Michael‘s Seventh Year

[PeterHG]

Great flight shots of the tern and swifts. Michael! I've never seen the difference between the two swifts as clearly as in your photos. And we’ll done on the nightjar, of course. That would have been a lifer for me, too! I will definitely have to go back to Portugal to explore it further, there is so much more to be seen.

[Kitsafari]

finally back to see the final wonderful collection from uganda , but only 500th now? i thought you'd be well on the way to 600th by now. come on, stop slacking..... 

 

congrats!

[xelas]

True dedication produces high numbers. 5 x 100 already. For the #1000 I expect no less than a photo of a Millennium Falcon 😀.

Edited June 13, 2022 by xelas

[pedro maia]

On 6/11/2022 at 5:45 PM, michael-ibk said:

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!

 

 

 

I should have taken a picture of the eye of the European nightjar, that would be the ultimate EBC .

[Soukous]

so that's what Swifts look like 

[TonyQ]

Well done with the Swifts and  Nightjar

 

[Dave Williams]

I think I'll have to book Portugal and Lesvos now! I am particularly attracted to the pelagic out of Cascais. How far ahead do you need to book?

The Big year can be a millstone around your neck. I know you will try your damndest to hit the 1000 now, and I think you'll do it but the effort needed is immense. I'm glad I set a more humble target for myself!

[michael-ibk]

On 6/17/2022 at 9:35 AM, Dave Williams said:

How far ahead do you need to book?

 Really don´t know Dave, that was a private tour Pedro smuggled me into. @pedro maia, can you step in here?

 

And thanks everybody!

[michael-ibk]

506/E165) Garden Warbler (Sylvia borin) / Gartengrasmücke

 

Gaisau/Tirol/Austria, 4/6/2022. Back to home. I decided I needed a Garden and a Marsh Warbler  - and to my surprise the plan worked! Garden Warblers are not that rare but very skulky. I find it difficult to tell their song apart from Blackcaps but found one Blackcap was singing a bit more harshly - and yes, that was it.

 

 

Also found a Spotted Flycatcher nest - right next to the (well frequented) path, only at 1,5 metres.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 19, 2022 by michael-ibk

[michael-ibk]

507/E166) Marsh Warbler (Acrocephalus palustris) / Sumpfrohrsänger

 

Gaisau/Tirol/Austria, 4/6/2022. Very common in this area but only fairly easy in the first weeks after arrival. Hard to find once they go silent.

 

 

 

 

 

[xelas]

Lovely, as always!

[PeterHG]

4 hours ago, michael-ibk said:

I find it difficult to tell their song apart from Blackcaps

I agree. Perhaps the Garden Warbler’s song is a little more hasty and prolonged. Beautiful shot of the Marsh Warbler!

[Galana]

Excellent sequence of  a planned campaign.

Shame about the poor Dragonfly. Not only are these birds not spotted but they don't even stick to their allocated prey.

[pedro maia]

18 hours ago, michael-ibk said:

 Really don´t know Dave, that was a private tour Pedro smuggled me into. @pedro maia, can you step in here?

 

And thanks everybody!

 

It like you said, this was a private tour, as far as I know there are no organised pelagics from Cascais, there is a company that operates pelagics to Cascais more or less regularly but they start from Lisbon and are only half day, with the time it takes to go from Lisbon to the area past Cascais and back they can´t be too productive.

[michael-ibk]

508/E167) Alpine Chough (Pyrrhocorax graculus) / Alpendohle

 

Kühtai/Tirol/Austria, 5/6/2022. A common bird higher up in the mountains. In Winter they also come down to the valley. Not my favourite, and generally a disappointing hike birding-wise. A friend had found a (possibly breeding) Dotterel but I was unable to find it.

 

 

Still a nice hike though, and lovely sightings of some Marmots.

 

 

And the area is not entirely unappealing. Some mobile snaps:

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 20, 2022 by michael-ibk

[michael-ibk]

509/E168) Lesser Redpoll (Acanthis cabaret) / Alpenbirkenzeisig

 

Kühtai/Tirol/Austria, 5/6/2022. And I was quite happy about this one. I don´t see Redpolls often, and usually only from afar.

 

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

510/E169) Eurasian Magpie (Pica pica) / Elster

 

Tiebelmündung/Carinthia/Austria, 16/6/22. Thursday was a public holiday in Austria - we used the long weekend for a few days in my home province Carinthia. Definitely not the first Magpie this year but the first one to pose a bit. They are quite wary birds here because (like most Corvids) they are hunted as pest birds.

 

[michael-ibk]

-/E170) Western Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis) / Kuhreiher

 

Tiebelmündung/Carinthia/Austria, 16/6/22. Rubbish photo (extremely distant) but a new bird for my Austria list. Austrian birders were super excited, many travelling to see them. I confess I did not quite share the excitement.

 

 

The White Storks here are doing a hell of a job this year - they have four chicks!

 

 

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

511/E171) Little Bittern (Ixobrychus minutus) / Zwergdommel

 

Tiebelmündung/Carinthia/Austria, 16/6/22. My target bird for this morning. I had expected to see one - I usually see one flying somewhere in the reed from the watchtower. But this year I was more lucky than that, one individual was trying to pose as dead wood less than 10 metres from me.

 

 

 

 

[xelas]

5 minutes ago, michael-ibk said:

Thursday was a public holiday in Austria - we used the long weekend for a few days in my home province Carinthia

 And all the other went to Istria . It is Monday today and still huge lines at the borders.

 

Great hike, surely it was not as hot up there as is down here.

[michael-ibk]

6 minutes ago, xelas said:

And all the other went to Istria . It is Monday today and still huge lines at the borders.

 

Yes, quite insane. Fortunately I was able to evade all that on the way there and back again. Phew! But driving home from work in summer will be "fun", especially when the holiday season really starts.

[michael-ibk]

512/E172) Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) / Star

 

Mühldorf/Carinthia/Austria, 16/6/22. The beautiful old apple tree in my mother´s garden is on its last legs but it is still a homey place.

 

 

 

My heart stopped when I saw a cinnamon-coloured bird fly into the cherry tree. Could it ...? I ran up to the second floor to scan the tree from up there. And indeed, it was!

 

 

A Hoopoe in our garden, how cool is that! And this is quite clearly a fledgling, note the yellow, still soft gape. Which means a pair must have bred quite close. Who knows, maybe next year even in our garden, wouldn´t that be nice.

Edited June 21, 2022 by michael-ibk

[Galana]

Excellent. I enjoyed the hike too.

[xelas]

1 hour ago, michael-ibk said:

wouldn´t that be nice.

 

It would be awesome. Is the hotline for the balcony birding reservation already open?

[Soukous]

14 hours ago, michael-ibk said:

I don´t see Redpolls often, and usually only from afar.

I don't see them at all