Michael´s Third Year

[michael-ibk]

284/E169.) Eurasian Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus scirpaceus) / Teichrohrsänger

 

That place again, 2/6. Unfortunately not a very cooperative individual.

 

Edited June 17, 2018 by michael-ibk

[michael-ibk]

285/E170.) Little Tern (Sternula albifrons) / Zwergseeschwalbe

 

An exciting rarity in Austria but here in Alex´s playground they seemed to be quite common. Heavy crops:

 

 

[michael-ibk]

286/E171.) Cetti´s Warbler (Cettia cetti) / Seidensänger

 

Skocjanski zatok must be one of the very best places to see this incredibly loud but normally invisible bird.

 

 

[michael-ibk]

287/E172.) Black Swan (Cygnus atratus) / Trauerschwan

 

Maria Elend, Carinthia, 3/6. An old friend. Has lived here for many years now and is holding on well. But I always feel a bit sorry for this lonesome guy, there are lots of Mute Swans around but they never seem to allow him to mingle. I am still hopeful that one day an unlikely cross-species romance will take place and he will find a girl.

 

Edited June 17, 2018 by michael-ibk

[xelas]

Try pronouncing it like Schwartzwald cake . Lovely Black Swann, will give him a visit soon.

[michael-ibk]

Summer is coming (this sounds so much cooler with winter) and it is getting hot indeed - time to get up high, into the mountains. And I was rewarded with three cool finds.

 

288/E173.) Alpine Chough (Pyrrhocorax graculus) / Alpendohle

 

21/6. Karwendelgrube. No, not one of the birds I was talking about. Very common, in winter they even get down to the city. I pretty much ignored them.

 

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

289/E174.) Alpine Accentor (Prunella collaris) / Alpenbraunelle

 

21/6, Karwendelgrube. A close relative of the Dunnock and a true Alpine specialty. Tidbit from Wiki:  "The mating system is of particular interest. Home ranges are occupied by breeding groups of 3 or 4 males with 3 or 4 females. These are unrelated birds which have a socially polygynandrous mating system. Males have a dominance hierarchy, with the alpha males being generally older than subordinates. Females seek matings with all the males, although the alpha male may defend her against matings from lower ranking males. In turn, males seek matings with all the females. DNA fingerprinting has been used to show that, within broods, there is often mixed paternity, although the female is always the true mother of the nestlings raised within her nest. Males will provide food to chicks at several nests within the group, depending on whether they have mated with the female or not - males only provide care when they are likely to be the true fathers of the chicks. "

 

 

 

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

290/E175.) White-Winged Snowfinch (Montifringilla nivalis) / Schneesperling

 

21/6. Karwendelgrube. Very happy about getting this one. Another true alpinist which, undeterred even by coldest conditions, very rarely ventures down to the valleys. I have seen this bird before in winter, actually they are not uncommon in skiing areas, sometimes even very tame there like House Sparrows in cities. But this was the first time I got them on a birding outing, with a camera. High on birders wish lists here.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 21, 2018 by michael-ibk

[michael-ibk]

291/E176.) Wallcreeper (Tichodroma muraria) / Mauerläufer

 

Dammkar, 21/6. While I was happy about the Snowfinch I was ecstatic about this one. I knew that it is seen from time to time in that area but I was not even hoping for one. Sometimes called the "Hoopoe of the Rocks" and also known as the "Butterfly Bird".Extremely difficult to find because of their inaccessible habitat, they live in  steep, often vertical, rock precipices. A very territorial bird, while they tolerate different species they will heavily attack any intruding male, and those fights can result in serous injuries. Since it´s uncommon and tough to find there is still very little known about their behaviour.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 21, 2018 by michael-ibk

[xelas]

Wow! Triple WOW!!! That Wallcreeper was a real treat and great addition to your ever growing Big Year, @michael-ibk!

Edited June 21, 2018 by xelas

[Galana]

Nice sequence of the "high altitude three." All on my target list too.

300 is in sight.

[Kitsafari]

Fascinating breeding n care patterns there.  Lovely additions. 

 

Surpassing 500 at dec 31 , i reckon, esp as costa rica beckons?

[TonyQ]

Four great additions - excellent!

[Dave Williams]

If you decide to visit Bulgaria I can give you the spot for Wallcreeper in early May. Never managed the other two though. Excellent sightings!

[lmSA84]

Congrats on the wallcreeper! 

[michael-ibk]

Thank you - the Wallcreeper really was pure luck, I guess it will be another few years until the next one.

