Vlad Neag Photography

Vlad Neag Photography Wildlife photography by Vlad Neag

As birds increase in size, their flight performance becomes more constrained. Small birds can take off rapidly and fly o...
16/09/2024

As birds increase in size, their flight performance becomes more constrained. Small birds can take off rapidly and fly over a wide speed range, while large birds are limited to a narrow speed envelope and require a running or swooping take-off. One of the underlying causes is the scaling of muscle performance ,large birds can not generate enough muscle force to lift off vertically.

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Mute swan (Cygnus olor)
[🇷🇴 Lebădă de vară; 🇩🇰 Knopsvane]
1/800 sec, F6.3, Iso 110 200mm -2 exp. comp.

04.2023

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Perch usage among birds is a significant behavioural aspect that reflects and reinforces social hierarchies. Dominant in...
13/09/2024

Perch usage among birds is a significant behavioural aspect that reflects and reinforces social hierarchies. Dominant individuals tend to occupy higher perches, which enhances their status and reduces predation risks, while subordinate birds may use lower perches as a strategy for avoiding conflict.
Dominant birds often monopolize the best perches, preventing subordinates from accessing them. They may physically block access to the perch or aggressively chase away other birds that attempt to use it. This ensures dominant birds have priority access to the prime perching spots.

Common tern (Sterna hirundo)
[🇷🇴 Chiră de baltă; 🇩🇰 Fjordterne]
1/2500 sec, F6.3, Iso 320 547mm -1 exp. comp.

04.2023

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We all know birds (and not only) are, in general, more active during sunrise and sunset, but why is that? Well, that's d...
27/08/2024

We all know birds (and not only) are, in general, more active during sunrise and sunset, but why is that?
Well, that's due to a combination of biological, environmental, and behavioural factors. This increased activity during these twilight hours is primarily attributed to their feeding habits, mating behaviors, and the advantages presented by the surrounding conditions.
During dawn and dusk, many birds engage in feeding, taking advantage of the cooler temperatures and lower light levels that make it easier to spot predators while foraging for food.
The environmental conditions at dawn and dusk are also conducive to bird activity. The air is generally cooler and less turbulent during these times, which not only aids in the transmission of sound but also provides a more comfortable climate for birds to be active.

Great White Pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus)
[🇷🇴 Pelicanul comun; 🇩🇰 Almindelig pelikan]
1/320 sec, F7.1, Iso 320 600 mm -1.3 exp. comp.

04.2023

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Birds exhibit a variety of flight behaviours, and one notable behaviour is launching into the wind. This action is prima...
22/08/2024

Birds exhibit a variety of flight behaviours, and one notable behaviour is launching into the wind. This action is primarily observed during takeoff and it has to with the aerodynamic efficiency, it gives stability and control and one factor that may not be so obvious (definitely not for me) is that it helps with grooming and feather maintenance.
Yes, that's wright, while this may not be the primarily reason why they do it birds also face into the wind to keep their feathers aligned and well-groomed.Wind can ruffle feathers, which may affect their aerodynamic properties. By facing into the wind, birds can preen and maintain their feathers' integrity, ensuring they remain sleek and efficient for flight. 
This behaviour is one of great use for wildlife photographers. Knowing the wind direction gives us an insight into where the bird will face during takeoff and the opportunity to position ourselves for the best shot.
The only thing remaining is to determine the wind direction, which i have to admit , i am not great at.

White-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla)
[🇷🇴 Codalb; 🇩🇰 Havørn]
1/800 sec, F6.3, Iso 640 600mm -1.3 exp. comp.

04.2023

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The bearded reedlings or bearded t**s are one of the very few birds that linger in the winter reeds in Northern Europe. ...
12/08/2024

The bearded reedlings or bearded t**s are one of the very few birds that linger in the winter reeds in Northern Europe. This means that they have to change from the insect diet they have in summer to a seed diet in winter. To cope with these changes, they are altering their gut morphology. Birds that do this
• Adjusting organ size: For example, mallards consuming fish during winter showed significantly longer small intestines compared to mallards on a typical diet.

• Altering gut microbiom: Diet is a major driver of gut microbiome composition in birds. Switching to a new diet leads to parallel changes in gut microbial diversity and abundance at the phylum and genus levels.

• Modulating digestive enzymes Birds adjust the production of digestive enzymes based on diet. For example, the activity of amylase, which breaks down starch, increases when birds consume more carbohydrates.

• Shifting nutrient absorption.The surface area of the intestinal tract can change to optimize nutrient absorption for the current diet. For instance, the villi (finger-like projections) increase in length when birds consume more plant matter to enhance fibre digestion.

Bearded t**s often consume grit during winter months to aid digestion.

Bearded reedling (Panurus biarmicus)
[🇷🇴 Pițigoi de stuf ; 🇩🇰 Skægmejse]
1/1250 sec, F7.1, Iso 1000 600mm -1 exp. comp.

