Oldt1mer - Keith's photos with the keyword: Eurasian

This is a lovely female Chaffinch – Fringilla coelebs – which is also known as the Eurasian Chaffinch or the Common Chaffinch. The Chaffinch is one of the UK’s most commonest breeding birds (the Wren being the commonest). They breed in a nest, commonly a deep cup in the fork of a tree, and have four or five eggs which hatch in about 13 days with the chicks fledging in around 14 days but still being fed by both parents for several weeks after. Seen at Martin Mere Wetlands. This Picture is fully © Copyrighted. None of my images may be copied, reproduced or altered in any form or manner or placed on the internet or any other social media, or in any form of publication either print or otherwise, in any form or manner without my written permission.

The lovely little Nuthatch – Sitta europaea – is a small tree climbing bird which loves to run up, down tree trunks and along branches in search of small invertebrates which it plucks from crevices with its long pointed beak. In winter they feed on seeds and especially nuts which they will hide in gaps in tree bark to be eaten later (hence its name). They prefer broadleaved woodland with large old trees but will also visit parks and gardens especially if food is involved but they rarely travel far from the area in which they were hatched. This beauty was seen at Pennington Flash. Explore No 227, 10 January 2024. This Picture is fully © Copyrighted. None of my images may be copied, reproduced or altered in any form or manner or placed on the internet or any other social media, or in any form of publication either print or otherwise, in any form or manner without my written permission.

The European Goldfinch – Carduelis carduelis – is a small, colourful (brown, black, white, red and yellow) bird in the Finch family. Although native to Europe, North Africa and western Asia they have been introduced to other countries such as Australia, New Zealand, and Uruguay among others. Both male and female are very similar but the female has a slightly smaller read area on the face. This one was seen with it’s face in the sunlight at Martin Mere. Explore No 428, Nov 08 2023 This Picture is fully © Copyrighted. None of my images may be copied, reproduced or altered in any form or manner or placed on the internet or any other social media, or in any form of publication either print or otherwise, in any form or manner without my written permission.

This is the Eurasian Teal – Anas crecca – which is a small dabbling duck which breeds in Eurosiberia and migrates south in the winter. Also known as the Common Teal or Eurasian Green-Winged Teal it is commonly found in sheltered wetlands feeding on seeds and aquatic invertebrates. This is a male in nuptial plumage, as can be seen by the white stripe running along his flanks, which was seen at Martin Mere Wetlands. Explore No 254, 19 July 2023. This Picture is fully © Copyrighted. None of my images may be copied, reproduced or altered in any form or manner or placed on the internet or any other social media, or in any form of publication either print or otherwise, in any form or manner without my written permission.

The Eurasian Oystercatcher - Haematopus ostralegus – is also known as the Common Pied Oystercatcher, the Palaearctic Oystercatcher or just the Oystercatcher. Despite its name, oysters do not form a large part of its diet, preferring molluscs such as cockles and mussels where available and earthworms and insect larvae when inland but this does change depending on location. It is the national bird of the Faroe Islands. This pair had just flown in, pecked around for a minute then the male decided that he would like a family and went straight to the female and hopped on board. This shot was just before he settled down to business and was taken at Martin Mere Wetlands. I do have further shots of the procedure but I liked this one the best. This Picture is fully © Copyrighted. None of my images may be copied, reproduced or altered in any form or manner or placed on the internet or any other social media, or in any form of publication either print or otherwise, in any form or manner without my written permission.

The amazing European Kestrel - Falco tinnunculus - is a bird of prey also known as the Eurasian Kestrel or Common Kestrel and is the only Kestrel to commonly inhabit the UK. The female is larger than the male weighing around 184 g to the males 155g. Kestrels can be found in a variety of habitats from towns to the open countryside eating voles, mice, shrews and small birds as well as worms and insects with most prey taken from the hover as can be seen here. A little known fact is that Kestrels can see ultraviolet light, meaning that they can detect urine trails left by rodents on the ground enabling the tracking and location of the prey. This female (or possibly a young male), was seen at Martin Mere Wetlands. Explore No 282. 07 March 2023. This Picture is fully © Copyrighted. None of my images may be copied, reproduced or altered in any form or manner or placed on the internet or any other social media, or in any form of publication either print or otherwise, in any form or manner without my written permission.