Michael´s Fourth Year

[michael-ibk]

Next chapter of my birding year - my annual pilgrimage to Austria´s best birding place, Seewinkel. An especially enjoyable trip because we were joined by our friends Zvezda and Xelas. The weather was pretty good to pretty lousy, but we did have some nice sunshine during our first two days, no need to complain. And when the weather became miserable we decided to enjoy the local spa a bit. Lost us a few birding points since Alex and Zvezda soldiered on and got a few nice ticks (like Montagu´s Harrier). But a nice change to running around with the camera - obviously I´m getting soft.

 

All photos taken between April 30th and May 5th.

 

308/E59.) Common Snipe (Gallinago gallingao) / Bekassine

 

Rare as a breeding bird in Austria but a pretty common migrant. Also called "HImmelsziege" in German with basically means "Flying Goat". The male performs "winnowing" display during courtship, flying high in circles and then taking shallow dives to produce a "drumming" sound by vibrating its tail feathers. This sound has been compareds to the bleating of a sheep or goat; hence in many languages the snipe is known by names signifying “flying goat,” “heaven's ram,” as in Scotland by “heather-bleater" and in Finnish the name taivaanvuohi, "sky goat".

 

 

[michael-ibk]

-/E60.) European Bee-Eater (Merops apiaster) / Bienenfresser

 

Already seen in Botswana. Always one of the highlights of a spring visit in Seewinkel. The local colony is doing very, very well, more and more birds are breeding there every year. Bee-Eaters are among climate change winners, they´ve moved into areas pretty far North which have historically been to cold for them. This is not an easy year for them however, soon after arrival the weather has been almost non-stop gloom and rain, difficult conditions for them. Their colony is not only busy with birds but with photographers as well, this year it was very, very crowded - but the birds do not seem to mind, and the barriers put up by administration are respected. Sorry, a few pictures more than usual for an entry, but I do love them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 27, 2019 by michael-ibk

[michael-ibk]

309/E61.) Common Linnet (Linnaria cannabina) / Bluthänfling

 

Seen quite regularly but not the easiest bird to get close enough for reasonable pictures. A pretty boring species in autumn but quite handsome in spring when they sport their red-breasted plumage.

 

 

[michael-ibk]

310/E62.) Syrian Woodpecker (Dendrocopos syriacus) / Blutspecht

 

A birding special for Austria - the Syrian Woodpecker is an Eastern European species which is slowly expanding its range to the West. They reach the Westernmost point (for now) in Eastern Austria. Very similiar to a Great Spotted. The best fieldmark is the moustachial stripe which does not connect with the black on the nape. We tried one of the known spots (in the middle of the village Illmitz) and were lucky to find it there, they tend to circle around their territories.

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

-/E63.) Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola) / Bruchwasserläufer

 

Already seen in Botswana. Not a breeding bird but one of the most common migrating waders. So how did I get a close-up like this? The St. Martin´s "Lodge" (which is really mostly a spa using the term lodge for marketing reasons but they do try to emphasise on the "safari" thing with several offers for guests) has established a new birding hide which we tried out. And we were really impressed, a super spot to get eye-level photography of quite a good range of birds. We had to shoot through glass but that really was no issue, it did not show in the photos. And it was really cool being so close to all these delicate wading birds, this Woody walked by a couple of times so close that I could have touched it - actually too close for photography. The hide is the brainchild of Leander Khil, Austria´s leading birding guide. He put a lot of thought and heart into this hide, and it really paid off. Not only nice for us photo people but also a new, much needed, good habitat for several species in problems. Amazingly, quite a lot of them have already accepted it and are breeding there, Stilts, Redshanks and Lapwings among others. A bit more on the hide here (unfortunately in German): https://www.stmartins.at/files/datein_files/PDFs/Outdoor/Flyer_Hide_Druck.pdf

 

[michael-ibk]

311/E64.) Western Jackdaw (Coloeus monedula) / Dohle

 

Pals with the Bee-Eaters, they are using the same colony (as do Starlings and some Kestrels), and don´t seem to mind each other all that much. In his book King Solomon's Ring, Konrad Lorenz described and analysed the complex social interactions in a western jackdaw flock that lived around his house in Altenberg, Austria. He ringed them for identification and caged them in the winter to prevent their annual migration. He found that the birds have a linear hierarchical group structure, with higher-ranked individuals dominating lower-ranked birds, and pair-bonded birds sharing the same rank.[

 

 

[michael-ibk]

312/E65.) Great Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus arundinaceu) / Drosselrohrsänger

 

As a Thrush-sized bird this is one of the largest Old World Warblers. An extremely loud species in spring, and this is also the time when they are not too hard to see since they like to climb atop the reed to impress the ladies. Why those would ever fall for their cacophonous squeeking is a mystery to me - it´s really not a very nice "song". :-)

 

[michael-ibk]

313/E65.) Spotted Redshank (Tringa erythropus) / Dunkler Wasserläufer

 

Not very numerous this time, we only saw this single bird. Distinctive in spring when their dark plumage gives them quite a different appearance than that of their close cousins, the Redshanks. ID is a bit more tricky in autumn when their colouration becomes much lighter. The drooped bill which is always only reddish on the lower mandible is the best fieldmark then. The females start to arrive in Austria on the way back to Africa already in June when some others are still going North - the male is taking care of the offspring alone.

 

 

 

Edited May 27, 2019 by michael-ibk

[michael-ibk]

314/E66.) Common Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) / Jagdfasan

 

Abundant in the area, and pretty tame. It´s widely accepted that at least here the population is self-sustaining but it´s really hard to tell since hunters are releasing lots of captive-bred birds every year. Not a native bird to Europe as such but I guess that´s open to debate - the first Pheasants were apparently introduced around 1.000 AD!

