Michael‘s Seventh Year

[michael-ibk]

134/E134) River Warbler (Locustella fluviatilis) / Schlagschwirl

 

Seewinkel/Austria, 14/5/2022. Neither a remarkable-looking bird nor a great photo but super-delighted about this nonetheless. A rare and tough species, have never managed a photo with the bird being recognizable.

 

 

 

[PeterHG]

The Black Woodpecker and the Barred Warbler are amazing flight shots, Michael! Some very good species, too. That River Warbler would have been a lifer for me.

[Dave Williams]

Barred and River warbler would be lifers for me and the Black Woodpecker is high on my wish list to see and photograph for just the second time. Nice captures Michael.

[Galana]

2 hours ago, michael-ibk said:

but seeing and getting it is a different pair of shoes.

Love it.

We use the phrase 'a different kettle of fish'. Also saying it and doing it are two different things.

 

Nice photos. Especially the Black Woodpecker. Surprised at it's difficulty. Just over the hill from you in St.Cypriano, Tiers, we used to watch them from our Hotel Balcony.

[Soukous]

Some super shots in there Michael, especially Barred Warbler & Black Woodpecker - I've never seen either of them.

[Tdgraves]

2 hours ago, Soukous said:

Some super shots in there Michael, especially Barred Warbler & Black Woodpecker - I've never seen either of them.

Nor me…

[TonyQ]

Nor me…

Great additions Michael 

[michael-ibk]

Thanks! Barred Warbler is actually not too hard to find in Seewinkel soon after arrival. They are very vocal at that time, and their song is quite distinctive. I guess the same applies in any of their breeding areas. But it´s essentially an Eastern European bird.

 

22 hours ago, Galana said:

Black Woodpecker. Surprised at it's difficulty. Just over the hill from you in St.Cypriano, Tiers, we used to watch them from our Hotel Balcony.

 

Then you were quite lucky to have regular sightings - probably its nesting hole was there? It´s not a rare bird in the Alps as such but it holds huge territories (400 hectares on average) and is much shier than Great Spotted.

 

135/E135) Eurasian Hobby (Falco subbuteo) / Baumfalke

 

Seewinkel/Austria, 14/5/2022. My fourth local Falcon species this year - again I have missed out on Merlin. Three of them were hunting insects, great fun to watch their dashing flights over the meadows. A bit too far for really satisfying photos but a delightful sighting.

 

 

 

They were joined by their even rarer cousins - Red-Footed Falcons.

 

 

Early morning next day I surprised a Hobby perching - it still must have been a bit sleepy.

 

 

[michael-ibk]

136/E136) Common Grasshopper Warbler (Locustella naevia) / Feldschwirl

 

Seewinkel/Austria, 14/5/2022. Probably the highlight of the weekend for me. Like its close cousin, the River Warbler, a totally boring-looking bird, a quintessential LBJ really. But it´s another species notorious for its invisibility - it behaves like a mouse, feeding and even singing down on the ground in overgrown meadows. Normally only its distinctive insect-like rattling sound gives its presence away. This time it showed for me - Hooray!

 

 

 

 

Edited May 17, 2022 by michael-ibk

[michael-ibk]

And some doubles from the weekend:

 

 

Temminck´s Stint is too rare to ignore.

 

 

A better CR Plover photo.

 

 

And I can never resist a nice LR Plover opportunity.

 

 

THE Seewinkel bird.

 

 

 

A Skylark posing - a rare occurrence.

 

 

Icterine Warbler, another one I really don´t see that often.

 

 

A better Sedge Warbler

 

 

And a more classic habitat for the GR Warbler than the tree it weirdly posed in two weeks ago.

 

 

Female Marsh Harrier

 

 

Corn Bunting singing its heart out

 

 

Red-Backed Shrike. Not a single one around two weeks ago, now there was one on essentially every second bush.

 

 

I just told myself that Nightingales don´t have supernatural powers and it HAD to be somewhere in the tree it was singing from. Stubborness paid off.

 

 

My friends, the Bee-Eaters. After the meagre three individuals two weeks ago the colony now was in full swing - at least 80, probably more than 100.

 

 

 

[xelas]

Is there an extra RBS photo for us from 2 weeks ago?!

[michael-ibk]

6 minutes ago, xelas said:

Is there an extra RBS photo for us from 2 weeks ago?!

 
Sorry, not really getting your question Alex?

[xelas]

Oh I just wanted to increase the count without going back. 

[Galana]

55 minutes ago, xelas said:

Oh I just wanted to increase the count without going back. 

The devious mind of Slovenians.

[pedro maia]

Great stuff from Seewinkel!

[Soukous]

With the amount of time it has taken me to go through my Namibia birds I am amazed at the number you post Michael. One might almost think you did nothing else but photograph birds every day. 

[michael-ibk]

Well, I would not mind doing that Martin.

 

Actually I´ve never been that slow, more than three months now since I returned from Uganda. But finally ready to post from there. All photos coming up taken between February 5th and 19th.

 

-/U1) Egyptian Goose (Alopochen aegyptiaca) / Nilgans

 

Seen in Entebbe, Murchison Falls and Queen Elizabeth NP. Already photographed in Austria this year.

 

 

 

137/U2) Yellow-Billed Duck (Anas undulata) / Gelbschnabelente

 

Waterfowl were surprisingly scarce. These were the only two Ducks/Geese. And just this one distant sighting of YB Ducks on Lake Victoria.

 

[michael-ibk]

138/U3) Helmeted Guineafowl (Numida meleagris) / Helmperlhuhn

 

Seen in Entebbe, Murchison Falls and Queen Elizabeth NP.

 

 

Heard Crested GF in Semliki but no sightings.

