Diverse birdlife returns to Jeziorki

A spring explodes all around, so the rarer birds fly in to join the ducks and coots that life on our ponds here in Jeziorki. This winter saw a shorter period of ice cover than last year; there were only a few weeks without any birds.

Below: this is male mute swan 2KC1, a long-term regular round here (this is him with his family last October)

Below: an adult black-headed gull. In Polish, mewa śmieszka. A long-term resident at the ponds, the gulls were back in March, they are gregarious and noisy.

Below: a pair of black-headed gulls nesting in the reeds on the west side of the ponds, across from the wooden piers.

Below: a male common pochard (Polish: głowienka zwyczajna), a diving duck. It's quite something to see something so duck-like suddenly disappear entirely under water. Female common pochards are as different as ducks and drakes are among mallards.

Finally - the grebes. Rarest of the waterfowl that has made Jeziorki its home. Below: black-necked grebe (perkoz zausznik). The Polish name suits it better - so what that it has a black neck? It's what they have behind the ears that is most characteristic!

And now my favourite - so good to see them back - the great crested grebe (perkoz dwuczuby). Last year there were two pairs, today I saw one pair; I hope more fly in.

Taken a few days earlier, a stork in a field along the north end of ul. Trombity. It stood there for a while before lazily taking ofp and flying across the railway tracks.

This time last year:
Gold train film shoot - day one

This time five years ago:
Jarosław Gowin quits his post as justice minister

This time nine years ago:
The cycle-to-work season starts