Mikepércs: Life at the Pond

The subsided water on the pond at Mikepércs attracts many shore birds in september. So I had a try today at taking some shots from the hide I had placed at the margin of the water. I've  spent half of the day there. Here I met the dunlin for the first time:

Dunlin

Dunlin

Dunlin

Ruffs arrived at the subsided water as well:

Ruff

Then snipes came:

Common Snipe

Common Snipe

The  young white wagtails hunted for insects:

White Wagtail

Ruff

Common Snipe

Later a flock of lapwings landed, some of them having a bath:

Lapwing

Lapwing

Lapwing

Some of them came very close:

Lapwing

Preening:

Lapwing

Grado, Italy: Yellow-legged Gull

Caspian Gull in the lights of the sunset:

Yellow-legged Gull

Grado, Italy: Mediterranean Gull

During our excursion to Italy I met this gull on the seashore:

Mediterranean Gull

Slovenia: At the Bled Lake

The first stage of our excursion to Italy was the Bled Lake in Slovenia. It's an amazingly beautiful place:

The Bled Castle

In the middle of the lake stands the Pilgrimage Church of the Assumption of Mary on a small island:

 

Szepes, Debrecen: Dragonfly

Today I tried to take photos at the pond near Szepes. But the birds didn't come close enough (they didn't have enough time to get used to the hide as it hadn't been there). This dragonfly however was flying quite close for a long time:

Migrant Hawker Dragonfly

Debrecen: Bees and Pollination

Today I took some macro shots near the Tócó stream. The bees were busy gathering pollen which covered almost their whole body:

Honey Bee

Honey Bee

Honey Bee

Poroszló: The water promenade on Lake Tisza

During a trip on the Tisza Lake we went along the water promenade. The birds here have got used to the human presence so you don't need long tele lens to take decent photos of them:

Young Whiskered Tern

Szepes, Debrecen: At the drying pond

The water level of the ponds near Szepes has decreased so much that placing my hide on branches wich I put on the margin of the pond the hide didn't dip into the mud. 

I got there at dawn and didn't have to wait long, my first visitor was this curious sedge warbler:

Sedge Warbler

Later the white wagtails came to catch insects from the dried mud:

White Wagtail

Then a little ringed plover arrived chasing insects:

Little Ringed Plover

There were other species too like wood sandpipers, common sandpipers and ruffs.

Szepes, Debrecen: Harriers

I started the marsh harrier project. I've made a hide which I took to a pond near Szepes and I installed it on a place where I often saw marsh harriers. My hope was that one of them would land some time on the elder bush in front of my hide. They didn't do this favor for me. So I had to satisfy with the flight photos:

Marsh Harrier

Marsh Harrier

Debrecen, Great Forest: At the bathing pool again

After some break today I visited the bathing pool again. There were many visitors there:

Marsh Tit

Are you here again? Shame on you!

Blackcaps (females)

The flycatchers usually come to the pool in may:

Collared Flycatcher (male)

Willow Warbler

One of the regulary visitors:

Chaffinch (female)

The robin sometimes caught sight of me sitting the hide behind the glass. In these cases it flew away:

Robin

Harangod, Nagykálló: Insects

Today we made a trip to Harangod near Nagykálló. I was hoping to take some photos of the gophers. We didn't see them this time, instead I took some macro shots. These are the most successful ones:

Újfehértó: Little Egret

Today I gave a try with my lying hide at a watery area at Újfehértó. The birds like the snipe, the redshanks, the wood sandpipers and the black-winged tilts were moving a bit far from me, this little egret however came closer:

Little Egret

Mikepércs: For the First Time in the Lying Hide

I've been doing photography at the bathing pool for a half year now. It's a good place but it's time for a change. I've made a lying hide so I decided to try it: I took it to Mikepércs and placed it on a watery area. First came a wood sandpiper then a black-winged stilt was searching for food in the shallow water:

Black-winged Stilt

Later a grey heron then a great white egret arrived but I wasn't able to take good shots of them.

Debrecen, Great Forest: April's Birds

I didn't meet the wood warbler often around my hide. Today we met:

Wood Warbler

Tense moment:

Chaffinch (female) and Hawfinch (female)

Blackbird (female)

Sometimes the woodpeckers had a bath as well:

Middle Spotted Woodpecker

And the goldfinches again:

Goldfinch

Goldfinch

Debrecen, Great Forest: Goldcrest

Still at the pool:

Goldcrest

Debrecen, Great Forest: Goldfinches' dominance

Becoming enthusiastic over yesterday's success today I visited again the bathing pool at the Great Forest (this period is great!). The blackcaps have arrived:

Blackcap (male)

Having a bath:

Blackbird (female)

Even the collared doves got used to the pool:

Collared Dove

This hawfinch is chasing its rival:

Hawfinch (male)

The goldfinches come here in flocks:

Goldfinches

Goldfinches

Goldfinch

This goldfinch used the willow branch beside the pool the following way: It walked slowly towards the end of the branch ...:

Goldfinch

... which bent down under the weight of the bird. Then it could drank from the branch (why was this better then drinking from the pool's side is a mystery:

Goldfinch

Goldfinch

The cautious jay has also landed on the side of the pool for a drink:

Jay

This blackcap has found a bit of food for itself:

Blackcap (male)