All the sightings that I have posted to iNaturalist will be my benchmark for the coming year (August 11 – July 23). I just realize that I have uploaded 1700 species (animals and plants) – isn’t that a good number!? 🙂
In the last year I posted 445 species and 748 observations.
It is my goal (no pressure at all) to see more species. Wish me luck!
And another cool view that iNaturalist provides, is the Tree View Life List (all observations):
Somehow I didn’t expect finding that many different moths in the underpass of a suburb of Zurich, Switzerland. I saw a few last summer and fall but really started to realize how many there were this spring.
In April it started with three, in May seven more and another eight in June and so far in July another seven. In total there were 23 different moths and a lot of them lifers for me (=I have never seen them before). Thanks to the incredible AI and the real people in the iNaturalist-Community all but three of them are identified to the species level.
You can see the whole list with photos on iNaturalist. Here are some of there rarer ones and some of the beauties :
HAFL is the abbrevation for the “School of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences HAFL” where I work. During breaks or after work I like to have a little stroll around the meadows and woods (especially the permaculture garden and wood garden). Those are the insects I saw in June 2022, I uploaded them on inaturalist.org
I will be able to have more time to blog again. I am really looking forward to this and sharing my best photos. follow #nr8to7 and/or https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/natalieraeber
Wishing you all a good rest of this special 2020 and a slow start into a great 2021!
See my sightings on iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/people/220172
There is a hike close to Lungern, Switzerland, that is called “Schmetterlingspfad” (butterfly path). We did it on the beautiful last day of June 2018. The hike was nice and it took us about double the time they suggested… There are not many seating possibilities and the downhill-parts were very hard on our untrained knees. The views and the diversity of animals and plants though were awesome.
We saw a lot of flowers, insects and a total of at least 20 butterflies. Because it was a little windy I couldn’t take photos of all of them. No photos from:
Kleiner Würfel-Dickkopffalter (Pyrgus malvae) Grizzled Skipper
uncertain: kleiner Mohrenfalter (Erebia melampus) Lesser Mountain Ringlet
maybe Catoptria conchella
Hauhechel-Bläuling (Polyommatus icarus) Common Blue
Enzian-Art ? Gentiana ?
Die Berner Alpen – view into the Bernese Alps
Grüner oder Brombeer-Zipfelfalter (leider ohne Zipfel) (Callophrys rubi) auf einem Schlangen-Knöterich (Polygonum bistorta) – Green Hairstreak on a meadow bistort
Weibliche Alpine Gebirgsschrecke (Miramella Alpina) Green Mountain Grasshopper
Schnellkäfer-Art (Elateridae) Sort of a Click Beetle
Lungernsee
Weisser Germer (Veratrum album) European White Hellebore
Sechsfleck-Widderchen (Zygaena filipendulae) Six Spot Burnet
Hornklee-Widderchen (Zygaena lonicerae) Narrow-Bordered Five-Spot Burnet
Dickkopffalter-Art (Ochlodes sylvanus) sort of Skipper
Sicht nach Nordern mit Sarnersee – View north with Lake of Sarnen
Kaisermantel (Argynnis paphia) Silver-Sashed Fritillary
Kommafalter (Hesperia comma) Silver-Spotted Skipper
Grosser Perlmuttfalter (Argynnis aglaja) Dark Green Fritillary
Braunwurz-Blattwespe (Tenthredo scrophulariae) Figwort sawfly ?
Mauerfuchs (Lasiommata megera) Wall Brown
Gefleckter Schmalbock (Leptura maculata) Spotted Longhorn
Brauner Waldvogel (Aphantopus hyperantus) Ringlet
and finally (almost withered) / zum Schluss (schon fast verwelkt):
Türkenbund (Lilium martagon) Turk’s Cap Lily
It’s good to always bring camera and binocs – even when the purpose of your trip is not birding! On the long weekend in Southern Italy for supervision and exchange with our Wen-Do friends from “Rompiamo il silenzio” I was able to see 27 bird species and a lifer.
Lifer #636 Montagu’s Harrier – Wiesenweihe (Circus pygargus). I was actually observing a Common Kestrel as suddenly this female flew into my visual field.
A nice shot of the wonderful singing Sardinian Warbler – Samtkopf-Grasmücke (Sylvia melanocephala melanocephala). The Italian name is actually not so nice: occhiocotto. Meaning cooked eyes – but it is somehow true…
I started in Koblenz at 8.15 close to the Klingnauer Stausee. I have been to this “lake” (that is really the river Aare shortly before it flow into the Rhine) many times before. Starting in Koblenz was new and I was very happy with my choice. The little forest in the “Giriz” was beaming with bird songs. Unfortunately the promised sun didn’t show up.
