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Darius Stiels

@dstiels.bsky.social

230 followers 330 following 150 posts

Ornithology | Biogeography | Conservation | Ecology PhD student (@leibnizlib); Freelancer Biologist; NWO office (@nworni); OAG Bonn; views are personal

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Darius Stiels @dstiels.bsky.social · Jan 17

My first humble contribution to the BSKY community 👋
Aegithalos caudatus | Long-tailed Tit | Schwanzmeise
Garden, Bad Honnef (Germany), 2024-10-03

More 📷 of birds + other wildlife will follow. Also some science stuff: biodiversity, biodiv. monitoring, conservation, biogeography and ecology...

Portrait of a Long-tailed Tit, front view of head and breast showing the large eyes and the contrasting yellow upper eye-ring, head very sligtly inclined to the right from viewers point; an individual with a rather white head and only a slight greyish shadow behind the eye; background blurry, green as it is acutally vegetation

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Darius Stiels @dstiels.bsky.social · 1d

This female 1 cy Eurasian Goshawk is an almost daily visitor over the #garden.

Habicht über dem #Garten.

2025-10-14 #Siebengebirge 🇩🇪

#birding #birdphotography #naturephotography #wildlifephotography #photography #BirdsSeenIn2025 #BlueSky #patchbirding #raptor #Vögel #Vogelfoto

Astur gentilis flying overhead against the blue sky. There is a gap in its left wing. A 1 cy bird.

Darius Stiels @dstiels.bsky.social · 4d

It's #WorldMigratoryBirdDay!
2 Common Snipes, a Dunlin, a Curlew Sandpiper and a lot of suitable resting habitat along the shore of a lake ( #mud ).

#birding #birdvideo #wetlands #birdmigration #WorldMigratoryBirdDay2025 #BirdsSeenIn2025 (🇩🇪)

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Reposted by Darius Stiels

Nordrhein-Westfälische Ornithologengesellschaft e.V. @nworni.bsky.social · 7d

Beobachtungstipp "Ackerlimikolen"

In den letzten Tagen sind erstaunlich viele #Kiebitzregenpfeifer beobachtet worden. Diese u.a. #Limikolen rasten immer wieder auf Äckern.

➡️ www.nw-ornithologen.de/index.php/ak...

#Vögel #Vogelbeobachtung #Vogelzug

📷 @dstiels.bsky.social (Belegfoto)
🌐 #ornitho

Karte der ornitho-Beobachtungen des Kiebitzregenpfeifers zwischen dem 23.9. und 7.10.2025 in Deutschland. Die Küste ist nicht zu sehen. Die Farben zwischen gelb und rot geben das Datum an.

Zwei Kiebitzregenpfeifer auf einem frisch bearbeiteten Acker. Der recte Vogel schaut nach oben, der andere am linken Bildrand guckt nach vorne rechts. Aufgrund mittäglichen Flimmerns hat das digiskopierte Foto Belegcharakter.

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Darius Stiels @dstiels.bsky.social · 14d

Thx for the repost! 🙏

Darius Stiels @dstiels.bsky.social · 14d

Dankeschön! Thank you!

Darius Stiels @dstiels.bsky.social · 14d

🍁🐦🍂 Some #autumn #colours ...

European Goldfinches on Wild teasel. | Stieglitze auf Wilder Karde.

2025-09-27 Rhineland, 🇩🇪

#BirdsSeenIn2025 #birds #birding #photography #birdphotography #fallow #flowerstrips #wildlifephotography #nature #Goldfinch #Stieglitz #Vögel #Vogelfoto #Herbst #Naturfoto

4 European Goldfinches (Carduelis carduelis) on Wild Teasel (Dipsacus fullonum), one of the birds in flight. A bird in the upper left corner of the picture is in focus. The background is bluegrey and light green.

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Darius Stiels @dstiels.bsky.social · 18d

Bird monitoring data from the UK.

Always worth comparing with trends from Central Europe, e.g., similar negative trends in Willow Tit and Tree Sparrow or positive trends in Cetti's Warbler ⬇️

Breeding Bird Surveys (BBS) @bbs-birds.bsky.social · 21d

1.The Wild Bird Indicators are out! Each year these are published using @bbs-birds.bsky.social , @webs-gsmp.bsky.social & @smp-seabirds.bsky.social data & are one of the main metrics against which our UK Biodiversity targets are measured
👉 www.gov.uk/government/s...

Darius Stiels @dstiels.bsky.social · 19d

Migrating Black Storks (Ciconia nigra) over the garden.

