Bird Watching!

Stig was talking about starlings somewhere a few weeks ago and I just saw this.

We had flocks of them and sparrows when I was a kid, nothing like this though. Introduced of course but I haven't seen either for years now, the Asian Minor has taken a toll on a lot of birds around here.


"These amazing flocks of starlings were filmed in Utrecht, The Netherlands. The “murmuration” of starlings, as this phenomenon is known, is used as a survival tactic by the small birds against predators."

<script height="450px" width="800px" src="http://player.ooyala.com/iframe.js#ec=hmMnBzcjrzEYXDEX0TuFlXt7Sf9q7PGB&pbid=6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>


Oh, it's on youtube as well if that doesn't work. http://youtu.be/h2AOsRS1jmk
 
We have that in the marshes of southern Jutland in fall every year.
It has turned into a major tourist attraction, people come from near and far to see it.
For some obscure reason the phanomenon is known as " Sort sol" Black sun.
 
M and I have been out to see waterfowl at a couple of local national wildlife refuges recently...lots of fun stuff for viewing. Just earlier this week we listed 32 species of birds. Beautiful weather for birding, cool, clear and sunny, great light for picking up colors and patterns in the binocs. Tundra swans were a highlight.
 
...saw a group of migrating Hawks , wheeling there way North. Seems early but I'll take the sign of Spring. Wild Tom Turkeys have started strutting a bit too.
 
I usually like to walk the creek that runs through our property in the winter. I have seen lots of cool birds in the past doing that. This winter, as well as last, the snow is so deep I have not been able to do it. I hear the Great Horned Owls back there hooting.
 
Either that is the world's largest green woodpecker, the world's smallest weasel or photoshopped.
 
World's smallest weasel, then.
Mustela nivalis. I didn't realize it was called a weasel, since its danish name is "brud" and I'd never had cause to learn the English.
 
Not to be confused with a stoat, which becomes an ermine in winter, in northern climes at least. Very similar but the weasel is much smaller without the black tip to its tail.
 
Just checked "brud" on a translation site no animals mentioned, Hermelyn or something for stoat, and vaessel or something for weasel. Looks like the English word for weasel comes from Northern Europe.
Hermelyn =ermine
 
Checking Brud would possibly be hard, since it is the same word as "bride"

Weasel words are for specialists, I think. Hermelin / lækat is the stoat winter/sommer. Mår is Marten, Grævling is badger and jærv is wolverine.

See, danish is easy!
 
I've noticed that tree names in Dutch often resemble English. Oak =Eik. Birch=berk ash= Es
In French chêne, bouleau and frêne.
I know Dutch Isn't Danish but they're sort of Germanic aren't they?
 
Anybody click the link, excellent owl and eagle cams.
 
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