Michael´s Sixth Year

[michael-ibk]

165/E165.) Red-Backed Shrike (Lanius collurio) / Neuntöter

 

Seewinkel, 20/5/21. Delightfully common in the area. It would be difficult to visit Seewinkel in May and not leave with a decent photo.

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

166/E166.) Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) / Kuckuck

 

Seewinkel, 20/5/21. Also very common but Cuckoos being Cuckoos a tricky bird to photograph. Last year I struck gold when one was flying by extremely closely. This time I was not that lucky but still got at least reasonably close to one bird.

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

167/E167.) European Greenfinch (Chloris chloris) / Grünfink

 

Seewinkel, 20/5/21. I´m seeing fewer and fewer of this supposedly common species. They are suffering from a virus, and it´s really notable how much their numbers have fallen.

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

168/E168.) Common Shelduck (Tadorna ferruginea) / Brandgans

 

Seewinkel, 20/5/21. A common breeder in the area.

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

169/E169.) Eurasian Collared Dove (Streptopelia decaocto) / Türkentaube

 

Seewinkel, 20/5/21. Very common in the villages.

 

 

I prefer their much more colourful cousin:

 

 

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

170/E170.) Syrian Woodpecker (Dendrocopos syriacus) / Blutspecht

 

Seewinkel, 21/5/21. Basically an Eastern European species, reaching the Western end of their range in Eastern Austria. Very similar to the Greater Spotted. Slightly different hue of red on the belly, and the malar stripe does not connect to the black nape. Male and female here:

 

 

[michael-ibk]

171/E171.) Barred Warbler (Sylvia nisoria) / Sperbergrasmücke

 

Seewinkel, 21/5/21. Definitely our coolest Warbler IMO. A difficult catch, they are terrible skulkers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

River Warbler (Locustella fluviatilis) / Schlagschwirl

 

Seewinkel, 21/5/21. I won´t count this one but I thought it´s worthy a try for submitting it for the ebc of the year price. I really made an effort for this bird - it´s a lifer for me, so I was happy to find it. But while not too difficult to locate due to its characteristic, insect-like "song" once I found a suitable area it proved impossible to get a picture. I think the back half and the tail arevisible in the centre of the picture but admittedly I´m not even 100 % certain of that myself.

[michael-ibk]

172/E172.) Montague´s Harrier (Circus pygargus) / Wiesenweihe

 

Seewinkel, 21 & 23/5/21. An extremely rare breeder in Austria. While I´ve seen them before this time they cooperated much more nicely than ever before.

 

 

It was raining heavily this morning, and we had toyed with the idea of staying in. But this sighting alone was worth it, I don´t think it would have let us approach that closely without the terrible weather.

 

 

The female was more wary.

 

 

And some flight shots from the days before:

 

 

 

 

[Tdgraves]

Lovely photos @michael-ibk 

[michael-ibk]

173/E173.) Grey Partridge (Perdix perdix) / Rebhuhn

 

Seewinkel, 21/5/21. I was very excited to see this pair. Once a common bird their numbers have totally crashed, more than 90 % of them are gone. Not quite sure what to make of the yellow ring. Could be released birds?

 

 

 

 

 

[Soukous]

more super additions Michael. So much variety too. 

[michael-ibk]

174/E174.) European Bee-Eater (Merops apiaster) / Bienenfresser

 

Weiden/Austria, 21/5/21. Visiting their colony is always a highlight. But this year it was only a shadow of its former glory. I did see 30 birds at once but mostly it was only a handful, and they kept their distance. We did not see any mating/bonding behaviour. I can only assume the cold weather had prevented them from getting into the mood. Many have reportedly move on this year, all colonies report very low numbers. And the present birds seem to be out much more hunting which is much more difficult this year than normally.

 

 

 

The colony, also inhabited by Starlings and Jackdaws.

 

 

 

A Kestrel pair also performed nicely:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 30, 2021 by michael-ibk

[michael-ibk]

175/E175.) Eurasian Marsh Harrier (Circus aeruginosus) / Rohrweihe

 

Seewinkel, 22 & 23/5/21. One of the most common birds of prey in the area - impossible to miss.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

176/E176.) Red-Footed Falcon (Falco vespertinus ) / Rotfußfalke

 

Seewinkel, 22/5/21. One of Austria´s rarest breeders, with no more than four to five pairs. I know two places and we did find them without too much difficulty but now we were firmly in the "rain rain rain" phase of the weekend.

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

177/E177.) Arctic Tern (Sterna paradisaea) / Küstenseeschwalbe

 

Seewinkel, 22/5/21. Another drastic ebc, but a lifer for me and I certainly won´t see it again this year. Admittedly would never have recognized it as an Arctic Tern. But this bird is a "mega" for our country and attracted pretty much every birder in the area. It did not really appreciate all the photographers´ desires though and kept well away.

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

178/E178.) Great Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus arundinaceus) / Drosselrohrsänger

 

Seewinkel, 23/5/21. One of the signature birds of the area. Their presence is easily detected because of their unmistakable, extremely loud "song". But they often stay deep inside the reed, so a bit of luck is needed to get them more out like this.

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

179/E179.) Lesser Grey Shrike (Lanius minor) / Schwarzstirnwürger

 

Seewinkel, 23/5/21. A trip highlight. While I´ve seen this bird before in Romania, Bulgaria, Zambia and Botswana it´s a new tick for my Austria list. An extremely rare breeding bird here. We don´t get them every year, and when we do it´s two or three pairs tops.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

180/E180.) Pygmy Cormorant (Microcarbo pygmaeus) / Zwergscharbe

 

Seewinkel, 23/5/21. The Cormorant´s smaller cousin. Only breeding here in Austria.

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

181/E181.) Black-Tailed Godwit (Limosa limosa) / Uferschnepfe

 

Seewinkel, 24/5/21. Still reasonably common in Seewinkel but unfortunately probably one of the next birds that will go extinct in Austria. Their reproduction success is almost zero.

 

 

[michael-ibk]

182/E182.) Eastern Imperial Eagle (Aquila heliaca) / Kaiseradler

 

Seewinkel, 24/5/21. A bird with a more uplifting backstory. Extinct in Austria for decades but it has made a good comeback. We now have more than 25 breeding pairs again.

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

183/E183.) Little Gull (Hydrocoloeus minutus) / Zwergmöwe

 

Seewinkel, 24/5/21. Another new species for my Austria list. A few of them apparently have decided to spend the summer here.

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

184/E184.) Common Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) / Fasan

 

Seewinkel, 24/5/21. Absolutely everywhere, one has to take care not to run them over with the car.

 

 

Last Seewinkel bird. All in all we had 114 species this time, including some exciting new birds like Eurasian Scops-Owl and Nightjar (heard only). Also had a Thick-Knee but I was too baffled about that sighting to get a photo in time.

[Galana]

A worthwhile outing indeed. Good to see lifers and country lifers still figuring in BY.

Also good evidence of why a 'bit of rain' should not deter and can produce welcome surprises like your Montys.

[xelas]

Beautiful! Looking forward to see some of above birds in Autumn.