Michael´s Fifth Year

[michael-ibk]

408/E159.) Barred Warbler (Sylvia nisoria) / Sperbergrasmücke

 

Seewinkel, 1/6. Definitely the coolest warbler we have IMO. A challenge, unlikely just to get "on the way", we made quite an effort to find one and finally struck gold at a known site (I think @PeterHG got his last one exactly here). Too many pictures but it´s the last Seewinkel one - and I was just too happy about this sighting. (Working on the ring btw, I got five characters, hopefully that will be enough.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 6, 2020 by michael-ibk

[Galana]

Wow! What a collection. Hard to single one out but I love the red legs on the Stilt. but there many others.

Good luck with the ring of the Barred Warbler. I would like to think I kindled your interest. (Shame about the Sedge Warbler.)

Congratulations on the magic 400+. And what a great bird to do it with.

Never mind the EBC but perhaps a new category for effort with waders. GSS with a * rating? . I will let you work it out.

Way back in the upper 90s and your Jackdaw. Was it not Anting or cleaning the wings?

 

I have only ever driven by Seewinkel when dashing to Budapest. Now I will know to linger longer. I did do a night stop once but all I found were mosquitos. (and Border Guards!!)

[TonyQ]

Well done on reaching 400, with some really great European birds.

[shazdwn]

Congratulations on the 400.  Seewinkle looks like a beautiful place, loved the photo of the field full of wildflowers - oh and all the birds of course 

[PeterHG]

Congratulations on #400, @michael-ibk and what an amazing collection from Seewinkel! Many excellent photos, too, with Cuckoo and Barred Warbler and my favourites. We have lots of good memories of the area and , thanks to your directions, also managed to see quite a few of the birds you are showing us now. Good to see the Bee-eaters are still there and I do remember the Barred Warbler spot. With overseas travel possibly not possible for quite some time this could be a tempting alternative, perhaps even in autumn migration time.

[Tdgraves]

Congrats on 400 - totally missed the number, too focussed on the photos!

[Soukous]

16 hours ago, michael-ibk said:

I lay down on my belly in a lot of goose shit for this one, so please appreciate.

 

Most definitely appreciated 

[Soukous]

Crikey Michael, It was only 2 days since I looked and you've added almost 30 birds and raced past 400. Well done.

I love the Barred Warbler, very cool.

[Peter Connan]

Wow! Congratulations!

[Zim Girl]

Congratulations on reaching 400.  The Cuckoo in flight is a great picture and Seewinkel certainly always delivers!

[Dave Williams]

Excellent photos of some brilliant birds, I'm envious! Well done on the 400, keep the Hare sweating as he tries to keep his nose ahead!!

[michael-ibk]

Thanks everybody!

 

On 6/6/2020 at 10:09 PM, Galana said:

Good luck with the ring of the Barred Warbler. I would like to think I kindled your interest.

 

 Our discussions about that certainly helped. And I did find out - it was ringed in Illmitz (very close by) four years ago, in July 2017.

 

On 6/9/2020 at 10:35 PM, Dave Williams said:

keep the Hare sweating as he tries to keep his nose ahead!!

 

I´ll do my very best Dave but I´m afraid I have used up most of my local birds, and Alex still has plenty to get. But I always like a good challenge - so gauntlet thrown down to you @xelas. And of course I will play dirty, using each and every ebc I can find!

 

Case in point:

 

409/E160.) Common Rosefinch (Carpodacus erythrinus) / Karmingimpel

 

Waidegg, Carinthia, 11/6. I was on a special mission to find this bird (a lifer for me) in a little protected area where the government is paying farmers to halt their first grasscutting until mid-July and erect perching points. Has done wonders for saving a healthy Whinchat population, and I also found two Corncrakes and some Quails. Calling only of course, impossible to see in the high grass! And it´s also one of a few places in Austria where Rosefinch is found - supposedly a very pretty bird. But I would not know since I only saw it from a few hundred metres away. Oh well, there´s always next year.