Just a strongly edited record shot but you can clearly distinguish a 1st year from an adult (look at the dull vs. bright reddish bill).

2025-09-20 #Siebengebirge, 🇩🇪

#BirdsSeenIn2025 #birds #birdidentification #birdmigration #birdphotography

Nordrhein-Westfälische Ornithologengesellschaft e.V. @nworni.bsky.social · 19d

Wie weit fliegen #Zugvögel?

➡️ www.nw-ornithologen.de/index.php/da...

📷 Passenderweise zogen letztens diese 2 Schwarzstörche (ad + K1) über unsere Geschäftsstelle. Gute Reise und hoffentlich bis 2026! 👋

#Freitagsfrage #Vogelzug #Vögel #Vogelbeobachtung #Rekord #Ornithologie #FAQ #FAQs #Vogelwissen

Zwei überfliegende Schwarzstörche von unten gegen den blauen Himmel. Ein Altvogel und ein K1.

Darius Stiels @dstiels.bsky.social · 25d

Herzlichen Glückwunsch!

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Darius Stiels @dstiels.bsky.social · 25d

The species does not occur in the Americas. It has a positive population trend in Central Europe.

Darius Stiels @dstiels.bsky.social · 26d

A look is worth a thousand words.

Common wood pigeon | Ringeltaube

2025-09-19 #Siebengebirge 🇩🇪

#birds #birding #birdphotography #nature #naturephotography #wildlifephotography #BirdsSeenIn2025 #photography #gardenbirding

A Common wood pigeon (Columba palumbus) on a lawn. A front view. The bird is turning its head to the left.

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Darius Stiels @dstiels.bsky.social · 29d

According to observation.org the species is still most regularly recorded in the southern part of NRW +/- along the Rhine valley and in areas like Eifel, Siebengebirge etc. but there are records from other areas, too.
Map (last 5 years):
nordrhein-westfalen-de.observation.org/species/745/...

Observation.org

Biodiversity Citizen Science & Monitoring

nordrhein-westfalen-de.observation.org

Darius Stiels @dstiels.bsky.social · Sep 11

#Leptember brings Hummingbird hawk-moths! They seem to be particularly keen of Calamintha (Clinopodium) flowers in the garden.

Taubenschwänzchen an Bergminze.

2025-09-10, #Siebengebirge, 🇩🇪

#Moths #TeamMoth #Lepidoptera #Insects #Photography #NaturePhotography #Insectphotography

A Hummingbird hawk-moth (Macroglossum stellatarum) hovering in front of white flowers (genus Calamintha or Clinopodium). One can see the long proboscis and the orange wing markings as well the black tail tip. The background is grey.

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Darius Stiels @dstiels.bsky.social · Sep 11

Ja, wobei ich Einfluss auf Wildbienen/ggf. V. cabro relevanter finde. Ohne Nestfund lässt sich aber nichts ausrichten. Zu reinen Dokumentationszwecken könnten Behörden öffentlich zugängliche Datenbanken auswerten (AGs diverser Tiergruppen in NRW nutzen observation).

Darius Stiels @dstiels.bsky.social · Sep 10

Danke für den Hinweis, aber die Beobachtung ist auf observation.org und steht damit öffentlich zur Verfügung. Ein Nestfund liegt nicht vor. In NRW wäre aber auch eher das LANUK zuständig.
www.umwelt.nrw.de/zahl-der-woc...

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Darius Stiels @dstiels.bsky.social · Sep 10

Asian hornets (Vespa velutina) have become a daily sight in our #garden.

2025-09-10 #Siebengebirge, NRW, 🇩🇪

#InvasiveSpecies #Neobiota #NonNativeSpecies #Insects #AsianHornet #Hymenoptera #NaturePhotography #Photography

Front view of Vespa velutina sitting on a stone. Blurred gras o the background. The left wing (seen from the observer) ist largely hidden.

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Darius Stiels @dstiels.bsky.social · Sep 5

Extraordinary migration over the #garden yesterday: 1 Osprey, 5 Honey Buzzards, 1 Marsh Harrier, 2 Black Storks. All very high, though.

2025-09-04 #Siebengebirge 🇩🇪

#birding #patchbirding #gardenbirding #birdphotography #BirdsSeenIn2025 #birds
#Vögel #Vogelzug #Vogelfoto #Fischadler

Flying Osprey Pandion haliaetus from below against a blue sky

Darius Stiels @dstiels.bsky.social · Sep 4

Bird migration continues, so here is a Whinchat showing the subtile beauty of its tan, brown, black and white plumage.

