Michael‘s Seventh Year

[pedro maia]

2 hours ago, michael-ibk said:

I blame @pedro maiafor this stupid 1000 thing! I highly doubt I can even get close, but now the idea got stuck in my brain!

 

 

One of my best ideas .

[Zim Girl]

Fabulous additions to your Uganda birds and some great ones from Portugal also!

 

I think @pedro maiaidea of 1000 birds is excellent and you know you are going to have to do it now, don't you Michael 

[shazdwn]

Can’t wait to see what you get in Ecuador, the birds there are incredible 

[michael-ibk]

5 hours ago, Zim Girl said:

I think @pedro maiaidea of 1000 birds is excellent and you know you are going to have to do it now, don't you Michael 

 

Just gang up on me, all of you, fine!

[michael-ibk]

495/E153) Northern Gannet (Morus bassanus) / Basstölpel

 

Pelagic Trip out of Cascais/Portugal, 29/5/2022. The things we do for birds! Pedro had asked me to come along on an all-day pelagics trip, and of course I said yes. Maybe I did regret it just a tiny weeny itsy bit - the boat departed at 05 in the morning! I had to get up at a bit after 3 to first get to Pedro´s with an Uber to be there about 4. The day did not fully live up to expecations, 170 km out on the Sea did not produce many birds at all, and the weather was pretty awful. The light, that is, the waves were not too bad, and none of the participants suffered any kind of sickness. The organiser had told us to take the pills, and just to make sure I took two! Still an enjoyable trip, the boat was quite spacious, and it was fun chatting with Portugal´s finest birders assembled! During the day every one managed to find a place for napping somewhere.

 

Gannets were only seen at the very start and end of the trip - did I mention the light already? Only non-breeding birds are around this time of the year.

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

496/E154) Cory´s Shearwater (Calonectris borealis) / Corysturmtaucher

 

Pelagic Trip out of Cascais/Portugal, 29/5/2022. We saw about a dozen all day long - disappointingly this was the only Shearwater around.

 

[michael-ibk]

497/E155) Wilson´s Storm-Petrel (Oceanites oceanicus) / Buntfuß-Sturmschwalbe

 

Pelagic Trip out of Cascais/Portugal, 29/5/2022. The main source of entertainment! Wilson´s and European Storm Petrels responded well to the absolutely delicios and wonderfully smelling chum. Great fun to watch, they kinda "dance" on the water when they are picking up food. Quite a photographic challenge in this light though. Supposed to be mainly Southern hemisphere birds, but we actually saw more of them than Europeans. Time for some pelagic ballet moves:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

498/E156) European Storm Petrel (Hydrobates pelagicus) / Sturmschwalbe

 

Pelagic Trip out of Cascais/Portugal, 29/5/2022. Could kick myself  - I decided to just focus on the Petrels closer to the boat. But as I found out when going through my pictures all of those were Wilson´s! A desperate search produced at least an ebc of European:

 

 

Great stuff, I know, thanks!

 

I´ve always considered myself to be a slightly compulsive bird photographer but found out I am really not. Took a couple of hundred shots of the Petrels and maybe 600 photos in total this day. Absolutely nothing! One of the birders finished the day with 6000 shots! 6000!

 

[TonyQ]

You did well with the Storm Petrels - we found them really difficult to photograph from a moving boat!

[michael-ibk]

499/E157) Atlantic Puffin (Fratercula arctica) / Papageientaucher

 

Pelagic Trip out of Cascais/Portugal, 29/5/2022. An unexpected highlight! I´ve seen this awesome bird in Ireland but that was in my dark non-birding period. Fantastic to get them here, and really surprising. Puffins can turn up far South of their breeding areas in Winter, but end of May? Well, I did certainly not complain.

