Hello and good evening,
surprisingly I got a day-off today, so I took my parents for an outing, and we drove to the Rhön-Mountainrange and had a look around the Black Mire. I took a lot of pictures of the beautiful landscape, of some plants and some birds. The birds were mostly not visible, except for Chaffinches and Tree Pipits. I've never seen Tree Pipits before, so I took my time to get a few shots. In the dinstance there was a Red Kite to be seen, and we heard Garden Warblers, Willow Warblers, Goldcrest. Firecrest, Blackcap, Grashopper Warbler ( a rare bird).
Once again I have some pictures for you, first plants and landscape so that you can see the habitat of all the wildlife, and for the second batch lots of Tree Pipit-pictures. Have fun:
"Attention! Vipera berus"
Sumpf-Dotterblume (Caltha palustris)
Sundew
possibly Kleines Nachtpfauenauge (Saturnia pavonia)
A view from the tower:
Wasserkuppe, the highest mountain around here
Bach-Nelkenwurz (Geum rivale)
See you soon for with the Tree Pipit.
Yours, Bente
Hello again,
this times no explanations necessary, the pictures are all of the Tree Pipit. He kept sitting on a high tree, singing, taking off, singing some more and then landing on another tree and then returning to the first tree. He was quite easy to spot. Please enjoy!
Here he is...
Take-off
Landing...
Singing...
Another take-off
A bir scratching- maybe because of the many insects in the air?
And Good-bye!
I hope you like this little fellow as much as I do.
Kind regards, Bente
Once again hello,
I nearly forgot these two pictures.
I don't know exactly what kind this little friendly being is:
....but this was my reward for finding a part of my Dad's tripod, that had gotten lost on the last 100 metres.
A very delicious reward, isn't it?
Thank you again for looking!
See you soon,
Bente
I have fallen in love with your Female Emperor moth...so I am teaching its 3rd grade(instar)children to spell your name.It may well take some time. :-)
http://www.windust.net/emperor-moth-caterpillar.html
and my reward? http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/bfly/atala_hairstreak03.JPG
Hello Alan and Edgebander,
I have never seen this moth before, and I have to agree: It is a real beauty. The English name Emperor Moth is highly appropriate, it looks as if it was wearing an ermine-fur-coat.
Edgebander, I think I will never be able to eat a Sausage again without thinking of your caterpillar. My sausage looked really very much like a bigger version of your caterpillar.
Have a nice day!
Hi Bente. Lovely photos of your countryside, the Emperor Moth is a cracker. Great shots of the Tree Pipit as well and I'm wondering if your little friend may be a type of Salamander? No doubt someone will know for sure.!!
Paul
My bird photos HERE
Very nice environment shots - particularly like the Sundew, it's been a long time since I've seen one. The moth is just stunning :-)
"Let loose the Kraken!"
thank you once again for admiring the Emperor Moth. I am afraid that she might already have been dead as it was early afternoon and she was still sitting right beside the footpath. It would be such a pity! She is a real beauty.
As far as the lizard is concerned, my Dad thinks that it might be a Viviparous Lizard. I don't know much about reptiles, so I have to rely on him.
Good night and see you soon,
I think your father is right.Common lizard (Zootoca vivipara).They vary quite a lot in patterning and colour.Sorry to hear about the moth.It`s the only UK member of the silk-moth family.I believe Germain (Caroline in Jersey) was going to weave me a silk hankie from the Cocoons ,at one time. :-)