 

 

[michael-ibk]

315/E67.) Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis) / Feldlerche

 

Austria´s bird of the year for 2019. Chosen to raise public awareness for the problems this once abundant species faces. More than 50 % of them have disappeared over the last 20 years, and many areas once enriched by their beautiful song have fallen silent.

 

 

[michael-ibk]

-/E68.) Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos) / Flussuferläufer

 

Already seen in Botswana. No, this photo was not taken from the hide mentioned before. Seewinkel has a couple of (soda and artificial) lakes with roads leading right along the waterline, so one can use the car as a moving hide. "Warmsee" is one of the very best spots for photographers, usually some waders are waiting to pose there during migration.

 

Edited May 27, 2019 by michael-ibk

[michael-ibk]

316/E69.) Corn Bunting (Emberiza calandra) / Grauammer

 

Maybe a sighting which will be impossible in five to ten years sadly. Corn Buntings are generally an abundant species in agricultural habitats, and as I remember from trips to Greece or Romania they are all over there indeed. But no bird here in Austria has been hit harder by agricultural "efficiency", their population has totally crashed, more than 90 % (!) of them have gone in the last 20 years.

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

-/E70.) Spotted Flycatcher (Muscicapa striata) / Grauschnäpper

 

Already seen in Botswana. Our most common Flycatcher (if one does not count Robins or Redstarts). Pretty scarce this year, hopefully just unusually late arrivals.

 

[michael-ibk]

317/E71.) Great Bustard (Otis tarda) / Großtrappe

 

In the spirit of stopping to spread these birding stories about doom and extinction a success story for once - the Great Bustard was on its way out but protective measures have helped to stabilise this species, certainly one of Austria´s most impressive birds. It´s not hard to find them, they are always breeding in the very same spot but they never come close to the road unfortunately, so I´d really need a "bigger gun".

 

 

Edited May 27, 2019 by michael-ibk

[michael-ibk]

-/E72.) Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia) / Grünschenkel

 

Already seen in Botswana. It´s not that often I get good Greenshank sightings like this one in Austria but this bird was almost a dissappointment - we were looking for a (very rare) Marsh Sandpiper seen in the area and for a few minutes thought we´d found it.

 

[michael-ibk]

318/E73.) European Green Woodpecker (Picus viridis) / Grünspecht

 

Absolutely no disappointment about this one - Green Woodpecker has long been a nemesis bird of mine. I had none in my first two Big Years, and only an extremely distant ebc in my last one. Which is driving me nuts since this is not an uncommon bird, people see them all the time and they are doing well, their population has increased a 20 %. Finally it was there, in a meadow just next to the road - yay!

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

319/E74.) Crested Lark (Galerida cristata) / Haubenlerche

 

Rarer than the Skylark but seen a couple of times. Long declining but about two decades ago they started to adapt to human settlements and have increased again.

 

[michael-ibk]

320/E75.) Eastern Imperial Eagle (Aquila heliaca) / Kaiseradler

 

A very cool sighting of a young bird, and another beacon of hope in Austria´s pretty dire conservation record. Already gone extinct but protective measures have lead to their comeback. The last count was about 70 birds, a clear and definite increase.

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

-/E76.) Ruff (Calidris pugnax) / Kampfläufer

 

Already seen in Botswana. We had missed the peak of migration for our trip but the timing was good for Ruffs - the later in the year the more impressive they look. This is an incredibly variable bird, the males come in all kind of plumages. But all the same there are no recognized subspecies. Bunch of photos, sorry about that, but I think all those different appearances are quite fascinating.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 27, 2019 by michael-ibk

[michael-ibk]

321/E77.) Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus) / Kiebitz

 

One of the defining species for the Seewinkel region, and one of my favourite ones. Not a particularly striking bird when seen from farther away or under not ideal conditions but when the light hits them the right way they simply look stunning. We had much fun with them in the hide.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

322/E78.) Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) / Kuckuck

 

Maybe the best-known call of all birds? But an exceedingly difficult bird to find, let alone photograph. This time we had a couple of really good sightings which is not the norm but frustratingly all under less than ideal conditions.

 

 

[michael-ibk]

323/E79.) Eurasian Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia) / Löffler

 

Seewinkel is the only place in Austria where this cool bird is breeding. I did not find current numbers but it seems their colony is increasing, there should be around 90 pairs in the area.

 

[michael-ibk]

324/E80.) Common House Martin (Delichon urbicum) / Mehlschwalbe

 

Still one of our two most common Swallows but also declining a lot in recent times. Unlike Barn Swallows they nest on the outside of buildings but find fewer and fewer suitable places with lots of old farms being given up. And it´s becoming tricky for them to find enough material (clay and similar stuff) to build their nests. This is where bird friends can help, artificial nests are readily accepted and a huge help for this species.

 

 

Edited May 27, 2019 by michael-ibk

[michael-ibk]

325/E81.) Ferruginous Duck (Aythy nyroca) / Moorente

 

Another Seewinkel specialty. This is basically an Eastern European Duck (where it is quite common) but there are very few places in Austria where they can be found.

 

[michael-ibk]

-/E82.) Red-Backed Shrike (Lanius collurio) / Neuntöter

 

Already seen in Botswana. This is normally a pretty common bird in the area but oddly we saw none at all for four days. I remember remarking on this several times and also discussed this with guide Leander Khil who confirmed that this species (and also Spotted Flycatchers and Icterine Warblers) was basically "missing" this year. I would really like to know what´s up with that, let´s just hope that they were unusually late this year. Just this one sighting on our last evening.

 

 

 

Edited May 27, 2019 by michael-ibk