 

Moving down from the mountains and going North-West now - a short trip to London. Obviously not a birding outing but I did bring my old trusted bridge camera, I guess the poor thing must have been happy to get out again after collecting dust in the cupboard for so long. And I did get a few new ones so it served me well. Although the far better "sighting" was one of four lovely people - @Thursday's Child, @Zim Girl, @TonyQ and @chambersa - thanks for a great lunch and afternoon to all of you!

 

292/E177.) European Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) / Silbermöwe

 

23/6, Thames River. The "twin" of our Yellow-Legged Gull, and for a long time these two species (and a couple of others ) were considered one and the same until they were split off into separate ones in the 90ies. At least they do have distinctive traits which can actually be recognized, the leg colours are very different.

 

 

Edited June 28, 2018 by michael-ibk

[michael-ibk]

293/E178.) Lesser Black-Backed Gull (Larus fuscus) / Heringsmöwe

 

Thames River, 23/6. The second common Gull in London. Confusingly in German these ones are called "Herring Gulls". I have read on a blog about birding in London that one infamous individual has specialized in killing Pigeons in Hyde Park.

 

 

Maybe this one is Gull-the-Ripper?

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

294/E179.) Rose-Ringed Parakeet (Psitticula krameri) / Halsbandsittich

 

St. James Park, 23/6. Obviously not a UK native but (like in many other European cities) they have been around and breeding for decades now so they are certainly a "tickable" species. Nobody knows for sure which escapees birds were the source of the British population which numbers more than 30,000 now. Wiki: "Consistent with the first widespread photographs of the birds in the mid-1990s are multiple theories that a pair or more breeding parakeets escaped and/or were released. More specific introduction theories have been published such as that:

• parakeets escaped from the branch of Ealing Studios used for the filming of The African Queen — Isleworth Studios — in 1951
• parakeets escaped from damaged aviaries during the Great Storm of 1987
• a pair were released by Jimi Hendrix in Carnaby Street, London, in the 1960s
• a number of birds reportedly escaped from a pet shop in Sunbury-on-Thames in 1970

Romantic theories associated with film studios and rock stars are considered fanciful, however, and most ornithologists believe that the original birds probably escaped from aviaries before 1971.

There is mention of them in George Orwell's 'A Clergyman's Daughter', first published 1935, in a conversation between homeless people in Trafalgar Square, though coconut palms are mentioned too.

In terms of geographic origin, the British birds are considered a hybrid population of two Asian subspecies, P.k. borealis and P.k. manillensis.^"

 

They are actually not that easy to get (with a bridge camera anyway) since they are moving fast and normally higher up in the trees. But they have discovered people as food sources, and cannot resist some good peanuts. It seems if you go to St. James Park with some nuts in your hand they will all but land on you - and sometimes they even perch on people´s hands.

 

 

 

 

St. James Park is a tempting place for the Big Year, an incredible number of species around.

 

 

Including some real goodies like Bar-Headed or Red-Breasted Goose ...

 

 

... but all of these do not count since they are basically like Zoo birds with clipped wings - there are even Pelicans.

 

Even the Squirrels behave like pets here.

 

 

 

Edited June 28, 2018 by michael-ibk

[michael-ibk]

295/E180.) Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) / Kanadagans

 

Hyde Park, 24/6. Hyde Park has no waterfowl collection so the birds here are all "wild", although incredibly habituated. Mallards, Greylags, Egyptians, Swans, they are all just standing around between all the park visitors and do not seem to mind the human presence at all.

 

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

296/E181.) Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus) / Teichhuhn

 

St. James and Hyde Park, 23/6. City folks will have a hard time believing this but Moorhens are very difficult to get for me. I have seen them a couple of times this year but they are very shy and retreat deep inside the reed the second they realize they are being watched. Their behaviour could not be more different in city parks where they have completely lost their fear of humans.

 

 

 

I was particularly surprised to see that obviously they are even breeding in the small Italian Water Gardens in Kensington Park.

 

 

 

[Galana]

Nice collection from your visit to London.  The ST sighting sounded fun especially with lunch added..

[TonyQ]

Some great London additions, a very cute Moorhen baby, and it was a very enjoyable lunch!

300 is very close....

[TonyQ]

double post

 

Edited June 28, 2018 by TonyQ

[Peter Connan]

Great stuff! 

[xelas]

Always prepared, @michael-ibk! And what a ST GTG it was, so many participants! Plus a lovely day in London ... lucky you are.