Zvezda & Alex BY attempt #8

[Kitsafari]

agree that the black harrier is a stunning bird.

[Soukous]

A really nice collection from Mountain Zebra NP. Neat shots of the Rock Martins too. 

You were clearly trying much harder than I was 

[xelas]

VILLIERSDORP - 8/Dec - 3 species

(at the backyard at the Johan & Hanneke)

 

 

BY 557  /  SA 157    

Malachite Sunbird  -  Nectarinia famosa

 

 

 

BY 558  /  SA 158    

African Harrier-Hawk  -  Polyboroides typus

(for OM-1 owners: handheld, 1/250 sec, f/6.3, ISO 40000, SOOC JPEG - as processed by camera)

[xelas]

STANFORD - 9/Dec - 38 species

(boat ride on Kleinrivier)

 

 

BY 559  /  SA 159    

Alpine Swift  -  Tachymarptis melba

 

 

 

BY 560  /  SA 160    

African Black Duck  -  Anas sparsa

 

 

 

BY 561  /  SA 161    

Lesser Swamp Warbler  -  Acrocephalus gracilirostris

 

 

 

BY 562  /  SA 162    

African Spoonbill  -  Platalea alba

 

[xelas]

Final count for 3 weeks birding in Western & Eastern Cape is 179 species, of which 17 were already posted. Now I need to scrap the barrel.

 

[PeterHG]

I really enjoyed seeing your South Africa collection, Alex! You have an impressive total already and I hope the barrel will provide some more.

[Tdgraves]

38 minutes ago, xelas said:

Final count for 3 weeks birding in Western & Eastern Cape is 179 species, of which 17 were already posted. Now I need to scrap the barrel.

 

Before throwing it away, you could check it for any EBCs 

[TonyQ]

A great collection with beautiful photos from both of year. Another vote for the Black Harrier - stunning.

[Galana]

The end of  a very worthy effort with some delicious postings.

[michael-ibk]

Really enjoyed your SA birds, the new camera performed excellently. Now the question is - will your ebc drawer be sufficient to catch up with me? And don't forget about mine! 😜

[xelas]

1 hour ago, michael-ibk said:

Now the question is - will your ebc drawer be sufficient to catch up with me?

Unfortunately (for me) not, even if you do not open your barrel. You are right about @Kitsafari her garden and Singapore is filled with birds local and migratory.

[xelas]

BY 563  /  SI 097   

Northern Wheatear  -  Oenanthe oenanthe
Škocjanski zatok    1-Apr-2023

 

Edited January 1 by xelas

[xelas]

BY 564  /  SI 098    

Whinchat  -  Saxicola rubetra    

Cerkniško jezero    1-maj-2023
 

Edited January 1 by xelas

[xelas]

BY 565  /  SI 099    

Squacco Heron  -  Ardeola ralloides    

Škocjanski zatok    12-maj-2023

 

Edited January 1 by xelas

[xelas]

BY 566  /  SI 100    

Brambling  -  Fringilla montifringilla    

Ljubljansko Barje    22-dec-2023
 

Edited January 1 by xelas

[xelas]

Above are the last birds from Slovenia for the another excellent birding year. But not the last ones for the year!

 

We have been invited to a dinner (and overnight) at Michael's mom house in Muhldorf, Carinthia. The morning after Michael took me to find a few birds I have missed during the year. We have seen and heard a few more, yet I have managed to produce only two decent shots.

 

 

BY 567  /  AT 044    

Yellowhammer  -  Emberiza citrinella    

Muhldorf    30-dec-2023

 

 

 

BY 568  /  AT 045    

Eurasian Wren  -  Troglodytes troglodytes    

Muhldorf    30-dec-2023

 

 

That concludes this year with 568 species. The second best year after 2018 with 641 species. We will try to get better next year. See you all in Big Year 2024!

Edited January 1 by xelas

[TonyQ]

Well done @xelasand excellent score with great photos throughout from both of you.

I see you also got 100 for Slovenia, another milestone!

See you in 2024

[Tdgraves]

congratulations, far more than I have ever achieved! Happy New (Big) Year!

[michael-ibk]

Nice shot of the Brambling - you could have remembered that one! 😁

 

Well done Alex and Zvezda, another great Big Year for both of you! 

Edited December 31, 2023 by michael-ibk

[Galana]

4 hours ago, michael-ibk said:

Nice shot of the Brambling -

Seconded.

A worthy finish for 2023 too. Have a fruitful 2024.

[Kitsafari]

Congratulations on a fruitful year! Looking forward to a record year in 2024.  

[BRACQUENE]

Congratulations Alex and Zvezda for a great achievement ! 

[PeterHG]

A wonderful year with a great score, Alex and Zvezda! And great quality in many shots. 

[pedro maia]

Congrats on an excellent BY Alex, I enjoyed a lot your SA list

[xelas]

Thank you for motivating us to show you even more birds in 2024! We will strive for better quality and rarer birds. 

 

Statistic of total 3 of birds photographed by countries:

Austria: 103

Ireland: 1

Italy: 1

Slovenia: 110

South Africa: 178

Thailand: 279

 

From 2016 till 2023 we have photographed cca 1600 different bird species.