 

Edited June 16, 2020 by michael-ibk

[michael-ibk]

410/E161.) Graylag Goose (Anser anser) / Graugans

 

Tiebelmündung/Carinthia, 12/6. Apparently I somehow managed to go to Seewinkel and not take a single picture of this species - and there are about two million of them there! Rectified with a quick shot in Carinthia where there are even a bit special - these young ones are the first ones successfully bred here for a very long time.

 

[Galana]

Nice Rosefinch.

Keep em coming.Keep im sweating!

[michael-ibk]

411/E162.) Alpine Swift (Tachymarptis melba) / Alpensegler

 

Dobratsch/Carinthia, 13/6. A very rare bird in Austria, only two colonies are known. One is close to Innsbruck (where I live) in fact but I failed in getting a shot when I went there. Tricky buggers, very fast, and really only possible to get any kind of shot when they have blue skies behind them which they stubbornly refused to do most of the time.

 

 

Die "Rote Wand" (Red Wall) where they are found.

 

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

20 minutes ago, Galana said:

Nice Rosefinch.

 

I thought you might appreciate that one!

 

412/E163.) Citril Finch (Carduelis citrinella) / Zitronenzeisig

 

Dobratsch/Carinthia, 13/6. Another specialty, a lifer for me. Tried to get them in Tirol a few times this year but always failed. Dobratsch is probably the easiest place to get this Alpine rarity.

 

 

 

A nice breeding male

 

 

The female, a bit greyer.

 

 

They mostly breed at the forest line, where alpine meadows are intersparsed with higher trees.

 

 

This one had me puzzled for quite a while. A juvenile obviously, but I was unsure if Citril or a Redpoll (adults of that species were also around but I only got "Rosefinch-photos" and haven´t given up hope on them). Even some of my local experts were not quite sure at first but now the consensus seems to be it´s a young Citril.

 

 

Edited June 16, 2020 by michael-ibk

[michael-ibk]

-/E164.) Spotted Flycatcher (Muscicapa muscicapa) / Grauschnäpper

 

Mühldorf/Carinthia, 13/6. Breeding in my mother´s garden again - fledgling not out yet. Already seen in Tanzania.

 

[michael-ibk]

413/E165.) Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus) / Erlenzeisig

 

Dobratsch/Carinthia, 13/6. A common bird of forest, and in harsher Winters they also come to the feeders. Haven´t seen many of them yet this year, they are easier in late summer and autumn in my experience.

 

 

 

 

[xelas]

1 hour ago, michael-ibk said:

-/E164.) Spotted Flycatcher (Muscicapa muscicapa)

Have it been renamed recently?!  I still knows the bird as Muscicapa striata .

 

1 hour ago, michael-ibk said:

using each and every ebc I can find!

 

Ha, that is good for me ... as you do not have many, if any, of EBC photos 

[michael-ibk]

15 hours ago, xelas said:

Have it been renamed recently?!  I still knows the bird as Muscicapa striata

 

It was just a test to see if anybody is paying attention - you passed. 

[PeterHG]

Again you found some great species to add to your already impressive list. It seems as if you're finding lifers every other day ;)! 

[Soukous]

16 hours ago, PeterHG said:

Again you found some great species to add to your already impressive list. It seems as if you're finding lifers every other day ;)! 

 

and making the rest of us look very slothful by comparison 

[Kitsafari]

congrats on the 400th. 

so many lovely birds from Seewinkel. 

 

[michael-ibk]

On 6/18/2020 at 10:47 AM, Soukous said:

and making the rest of us look very slothful by comparison

 

Don´t worry, have slothed down myself big time. All the extra time I had on my hands in April is coming back to haunt me, work has taken over birding again unfortunately. But no complaints, it´s good to have things more or less back to normal. 500 will be unreachable this year with no more trips scheduled, but I hope to at least make it to 200 locals.

[campsafari2015]

200 locals is my goal too, good luck! For me, that is 2 out of every 5 birds ever recorded in the county, so I feel like it’s a good goal. I love all your photos!

5 hours ago, michael-ibk said:

 

Don´t worry, have slothed down myself big time. All the extra time I had on my hands in April is coming back to haunt me, work has taken over birding again unfortunately. But no complaints, it´s good to have things more or less back to normal. 500 will be unreachable this year with no more trips scheduled, but I hope to at least make it to 200 locals.