Imagine a burned forest in California. The charred remains of trees, the soot on the forest floor and the smoke in the air might make it seem like all is lost. Far from it. While fires negatively affect many species of animals, they also spawn new and complicated ecosystems with rich biodiversity. In California, the black-backed […]
Tag: woodpecker
Bear dens and ancient trees face onslaught of logging in Poland
We’re on the hunt for brown bear dens in Poland’s Carpathian mountains, on the border with Ukraine. The lairs lie within the gnarled caverns that naturally form at the base of decaying fir trees when they get to about 130 years old. Each den is slightly different – some have rocky bottoms, others have been […]
Morning Safari in Kabini
Kabini Tiger Reserve on the backwaters of Kabini river is a haven for wildlife and is one for the post popular wildlife parks in India. We went on a morning safari and came back refreshed with some amazing portraits, as always. At first, we were confronted by this massive Tusker that blocked our road for […]
A Great Day in Maridalen
The cold temperatures continue and we awoke to -7C today with blue skies and no wind. A relaxed trip around Maridalen didn’t reveal huge quantities of birds but there was quality there and I had a long overdue patch tick. The lake held a single Guillemot but not the Long-tailed Ducks and Common Scoters that […]
Three-toed Woodpecker
Here is a new video and a few photos of the breeding Three-toed Woodpeckers I followed in Maridalen. Any interesting thing I only noted on the video is that the female was missing a toe on her right foot and that this clearly affected her. This would probably explain why the male brought food to […]
Arabian Woodpecker – An Namas
Whilst birding the An Namas area of the Asir mountains, 150 kms north of Abha recently I photographed a pair of Arabian Woodpecker Dendrocopos doraeat at their nest hole. The hole was positioned in the trunk or major branch of a large tree about five metres above ground level and comprised of a small freshly […]
Finally in the (Norwegian) bag – White-backed Pecker
Before today White-backed Woodpecker was one of three species of regular breeder on the Norwegian mainland that I had not seen in Norway with the other 2 being Stonechat and Leaches Petrel. Norway has a very important population of White-backed Pecker but these birds are all in the west of Norway and have eluded me […]
Birds Sleep in Giraffe Armpits, New Photos Reveal
The best way to guarantee breakfast in bed for some small African birds is falling asleep on your dinner plate—even if it’s a giraffe’s armpit. Scientists have long known that yellow-billed oxpeckers hang out on massive African mammals like giraffe, water buffalo, and eland during the day—an often beneficial relationship that provides hosts with cleaner, […]