Michael´s Fifth Year

[michael-ibk]

373/E118.) Marsh Warbler (Acrocephalus palustris) / Sumpfrohrsänger

 

Gaisau/Tirol, 13/5. A regular breeder in this area, always a late arrival. The Reed Warbler twin. The books show there are some subtle differences (lighter leg colour, tone of rump, wingtips, projection, length of bill) but all of these are quite useless in the field. An experienced bird ringer told me that often enough he thought he had a Marsh or Reed in hand until it started to sing. Really the only reliable way to tell them apart. A masterful imitator, Marsh Warblers have been observed imitating more than 70 other birds. This one here did nothing too exotic, it was going Great Tit and Starling at times.

 

And as you can see our nice sunny spring weather is gone.

 

 

[Dave Williams]

The list of enviable birds keeps on growing! I have never knowingly seen Marsh or Grasshopper Warbler, and Black Woodpecker only once too. Now, where do Easyjet fly?!

 

[TonyQ]

What an excellent trip to Lake Constance, very productive 

[michael-ibk]

374/E119.) Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) / Turmfalke

 

Mils/Tirol, 18/5/20. Progressing slower now that work has returned to a semblance of normalcy.

 

[Soukous]

Nice Kestrel. I'm still waiting for one to fly past in such lovely light.

[xelas]

Great shot, Michael!

[michael-ibk]

375/E120.) Eurasian Wryneck (Jynx torquilla) / Wendehals

 

Gaisau/Tirol, 23/5. The camouflage master among our birds, branch-like and totally invisible when they are not vocalising, a bit like South America´s Potoos. I´ve been hearing them in three spots this spring and glimpsed one so far but today was the first time one was relatively clear in the open. Pretty distant but still a very good Wryneck sighting. Any Wryneck sighting is a good one.

 

[michael-ibk]

A bonus bird seen last Sunday. I won´t include it in the count (for now) but it might be a Pallid Harrier. Apparently this bird defies clear ID because several traits are quite confusing. Some think Pallid, some think Montagu´s, some even say hybrid (which does happen). Either way a special one to see, Montagu´s are exceptionally rare migrants in Tirol,  and I´ve been told there are only two or three Pallid records. I´ve been asked to send a report to our Avifaunistic Commission, they´ll discuss it in their next meeting.

 

 

[Soukous]

Nice sighting Michael. My guess would be a juvenile(ish) Pallid Harrier

[Galana]

Good luck with that enviably problem.I wish I could be a fly on the wall at your Commission's meeting. Instinct puts me with @Soukous as  a Pallid and books are little help.

One keeps me in the Pallid camp and the other suggests Monty.

Your two photos when examined closely could be two different birds given changed lighting and wing position.

Edited May 23, 2020 by Galana

[PeterHG]

Excellent sighting of the Harrier, @michael-ibk! A special one either way. My feeling goes a little more to Montagu's than Pallid, but I'm curious what the Commission's verdict will be.

[pedro maia]

Michael, I suggest you also contact Dick Forsman, he’s the one who saw my pictures of the hen/pallid hybrid and you can find his contact in his website https://www.dickforsman.com.

 

Great additions btw.

[TonyQ]

A great sighting @michael-ibk (actually 2 great sightings with the Wryneck!)

I look forward to hearing the verdict

[michael-ibk]

Well, so do I  - obviously I hope it will be a Pallid but unfortunately the majority of experts seems to lean more towards Montagu´s. We´ll see. Another day, another rarity:

 

376/E121.) Woodchat Shrike (Lanius senator) / Rotkopfwürger

 

Gaisau/Tirol, 24/5. Always a rare bird in Middle Europe historically and gone extinct in Austria in the early 80ies. Incredibly rare even es a migrant, most breeding sites North of Austria are no more. No idea where this female is heading but very nice of her to pass by my hometurf.

 

 

 

Edited May 24, 2020 by michael-ibk

[Galana]

Excellent. Good to see you finding some rarities.

[xelas]

Really excellent find, Michael. It looks like you are some sort of a magnet that attracts rare birds!

[shazdwn]

Wow two rarities, fantastic. Hope you get an id on the harrier

[michael-ibk]

On 5/25/2020 at 3:29 PM, xelas said:

It looks like you are some sort of a magnet that attracts rare birds!

 

Not at all - Corona extra time was one factor, but the more important one was getting more involved in the local birding community. As mentioned before especially our WhatsApp group is super-helpful. Case in point:

 

377/E122.) Red-Breasted Flycatcher (Ficeduly parva) / Zwergschnäpper

 

Langkampfen/Tirol, 27/5. Got up at 0430 today to try to get this little chap which had been found by a friend a few days ago before work. Same place as my White-Backed Woodpecker a while ago. And hooray, success! An Austrian lifer for me, super-rare here. And a tricky one, they are only singing for about two or three weeks and then fall dead silent, nearly impossible to find them then. This one was very active fortunately. Noisy pictures but still very happy about this sighting. An unusual migrant - they don´t go South but East to India. Unfortunately no red breast (yet), this is a second year male.

 

 

 

 

[Soukous]

Now you'll have to tell me why it is called a Red-breasted Flycatcher 

[michael-ibk]

@Soukous

 

Last sentence of my post. 

Edited May 27, 2020 by michael-ibk

[Soukous]

11 minutes ago, michael-ibk said:

@Soukous

 

Last sentence of my post. 

 

I must learn to pay attention 

[Galana]

Nice one @michael-ibk! Well worth getting up early for.

And SO co-operative too.

[PeterHG]

Another very good find, @michael-ibk! 

[Kitsafari]

good collection of rarities! woohoo for your whatsapp chat groups. 

[michael-ibk]

378/E123.) Rosy Starling (Sturnus roseus) / Rosenstar

 

Stams/Tirol, 3/6. Another pre-work hunting outing that luckily succeeded. If you´ve been to India and think you remember that bird from there you would be right. What is it doing here? While it´s mostly breeding in Central Asia (and wintering in India) it will erupt well beyond its core range in some years, with significant numbers reaching Middle and even Western Europe. 2018 had an influx in Austria, and this year several flocks have been spotted again. A few of them were found yesterday in a place with many cherry trees some 30 km from Innsbruck, and fortunately at least two were still around in that area this morning.