Saturday 13 December 2014

Fieldfares at St. Marx Cemetery
Vienna in Winter



Fieldfares at St. Marx Cemetery
Fieldfares spend summers up north,
in Scandinavia, Russia, the Baltic countries,
breeding in Lapland and the Arctic tundra.

A large flock of these beautiful birds
finds a winter haven at St. Marx cemetery,
year after year. This morning, there were many more birds
than you can see here. They moved so fast, though,
and settled in more than one tree, I was not able
to capture them all at once

While I was walking up the hill,
wading through knee-high snow,
the fieldfares moved on too.
They were now sitting high in a tree,
next to Mozart's final resting place

Photographed on 19 January 2013,
a grey, cold January morning,
at St. Marx Cemetery in the 3rd District
Images and Text © by Merisi
R e p o s t

Links:

-> Fieldfare, close-up by Remo Savisaar
-> Arctic Birds
-> Neusiedl Lake Seewinkel National Park Bird Sanctuary
-> St. Marx Cemetery through the seasons

6 comments:

  1. Absolutely wonderful winter images.

    Mersad
    Mersad Donko Photography

    ReplyDelete
  2. They are beautiful birds. Thanks for sharing. will look them up on line.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They sometimes even show up in the city gardens, always a large flock. They love feeding on the red fruits of my neighbor's old yew tree.

      Delete
  3. I imagine it's a place of peace and quiet for them, and that's what appeals to them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You would not believe the surroundings of this quiet, laid back place of eternal rest: a major highway bridge runs right along one side, lots of traffic noise. I have spent a lot of time there, it was the subject of my thesis, and it always amazes me anew that after a while of meandering among the rows of graves and trees, the noise recedes and often I realize only when I leave that there has been this traffic noise all along, I simply blocked it out. I am sure the birds love the relative peace and safety from predators, and especially the many berries and nuts they are finding there.

      Delete

Thank you for taking the time to leave a note.