March 2016

Info from  Margus Ots, Co-ordinator of the Year of the Great Tit

Photo Arne Ader

Translation Liis

Great tit

In Finnish the great tit (Estonian rasvatihane, ”fat tit”) is called  talitiainen. Since one of the Estonian folk names of the great tit is also talitihane, ”winter tit”, it seems evident to Estonians that the Finnish  talitiainen  means talitihane, “winter tit”. The Finnish name of the great tit has been explained so for instance in texts about the Bird of the Year (i a in journals Tiirutaja and Eesti Loodus).

Trail camera video sent by  Ahto Täpsi
Photo Arne Ader
Translation Liis

Image from badger webcam captured by  Fleur, LK forum
Translation Liis

Last night western Saaremaa in Estonia turned wintery with the degrees of cold.

The vernal equinox has arrived and, as often before at this time, weather arranges little pranks, sometimes looking like winter, sometimes spring. But we can enjoy the longer daylight time more by each day and it brings a smile to all around us.

In western Saaremaa winter turned the spring-like view  into snow white – the last time that snow covered the islands was in January. Snowflakes (Leucojum) flowered and go on flowering. In Hiiumaa flowering Hepaticas have already been noted. Geese migrate, cranes call and it is audible even in the web cameras.

Images from webcam captured by  Maggy, LK forum

Translation Liis

Early morning

Tawny owl     Kodukakk       Strix aluco

On Thursday Klaara somehow did not at all want to fly out in the evening from the nest hollow. Klaus came calling on her but it seemed more sensible to him to bring Klaara a mouse… In early morning the fourth egg was in the nest.

In stormy weather there may be interruptions in the webcam operation, but our viewers know that breaks occur in direct stream transmission from forest life from dozens of reasons.

Photos Arne Ader

Translation Liis

Lapwing

Lapwing     Kiivitaja     Vanellus vanellus

Video recorded by  Fleur, LK forum
Translation Liis

Tawny owl        Kodukakk       Strix aluco

Klaara already knows that Klaus will bring something edible to the nest (we cannot hear those sounds).

In the beginning of the video the calls of Klaara and the more masculine “approval” from male Klaus - when his beak is free from the food – can be clearly seen and heard. If the web camera is open in the background we can often have an idea in advance of the doings of the tawny owls.

Text Marko Mägi

Photo Wikimedia
Translation Liis

Japanese tit

We know that human speech consists of various vocal elements (sounds or notes)  that combine together to form words which in turn form sentences. Animals interact similarly: for instance among birds and mammals specific predator warning calls have developed. However, it was not known until now whether animals use combinations of calls to transfer a message with complex content.

Text: Urmas Sellis, Kotkaklubi
Transmission courtesy of  Kernel and EENet
Translation  Liis

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Image from webcam captured by  Bea, LK forum

Video recorded by  Fleur, LK forum

Translation Liis

… at 19.01

Tawny owl    Kodukakk      Strix aluco

At the evening flight outside, at seven o’clock, there was a third egg in the nest hollow. Very  rarely five eggs are found in a tawny owl clutch (literature indicates a possibility of up to eight eggs), more often there are three eggs here: round, white ones, the size of a ping-pong ball.

Video recorded by  Fleur, LK forum

Image from webcam captured by  Lussi, LK forum

Translation Liis

Buzzard; Common buzzard    Hiireviu         Buteo buteo

Yesterday snow fell briefly in daytime in almost all of Estonia except in the islands.

Buzzard pair Mari and Mihkel, familiar to us from last year, showed themselves briefly for the first time at the nest on Sunday afternoon. In the video we see that yesterday they were already busy with ”nest decorating”.

The buzzard camera will open in the next few days.