Michael´s Fifth Year

[michael-ibk]

350/E92.) Red-Footed Falcon (Falco verpertinus) / Rotfußfalke

 

Mils, Tirol, 28/4. Another new one for me in my area. And in general Red-Footed Falcons are very, very scarce in my country, reaching the Western end of their range here. They had already gone extinct in Austria in the 80ies but have been slowly making a comeback. Still one our rarest birds of prey.

 

 

 

 

The male was less obliging:

 

 

 

Edited April 28, 2020 by michael-ibk

[Galana]

The way you are finding your local birds during the partial lockdown must indicate what  a waste of good birding time working has been.

That Nightingale was a real tease. Just playing hard to get.

[Soukous]

Gorgeous Nightingale, very fortunate. Neat Red-footed Falcon too. 

It seems you have a never ending supply of wonderful birds

 

[Dave Williams]

I agree with Martin..., the list of enviable species just keeps growing! I'm wondering when the Wallcreeper will turn up!

[shazdwn]

Love the red-footed falcon, what a great sighting 

[Zim Girl]

Just caught up, Michael, and very belated congratulations on getting to 300.  What a fantastic time you are having with your local birding, some really great sightings there!

[michael-ibk]

Thanks everybody! I´ve never had so much time on my hands during migration so was out a lot indeed. Quite a relevation what can be found here with a bit of effort - I always thought we were a total birding wasteland. What also helped that I got in contact with a couple of more serious birders here. Not too many of us but we are sharing a WhatsApp group and notifying each other of noteworthy sightings very quickly.

 

I have to post a double now - I had another really good sighting of a Black Woodpecker last weekend and it´s just too special a bird not to share it. Totally different habitat - my first one was up quite high in the mountains, this was in Carinthia´s lowlands by the main river.

 

 

[michael-ibk]

351/E93.) Great Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus arundinaceus) / Drosselrohrsänger

 

Tiebelmündung, Carinthia, 3/5/20. Our restrictions have been lifted further and we are allowed to meet friends and family again. So I went home to visit my parents for the first time since all this started. Of course I also made time to visit some of my favourite "hunting grounds" there. Carinthia is a country of many lakes, so it´s possible to find way more water-based birds than here in Tirol. The Great Reed Warbler is probably one of the noisiest singers around but one needs a bit of patience for the bugger to finally emerge from the reed.

 

 

[michael-ibk]

-/E94.) Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) / Fischadler

 

Tiebelmündung, Carinthia, 1/5. A distant but nonetheless exciting sighting - I had my last Osprey in Austria in 2017 together with @xelas and Zvezda. Already seen in Tanzania.

 

[michael-ibk]

352/E95.) Common Redstart (Phoenicurus phoenicurus) / Gartenrotschwanz

 

Winklern, Carinthia, 2/5. My father has a pair nesting in his garden. The female enjoys the birdbath (I had a very similar photo last year) - the male is not as cleanly.

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

353/E96.) Black Redstart (Phoenicurus ochruros) / Hausrotschwanz

 

Tiebelmündung, Carinthia, 2/5 and Söll, Tirol, 16/4 (Female). The close cousin. Very common up in the mountains in summer but they are breeding at all elevations.

 

 

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

-/E97.) Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) / Graureiher

 

Tiebelmündung, Carinthia, 3/5. THE European Heron. Already seen in Tanzania.

 

[michael-ibk]

354/E98.) Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus) / Haubentaucher

 

Tiebelmündung, Carinthia, 1/5. One of my favourites. We don´t have them in Tirol so I always enjoy seeing them in other Austrian provinces.

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

355/E99.) Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) / Kuckuck

 

Brenndorfer Bucht, Carinthia, 2/5. Still a regular sound in spring (not as plentiful as when I was a child though) but much more difficult to see.

 

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

356/E100.) Little Bittern (Ixobrychus minutus) / Zwergdommel

 

Tiebelmündung, Carinthia, 1/5 and 3/5. A special bird to mark my 100th European species. Little Bitterns are reed skulkers, rare and tough to see. I don´t think I´ve ever had a decent photo in Austria. To my delight I found one in a somewhat visible position in the reed - was alerted to it by its dog-like "call".

 

 

 

Even more surprising was that I had an even better sighting two days later.

 

 

This individual was hunting quite close to a watchtower, trusting in its camouflage. I lay down on my belly to improve the angle and watched it for about 15 minutes. It caught three fish meanwhile!

 

 

 

Often they appear quite neckless but not when they are going for the catch!

 

 

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

357/E101.) Coal Tit (Periparus ater) / Tannenmeise

 

Winklern, Carinthia, 2/5. Another one enjoying my father´s birdbath.

 

[michael-ibk]

358/E102.) Eurasian Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus scirpaceus) / Teichrohrsänger

 

Tiebelmündung, Carinthia, 3/5. Where there´s reed there´s a Reed Warbler.

 

 

They look quite different puffed out when singing and when in silent mode, almost like two different birds.

 

 

[michael-ibk]

-/E103.) White Stork (Ciconia ciconia) / Weißstorch

 

Tiebelmündung, Carinthia, 3/5. Already seen in Tanzania. Common in Austria´s East but completely absent from the Alps and only very few known breeding sites in Carinthia. This is a new one, first time a pair has decided to settle here. Looking good for some new Storks soon I´d say.

 

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

359/E104.) Garden Warbler (Sylvia borin) / Gartengrasmücke

 

Inzing, Tirol, 4/5. Back home again. A "photo lifer" for me, never managed to get a shot of this bird before. I tried to learn to separate their song from Blackcap which helped a lot. Finally found a singer and with some patience got at least a glimpse of it.

 

[michael-ibk]

360/E105.) Common Grasshopper Warbler (Locustella naevia) / Feldschwirl

 

Inzing, Tirol, 4/5. Another subpar photo but still very happy with this one - yet another first click. Grasshopper Warblers behave like mice, hiding mostly in the long grass and therefore totally invisible. Their insect-like song is very characteristic.

 

 

[xelas]

Collecting extra doses of vitamine D while birding is what doctor has prescribed to @michael-ibk . Lifting the inner borders will give you more opportunities to reach the next century.

[Galana]

A very good outing for some special birds. Love the Black Woodpecker.

I wonder if your parents know the real reasons for your visits to them?

[michael-ibk]

They are accusing me that I'm just coming for the birds! 😁

[PeterHG]

Lots of very good species again, @michael-ibk! A beautiful set of Little Bittern photos and even some movie footage. You probably wanted it to make a catch while you were filming, but at least the water is moving . I'm still trying to get a shot of the Garden Warbler. I do hear it on our daily walk, but so far not even a glimpse.

[Zim Girl]

More really good local birds, the Little Bittern shots are lovely.