Birding on 3 continents

[xelas]

Along that road there was only one patch of acacia trees where kestrels, rollers and jackdaws have their home(s).

 

 

BY 325 / EU 072

Jackdaw (Western) - Corvus monedula

Little Hortobagy, 28.04.2018

 

[xelas]

The most photographed bird, seen on both locations:

 

BY 326 / EU 073

Corn Bunting - Emberiza calandra

 

Little Hortobagy, 28.04.2018

 

Kiskunsag, 30.04.2018

 

Kiskunsag, 01.05.2018

 

[xelas]

Many birds have perched on wooden fence posts; however there was a project done along the dirt road in Little Hortobagy and many tree saplings were planted, and in a couple of years those birds will have both place to perch and shade to use.

 

BY 327 / EU 074

Whinchat - Saxicola rubetra

Little Hortobagy, 28.04.2018

 

Kiskunsag, 30.04.2018

 

[xelas]

BY 328 / EU 075

Stonechat (Common) - Saxicola rubicola

Little Hortobagy, 28.04.2018

[xelas]

Among the ground dwelling birds yellow was the most noticeable visible colour. This one is flava subspecie, different head colour to feldegg.

 

BY 329 / EU 076

Yellow Wagtail - Motacilla flava

 

Little Hortobagy, 28.04.2018

 

Kopački Rit, 02.05.2018

Edited May 14, 2018 by xelas

[xelas]

Much less colourful are Larks.

 

BY 330 / EU 077

Skylark (Common) - Alauda arvensis

Little Hortobagy, 28.04.2018

 

BY 331 / EU 078

Crested Lark - Galerida cristata

 

Little Hortobagy, 28.04.2018

 

 

[xelas]

On the other end of this drive should be a large lake; we have seen it, and also the small observation house, but there was no path leading to it. There was also a much smaller pond, probably private one, looked promising but yielded only one bird, and even that one was skittish and kept itself at healthy distance. The midday heat also played its role in below low quality photo, which is also the last one from the drive.

 

BY 332 / EU 079

Garganey - Anas querquedula

Little Hortobagy, 28.04.2018

 

 

[Galana]

21 minutes ago, xelas said:

in a couple of years those birds will have both place to perch and shade to use.

And foliage to hide in!

 

some great photos. Whinchat and Garganey esp.

Edited May 14, 2018 by Galana

[xelas]

Our second location in Hungary was Kiskunsagi National Park. This is proper puszta plains, a lot of field and a few farmhouses, and many dusty roads. Not quite birder-friendly yet we have managed to get some new birds also here.

 

BY 333 / EU 080

Lesser Spotted woodpecker - Dendrocopos minor

Kiskunsagi, 29.04.2018

 

 

BY 334 / EU 081

Wood Pigeon - Columba palumbus

Kiskunsagi, 29.04.2018

 

 

BY 335 / EU 082

Pheasant (Common) - Phasianus colchicus

 

male

Kiskunsagi, 29.04.2018

 

female

Kiskunsagi, 01.05.2018

 

 

BY 336 / EU 083

Grey Partdridge - Perdix perdix

Kiskunsagi, 30.04.2018

Edited May 15, 2018 by xelas

[xelas]

This dove of course was photographed somewhere along the main road. Very much an EBC so it has to stand alone  ...

 

BY 337 / EU 084

Turtle Dove (European) - Streptopelia turtur

Kiskunsagi, 30.04.2018

 

Edited May 15, 2018 by xelas

[xelas]

Near the town of Apaj there are a man made lakes, very much like those at sewage facilities (but I don't think those were used for any sewage treatment). I was hoping to see some water birds. First we saw them flying above us.

 

BY 338 / EU 085

Caspian Gull - Larus cachinnans

Kiskunsagi, 30.04.2018

 

 

BY 339 / EU 086

Imperial Eagle (Eastern) - Aquila heliaca

Kiskunsagi, 30.04.2018

 

 

Coming closer we have spotted some through thick reeds.

 

BY 340 / EU 087

Ferruginous Duck - Aythya nyroca

Kiskunsagi, 30.04.2018

 

 

BY 341 / EU 088

Greylag Goose - Anser anser

Kiskunsagi, 30.04.2018

Edited May 15, 2018 by xelas

[PeterHG]

Beautiful additions, @xelas! Love the Ferruginous Duck, Grey partridge and many others. Good to see the familiar species of the Little Hortobagy once again. Are you sure, though, about the Imperial Eagle? The five-fingered primaries and general shape remind me much more of a Harrier. Anyway, tell Zvezda she did a wonderful job on the Hungary shots!

[xelas]

Oh boy, just like last year in Seewinkel ! OK, off it goes replaced by an ugly one ... yet easy to ID.

 

BY 339 / EU 086

Rook - Corvus frugilegus

Kiskunsagi, 30.04.2018

[TonyQ]

Great additions from Hungary- the Ferruginous Duck is a real beauty.

