Michael´s Third Year

[michael-ibk]

198/E66.) Yellow-Legged Gull (Larus michahellis) / Mittelmeermöwe

 

From earlier in the year, 18/2, Münster, Tirol. The most common Gull in Austria.

 

 

[michael-ibk]

199/E67.) Marsh Tit (Poecile palustris) / Sumpfmeise

 

From Gaisau, Tirol, 25/3.

 

[michael-ibk]

200/E68.) Bearded Reedling (Panurus biarmicus) / Bartmeise

 

Back to Lake Constance, this is one of the best places to see this very cool bird. They are not easy anywhere but here I´ve managed to take photos of them three years in a row now. They are one of my favourites.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[TonyQ]

A fantastic bird to reach your 200- congratulations!

[xelas]

Indeed, a beautiful bird to celebrate "200! Congratulations, @michael-ibk !

[Peter Connan]

And congratulations for me as well. That Black-crowned Night-heron: what a sighting, and so well handled!

[Tdgraves]

Well done on 200. I saw my first bearded reeling last week. Absolutely no chance of photography!

[Soukous]

nice additions @michael-ibk congrats on reaching 200 as well

[Zim Girl]

Well done on the 200 Michael, and with one of my favourite small birds.

[Ratdcoops]

@michael-ibk taken the time over the last couple of days to look at your entire year and they are sensational, I could have virtually liked every photo.

That Swan is special. I am still struggling with exposure of whites and blacks. I would have liked the Dalmation Pelicans but  I found them a difficult animal to appreciate, they are an unusual looking thing.

[michael-ibk]

Many thanks everybody. @Ratdcoops, a special thanks to you, very kind. You are not alone, we all struggle with that, b&w birds are very difficult indeed and I never quite know what to do with them. Swans are much easier, just underexpose a lot and it will generally be ok. You are right, the Dalmatians certainly are unusual, but that´s what I like about them.

 

And earth-shattering confession to follow - all your congratulations were undeserved because I did not have 200 birds yet! Shock! I already had a Night Heron from Zakouma. To set things straight:

 

196 (taking the NH´s place)/ E69.) Common Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus collybita) / Zilpzalp

 

Omnipresent in spring, their unmistakable song is everywhere.

 

Stausee Reißecke, Carinthia, 2/4.

 

 

Gaisau, Tirol, 25/3.

 

 

Edited June 13, 2018 by michael-ibk

[michael-ibk]

Moving on to the next birding outing. It has become a tradition now for us, every spring we just have to go to Austria´s premier birding area, Seewinkel in the very East of the country. No change to that, we managed to sneak in a few days the end of April just before our Romania trip. It was a very nice visit, the weather was quite pleasant, and we had good sightings. Before I start some general pictures to set the scene.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 13, 2018 by michael-ibk

[michael-ibk]

201/E70.) Syrian Woodpecker (Dendrocopos syriacus) / Blutspecht

 

They reach the westernmost end of their distribution in the East of Austria. Very similiar to the Great Spotted but the red has a slightly different hue and the band in the face is not closed.

 

 

[michael-ibk]

-/E71.) Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola) / Bruchwasserläufer

 

One of the more common waders to see in spring. Already seen in Zakouma.

 

 

 

One more from the Danube Delta, about one week later.

 

[michael-ibk]

202/E72.) Great Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus arundinaceus) / Drosselrohrsänger

 

An extremely noisy bird, and one which can also be extremely frustrating. It´s perfectly possible to stand two metres next to them, and almost longing for earplugs because they are so loud, but when they stay down in the reed it´s impossible to see them. Luckily in spring they tent to come up to the top.

 

 

One more from Slovenjia, 2/6, where we were visiting @xelas and Zvezda - they are lucky to have a great little reserve there in Skocjanski Zatok where this bird is also very accommodating.

 

Edited June 13, 2018 by michael-ibk

[michael-ibk]

-/E73.) Spotted Redshank (Tringa erythropus) / Dunkler Wasserläufer

 

For most waders I got mediocre to rubbish pictures in Africa and much better ones back home in Europe. The other way around for this one, no close sightings yet.

 

Neither in Seewinkel...

 

 

... nor in the Danube Delta.

 

[michael-ibk]

203/E74.) Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis) / Feldlerche

 

Not easy to tell apart from the Crested Lark (which is also quite common in the area)  but the white outer tail feathers are distinctive (especially in flight).

 

 

[michael-ibk]

204/E75.) Little Ringed Plover (Charadrius dubius) / Flussregenpfeifer

 

The only Plover which is also breeding closer to the Alps.

 

[michael-ibk]

-/E76.) Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos) / Flussuferläufer

 

Already seen in Zakouma. Easy to identify even when seen from afar because of its distinctive style of moving. Wiki has this fun fact to offer about that: " Another Nukumanu name for it, matakakoni, exists, but this is considered somewhat taboo and not used when children and women are around. The reason for this is that matakakoni means "bird that walks a little, then copulates", in reference to the pumping tail and thrusting head movements the Actitis species characteristically perform during foraging"

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

205/E77.) Great Bustard (Obis tarda) / Großtrappe

 

Always special to see these huge birds. Sightings in spring are pretty much guaranteed but they are shy and stay far off from the roads. But at least they were close enough to get recognizable shots, and we even saw them mating which really is spectacular.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

206/E78.) Common Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) / Jagdfasan

 

Easy to see, especially abundant in the same area the Great Bustards can be found.

 

 

And one from Dobruja in Romania:

 

[michael-ibk]

207/E79.) Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes) / Kernbeißer

 

One of my nemesis birds. Happy that I finally got a photo of this species (first time for my Big Years), even if it´s an ebc-one.

 

[michael-ibk]

208/E80.) Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus) / Kiebitz

 

Africa hosts a seemingly infinite number of Lapwings, this is the only one breeding in Europe. We were lucky to see some very, very fresh chicks, could not have been more than hours old.

 

 

For whatever reason some Lapwings nest straight next to roads, not the best move.

 

 

Concerned mother, come to me my children.

 

 

 

 

It was quite funny to see how three chicks looked for shelter under mama´s warm wings but one was obviously too eager to explore the world and immediately slipped out again and started to walk away.

 

[michael-ibk]

209/E81.) Common Crane (Grus grus) / Kranich

 

An exciting sighting for me. Crane only pass through in Austria quite quickly during their migration, and seeing one at the end of April is quite unusual. Who knows why this lone individual decided to linger here longer, away from his flock. It was seen for about two weeks in the area. Maybe just an antisocial Crane.

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

-/E82.) Muscovy Duck (Cairina moschata) / Moschusente

 

I´m not counting this one,  I´m not aware of any feral populations in the area (or in Austria in general). Still, no idea where it came from, obviously it had had enough of domestic life and decided to break free, there were no farms or anyhting nearby where it could have belonged to.