Michael´s Fifth Year

[pedro maia]

Lots of special sightings and great pictures Michael!!

[michael-ibk]

Thanks, some not so great ones coming up.

 

361/E106.) Icterine Warbler (Hippolais icterina) / Gelbspötter

 

Söll, Tirol, 6/5. No rest for the wicked - out again today. Another bird I had no idea we actually have in Tirol. Its squeaking song gave it away.

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

362/E107.) Tree Pipit (Anthus trivialis) / Baumpieper

 

Söll, Tirol, 6/5. An apparently regular breeder in some of our more alpine regions but I don´t even remember when I last saw one here.

 

[michael-ibk]

363/E108.) Montagu´s Harrier (Circus pygargus) / Wiesenweihe

 

Münster, Tirol, 6/5. Probably a second year bird? A very rare species in Austria in general with only a few breeding locations in the East. Migrating through right now, also saw an adult female. Pretty distant so a heavy crop - but still close enough to see that it´s wing-tagged ("L6."). Anyone know which project that could be? And hey, I notice the Piths are back - cool!

 

 

 

 

Edited May 6, 2020 by michael-ibk

[TonyQ]

Well done on reaching a European 100. An excellent bird to reach this.

You are really motoring along with some really excellent photos.

[Galana]

7 hours ago, michael-ibk said:

but still close enough to see that it´s wing-tagged ("L6."). Anyone know which project that could be?

Try this.

http://cr-birding.org/node/2360

If not one of their's they will know who to advise. Have fun. The tag should have been on the left wing.

 

A combination of Lockdown and Big Year is certainly paying dividends for you to find out what your own patch has been holding all along.

[shazdwn]

Some great new additions, love it when you find new species close to home

[michael-ibk]

The site suggested by @Galana (which is immensely helpful indeed) did not show anything conclusive but I was pointed to the European colour-ring Birding FB group and finally got the answer there. That Montagu´s is a last year´s female and was and was tagged in Germany, Holzhausen, 6/5/19. About 350 km North of where I saw it.

[michael-ibk]

364/E109.) Bearded Reedling (Panurus biarmicus) / Bartmeise

 

Lake Constance (Bodensee), Vorarlberg, Austria, 7/5. I try to go to Lake Constance every year in spring, it´s always an interesting place to be for migration. It´s about 200 km from my home. Fortunately with our new set of rules I was ok to do that again, and could stay the night with some friends. Bearded Reedlings are only found here and on the opposite end of Austria (in Seewinkel), although my success rate is always higher at Lake Constance. I was happy to find them again though it took a while. Since they were not vocalising I had already given up when I saw some creeping through the reed. Such cool birds, among my favourites.

 

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

365/E109.) Common Tern (Sterna hirundo) / Flussseeschwalbe

 

Lake Constance (Bodensee), Vorarlberg, Austria, 7/5. Terns are guaranteed, they have one of their few Austrian colonies here.

 

 

 

 

Edited May 10, 2020 by michael-ibk

[michael-ibk]

366/E110.) Black Tern (Chlidonias niger) / Trauerseeschwalbe

 

Lake Constance (Bodensee), Vorarlberg, Austria, 7/5. I was hoping for them since they are often moving through end April/early May. Unfortunately they never came as close as their common cousins.

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

367/E111.) Whiskered Tern (Chlidonias hybrida) / Weißbart-Seeschwalbe

 

Lake Constance (Bodensee), Vorarlberg, Austria, 7/5. These were more of a surprise - very rarely seen in Austria. It would be interesting to know where there are heading to. There are no known breeding sites farther North. Maybe they are heading North-East to Poland?

 

 

[michael-ibk]

-/E112.) Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia) / Grünschenkel

 

Lake Constance (Bodensee), Vorarlberg, Austria, 8/5. A regular but never really numerous migrant in spring especially. Already seen in Tanzania.

 

Edited May 10, 2020 by michael-ibk

[michael-ibk]

368/E113.) Great Cormorant (Phalacrocrorax carbo) / Kormoran

 

Lake Constance (Bodensee), Vorarlberg, Austria, 7/5. Although a widespread bird that can pop up everywhere where´s water there are only three breeding colonies in Austria - here is one of them.

 

 

Edited May 10, 2020 by michael-ibk

[michael-ibk]

369/E114.) Greater Short-Toed Lark (Calandrella brachydactyla) / Kurzzehenlerche

 

Lake Constance (Bodensee), Vorarlberg, Austria, 7/5. A "mega" for my country, one of the birds that have to be reported to our Avifaunistic Commision since it´s such a rare bird to see. A Southern European species. Probably "overshooting", there are no known breeding grounds North of Lake Constance. Or possibly on its way to Hungary.

 

 

 

Edited May 10, 2020 by michael-ibk

[michael-ibk]

-/E115.) Egyptian Goose (Alopochen aegyptiaca) / Nilgans

 

Lake Constance (Bodensee), Vorarlberg, Austria, 7/5. Now firmly established in the area as a breeding bird. Already (of course!) seen in Tanzania.

 

 

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

370/E115.) Common Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus) / Rohrammer

 

Lake Constance (Bodensee), Vorarlberg, Austria, 7/5. Quite a common bird in reed habitat but I found it frustratingly difficult to get a decent picture this time.

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

371/E116.) Ruddy Shelduck (Tadorna ferruginea) / Rostgans

 

Lake Constance (Bodensee), Vorarlberg, Austria, 7/5. Another established breeder now. Nobody is quite happy about that though, they are quite aggressive towards other species and even humans at times, and farmers hate them because they love fresh salad shoots.

 

 

And a bonus Red-Crested Pochard:

 

Edited May 10, 2020 by michael-ibk

[michael-ibk]

372/E117.) Mediterranean Gull (Ichthyaetus melanocephalus) / Schwarzkopfmöwe

 

Lake Constance (Bodensee), Vorarlberg, Austria, 7/5. A patchily distributed bird and a rarity in Austria, but a few always seem to hide among the hundreds of Black-Headed Gulls breeding here. Very common in Romania where I´ve seen hundreds of them.

 

 

 

I saw 84 species in total but many were repeats and for some others I´m still hoping to get better pictures.

Edited May 10, 2020 by michael-ibk

[xelas]

Another great birding day, @michael-ibk!

[PeterHG]

A very productive trip with 84 species! Some very good ones, too and of course excellent photos.

[Galana]

An excellent weekend with some good sightings.

 

Do not Whiskered Terns breed in Loire Valley France?

 

Pleased you found out about the Monty. Very interesting. I always report any rings and wing tags. So much nicer than 'found dead'.!

[michael-ibk]

2 minutes ago, Galana said:

Do not Whiskered Terns breed in Loire Valley France?

 

They do (according to xeno-canto) but that´s still (slightly) South of Lake Constance.

 

Yes, good to find out about ringed birds. I wonder so often where a bird has come from and where it will go, and it´s cool to know about one for a change.

[Galana]

24 minutes ago, michael-ibk said:

They do (according to xeno-canto) but that´s still (slightly) South of Lake Constance.

Good Lord. So it is! I had to look for myself before agreeing.

[PeterHG]

Whiskered Terns breed in the Netherlands, too, though they are quite rare ( some 20-30 pairs).