12-8-2017 RUDESHEIM, GERMANY - EURASIAN TREE SPARROW (FEMALE) (Passer montanus)

The Eurasian tree sparrow (Passer montanus) is a passerine bird in the sparrow family with a rich chestnut crown and nape, and a black patch on each pure white cheek. The sexes are similarly plumaged, and young birds are a duller version of the adult. This sparrow breeds over most of temperate Eurasia and Southeast Asia, where it is known as the tree sparrow, and it has been introduced elsewhere including the United States, where it is known as the Eurasian tree sparrow or German sparrow to differentiate it from the native unrelated American tree sparrow. Although several subspecies are recognised, the appearance of this bird varies little across its extensive range.

The Eurasian tree sparrow's untidy nest is built in a natural cavity, a hole in a building or the disused nest of a European magpie or white stork. The typical clutch is five or six eggs which hatch in under two weeks. This sparrow feeds mainly on seeds, but invertebrates are also consumed, particularly during the breeding season. As with other small birds, infection by parasites and diseases, and predation by birds of prey take their toll, and the typical life span is about two years.

12-8-2017 RUDESHEIM, GERMANY - EURASIAN BLACKBIRD (MALE) (Turdus merula)

The blackbird is the most numerous breeding bird in the British Isles, with a population of around 6 million pairs.

The highest breeding densities are to be found in small urban parks and residential areas.

The European population has been estimated at between 38 and 55 million pairs.

The only European country with no breeding blackbirds is Iceland; small numbers do occur there in the winter.

The reason for its success is its adaptability, for it is equally at home in a town park or suburban garden as it is in a remote Welsh wood.

Blackbirds are what is known as sexually dimorphic, which means that the plumage of the female is completely different from that of the male.

The song of the blackbird is arguably the most beautiful and best-loved of any British bird, as well as being the most familiar.

The first blackbird song of the year can usually be heard at the end of January or early February, though urban birds often start earlier.

Studies have shown that the first birds to sing are cocks that were hatched the year before. The older birds do not start singing until well into March.

Blackbirds typically like to sing after rain.

The song period continues well into the summer, but it is unusual to hear sustained song much after the middle of July.

The song Sing a song of sixpence, a pocket full of rye, four-and-twenty blackbirds, baked in a pie was actually a coded message used to recruit crew members for the notorious 18th-century pirate Blackbeard.

The majority of English blackbirds seldom move any distance from where they were hatched.

British birds are joined in winter by large numbers of migrants from Europe, mainly Scandinavia, the Baltic States, Russia and Germany.

The most common causes of death for ringed blackbirds are cats and cars.

It takes a pair of blackbirds between 11 and 14 days to make a nest. Most of the work is done by the female.

It is only the female that incubates the eggs, but the male helps feed his offspring.

Scottish blackbirds are usually two weeks behind their English counterparts when it comes to nest building and egg laying.

Blackbirds have been successfully introduced to south-eastern Australia and New Zealand.

Attempts to establish blackbirds in New York and Oregon in the 19th-century both failed.

The oldest ringed blackbird recovered was over 20 years old.

12-8-2017 RUDESHEIM, GERMANY - EUROPEAN STAG BEETLE (MALE) (Lucanus cervus)

Lucanus cervus, known as the European stag beetle, or the greater stag beetle, is one of the best-known species of stag beetle (family Lucanidae) in Western Europe, and is the eponymous example of the genus. L. cervus is listed as Near Threatened by the IUCN Red List.

Adults appear during late May to the beginning of August, being most active in the evenings. Females lay their eggs in a piece of decaying wood deep in the soil. Stag beetle larvae, which are blind and shaped like a letter "C", feed on rotting wood in a variety of places, tree stumps, old trees and shrubs, rotting fence posts, compost heaps, and leaf mould. The larvae have a cream-coloured, soft, transparent body with six orange legs, and an orange head which is very distinct from the very sharp brown pincers. They have combs in their legs which they use for communication (stridulation) with other larvae. The larvae go through several instars (stages), taking 1 to 3 years to become pupae.