 

Edited June 7, 2022 by michael-ibk

[michael-ibk]

500/E158) Red Phalarope (Phalaropus fulicarius) / Thorshühnchen

 

Pelagic Trip out of Cascais/Portugal, 29/5/2022. Last addition from the Pelagics - the only other birds we saw were Gulls and some Common Terns. A lifer, and I almost slept through this sighting. I was napping on the upper deck of the boat when I somehow realized everyone was excited. Had to take shots from up there at first, most of which were OOF because I was still sleeping. Then almost fell down the ladder when trying to get closer in my excitement. Fortunately they held out for just a bit before they were off.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Tdgraves]

Congratulations on the 500, yawn 

[TonyQ]

Well done - halfway there
I didn’t know you could get a Phalarope on a Pelagic- a beautiful bird for your 500.

[pedro maia]

Congrats for reaching halway of your goal, we are all rooting for you MIchael, but still no pressure .

 

 

[Galana]

Just imagine? Sleeping through your *500 and a lifer too? Oh, the shame of it if you had.

Many sincere congratulations on the achievement so far.

[PeterHG]

You did very well on the petrels! Never seen either of the two. And a really beautiful #500.

[Zim Girl]

Well done on the 500 - only another 500 to go!!

The Phalarope pictures are lovely, it is a very attractive bird.

[lmSA84]

Congratulations! 500 by June is some going

[shazdwn]

500, pretty impressive - well that is until you post the next few hundred 😁

[Soukous]

Congratulations on reaching 500. I had thought I'd be happy with half your score - imagining it would be around 600. Now I'll have to be happy with just 30% of your 1000. 

[michael-ibk]

Thanks!

 

I feel this will be an odd result this year - pretty likely my best one but everyone will just go "What, no 1000? Loser!".

 

A few more from Portugal:

 

501/E159) Little Tern (Sternula albifrons) / Zwergseeschwalbe

 

RN Estuário do Tejo--Monte de Pancas/Portugal, 1/6/2022. On my last evening I teamed up with Pedro again for some nocturnal birds. And a really sumptuous dinner! Before our "night drive" we checked out the area. From a previous visit I remembered a good spot for Little Tern and asked to make a short stop there to try. Good decision:

 

 

 

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

-/E160) Little Egret (Egretta garzetta) / Seidenreiher

 

RN Estuário do Tejo--Monte de Pancas/Portugal, 1/6/2022. Already seen in Uganda.

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

502/E161) Spotless Starling (Sturnus unicolor) / Einfarbstar

 

RN Estuário do Tejo--Monte de Pancas/Portugal, 1/6/2022. A very common bird in Portugal. Still struggled to get one, poor Pedro had to circle around a parking lot on our first day and I could only shoot one through the windshield. A bit more lucky this evening:

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

503/E162) Pallid Swift (Apus pallidus) / Fahlsegler

504/E163) Common Swift (Apus apus) / Mauersegler

 

RN Estuário do Tejo--Monte de Pancas/Portugal, 1/6/2022. Both species are common in Portugal. I have absolutely no chance to tell them apart in the field, so it´s really just about taking photos of any Swift passing by and hoping that some will be Pallids (which we don´t have at home). Fairly confident I managed to get one:

 

 

The darker, not as scaly-bellied and slightly smaller-headed Common Swift:

 

[michael-ibk]

505/E164) Red-Necked Nightjar (Caprimulgus ruficollis) / Rothals-Ziegenmelker

 

RN Estuário do Tejo--Monte de Pancas/Portugal, 1/6/2022. Last of my Portugal birds - and a lifer! We also heard two European Nightjars and eventually spotted their eyes pretty far from the road. I had almost given up hope to also get its cousin when one flew up right in front of the car! Even though we had been looking exactly there we did not see it. To our delight it came down on the road again, a bit farther from the car. Took some distant safety shots and was happy enough with that. Pedro then suggested to get out and approach on food, friends had told him they were quite confident. And to my surprise the bird really was quite cool about us out of the car, I think we managed to get as close as 10 metres or something. Very cool!