04.2023

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Birds, especially the monogamous ones, exhibit a variety of behaviors to show affection and bond with their mates.Allopr...
10/08/2024

Birds, especially the monogamous ones, exhibit a variety of behaviors to show affection and bond with their mates.
Allopreening, eating together, regurgitating or close physical contact are all examples of that, but today, I'll focus on gift giving behaviour, like this kingfisher does.
Some bird species present their mates with gifts like moss, sticks, or food. In general, it happens during courtship, and it serves to demonstrate their ability to provide for future offspring, also significantly enhancing pair bonding and reproductive success.
Amazingly, it does not sums up to intraspecies gift giving, and some corvids were observed giving gifts to the humans that feed them.
The ultimate gift givers must be the bowerbirds, which are known for their elaborate courtship displays that include collecting and presenting colourful objects like shells, flowers, and even human-made objects, attracting females through visual appeal.

Common kingfisher (Alcedo atthis)
[🇷🇴 Pescăraș albastru; 🇩🇰 Isfugl]
1/1250 sec, F6.3, Iso 1600 600 mm -1.3 exp. comp.

04.2023

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neag
       

Different times ask for different measures. In light rain, birds fluff up their feathers to trap warm air and provide in...
04/08/2024

Different times ask for different measures.
In light rain, birds fluff up their feathers to trap warm air and provide insulation. In heavy rain, birds sleek down their feathers to reduce wettability and prevent water from penetrating the plumage.

Yellow wagtail (Motacilla flava)
[🇷🇴 Codobatură galbenă; 🇩🇰 Gul vipstjerne]
1/800 sec, F6.3, Iso 2000 600mm -0.3 exp. comp.

04.2023

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In order to be successful fishers, herons/egrets have to deal with refraction which make fish appear closer to the surfa...
31/07/2024

In order to be successful fishers, herons/egrets have to deal with refraction which make fish appear closer to the surface and nearer to the heron than their true position. It is not well known how they deal with this issue but theories suggest that herons seem to have an innate understanding of how refraction affects the apparent location of prey and that they compensate for this by striking slightly below and to the side of where the fish appears to be located. Experience also comes with age, young birds being more likely to miss their target.

Little Egret (Egretta garzetta)
[🇷🇴  Egretă mică; 🇩🇰 Silkehejre]
1/1250 sec, F6.3, Iso 500 600mm -1.3 exp. comp.

04.2023

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neag  
       

Smaller than it's more common and well distributed, cousin the great cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo), the pygmy cormoran...
27/07/2024

Smaller than it's more common and well distributed, cousin the great cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo), the pygmy cormorant (Microcarbo pygmaeus) is not bypassed by the same threats.
While a great number of cormorants is shown to put a pressure on fish population and aquatic biodiversity, the pygmy cormorant is more susceptible to retaliation from fisherman and hunters and with other threats added it ended up being included on the IUCN Red List as a vulnerable species. Thanks to conservation efforts, the populations have stabilized and increased and now are classified as Least Concern.

Pygmy cormorant (Microcarbo pygmaeus)
[🇷🇴  Cormoranul mic ; 🇩🇰 Dværgskarv]
1/800 sec, F6.3, Iso 400 474mm -1 exp. comp.
1/500 sec, F6.3, Iso 320 600mm -2 exp. comp.

04.2023

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neag  
       

The Danube Delta is also a tern mecca. At one point, 5 species were flying in the same area, out of which I managed to p...
07/07/2024

The Danube Delta is also a tern mecca. At one point, 5 species were flying in the same area, out of which I managed to photograph 3.

Black tern (Chlidonias niger)
[🇷🇴 Chirighiță neagră; 🇩🇰 Sortterne]
White-winged Tern (Chilidonis leucopterus)
[🇷🇴 Chirighiță cu aripi albe; 🇩🇰 Hvidvinget Terne]
Common tern (Sterna hirundo)
[🇷🇴 Chiră de baltă; 🇩🇰 Fjordterne]
1/800 sec, F6.3, Iso 800 600mm +1 exp. comp.
1/800 sec, F6.3, Iso 2000 600mm +1 exp. comp.
1/400 sec, F6.3, Iso 125 600mm -2 exp. comp.

04.2023

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neag
       

One of the best sunrises I've ever seen. Too bad the pelicans didn't join. Mute swan (Cygnus olor)[🇷🇴 Lebădă de vară; 🇩...
29/06/2024

One of the best sunrises I've ever seen.
Too bad the pelicans didn't join.

Mute swan (Cygnus olor)
[🇷🇴 Lebădă de vară; 🇩🇰 Knopsvane]
1/320 sec, F11, Iso 500 600mm -1,3 exp. comp.

04.2023

View my best work on my website. Link in bio!
neag
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