I passed over a railway bridge to the next nature conservation site, the “Gippinger Grien”. I’m looking forward to visiting that place again, when the butterflies are here.
At noon when I reached the Klingnauer Stausee the sun still didn’t come out and I only took photos with my iPhone. But for the last hour of my walk I did use my big camera, because I was able to take my first photos of Garganeys (Knäkente – Anas querquedula) after ten years:
Luckily I had my camera still out, because this Water Rail (Wasserralle – Rallus aquaticus) was pretty close and not so shy:
During the five hours it took me to do this walk from Koblenz to Döttingen (only about 3 Miles) I was able to see 51 bird species (eBird checklist).
Saturday before Easter Sunday was a beautiful spring day here in Switzerland. We decided to have a look at a site we have never been before: the south end of the Baldeggersee in the canton of Lucerne (infos in German by ProNatura).
A view up the lake:
Some frogs (Pelophylax kl. esculentus) also liked the warm spring sun:
There is also an “open hide” where you can observe a small tidal pool. Unfortunately the light here would be better in the evening.
A White Stork (Weissstorch – Ciconia ciconia) was looking for food and was chased away by two Greylag Geese (Graugans – Anser anser).
Bumblebees were also enjoying the sun – on a Dead-nettle (Lamium, Taubnessel).
It is probably some years since we last visited this beautiful place at the beginning of Lake Zurich: Kaltbrunner Ried. It’s the last little piece of a big swamp that has been dried for industrial reasons about a 150 years ago. 
We spent only two hours since it was very windy and cold.
Some of the migrant birds were still here, like the Northern Shoveler or the Tufted Ducks. Some were returning like the big flock of Northern Lapwings (almost 70 birds).
This female Northern Shoveler was injured on the wing – she couldn’t fly. We didn’t really know what to do and that didn’t feel good.
The White-winged Snowfinch (Schneesperling – Montifringilla nivalis) is my lif bird #508. I saw it in Italy on top of the skiing mountain “Kronplatz” (South Tiroly) – what a surprise. I’m glad I had my camera with me 😉
A bad picture but a nice look of the wing pattern in flight:
The usual Alpine Choughs (Alpendohle – Pyrrhocorax graculus) were around too.
At one point in the afternoon there were about 50 of them circling in the sky.
And also the mountain view was very nice!
About two weeks ago I read a short note about the pollen of the hazel in the magazine “ornis” of BirdLife Switzerland. It was about the pollen that are now, in February, being blown from the male catkin. Their goal is the little red stigma of the female flower. Hazel doesn’t need bees to pollinate the wind is enough, but bees need the Hazel. Their pollen is one of the nutritious food they need for the first bee larvae of the year.
The next day I was walking by the river suddenly remembering this info about the hazel. I know that there are hazel along the path. When I saw the bush, clearly full of catkin I started looking for the female flowers. Were they on the same bush or not? I was looking, but it took me a while before I saw them: some of the them right next to the catkin, little buds with those red stigmas. I never saw them before and was quite impressed.
I walked home to get my zoom and microscope lenses for the iPhone.
The female flower (10x zoom)
The female flower next to the male catkin (10x zoom)
The tip of the male catkin (150x magnified with my-icros)
The stigma of the female flower (150x zoom)
The female flower and the hairy twig (150x zoom)
This year the weather for the water bird count was difficult. Actually it was nice with the first real snow fall of the winter – the landscape was beautiful.
But counting the birds was impossible at times. Have you ever realized that the snow fall is even denser when looking through the binocular? There were also waves on the lake that made half the birds on the water disappear – and the next second the other half.
With some breaks to warm up we still managed to finish the count and even take some photos.
Common Reed Bunting – Rohrammer – Emberiza schoeniclus:
Gull in the snow, probably a Yellow-legged Gull – Mittelmeermöwe – Larus michahellis):
Common black-headed Gulls and snow flakes (Lachmöwen – Larus ridibundus):
Yellow-legged Gull – Mittelmeermöwe – Larus michahellis:
Can you see the Water Pipit – Bergpieper – Anthus spinoletta?
Common black-headed Gulls – Lachmöwen – Larus ridibundus 
Me after the last snow shower…
Yesterday I was looking at some birding blogs. I follow most of them for many years now. There were years when I posted much more bird photos (and I would like to do it more often in 2016) – but looking at this fabulous posts of others made me smile. Therefor I thought of doing a shout out today.