[Galana]

I too like the Fudge Duck but again the Grey Partridge has to be a winner. Where else to find a Hungarian Partridge but Hungary?

I had mixed feelings about the Imperial Eagle too at first. Zvezda should go in for the EBC Cup as there is a definite knack of getting a photo at the right angle to hide all the field marks at once but I have doubts about it being a Harrier either! Are those White mantles I see between the shoulder blade? Could be a juv Imperial except for the light bill.

[xelas]

Aha, a discussion! Nice. I have prepared 2 x 2 photos to discuss the differencies (if they are any):

 

above side

 

Marsh Harrier

 

"Imperial Eagle"

 

 

below side

 

Marsh harrier

 

"Imperial eagle"

 

 

[xelas]

Let me start with my reasoning:

 

from above

the wings are of different shape; the "knck" on the MH is close to the end of the wing while the "knack" on the IE is more to the middle.

covert feathers have different shape on both birds

tips are of different shape and length

 

from below

the general shape of the wing is different between two birds

MH has pointed brown part while IE has rounded brown part

 

MH jas shorter beak, and all of the MH birds has that round "belly" just behind the beak.

 

Those differencies were eliminating MH as a suspect, and any other harrier for that matter also. The only other suspect based on the photos I have found on the internet was Imperial Eagle. This one is presented in Hungary. We have seen one in Bukk but were too slow to get a photo.

 

Now, @PeterHG , @Galana and others, please be so kind and give me (us) your comments. On a side note, this discussions are the best lessons for me! Thank you all in advance!

[Galana]

The only photo in that set that is definitely a Harrier is #3. #1 is  'possible'.

But 2 & 4 are something else. The aspect ratio of the wing is too short.

The bill is not big enough for a full Eagle such as Imperial or Goldie.

Looking at #4 (wh9ich is obviously# 2 also) I see white shoulders unless it is sun reflecting.

I think you should consider three birds. Common Buzzard and dark phase Booted Eagle.

Hope you get it sorted before I come back.

[Geoff]

@xelas As per your request from Dave's thread. I went back to page 16 and scrolled through to here and did not consider any of the EBC images.

I thought they mostly looked pretty good. Your Jackdaw image (post #501) is a good example of a halo though. Also Common Myna #393.

 

As sharpening is really edge contrast enhancement halos are often problematic when you have a subject against a sky. There is already contrast between the subject and sky and you increase it with the sharpening so that a light line is often visible. GH Kingfisher is interesting (#435) you can see a line (mainly) down the bird's back but the perch looks ok. So my question would be did you sharpen the bird and not the perch?

 

To be honest all this stuff really doesn't matter unless you want to display the image somewhere ~ on the wall or magazine etc. 

When I have an image I'm really pleased with and I'm sharpening in PS I will often isolate the subject and place it on its own layer and sharpen that layer only.  

Before I sharpen I temporarily place a solid colour layer behind the subject only layer to see if my selection has picked up anything else ~ The sky for example.

If that is the case i will contract the selection by a few pixels until it is clean and then sharpen. I hope that makes sense.    

[xelas]

To clarify the birds: #1 and #3 are photos of the same bird taken about 7 seconds apart. #2 and #4 are again photos of the same bird (the only 2 photos of it). taken in sequence. So Marsh Harrier is a Marsh Harrier.

Now the "Imperial Eagle" ... there were plenty of Common Buzzards on this trip, and none looked alike, they were all very much buzzards. I believe the mystery bird is not a Common Buzzard.

[xelas]

@Geoff thank you very much for your kind and educative words. I am using Nikon's proprietary software Capture NX-D, and for adding the watermark, resizing and extra sharpening Photo Mechanic. I do not use layers so every sharpening is on the whole image. Anyway I will be more careful with that second stage sharpening in the future.

[PeterHG]

Well, @xelas, there may be no definite answer, at least not from me. Somehow it does not look like a common Buzzard to me (wings mostly). A Booted Eagle dark phase , like @Galana suggested, might be worth looking into and, for my part, I cannot completely rule out a Harrier. Sorry to be this unhelpful...

[xelas]

Thank you for your contributions, @Galana and @PeterHG. 

 

So it is not and Imperial Eagle, and it is not a Harrier. So I am more then happy to accept the third option:

 

BY 342 / EU 089
Booted Eagle / Hieraaetus pennatus

 

Kiskunsagi, 30.04.2018

[Soukous]

Some lovely new additions from Zvezda. 

[xelas]

With that Eagle settled I can move on. In the puszta again.

 

BY 343 / EU 090

Red-backed Shrike - Lanius collurio

 

 

Kiskunsagi, 30.04.2018

 

 

BY 344 / EU 091

Tawny Pipit - Anthus campestris

Kiskunsagi, 30.04.2018