Birding in Europe

 When we travel, Ken enjoys birding. New areas mean new bird species and possible new life listers. Birding on this trip was exciting and very productive for him.  Europe has many, many different bird species than can be seen anywhere in America.  Ken has a European bird guide that helps him identify and key down the species.

Many birders keep a lifetime list of the birds they have seen.  Ken's list includes the name of the bird species, the date, and location seen.  It is called a life list.  Ken added about 30 new bird species to his life list on this trip. After getting home and adding the new birds to his list, he was surprised that his list is now at exactly 1,000 bird species!  Exactly!  Isn't that amazing?

Ken will now tell you about and show you some of the birds he saw: 

My brother Don's hobby is bird photography.  He is a talented photographer, has very nice equipment, and got some great shots. He got pictures of most of the new birds I added to my life list.  In fact, without Don's photography skills and research efforts, I would have missed a number of my new life-lister birds.  Many times, we get a good enough look at a bird for Don to get a decent picture of it, but our look isn't good enough to identify it in the field. When we get back to our home or ship's cabin, we are able to study the bird's identifying features much more thoroughly through Don's photographs, allowing us to identify which species that bird was. I think all of these pictures were taken by Don. You will see what a talented photographer he is. 

As you might guess, this bird is a Common Blackbird, and it is indeed common.  We saw this species almost everywhere we got off the ship.

This bird is a Common Chaffinch. We also saw this species at many of our stops; however, one of our best sightings came at the American Military Cemetery at Omaha Beach in Normandy, France.

This is a Chiffchaff. Once again, it is a rather common species in northern Europe. Don likes to call this species "Ken's temple bird" because I mentioned to him that in one of the temple endowment films, you can clearly hear this bird's call in the background.

This is a Hooded Crow. On this cruise we saw this species in Copenhagen, Denmark. After our first sighting, we saw it at multiple ports of call.

This is a male Falcated Duck. Isn't it beautiful!? The intricacy of its markings, along with the colors is astounding when seeing it in the sunlight. We saw this bird in London's Regents Park & it is a life-lister for me.

This is a male Mandarin Duck. I think it is one of the most beautiful birds in the world. We found this bird in London's Regents Park.

This is a male Common Eider. We first found this species right beside the cruise ship as we disembarked in Oslo, Norway.

A rear view of another male Common Eider. We found this bird in London's Regents Park.

This is a Fieldfare. It is a thrush & is much like our American Robin. 

A rear view of a Fieldfare.

This is a Green Finch. This species is quite common in northern Europe.  We found this bird in London's Regents Park.

This is a Fulmar on a nest. This species resembles a gull, but has some distinct differences if you look closely.  We found this bird on some sea cliffs on Orkney Island, Scotland. It was a life-lister for me.

This is a Northern Gannet. We found this bird flying along the Atlantic coastline near Brest, France, at Point St. Matthew.

This is a male Garganey Duck. We found this bird in a field of Aster flowers, at the edge of a lake in London's Regents Park.

This is a male European Goldfinch. We found this guy in some monastic ruins near Dublin, Ireland.

This is a male Red-breasted Goose. This was a new life-lister species for me.  We found him in London's Regents Park.

These are Common Guillemots. This species is one of my new life-listers. We found this nesting pair on some sea cliffs on Orkney Island, Scotland.

This is a Black-headed Gull. They are very common in northern Europe. We found this bird in a wildlife sanctuary in Belfast, Ireland.

This is a Herring Gull. It was flying just above our tour boat as we were sight-seeing on the Thames River in London. I think this shot provides a unique view of the bird.

These are Grey Herons. I think they are our equivalent to America's Great Blue Heron. In my opinion, they are more aptly named in Europe.  We found these birds in London's Regents Park.

This is a male Linnet. We found this little fellow at Point Du Hoc, near Omaha Beach in Normandy, France.

This is a Common Magpie (the bird, not the human). This species is very common both in Europe and much of the United States. Notice this bird has got some nest-building material in its beak.

This bird is a Rose-ringed Parakeet.  I am sure it comes from parentage that was once a pet, but that somehow became free. This species has since done well in London. We found this bird, along with many others of its species in London's Regents Park.

This is a Rock Pipit. We found it at Point Du Hoc, near Omaha Beach in Normandy, France. This was one of my new life-listers.

Rear view of a Rock Pipit.

This is a male Common Pochard. As Don was photographing this bird in London's Regents Park, a man and his wife from the middle east (Iran?) approached us and asked us what it is called.  The man said he has visited the park many times and hadn't noticed this gorgeous creature before. It allowed Don & me to have an enjoyable visit with them about God and His love for us.

This is a Red-crested Pochard. It is another life-lister species for me. We found it in London's Regents Park.

A front view of a Red-crested Pochard. Despite being well-taken, the pictures don't do it justice. This is another stunningly beautiful bird.

This is a Robin. Yes, you are right; it doesn't look like our Robin. However, it definitely is a Robin--a European Robin. They are very common throughout northern Europe. Such a cute little bird!

This is a Rook. Have you ever played the card game, Rook? This bird is the species that game is named after. It looks much like our Raven, but note the unusual base of the bill. It was a new life-lister for me. While we were visiting Killarney National Park in Ireland, one of them hopped right up to me, hoping for me to feed it.

This is a Serin. We saw it in Ponta Delgada, (Azore Islands), Portugal.

This is a male Shelduck. We saw this species in several countries, but this bird was photographed in a wildlife sanctuary in Belfast, Ireland. This is another life-lister species for me.

This is a Great Skua. It is another life-list species for me. We found this bird at the nesting sea cliffs on Orkney Island, Scotland. Don caught this incredible image as it flew past us.

This is a Smew. We found it in London's Regent's Park. The breeding plumage male of this species is very striking.

This is a male Common Stonechat. I didn't find this species to be very common. In fact, this is the only Common Stonechat I have ever seen. We found him at the seacoast near Brest France at Point St. Matthew. Notice he is holding some lunch in his beak.

This is a male Baikal Teal. This picture was taken from quite a distance and through some branches, and so it doesn't show how incredibly beautiful this bird actually is. This is also one of my new life list species. We found him in London's Regents Park.

This is a male Blue Tit. Don got this shot in downtown Oslo, Norway, near this bird's nest hole.

This is a side view of the same bird as above. It is a male Blue Tit. Its nest hole is just behind it. Pretty isn't it!?

This is a male Great Tit.

This is a Grey Wagtail. Don captured this image on a lake shore near the monastic ruins we visited in the mountains near Dublin, Ireland.

This is a Pied or White Wagtail. This species was very common everywhere we went in northern Europe.

This is a pair of White-faced Whistling Ducks that are apparently hunting for a nesting site. We found them in London's Regents Park.

This is a male European Widgeon, posing in a patch of Astor flowers in London's Regents Park.

Another image of the same European Widgeon.