It appears that I forgot to press the publish button on this post. It was meant for release last week.
This post has been triggered by the Owls returning to the centre of Basel and evening walks around the city. In fact it is only four species of birds for the time being, obviously the Tawny Owls as well as Grey Heron and Great Cormorant and Mute Swan, well a silhouette of a Mute Swan at least.
First up are the Tawny Owls. So far I've only been able to get a few shots of the adults. The images below show two of the female in the nest box and one of the very well hidden male in a tree quite close to the nest box.
I try to go by as often as possible, but with the season moving on, the foliage is getting thicker and it's getting more difficult to see the perches. It won't stop me from trying though, and I hope to have images of the young soon.
Next up is the Grey Heron. These are large birds, with gangly legs, and a surprisingly wide wingspan, that give a clumsy impression. Yet they can glide gracefully through the air and land so gently in the water that barely a ripple can be seen.
These images were taken during one of the cooler evenings, because of this there weren't the usually crowds of people cooling down on the hot evenings. As I moved up the river, so did the Heron, but always one step ahead of me.
The next three shots are of the same Great Cormorant, perched on the same post. The first one shows the Cormorant basking in the sunshine.
The second two also show the Cormorant, but also bring the Basel city skyline into view with the prominence of the Cathedral silhouetted against the sunset sky.
And finally the silhouette of the young Mute Swan.
