May 09, Park Sanssoucie
I watched two great blue herons flying side-by side over the park. One fell back, then pivoted and headed the opposite direction. The other noticed, flew uncertainly for a few seconds, and exclaimed “kronk!…kronk!”, then turned and followed, calling “kronk!…kronk!”.
May 08, Berlin Zoologischer Garten
I saw a great blue heron… somewhere. It wasn’t hard to find: a great tall tree with a half dozen big nests, inhabited by several very loud kronkers. It was good to see – dangerous to stand under.
It occurred to me there aren’t many places in the city that would be very good for herons, but the Zoo has several.
Jan 7, Potsdam
I had been hoping to get a better look at the Bullfinches with binoculars in the park. Went out once – no luck.
And just now a whole group of them are perched on the tree outside my window, and I got a good look in the binocs. The photo doesn’t do them justice. They’re eye-poppers!
Jan 1, Park Sanssoucie
Today’s new bird, spotted in Park Sanssoucie, Dickel, the eurasian Bullfinch. A small group startled from the path and went into a bush — where, owing to the time of year, I could see them well. The male is just gorgeous.
They’re very shy. They maintained about 10m distance from me, even when I attempted to very slowly step in their direction. I’m sure I saw the same finches in the same place in the Fall.
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