After classes finished I made my way downtown to look for a Red-throated Pipit that has been hanging around all week.
On my way I passed through the 'Deerpark' - the park right next to my house which is apparently famous for deer - someone told me that people all over Europe come here to photograph the deer during the rutting season over the next month.
Anyway, I only made it five minutes before I stopped for a Little Grebe that was diving for fish in a small pond. I tried photographing it without much success - after sinking almost half a meter in some well disguised bog and then wading in some water and coming dangerously close to losing my camera in the water.
juvenile Little Grebe:
juvenile Mute Swan in the same pond:
Deer running around as usual:
He looked at me with a smile and said that he was looking at some owls!
He pointed them out for me and sure enough there were 2 Tawny Owls:
Apparently they are always there which is quite convenient because it is very close to my house! I'll certainly be back for another visit.
After that I asked him where I could find Tree Creepers and Eurasian Jays in the park. He pointed me towards a patch of woods not far away. And sure enough I found exactly what I was looking for. 3 new birds for me within 5 minutes and within 10 minutes of my house!I eventually made it to Nordhavn where the Red-throated Pipit was all week - the only Pipits I found were the usual Meadow Pipits:
Another good bird just as I was leaving the area was a Common Murre. I haven't heard about any sightings for this species in the region since coming here so it was unexpected. Here is a distant shot showing the distinctive long and thin bill:
