—————————————————–
EXIF: Nikkor 105 mm f/4 1/1000 ISO-125 (Click on the picture to see it in full size.)

The Common Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus), is a bird in the pheasant family (Phasianidae). It is native to Caucasus and Russia and has been widely introduced elsewhere as a game bird. In parts of its range, namely in places where none of its relatives occur such as in Europe (where it is naturalized), it is simply known as the “pheasant”. “Ring-necked Pheasant” is a collective name for a number of subspecies and their crossbreeds. As of 2005, it has the smallest known genome of all living amniotes, only 0.97 pg (970 million base pairs).

—————————————————–
EXIF: Nikkor 105 mm f/4 1/1000 ISO-125 (Click on the picture to see it in full size.)

It is a well-known gamebird, among those of more than regional importance perhaps the most widespread and ancient one in the whole world. The Common Pheasant is one of the world’s most hunted birds;[2] it has been introduced for that purpose to many regions, and is also common on game farms where it is commercially bred. Ring-necked Pheasants in particular are commonly bred and were introduced to many parts of the world; the game farm stock, though no distinct breeds have been developed yet, can be considered semi-domesticated. The Ring-necked Pheasant is the state bird of South Dakota, one of only three US state birds that is not a species native to the United States.

—————————————————–
EXIF: Nikkor 105 mm f/4 1/1000 ISO-140 (Click on the picture to see it in full size.)

The Green Pheasant (P. versicolor) of Japan is sometimes placed as subspecies within the Common Pheasant. Though the species produce fertile hybrids wherever they coexist, this is simply a typical feature among Galloanseres, in which postzygotic isolating mechanisms are slight compared to most other birds. The species apparently have somewhat different ecological requirements and at least in its typical habitat the Green outcompetes the Common Pheasant; its introduction to Japan has therefore largely failed.

—————————————————–
EXIF: Nikkor 105 mm f/4 1/1000 ISO-125 (Click on the picture to see it in full size.)

source: In English Common Pheasant In Norwegian Fasan In Swedish Fasan

—————————————————–
EXIF: Nikkor 105 mm f/4 1/1000 ISO-125 (Click on the picture to see it in full size.)

The pictures are taken on Öland, Sweden.

—————————————————–
EXIF: Nikkor 105 mm f/2.8 1/2000 ISO-100 (Click on the picture to see it in full size.)

We are back from Öland, Sweden and we have had a wonderful Easter week with great weather all the time. It was too early for the insects and the butterflies, but we did see a lot of birds and hares.

—————————————————–
EXIF: Nikkor 105 mm f/3 1/160 ISO-400 (Click on the picture to see it in full size.)

I have changed my home/front page. What do you think of it?

—————————————————–
EXIF: Nikkor 105 mm f/3 1/80 ISO-200 (Click on the picture to see it in full size.)

We are all a bit under the pair lately. The bathroom is still without shower and sink (will be finished on Tuesday). We all have the cold and the weather is cold and windy. My car needs a trip to the garage (on Monday).

The birds are singing so we are looking forward and hopefully most of this is in better shape by the end of next week.

—————————————————–
EXIF: Nikkor 105 mm f/3 1/100 ISO-400 (Click on the picture to see it in full size.)

We have started feeding the little birds.

—————————————————–
EXIF: Nikkor 105 mm f/8 1/1000 ISO-200 (Click on the picture to see it in full size.)

Here are some birds at Odense Zoo, Denmark.

—————————————————–
EXIF: Nikkor 105 mm f/5 1/400 ISO-200 (Click on the picture to see it in full size.)

—————————————————–
EXIF: Nikkor 105 mm f/5,6 1/500 ISO-200 (Click on the picture to see it in full size.)

—————————————————–
EXIF: Nikkor 105 mm f/5 1/400 ISO-200 (Click on the picture to see it in full size.)

—————————————————–
EXIF: Nikkor 105 mm f/3,2 1/160 ISO-200 (Click on the picture to see it in full size.)

—————————————————–
EXIF: Nikkor 105 mm f/5 1/400 ISO-200 (Click on the picture to see it in full size.)

Have a lovely weekend!

—————————————————–
EXIF: Sima 20 mm f/5,6 1/125 ISO-360 (Click on the picture to see it in full size.)

We where so lucky to have a lot of ducks next door on our holiday in Denmark.

—————————————————–
EXIF: Nikkor 105 mm f/3,2 1/160 ISO-200 (Click on the picture to see it in full size.)

—————————————————–
EXIF: Nikkor 105 mm f/4 1/250 ISO-200 (Click on the picture to see it in full size.)

—————————————————–
EXIF: Nikkor 105 mm f/4 1/250 ISO-200 (Click on the picture to see it in full size.)

—————————————————–
EXIF: Nikkor 105 mm f/4,5 1/320 ISO-200 (Click on the picture to see it in full size.)

—————————————————–
EXIF: Nikkor 105 mm f/4 1/1000 ISO-110 (Click on the picture to see it in full size.)

The Barnacle goose (Branta leucopsis) belongs to the genus Branta of black geese, which contains species with largely black plumage, distinguishing them from the grey Anser species. Despite its superficial similarity to the Brent Goose, genetic analysis has shown it is an eastern derivative of the Cackling Goose lineage.

—————————————————–
EXIF: Nikkor 105 mm f/6,3 1/640 ISO-200 (Click on the picture to see it in full size.)

The Barnacle goose was first classified taxonomically by Johann Matthäus Bechstein in 1803. Its specific epithet is from the Ancient Greek leuko- “white”, and opsis “faced”.

