Swallows 4

The last of the swallows pics i'm going to show for now is this flyby.

Swallows 3

It doesn't take long for the parents to stuff some food down the throat of the chicks so it took some patience to get this one.

Swallows 2

Out in the garden the day after yesterday's photo, the chicks were getting flying lessons while still being fed by their parents. This chick just screamed for a mouthful as the swallow dived in.

Sunrise 4

The swallows were up so I catched one of them sunbathing on a wire with the sun in the back.

Nature is just around the corner

This might not be true nature as defined by an area left alone by man, but it sure feels, smells and look the part. Just south of the newly developed area of Ørestaden in Copenhagen on the island of Amager is an area called Vestamager. With wide-open fields, meadows and small clusters of trees and bushes this reclaimed land is a popular area to go to if you need something green and unkempt around you.

Bullying

 

The hooded crows are both pretty shrewd and they've got a lot of nerve. One is going for the meat, the other bully the seagull by pulling at its tail feathers. In the end the seagull surrendered to the two bullies and flew away to get easier food. It only shows that two small ones can get the better of the big one if they work together.

Fighting for food

When the polar bears in the Copenhagen Zoo don't eat up, the birds take over. The seagull here have a bit of a fight with the two hooded crows, that keep harassing it until it gives up. They do keep their distance, though.

Enjoying the feed

One of the most common birds in the Danish gardens, the titmouse really enjoys the bird feeders. This one sure seemed to like the offered seeds.

Look inside

Yet another photo of birds at the bird feeder from my interval shooting session during Easter. These two greenfinches hogged the feeder for quite some tine, so I got a good selection of them.

Blue tit in da house

 

Yesterday I told you about my experiment with interval shooting the bird feeder in the garden. Here's another result; a blue tit is trying to decide on the menu in the lofty restaurant.

At the bird feeder

 

As told in previous posts I like to explore the functions on my Nikon D800. During Easter the time had come to try the interval shooting, and what better object to try it at than a couple of bird feeders in the garden? So I put the camera on a gorillapod, placed it near the feeder, filled up the feeder with seeds and started experimenting with the settings. I ended up with doing an interval of one shot each minute for two hours. And then it was coffee time. The result was a lot of empty photos, a lot of photos with half a bird or a blurry one leaving or arriving, and a few good ones of different birds. This greenfinch seemed to know something was going on. I'll show some more in the coming days.

 

Winter foraging

 

Normally red squirrels are shy creatures and difficult to get close to, but in my experience they're much more docile in winter. Maybe it's because food is scarce and the squirrels are desperate to get their fill, so that you can get close enough for long enough to snap a few photos. This one accepted me standing a few meters from it for minutes without moving much, even though the blackbird next to it soon tired of my presence and fled. The squirrel stayed put and I was the first to leave.

 

Brrrr....

Sometimes it's not fun being a duck in Copenhagen. This mallard seems to a bit tired of the cold weather here, but winter has really only begun.

Opportunistic

It's not only the animals in the Copenhagen Zoo that get fed at lunchtime. The local population of seagulls, crows and herons are eagerly awaiting the opportunity to snatch a meal. This seagull was a bit quicker than the penguins this time around.

Where?

These three hooded crows seemed a bit confused as they looked to all sides while sitting on the railing. Maybe they had lost something?

Moving soon

The new area for the polar bears, seals and north Atlantic birds will open this winter, and especially for the bears will it be a major improvement. Maybe they already sense the upcoming move as they were very restless yesterday.

Goslings like Tivoli too

 

Yesterday I showed you a duckling close-up. Today it's a gosling from the Tivoli Gardens. With Tivoli being the most visited tourist attraction in Denmark, this little fella better be used to being in the public eye pretty quickly. He already seemed to enjoy the attention.

A haven in the city

 

 

The garden of the Royal Library is one of the nice little havens in the busy city of Copenhagen. In the little pond you might be lucky to get a nice close up of the ducklings or you can just have a seat on the benches and relax with a good book.