The Philippines and flamebacks

Escaping the European winter, I am off to the Philippines to see a few woodpeckers... like these Spot-throated Flamebacks Dinopium everetti, endemic to the island of Palawan. Many thanks to Rommel Cruz, who I will meet in a few days, for this great image. I hope he has them lined up like this for me!

Nest boxes for owls

Yesterday we went out into the Hungarian countryside and put up a few nest-boxes for owls: 2 for Scops Owl, 1 for Long-eared owl and 1 for Barn owl. It was not as hard as when we put up the big boxes for Ural Owls recently, but it was cold, especially on the hands!