm (right).

But flee it, you can and as soon as you leave the well-trodden and perfectly shaped tourist tracks, you’re not only getting rid of all the waste they leave behind, but you gain beautiful valleys, little mountain paths and a surprisingly vivid wildlife.

The author just below the summit of Trubelstock. Image: Courtesy of Nicole | Instagram: be_equalist — The author just below the summit of Trubelstock.
📷 by Nicole | Instagram: Apples ‘n’ Pears Interior

May it be, because there is less hunting here than say in Tyrol, may it be out of sheer luck, I do not know. But I have seen so much wildlife with so little effort, it was astounding. One memorable day, I have seen as many as twelve ravens patrolling the slopes, some of them trolling a golden eagle. I witnessed a marmot sunbathing on a free-standing cliff, just to come back three hours later to find the same individual at the very same spot. I breathlessly watched the reckless flight of dozens of alpine swifts that were so close, I wondered if I could have touched them, would they have flown just a little slower. For the first time ever, I realised that the original habitat of a black redstart is not the city but the rocky slopes of the high alpine. Falcon were hunting in huge numbers. Further down, the grey-headed woodpecker was constantly laughing and more than once two bearded vultures were slowly and effortlessly patrolling the valleys and meadows for carrion. A phenomenal experience.

Did I take my pictures? Nearly none. I quickly learned that carrying a big camera in the backpack up those hills was not only exhausting, but useless. Before I dropped the pack, opened it, grabbed the camera and made it ready - the moment was gone. On the other hand, carrying it over the shoulder made walking and hiking so much less fun. So, my trusted binoculars became the only piece of optics that I chose to carry. Moving fast and light in alpine terrain is even more fun than photography. So not much to show off here, but many an image I carry with me in the most analogue of fashions. In my memories.

Valais more than met my expectations. It was marvellous. I will definitely come back. With more time to spend and more patience for photography. And on the note of coming back - we came via Strasbourg and spent a night there. What a remarkably beautiful city, but at least in August heavily burdened with overtourism. When you drive south from Strasbourg, you pass the Grand Ried, where “it is still possible to discover the biodiversity which used to exist when the Grand Ried was wild and the Rhine was not canalised.” (src: wikipedia) - seems like a great plan!

La liste: Spotted nutcracker, Golden eagle, Common raven, Coal tit, Black redstart, White wagtail, House sparrow, Grey-headed woodpecker, Great spotted woodpecker, Mistle thrush, Northern wheatear, Water pipit, Bearded vulture, Common kestrel, Peregrine falcon, Alpine chough, Alpine swift, Marmot, Stoat, Common buzzard, Red kite, Hawfinch, Common chaffinch, Greenfinch, Red crossbill, Common redpoll, Squirrel, Hérens cattle, Valais Blacknose, Braunvieh, Eurasian hobby, Common house martin, Red fox, Lesser spotted woodpecker, Eurasian crag martin, Eurasian jay, Meadow pipit, Common starling, White stork.

Holidays with birds / July 15, 2019 by Arne Bischoff

Recently I spent some days at the “NABU Wasservogelreservat Wallnau”, a nature-reserve located on the west coast of German island Fehmarn within the Baltic Sea. This place has become very special to me in the last few years. It is a great example of a nature-reserve.

The visitor-centre of Wallnau. Image by Louis Bafrance, CC BY-SA 4.0.

The place has been a fish farming until 1976. Then in 1977 NABU (Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union) acquired it. Since the island of Fehmarn is a bottleneck for migrating birds from Scandinavia on their way south, the wetlands of the old fish farming promised to be a bird paradise. Fehmarn is not called “Vogelinsel” (bird island) for nothing in Germany and in very close distance to Wallnau, you’ll find the beautiful reserves of “Krummsteert” and “Grüner Brink”.

The rest is history. Wallnau has indeed become a paradise not only for migrating birds, but for breeding birds as well. The whole place is devoted to the conservation of nature and true to NABU’s motto “you only protect what you know”, there is a visitor centre with an excellent exhibition that teaches all about the island, the place and the migration of birds. Next to visitor-centre and exhibition sits a nature trail, which provides more insight into the functioning of Wallnau and is really fun to follow. The trail leads to a tall look-out with a commanding view over the marshes, the wetlands, shore, beach and sea.

Entering the reserve itself is strongly prohibited, but four hides make for wonderful observation- and photo-opportunities. This is where I spent most of my time. You can see the birds beautifully, but they can’t see you and if you are silent enough, can’t hear you either. Since it is wetland, waders and gulls are the dominating groups.

A Pied avocet succesfully mobbing a Gadwall.

During my visit, Pied avocet have been especially numerous. Many of them had chicks and that did not benefit their character. The avocets did not allow any other birds around. Especially in the later hours before nightfall, they were bullying each and every one from the tiniest wagtail chick to the largest greylag goose. Only some occasional shelduck offered resistance.

The star of my first day was an adventurous little wagtail, who paraded the gravel path directly in front of the main building. It drew so many eyes that its mother had a hard time feeding it. Every evening, three branchlings of a Long-eared owl gave its ear-piercing begging calls. On my third day, I saw an Eurasian bittern flying by. The first of my live.