12-8-2017 RUDESHEIM, GERMANY - COMMON WOOD PIGEON (Columba palumbus)

11-8-2017 MILTENBERG, GERMANY - EGYPTIAN GOOSE (Alopochen aegyptiaca)

11-8-2017 MILTENBERG, GERMANY - GREY CROSS SPIDER (Larinioides sclopetarius)

Larinioides sclopetarius, commonly called bridge-spider or gray cross-spider, is a relatively large orb-weaver spider with Holarctic distribution. These spiders are located in Europe and have been observed as south as the Mediterranean Coast and as north as Finland. They are often found on bridges, especially near light and over water. The species tends to live on steel objects and is seldom seen on vegetation. Females reach a body length of 10–14mm, and males 8–9mm. Their orb webs can have diameters of up to 70 cm.

L. sclopetarius is attracted to light. Spiders found near light sources may be in better condition and have greater reproductive success than spiders living in unlit areas. Most of these lighted areas are found in cities or other metropolitan areas. As a result, many urban areas have become saturated with these spiders. As many as 100 of these spiders can be found in a square meter in optimal feeding locations.

L. sclopetarius often hide during the day, and wait for prey in the center of their web at night. In high-density populations, spiders may remain sedentary to protect their territories. Mature females and juvenile spiders will often build webs. However, adult males generally inhabit adult female webs. Males can be found mostly during summer, while females are active until November in Central Europe.

11-8-2017 MILTENBERG, GERMANY - MUTE SWAN (Cygnus olor)

11-8-2017 MILTENBERG, GERMANY - RED SLUG (ARION RUFUS)

11-8-2017 MILTENBERG, GERMANY - CHOCOLATE ARION SLUG (Arion rufus)

11-8-2017 MILTENBERG, GERMANY - EURASIAN BLUE TIT (Cyanistes caeruleus)

11-8-2017 MILTENBERG, GERMANY - GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKER (Dendrocopos major)

30-7-2017 CENTRAL PARK, BUDAPEST - GREY HERON (Ardea cinerea)

30-7-2017 CENTRAL PARK, BUDAPEST - WHITE STORK (Ciconia ciconia)

The White stork (Ciconia ciconia) is a large bird in the stork family, Ciconiidae. It eats a wide range of animal prey and takes most of its food from the ground. It does not pair for life but both members of the pair build a large stick nest, which may be used for several years. This conspicuous species has given rise to many legends across its range, of which the best-known is the story of babies being brought by storks.

White storks are found across Europe, Asia Minor, the northern part of Africa, and the Middle East. By the winter months, they migrate into tropical regions of Africa, some parts of the Middle East, and the Indian subcontinent. White storks prefer to feed in grassy meadows, agricultural fields, pastures, steppes, savannas, and shallow wetlands avoiding areas overgrown with tall grass and shrubs. Breeding grounds include open grasslands, particularly grassy areas which are wet or periodically flooded, and less in areas with taller vegetation cover such as forest and shrubland.

White storks are long-legged wading birds. The sexes are identical in appearance, except that males are larger than females on average. The plumage is mainly white with black flight feathers and wing coverts; the black is caused by the pigment melanin. The breast feathers are long and shaggy forming a ruff which is used in some courtship displays. The irises are dull brown or grey, and the peri-orbital skin is black. The adult has a bright red beak and red legs, the colouration of which is derived from carotenoids in the diet. As with other storks, the wings are long and broad enabling the bird to soar. In flapping flight its wingbeats are slow and regular. It flies with its neck stretched forward and with its long legs extended well beyond the end of its short tail. It walks at a slow and steady pace with its neck upstretched. In contrast, it often hunches its head between its shoulders when resting. Upon hatching, the young White stork is partly covered with short, sparse, whitish down feathers. This early down is replaced about a week later with a denser coat of woolly white down. By three weeks, the young bird acquires black scapulars and flight feathers. On hatching the chick has pinkish legs, which turn to greyish-black as it ages. Its beak is black with a brownish tip. By the time it fledges, the juvenile bird's plumage is similar to that of the adult, though its black feathers are often tinged with brown, and its beak and legs are a duller brownish-red or orange. The beak is typically orange or red with a darker tip. The bills gain the adults' red colour the following summer, although the black tips persist in some individuals. Young storks adopt adult plumage by their second summer.

30-7-2017 CENTRAL PARK, BUDAPEST - CRIMSON BELLIED PARAKEET (Pyrrhura perlata)

9-8-2017 BAMBERG, GERMANY - CANADA GOOSE (Branta canadensis)

9-8-2017 BAMBERG, GERMANY - MUTE SWAN (Cygnus olor)