July 2021
Regular visitors to my blog will know that one of my favourite nature reserves is
a former military training area south of Berlin (see: Scorched Earth I)
After a massive fire some years back, new flora is now showing up and with it first
larger fauna. One species was always present even right after the big fire, is the
Eurasian Nightjar Caprimulgus europaeus. This bird species prefers an open, dry
landscape with little ground vegetation and prefers to hunt insects in flight.
The overall behaviour of this species is remarkable, as it is highly specialised and
the mostly nocturnal encounters are always something special. Since the species
is not very shy, sometimes approach the observer very close one might even think
they are ‘curious’.
Field Cricket Gryllus campestris, song, Jüterbog-West, Germany