mvecht`s not so big third year 2021

[mvecht]

#57 (IOM41)  Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata)

This bird has been quite shy for a while but today I got a little closer to him

 

[mvecht]

#58 (IOM 42)  Early morning (high Iso) on a lawn in the local town

Eurasian Oystercatcher  (Haematopus ostralegus)

 

[mvecht]

Today I went to the Eastern part of the Island which is a very good place for watching migration.

I got there a little late but still got to see 5 White - tailed Eagles (non migrating), 1031 Cranes, 2 Peregrine Falcons and this

#59 (IOM 43) Rough-legged Buzzard (Buteo lagopus)

Unfortunately a very heavy crop.

 

 

 

The White-tailed Eagle luckily came closer

 

 

It was very vocal, presumably calling its mate.

My camera is a CAnon EOS 70D that is somewhat limited in AF points. The Eagle managed to squeeze in 95% of its surface between AF points!

[mvecht]

This morning I was looking out from the dining room window and saw a couple of active

#60 (IOM 44) Goldcrest (Regulus regulus) feeding actively in a tree.

They only sit still for a splitsecond. I got one half decent shot and then realised that the shutter was set at 1/60th of a second!

 

[elefromoz]

On 3/23/2021 at 1:24 AM, mvecht said:

I got there a little late but still got to see 5 White - tailed Eagles (non migrating), 1031 Cranes, 2 Peregrine Falcons and this

#59 (IOM 43) Rough-legged Buzzard (Buteo lagopus)

Wow, half your luck

[mvecht]

Today I was birding fairly close to the house.

Quite a few #61 (IOM 45) Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) around.

They are quite attractive birds, however they were very busy feeding so not easy to get them posing in nice light!

[mvecht]

#62 (IOM 46) Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus)

[mvecht]

Today was cold, windy with a few showers so I did not spend too much time outdoors.

I got a couple of new shots for my IOM count

IOM 47 Common Eider (Somateria mollissima)

A couple of them seemed to enjoy surfing!

 

 

IOM 48 Rock Pipit (Anthus petrosus)

[Galana]

How sure are you of your Rock Pipit? Unstreaked below, white bib and wing bars suggests a Water Pipit to me.

[mvecht]

@Galananot sure at all. At closer look I think that you may be right. @michael-ibkI believe that you have some experience with Water pipit although probably more in Summer plumage. Any opinions?

[PeterHG]

For what it's worth, I vote for a Water Pipit, too.

[mvecht]

I am waiting for feedback from a Danish website. This could also be a subspecies called Eastern Rock Pipit (Anthus petrosus litteralis)

[mvecht]

@Galana @PeterHGI have know had some feedback and will leave it as a Rock Pipit.

Two important factors for the ID are the distinct white ring around the eye and the lack of the white stripe behind the eye.

 

[Dave Williams]

I bow to the experts but I have to say, looked very much a Water Pipit to me.

[Galana]

28 minutes ago, Dave Williams said:

I bow to the experts but I have to say, looked very much a Water Pipit to me.

My thoughts too. Even littoralis has a streaked belly.

[michael-ibk]

Looks like classic Water Pipit to me as well. But I’ve never seen a Rock Pipit so don’t trust me! 

[mvecht]

@michael-ibk@Galana @Dave Williams@PeterHG

Thank you for your valuable input.

I am adding a second photo

Here you can clearly see the lack of a white eye-stripe and the white ring around the eye.

Yesterday I met one of the top birders in Denmark and he confirmed it to be a Rock Pipit and mentioned that this plumage is not uncommon in Denmark this time of year.

[mvecht]

Today was the warmest day of the year sofar.

I started the year at some manmade lakes close to home.

#63 (IOM 49)

European Robin  (Erithacus rubecula)

[mvecht]

#64 (IOM 50)

Stonechat (Saxicola rubicola)

The bird was quite skittish so only a distant photo

Edited April 1, 2021 by mvecht
misidentification

[mvecht]

Next I went to the Eastern side of the Island as it was a perfect day for watching migration.

Several other birders had the same idea and we were close to the national limit of 10 people assembled in one place.

We had several nice birds such as House Martin and Barn Swallow (very early in the year) but first I had one of the local

#65 (IOM 51) Raven (Corvus corax)

[mvecht]

#66 (IOM 52) Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)

Quite distant but I will have to go for an EBC as the Osprey is not seen very often on the Island.

 

 

[mvecht]

next one is just to boost my IOM count

IOM 53

Yellowhammer

[mvecht]

And then we had a big hit

#67 (IOM 53) White Stork  (Ciconia ciconia)

They used to be quite common in Denmark but loss of habitat means that it is now quite rare with only 7 breeding pairs last year.

To see 5 at the same time was excellent.

 

 

 

 

 

[Galana]

Envious of the White Storks.

[mvecht]

I have changed the ID on my #64 from Whinchat to Stonechat based on the dark throat and input from non ST people.