The list goes on and on. Even outside the reserve, the area is astonishingly beautiful. Hares, deer and foxes are patrolling the meadows nearby. The Baltic Sea is crashing against the old dyke, which is protecting Wallnau. The island of Fehmarn itself, although hugely surfaced with industrial agriculture, has its moments of beauty, too. Strips of wildflowers are edging many of the fields, with cornflowers, chamomile and poppies in full bloom. Every once in a while, a pheasant strolls by.

A Common pheasant at nature-reserve “Grüner Brink”.

For a bird lover or anyone, who is interested in nature, I highly recommend visiting this place. I will most definitely come back.

Until then, I happily share my observation-list and my images with you.

Barn swallow, Barnacle goose, Black-headed gull, Black-tailed godwit, Carrion crow, Common blackbird, Common cuckoo, Common eider, Common greenshank, Common gull, Common house martin, Common pheasant, Common pochard, Common redshank, Common reed bunting, Common ringed plover, Common sandpiper, Common shelduck, Common Starling, Common tern, Common wood pigeon, Dunlin, Eurasian bittern, Eurasian blue tit, Eurasian coot, Eurasian curlew, Eurasian oystercatcher, Eurasian skylark, Eurasian teal, European golden plover, European herring gull, Gadwall, Great cormorant, Green sandpiper, Grey heron, Greylag goose, House sparrow, Lesser whitethroat, Little ringed plover, Little stint, Long-eared owl, Mallard, Mute swan, Northern lapwing, Northern shoveler, Pied avocet, Red-breasted merganser, Red-necked grebe, Rook, Ruff, Spotted redshank, Tufted duck, Western yellow wagtail, White wagtail, Willow warbler, Wood sandpiper

Spring is here / February 25, 2019 by Arne Bischoff

Spring has arrived in Northern Germany. With temperatures rising over 15° C and beautiful sunny weather, the bird-sound-level multiplied. Wherever you walk, wherever you put your ear, you hear them display their songs. Ten days ago blackbirds, tits, robins and corvids dominated the gardens, today you see and hear nuthatches and starlings, green woodpeckers hold their courtships and yes, even the first white storks are back (to be honest, some particularly daring individuals went thus far to hibernate here, so they are not back - they were never gone). Oh soul, rejoice. It’s spring.

The stoic / January 5, 2019 by Arne Bischoff

Kingfishers are a bit of superstars in the realm of birds. So it comes as a surprise how often they actually go unnoticed. A lot of these beautiful birds dwell near us humans. It's not that they are dedicated synanthrope as for example Common Sparrows, crows or kestrels. Usually they have no alternative. They suffer from a dramatic loss of habitat. They hunt from well hidden look-outs such as overhanging branches or twigs and they need steep, sandy or loamy banks to nest in. Both have become exceptionally rare in modern agricultural landscape, so they take what they can get.

In my hometown, there are at least four hunting grounds, which the kingfishers visit frequently. All four are hotspots for human recreation. But despite the popularity of its hunting grounds, its flamboyant colours, its ear-piercing call and its eye-catching flight, nearly everyone seems to overlook our little superstar-bird.

I captured the first image at an old cemetery that serves more as a local park than an actual graveyard. In its middle sits a lake. Around this lake, there are at least five benches, offering rest for walkers. One sunny fall-morning, I was on the outlook for the little fellow and after some minutes, I heard his hunting-call. He kept hidden in the overhanging trees for some more minutes, before he set watch on a high and well visible branch just over the centre of the lake. In a period of about one and a half hour, he made at least five dives, two or three of it successful. After each dive, he vanished into the protection of the dense bushes, waited, gave his piercing call and then perched again. Me and the bird were surrounded of dozens of walkers and - surprisingly - Pokemon-Go players. No one took any notice of the bird. And the bird? Well, he did not take any notice either. He continued his hunt. Then, he vanished over the railroad tracks. This was when I thought, I might call him the Stoic.

Reflecting gear / December 23, 2018 by Arne Bischoff

“What kind of camera do you use?” “What settings”? “Oh, there is an annoying pattern of visual noise appearing above ISO …” We all know this and I myself am guilty as charged to be a gear-nerd from time to time. But there is a lot more to photography than gear. And there is a lot more to gear than bodies and lenses.

So I will try to surprise you in this section. Let me start with my number one favourite piece of bird photography kit.

This beautifully illustrated compendium tells you nearly everything you need to know about European birdlife. It makes your watching and shooting experience less random. And as boring as it may sound. You have to know your subject, right?

There are a lot of useful tools to learn birds and its behaviour online, but overall I know none that contains so much dense information.

Regardless, I want to mention two additional tools that are very useful for me:

First of all, there is ornitho.de - over 150,000 users report their bird sightings to the site. This information is not only invaluable to ornithologists of all sorts but as well to photographers or birdwatchers (at least within the covered area), because it helps you identifying the best spots. Secondly there is the “Schweizerische Vogelwarte Sempach”, which boasts an easy-to-use database of all sorts of bird-songs and -calls. This makes sense, because more often than not, you hear a bird before you see it.

1) Lars Svensson, Killian Mullarney, Dan Zetterström, Der Kosmos Vogelführer. Alle Arten Europas, Nordafrikas und Vorderasiens (3rd ed.) [this is German, but English versions exist].
2) www.ornitho.de
3) www.vogelwarte.ch

Images & Birds

NATURE PHOTOGRAPHY BY ARNE BISCHOFF