2025-09-04, #Siebengebirge, 🇩🇪

#BirdsSeenIn2025 #birding #birdphotography #naturephotography #nature #birding #photography #birds
#Vögel #Vogelbeobachtung #Braunkehlchen #Vogelfoto

A Whinchat Saxicola rubetra perching on a brown blade of grass as well as a green plant. The blurred background ist greenish.

Darius Stiels @dstiels.bsky.social · Sep 1

Still need to read your book but will set it on my must-read list 🫣

Darius Stiels @dstiels.bsky.social · Sep 1

A short reminder that European Turtle Doves have already diminished from many former breeding areas in Central Europe - a hunting ban in parts of the #EU ended this spring. #Ecocide

PR by @birdlifeglobal.bsky.social from Apr. 25
www.birdlife.org/news/2025/04...

Mark Avery @markavery.bsky.social · Sep 1

111 years ago today the last Passenger Pigeon on earth, which we called Martha, died in Cincinnati Zoo at around 12:30pm local time.

The most abundant bird species Earth had ever seen had been driven to extinction. markavery.info/2025/09/01/p...

#cincinatti #ohio #extinction #birds #martha

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Darius Stiels @dstiels.bsky.social · Aug 30

🦅👀
Autumn Migration of European Honey Buzzards seems to reach its peak. YDA, >15 + this evening a flock of 13 🔄 high above the terrace (📷 cutout).

📍 #Siebengebirge, 🇩🇪

#BirdsSeenIn2015 #birding #patchbirding #gardenbirding #nature #birdphotography #terracebirding #raptors #BlueSky #birdmigration

Seven European Honey Buzzard (Pernis apivorus) high above in the blue sky seen from below. At least two of the birds are illuminated by the evening sun.

Reposted by Darius Stiels

Nordrhein-Westfälische Ornithologengesellschaft e.V. @nworni.bsky.social · Aug 30

Aktuell ist bei uns der Höhepunkt des Wespenbussard-Durchzugs
▶️ www.nw-ornithologen.de/index.php/ak...

Gestern waren es >15, heute Abend ein Trupp mit 13 (📷 zeigt Ausschnitt).

#Vögel #Vogelbeobachtung #Vogelzug

Sieben kreisende Wespenbussarde hoch und klein gegen den blauen Himmel. Zwei Vögel sind von unten deutlich von der Sonne beschienen.

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Darius Stiels @dstiels.bsky.social · Aug 21

Schöner Artikel!
Auch wenn der Orpheusspötter gerne als
Klimawandelgewinner genannt wird, könnte hier die Situation jedoch zumindest komplizierter sein als bei Bienenfresser, Zaunammer oder Seidensänger. 🤓
➡️ tinyurl.com/2636kapv

@dda-avifauna.bsky.social
#Vögel #Ornithologie

(PDF) The range expansion of the Melodious Warbler Hippolais polyglotta: a model system for biogeography and population genetics - Die Arealexpansion des Orpheusspötters Hippolais polyglotta: ein Mode...

PDF | The reasons for moving range edges are manifold and their understanding is a central part of biogeographical research. Range shifts have been... | Find, read and cite all the research you need o...

tinyurl.com

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Darius Stiels @dstiels.bsky.social · Aug 20

Autumn #garden #birding kicks off this week with my first ever #NOCMIG Ortolan bunting (sonogram shows one of several calls). 🥳
Today, afternoon birding from the terrace revealed a migrating 1cy Marsh Harrier high above the narrow valley.

#Siebengebirge 🇩🇪
#BirdsSeenIn2025 #Vögel #Vogelbeobachtung

1cy Marsh Harrier from below against a blue sky

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Darius Stiels @dstiels.bsky.social · Aug 19

Eurasian dotterels often use traditional stopover sites during autumn migration. In #NRW (🇩🇪) they prefer freshly cultivated stubble fields in open landscapes without vertical structures. Unfortunately, some of these areas lack legal protection.

#birdmigration #birds #farmlandbirds #waders

Nordrhein-Westfälische Ornithologengesellschaft e.V. @nworni.bsky.social · Aug 19

👀 Eines der spannendsten Phänomene des #Vogelzug |s in Mitteleuropa lässt sich wieder beobachten. Auf frisch gegrubberten Äckern, an traditionellen Plätzen rasten wieder Mornellregenpfeifer.
➡️ www.nw-ornithologen.de/index.php/ak...

#Vögel #Vogelbeobachtung #Vogelschutz