გულწითელა - European robin (Erithacus rubecula)

This little creature I would characterize with one word - amazing! 

It stands out with its beauty and the soft character. It never plays nasty with people and is always social (but of course it will never come and sit down on your hand, that's clear). 

Robin was one of the first birds that made me fall in love with bird photography. It was... In Paris! I photographed a little bird with very beautiful red breast... Then I got curious to know how it was called. 

And so the bird photography romance has started!

Here I leave you with some photographs of European Robin. No correction has been done to the two photos below. I slightly reduced the noise in the raw image. 

I hope you enjoy it! 

And don't forget to... :-) 

კაკაჩა Common Buzzard (Buteo Buteo)

Here comes the Common Buzzard! This one I captured on the marvelous island of Lokrum. I do not know the character of this bird, but it is a bird of prey, therefore it represents the species that I admire the most.

The photo dates back to 2014 and has been rediscovered today. I have been very happy to see this image appearing from the raw file after small exposure correction and tad bit of saturation. Hope, you enjoy the beauty of this big bird!

And... Don't forget to... :-)

რუხი ბატი: Greylag Goose (anser anser)

Greylag goose is a bird with very strong character. What amazes me the most? Its grace when swimming, its emperor posture and a monotonic buttock swing; but most of all - its parental skills.
Goslings are golden-shaded grey little funny creatures that are very lovely (as all the little ones in the world) and they always share food with their siblings - they are well-taught (this is not a scientific blog, it's based on own impressions and experience, so don't judge me very strictly if I say something wrong). 

As I already emphasized, the
 parenting skills in geese are very strong. They are ready to attack anyone, who even accidentally gets close with their goslings. There is a very nasty black-headed gull on the photo, trying to steal the bread from a goose family and the parent is hissing in a tone.
Geese want to get rid of not only those who get close to steal, but also those who actually give the food to them. We were shooting this session on the lake where we fed geese. They accepted all the bread that we gave, but once got out of the water, they hissed and ran towards us aggressively and made it clear that we were not allowed to be around. The toddlers were well protected; the gull on the photo, got away alive. :-)

Geese, you are wonderful parents! Everyone - happy parenting!

And don't forget to... :-)

სოფლის მერცხალი და ქალაქის მერცხალი: Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica) and Common House Martin (Delichon urbicum)

If I could choose a bird of my childhood, barn swallow would be the one... It is the bird that reminds me of all the sweet summer days we've spent in the village with my grandparents. How I played in the yard of a neighbour's house and how I watched mother swallow bringing food to its little ones in the corner of a house, where they had the nest.
It continued year after year, again and again until I grew up and the house got almost completely abandoned. And the nest - unattended and destroyed...

How I would wake up at dawn and hear Barn Swallows whistling morning songs to the world; to all of us. But they sang to me, for they knew I loved them and they loved me back... They were not even afraid of me when I was staring at them from one meter distance. How easy it was for the mother swallow to fly in, sit on the corner of the nest, where microscopic, yellow like omelet beaks would appear, grab the worm from the mother's mouth and disappear again... I was trying to get a closer look at them by adjusting myself on the seat peeking up, but seeing nothing...

Barn Swallows are black on top with very distinct brown neck, white breast and a long, scissor-like tail. You can hear the morning song in the video below...

 

Common House Martins I med only once in my life and it was an astonishing experience. The group of blue-white, funny, fluffy and very shiny clean birds sitting in the middle of the almost dried mud hole, dipping their little beaks and collecting material for the nest. They were working in a big group, where two or three of them would fly in and out side-by-side... They are smaller than Barn Swallows and are also somehow different. Their lifestyle is also more wild; (at least) these House Martins (despite the name) were less social. Although very pretty!

House martin covered by a foreground yellow flower.

Thanks for reading this! 

Don't forget to... :-)

ჩვეულებრივი კაჭკაჭი: Common Magpie (Pica pica) [aka thief]

I can meet zillions of different birds all over the globe, be excited and bewitched by their beauty and whistling, but Magpies and few other species from the same family are simply - outstanding. The way they stare, the way they croak and caw (not even sure this word works to describe their sound) are simply enjoyable and very hilarious. Look at the first one, it is sitting still and firm like a tin soldier, head bent, staring proudly - a real host of the situation and the mood!

Somebody please explain to this one, there's no king or queen passing by anytime soon!
But being moody and proud is not always the way they look. Once I met a magpie which was blind in its right eye and could not see me coming with the bike... It looked old and rusty. Unclean and bushy. Clearly an old fellow... I came close and tried to let it away from the road so that nobody could harm it... That's when I realized that I actually haven't seen many old birds in

my life... But here's one on the RHS. All scruffy and fluffy;  somehow thoughtful and bored... He is part of the thief gang that comes to visit our balcony for food larceny. And they even stare directly at you, wondering what are you after. What is your business in their food theft procedure. And they do come, and they do steal and they do bend their head in a funny manner.
Sometimes if there's no food out there on the balcony, they croak unhappily and fly away to the backyard, where we have a Rowan tree with some leftover rowanberries hanging in the tree-top. They sit on the tiny twig that shakes and bends, trying to balance themselves for five minutes, then jump up, open their wings slightly, pick the berry and go away... And so the life goes on around... And I am happy seeing these rusty thieves!

Thanks for reading...

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ღაჟო; Red-backed shrike (Lanius collurio)

 I know very little about shrikes. But one thing I am sure about them is that they are nice and good tempered birds. I cannot recognize their sound nor have I seen shirkes much in my life, just twice. Although I have experienced something that made me very thoughtful...
Very first shrike I captured in my life was with my amateur camera (image on the left). The appearance of it caught my eye from a very long distance. Even with poor resolution photo, by then I realized that this was an interesting bird.
The shrike I captured last summer (actually in May, 2014) in Svaneti, looked very calm and relaxed from afar. Looking at the photo closely, on a big screen at home, made me discover that the poor thing has been severely injured. It had disordered leg and its beautiful tail was cut short...
Every time I look at this photo, I gain respect to this one particular bird.
To me, it represents great courage. It is an excellent example of a fighter spirit and even essence of life somehow. No matter how life turns on us, freedom that lives in each living being still brings us to great heights. Even with broken wings, but we are still - free!

Thanks for reading... And don't forget to... :-)

ჩიტბატონა European goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis)

Ladies and gentlemen, meet one of the prettiest in the finch family...
The European Goldfinch is truly beautiful bird! It is also a good tempered one, with not so specific ill-manners or teasing intentions.
First time I met goldfinch was five-six years ago, when I first came across this exciting activity of photographing birds. Looking back, those were one of the most memorable days of my life - freedom for few months from early spring to late fall, spent in the middle of the forest with my amateur camera. Period, when snow melts down on the banks of hills and runs in tiny little streams exposing brown land and little green grass underneath, is when you meet most of these little birds. They are digging the land and chasing each and every piece of food.

Although you do not come across goldfinch so very often. And most of the time you meet them, they sit in the blooming trees or pass by the green grass banks. When it happens and you see them, you feel really lucky to experience this pure beauty; and you wonder how can mother nature be so awesome in creating such diversity of agile creatures.
I met few goldfinches this summer when travelling with my family across Georgia. Both, in high Caucasus mountains and also in the Minor Caucasus region of Samtskhe-Javakheti (both of these photos are from the Abastumani Observatory).
The moment is here. The beautiful bird is in my collection and I am happy I still have words and stories to share...

Thanks for reading... And don't forget to... :-)