[michael-ibk]

139/U4) Nahan´s Francolin aka Partridge (Ptilopachus nahani) / Nahanwachtel

 

A special one. Essentially a Congo bird, and just occurring in Semliki in Uganda. Very shy, only visible when dashing across the path.

 

 

140/U5) Crested Francolin (Dendroperdix sephaena) / Schopfrankolin

 

A couple of sightings in Murchison Falls and QENP.

 

 

141/U6) Red-Necked Francolin aka Spurfowl (Pternistis afer) / Rotkehlfrankolin

 

Very common in QUENP and Lake Mburo.

 

 

Also heard Common Quail in Ishasha (QENP) but as is the norm for this species it was not visible.

Edited May 21, 2022 by michael-ibk

[michael-ibk]

142/U7) Lesser Flamingo (Phoeniconaias minor) / Zwergflamingo

 

My first submission for ebc of the year.

 

Our guide Emma knew of one place in QENP but they were about a kilometre away. Just labelled them as Lesser Flamingo because all the ebird records from this place say they are.

 

[michael-ibk]

143/U8) Rameron aka African Olive Pigeon (Columba arquatrix ) / Oliventaube

 

Seen in Semliki and Bwindi.

 

 

 

144/U9) Red-Eyed Dove (Streptopelia semitorquata) / Halbmondtaube

 

Basically everywhere except Bwindi.

 

 

145/U10) Ring-Necked aka Cape Turtle Dove (Streptopelia capicola) / Gurrtaube

 

Very common in all more open areas.

 

 

146/U11) Laughing Dove (Spilopelia senegalensis) / Palmtaube

 

A handful of sightings in QENP and roadside.

 

 

147/U12) Emerald-Spotted Wood-Dove (Turtur chalcospilos) / Bronzeflecktaube

 

Only in Lake Mburo where it is quite common. I´m fond of their melancholic song.

 

 

148/U13) Black-Billed Wood-Dove (Turtur abyssinicus) / Erzflecktaube

 

The close cousin, only in Murchison Falls.

 

 

149/U14) African Green Pigeon (Treron calvus) / Rotnasen-Grüntaube

 

Big flocks flying in Semliki late afternoon, a few scattered sightings in Kibale and Ishasha otherwise.

 

 

 

Also saw Feral Pigeon (exciting I know) and Blue-Spotted Wood-Dove and heard Tambourine and Vinaceous Dove.

[michael-ibk]

150/U15) Black-Bellied Bustard (Lissotis melanogaster) / Schwarzbauchtrappe

 

The only Bustard. Two sightings in QENP (Kazinga area and Ishasha).

 

 

Edited May 21, 2022 by michael-ibk

[michael-ibk]

151/U16) Great Blue Turaco (Corythaeola cristata) / Riesenturako

 

Delightfully common, seen in Entebbe, Semliki, Kibale and Bwindi. Fantastic looking bird, almost cartoonish.

 

 

 

 

152/U17) Black-Billed Turaco (Tauraco schuettii ) / Schwarzschnabelturako

 

A very vocal bird often heard in Bwindi and Kibale but took a while until we had an actual sighting.

 

 

153/U18) Ross´s Turaco (Musophaga rossae) / Rossturako

 

One sighting along the Kazinga Channel, one in Lake Mburo - both on the boat.

 

 

 

154/U19) Bare-Faced Go-Away-Bird (Corythaixoides personatus) / Braungesicht-Lärmvogel

 

Only in Lake Mburo.

 

 

155/U20) Eastern Plantain-Eater (Crinifer zonurus) / Bindenlärmvogel

 

A common bird in Uganda, seen in Entebbe, Murchison and Lake Mburo.

 

[michael-ibk]

156/U21) White-Browed Coucal (Centropus superciliosu) / Weißbrauenkuckuck

 

A familiar and widespread Coucal species.  In Entebbe, QENP and Mburo.

 

 

157/U22) Black Coucal (Centropus grillii) / Grillkuckuck

 

Even though it´s an even more widespread species much harder to see than White-Browed.  My only previous sighting was in Ruaha.

 

 

158/U23) Blue Malkoha aka Yellowbill (Ceuthmochares aereus) / Westerzkuckuck

 

Another species I´ve not seen much. Previous sightings in Akagera (Rwanda) and the Udzungwa Mountains (Tanzania). Two sightings in Murchison.

 

 

Also heard Blue-Headed Coucal quite a lot but not a single sighting.

[michael-ibk]

159/U24) Levaillant´s Cuckoo (Clamator levaillantii) / Kapkuckuck

 

Three sightings in Bwindi where it´s apparently quite common.

 

 

160/U25) Pied aka Jacobin Cuckoo (Clamator jacobinus) / Jakobinerkuckuck

 

One ebc sighting in Murchison Falls.

 

 

161/U26) Black Cuckoo (Cuculus clamosus) / Schwarzkuckuck

 

One sighting in Ruhija - took us a while to figure this one out. My second sighting of this bird (previous one in Kakamega), and my first photo.

 

 

162/U27) Red-Chested Cuckoo (Cuculus solitarius) / Einsiedlerkuckuck

 

My sworn enemy! The call of this bird is everywhere (Entebbe, Budongo, Semliki, Kibale, Bwindi and Mburo) but I always fail to find it. Well, almost always. One on the Royal Mile had mercy on me, even if it would refuse to show the red chest.

 

 

163/U28) African Cuckoo (Cuculus gularis) / Afrikanerkuckuck

 

Seen in Ishasha and Ruhija.

 

 

Even though we heard all three "green" Cuckoos (Dideric, Klaas and African Emerald) never got to see one. And failed to get a shot of Dusky Long-Tailed Cuckoo even though we heard and saw it in Bwindi.

Edited May 21, 2022 by michael-ibk