Photos Arne Ader
Translation Liis

Common ringed plovers

Common ringed plover   Liivatüll     Charadrius hiaticula

Elegant shore birds who live on the coast and the islands, nesting on the sand or gravel, in north-western Estonia in the gravel quarries.

Easy to recognize from appearance: top of head and back sand grey, a white patch on the base of the beak, eyes covered by black “mask”. The neck is ringed by a white band and the chest is decorated with a black shirt front. Beak orange with a black tip, legs also orange or yellowish.

Photo Arne Ader
Translation Liis

Follicle fruits of marsh marigold

Marsh marigold    Harilik varsakabi         Caltha palustris

Many plants have not started flowering yet but the seeds of the marsh marigold are already ripening and if it hurries, it will have time to flower once more at the end of summer.

As the grasses develop the marsh marigold that flourished in damp habitats in spring becomes less noticeable, even the leaves will lose their bright green colour.

Photos  Kristel Vilbaste
Translation Liis

The nests of black garden ants this year in Tartu are built at the roots of dandelions that retained moisture  during the recent drought. Do the ants predict a dry summer?

 

Black garden ant      Mullamurelane or must sipelgas         Lasius niger  

Video recorded by  Mutikluti, LK forum
Translation Liis

White-tailed eagle    Merikotkas     Haliaeëtus albicilla

A severe storm the whole Saturday and there was already a fear that the right-hand part of the nest had fallen down with an eaglet. From 6 o’clock the storm started to abate, and bird calls were heard from the nest forest but there are still strong winds.

Only remnants of the nest remain but all barely fledged eaglets have stood up to the harsh ordeal. Nearby the calls of the adult birds can be heard.

Image from webcam captured by Liz, LK forum
Video recorded by  Mutikluti, LK forum
Translation Liis

The large birds must manage with a smaller nest area

White-tailed eagle    Merikotkas        Haliaeëtus albicilla

The rains of the last few days have soaked the eagle nest through and through, in addition there have been strong gusts of wind.

The nest area has become clearly smaller but the eaglets are already at an age when they are able to get across shorter distances by flying.