In English, the term “barnacle” originally referred only to this species of goose and only later to the crustacean barnacles. It is sometimes claimed that the word comes from a Celtic word for “limpet”, but the sense-history seems to go in the opposite direction.

—————————————————–
EXIF: Nikkor 105 mm f/4 1/1000 ISO-125 (Click on the picture to see it in full size.)

The Barnacle Goose is a medium-sized goose, 60–70 cm long, with a white face and black head, neck, and upper breast. Its belly is white. The wings and its back are silver-gray with black-and-white bars that look like they are shining when the light reflects on it. During flight a V-shaped white rump patch and the silver-gray underwing linings are visible.

—————————————————–
EXIF: Nikkor 105 mm f/4 1/1000 ISO-110 (Click on the picture to see it in full size.)

Barnacle Geese breed mainly on the Arctic islands of the North Atlantic. There are three main populations, with separate breeding and wintering ranges; from west to east:

* Breeding in eastern Greenland, wintering on the Hebrides of western Scotland and in western Ireland. Population about 40,000.
* Breeding on Svalbard, wintering on the Solway Firth on the England/Scotland border. Population about 24,000.
* Breeding on Novaya Zemlya, wintering in the Netherlands. Population about 130,000.
* A new fourth population, derived from the Novaya Zemlya population, has become established since 1975 breeding on the Baltic Sea islands (Estonia, Finland, Denmark, and Sweden), and wintering in the Netherlands. Population about 8,000.

—————————————————–
EXIF: Nikkor 105 mm f/4 1/1000 ISO-125 (Click on the picture to see it in full size.)

Small numbers of feral birds, derived from escapes from zoo collections, also breed in other north European countries. Occasionally, a wild bird will appear in the Northeastern United States or Canada, but care must be taken to separate out wild birds from escaped individuals, as Barnacle Geese are popular waterfowl with collectors.

—————————————————–
EXIF: Nikkor 105 mm f/7,1 1/800 ISO-200 (Click on the picture to see it in full size.)

Barnacle Geese frequently build their nests high on mountain cliffs; away from predators (primarily Arctic Foxes and Polar Bears) but also away from food. Like all geese, the goslings are not fed by the adults. Instead of bringing food to the newly hatched goslings, the goslings are brought to the ground. Unable to fly, the three day old goslings jump off the cliff and fall; their small size, feathery down, and very light weight helps to protect some of them from serious injury when they hit the rocks below, but many die from the impact. Arctic foxes are attracted by the noise made by the parent geese during this time and capture many dead or injured goslings. The foxes also stalk the young as they are led by the parents to wetland feeding areas.

Its call is a “kaw”.

—————————————————–
EXIF: Nikkor 105 mm f/4 1/1000 ISO-125 (Click on the picture to see it in full size.)

These last two pictures are of the male.

—————————————————–
EXIF: Nikkor 105 mm f/4,5 1/1250 ISO-100 (Click on the picture to see it in full size.)

source: In English Barnacle Goose In Norwegian Hvitkinngås In Swedish Vitkindad gås

—————————————————–
EXIF: Nikkor 105 mm f/4 1/1000 ISO-110 (Click on the picture to see it in full size.)

Finally I got time with my camera AND the weather was with me for a little walk to the beach.

This is a cropped version.

—————————————————–
EXIF: Nikkor 105 mm f/5 1/400 ISO-200 (Click on the picture to see it in full size.)

I was able to stand only 3-4 meters from it and therefore I did get some good pictures.

—————————————————–
EXIF: Nikkor 105 mm f/5 1/400 ISO-200 (Click on the picture to see it in full size.)

The three Western European Columba pigeons, Common Wood Pigeon, Stock Pigeon, and Rock Pigeon, though superficially alike, have very distinctive characteristics; the Common Wood Pigeon may be identified at once by its larger size at 38–43 cm, and the white on its neck and wing. It is otherwise a basically grey bird, with a pinkish breast.

Juvenile birds do not have the white patches on either side of the neck. When they are about 6 months old (about 3 months out of the nest) they gain small white patches on both sides of the neck, which gradually enlarge until they are fully formed when the bird is about 6–8 months old (approx. ages only). Juvenile birds also have a greyer beak and an overall lighter grey appearance than adult birds.

Its flight is quick, performed by regular beats, with an occasional sharp flick of the wings, characteristic of pigeons in general. It takes off with a loud clattering. It perches well, and in its nuptial display walks along a horizontal branch with swelled neck, lowered wings, and fanned tail. During the display flight the bird climbs, the wings are smartly cracked like a whiplash, and the bird glides down on stiff wings. The noise in climbing flight is caused by the whipcracks on the downstroke rather than the wings striking together. The Common Wood Pigeon is gregarious, often forming very large flocks outside the breeding season.

source: In English The Common Wood Pigeon In Norwegian Ringdue In Swedish Ringduva

—————————————————–
EXIF: Sigma 20 mm f/5,6 1/640 ISO-100 (Click on the picture to see it in full size.)

I did went for a little walk to the beach and I noticed that the swans are back and I could feel the warm sun shining. Even there still is some snow left I felt that the summertime is to come.

—————————————————–
EXIF: Sigma 20 mm f/11 1/500 ISO-200 (Click on the picture to see it in full size.)

—————————————————–
EXIF: Sigma 20 mm f/10 1/400 ISO-200 (Click on the picture to see it in full size.)

May you all have a lovely day like I did.

We are back from Denmark and I will be posting some pictures soon. This one is a couple of years old, but it is something that we do connect with Easter.