Here they are – in no specific order:
Two podcasts I love(d) to listen to: (but I’m having problems downloading them: used to have them on iTunes but they don’t seem to load anymore. Any hints?:
Enjoy and happy birding in 2016!
This male Ring-necked Duck (Aythya collaris – Ringschnabelente) is visiting Zurich, Switzerland.
On my walk in the fog I saw many spiderwebs. They stood out because they were outlined by tiny water drops.
I tried to capture them on film – which one do you like best? (click on the photo to enlarge)
Fall has started – and with it comes fog. Luckily it is eaten away by the sun after a while. (Please click on the photos to enlarge)
The time of the sunflowers is over:
Not really: the birds dive into the field to pick the seeds. This is my favorite photo of the day.
And there were the birds enjoying the sun – finally. There are Eurasian Teals (Krickente) and some Common Snipes (Bekassine) in the photo.
What a start into the day!
I walked on my normal way to work, along the Lake of Lucerne. Yesterday I saw a big dead fish on the shore and a very green caterpillar on one of the trees. This is the reward for my habit of looking around.
This morning it was wet and gray. I was a bit sad that all the feathers of the swans, that they are loosing now while molting, were wet and so I couldn’t collect them.
But suddenly I stopped in my walk – and I’m glad I did. One more step and I’d have stepped on a fire salamander!
It was definitely in the wrong place: on the tarmac between traffic and the lake. Absolutely not the place for an amphibian besides that it was wet (at the moment).
So I lifted it up and called karch.ch (coordination for amphibians and reptiles in Switzerland). She told me, that fire salamanders need a little creek in a forrest or so. Nothing like that close bye.
So I took the beautiful salamander to the office and showed it to my colleagues. The were all surprised and fascinated.
the box outside my office window, where it had to wait
beautiful salamandra salamandra terrestris
After another call I decided to bring it to the Rootsee, where there is a hopefully perfect habitat.
The person I called did not forget to tell me, that fire salamanders are poisonous and I should wash my hands.
How lucky am I to see such a beautiful creature!
The first part about my walk of last Monday was about waders and waterbirds. Today I show you some photos of songbirds and my lifer #499. (Please click on the photos to enlarge.)
The lifer #499 showed me once again how important it is to look at every bird – even when it looks like a common sparrow:
As soon as it lifted its head I saw it wasn’t a sparrow but an Ortolan Bunting (Ortolan – Emberiza hortulana)
There were even two of them:
One I haven’t seen in years in Switzerland is a male Common Redstart (Gartenrotschwanz, Männchen – Phoenicurus phoenicurus):
And never in Switzerland at all the Yellow Wagtail (Schafstelze – Motacilla flava):
The Grey Wagtail is pretty common (Bergstelze – Motacilla cinerea):
Pretty common but I still don’t have a good photo of it: male Common Chiffchaff (Buchfink, Männchen – Fringilla coelebs): 
Tree Sparrow (Feldspatz – Passer montanus) collecting stuff for the nest:
A Barn Swallow (Rauchschwalbe – Hirundo rustica):
A female European Pied Flycatcher (Trauerschnäpper, Weiblich – Ficedula hypoleuca):
Great Spotted Woodpecker (Buntspecht – Dendrocopos major) made some noise:
And there was also a frog:
I took Monday off because I really wanted to do some birding this April. And the weather was just great. I went to the Klingnauer Stausee a very well known place to bird in the German part of Switzerland and not too far away from Zurich. So I started my trip shortly after 7am at the dammed lake. Over all I saw 59 species and a lifer.
Today I show you the waders (mostly passing through Switzerland) and the other waterbirds I saw. Some of the photos were taken early in the morning, therefor the light is not so great. Other birds were far away. (Please click on the photo to enlarge.)
Common Snipe landing (Bekassine am Landen) – Gallinago gallinago:
The Common Snipe in comparison with a Coot. (Die Bekassine im Vergleich mit einem Blässhuhn.):
Common Sandpiper (Flussuferläufer) – Actitis hypoleucos:
Two Common Terns far out in the lake. (Zwei Flussseeschwalben weit draussen im See) – Sterna hirundo: 
The Common Greenshank never came closer. (Die Grünschenkel kamen nie nahe.) – Tringa nebularia:
I’m not 100% sure if this is a Wood Sandpiper. (Ich bin nicht 100% sicher, ob das ein Bruchwasserläufer ist.) – Tringa glareola 
The Little Ringed Plover breeds in Switzerland. (Der Flussregenpfeifer brütet in der Schweiz.) – Charadrius dubius:
Dreamfalcon 