Alex & Zvezdana Big Year 2017

[PeterHG]

What a memorable visit it was with you and Zvezda, @xelas ! Lots of very good species as you are showing here. ( the 'feldegg' is a subspecies of the Yellow Wagtail, though, as far as I know)

[xelas]

On 9/21/2017 at 10:55 PM, PeterHG said:

What a memorable visit it was with you and Zvezda, @xelas ! Lots of very good species as you are showing here. ( the 'feldegg' is a subspecies of the Yellow Wagtail, though, as far as I know)

 

The pleasure was all ours  and we are looking forward to have more joint birding trips in the future!

[xelas]

In the afternoon while driving back from the coastal part of Slovenia, we have stopped at Cerkniško jezero. Usually good birding spot was not that prolific this time around. One new BY and one addition to already posted one.

 

 

BY252/ SI048

Meadow Pipit - Anthus pratensis

 

 

Already posted Goldfinch of a different sex:

 

 

Edited September 24, 2017 by xelas

[xelas]

The day after we went into completely different habitat where this beauty was found

 

 

BY253 / SI049

Alpine Chough - Pyrrhocorax graculus

 

 

 

 

[xelas]

Looks like Škocjanski zatok was our preferred spot for birding . 

 

BY254 / SI050

Common Nightingale - Luscinia megarhynchos

 

 

BY255 / SI051

Common Magpie - Pica pica

 

 

BY256 / SI052

Purple Heron - Ardea purpurea

 

 

BY257 / SI053

Great Reed Warbler - Acrocephalus arundinaceus

 

 

 

 

[xelas]

One more batch of local birds. First one has already been posted, as #189 from Namibia, with some reservations by @Galana. I have to admit he was probably right (isn't he always?!) so I will need to find what bird #189 in reality was. Both flycatchers from the balcony of our house.

 

BY258 / SI054

Spotted Flycatcher - Muscicapa striata

 

 

BY259 / SI055

Pied Flycatcher - Ficedula hypoleuca

[xelas]

Only one visit to nearby botanical garden at Volčji potok resulted in following ground dwelling birds:

 

BY260 / SI056

Eurasian Jay - Garrulous glandarius

 

 

BY261 / SI057

Common Chaffinch - Fringilla coelebs

 

 

 

BY262 / SI058

Pied Wagtail - Motacilla alba

 

 

 

BY263 / SI059

Song Thrush - Thirds philomelos

 

dark

 

darker

 

darkest

 

[xelas]

And this one is a bonus photo; I hope you will like it, as it ends the spring collection of birds from Slovenia.

 

Blackcap, female

[Peter Connan]

Spring in Slovenia seems worth a visit! Great photos.

[Dave Williams]

Slovenia is gorgeous any time of year I imagine but it's at least 15 years ago since I visited.

The female Blackcap is a cracker Alex, not easy birds to get a photo of. I have had fleeting glimpses of the Blackcaps around our garden but no photo this year and I think they have gone now.

[xelas]

Dear fellow birders, you are all warmly welcomed to visit Slovenia (spring is best), and to use my balcony as much your heart desires ! I am planning to put a bird feeder this autumn, so next year there should be even more birds! As @PeterHG can confirm, there are a couple of excellent birding spots in easy driving distance from Ljubljana, and Ljubljansko Barje Nature Park http://www.ljubljanskobarje.si/?lang=en is even within walking/bicycle range. Do come and enjoy beautiful Slovenia, the country on the sunny side of the Alps!

[xelas]

Three weeks visiting Scotland in august was meant to be more a road trip then a birding one. However, despite the changeable weather and more rain caused by Harry, we did managed to find, and photographed, a nice collection of "new to our Big Year 2017" birds.

[xelas]

Isle of Mull / 14. - 18. August 2017

 

 

BY264 / SCO 01

Greylag Goose - Anser anser

 

 

 

BY265 / SCO 02

Common Pheasant - Phasianus colchicus

 

 

 

 

[xelas]

BY266 / SCO 03

Winter Wren - Troglodytes troglodytes

 

 

BY267 / SCO 04

Common Stonechat - Saxiola rubicola

 

 

 

BY268 / SCO 05

Barn Swallow - Hirundo rustica

 

 

 

BY269 / SCO 06

Dunnock - Prunella modularis

[xelas]

BY270 / SCO 07

Common Ringed Plover - Charadrius hiaticula

 

 

 

BY271 / SCO 08

Great Black-backed Gull - Larus marinus

[xelas]

BY272 / SCO 09

Whimbrel - Numenius phaeopus

 

 

 

BY273 / SCO 10

Dunlin - Caldiris alpina

 

 

 

BY274 / SCO 11

Rock Pipit - Anthus petrosus

 

[xelas]

BY275 / SCO 12

Common Skylark - Alauda arvensis

[PeterHG]

Excellent photography again by Zvezda and quite a collection!

 

[Soukous]

It looks as though your visit was much more productive than mine @xelas, lovely photos

 

[Peter Connan]

Lovely photos from Scotland!

[TonyQ]

Great photos from Scotland!

[xelas]

18 hours ago, PeterHG said:

Excellent photography again by Zvezda and quite a collection!

 

 

Thanks, @PeterHG! There will be posted also several of much worse quality, just to show who is the performer and who is the counter in our family .

[xelas]

5 hours ago, Soukous said:

It looks as though your visit was much more productive than mine @xelas, lovely photos

 

 

@Soukous, Mull was our first island, and number of new birds will trickle down as we will progress through Outer Hebrides. .

[xelas]

Thank You, @Peter Connan and @TonyQ; birding was not the main topic of that travel, and I have brought the "secondary lens" (AF-S 300 + TC17) which required all of Zvezda's skills to get decent photos in not that decent weather/light conditions. We both are glad you like the photos.

[Dave Williams]

Excellent photography. 

I can never understand why a Wren is also called a Winter Wren, they are alive here all year!