Red-footed Falcons

Spent the afternoon on the Slovenian Karst watching a pair of RED-FOOTED FALCONS (above) and listening to some BARRED WARBLERS holding territories. Up to 5 Kestrels were also quite busy with the hovering and hunting. Also a good amount of the usual countryside birds like Red-backed Shrike, Corn Bunting, Cuckoo, Skylark, loads of Swallows and Common Swifts and so on.

Local patch: yesterday evening I had the first singing NIGHTJAR for the patch this year. Always a thrill to hear it just "behind" the house. Also a good dusk-chorus of Nightingales, accompanied by Golden Oriole, Green Woodpecker, Blackcap and Robin.
The situation on the cliffs is more or less as usual with good numbers of Common and Alpine Swifts, 1 Blue Rock Thrush on territory, a few Rock Buntings and the local Ravens.

Trnovski gozd, plants and Lesser Grey Shrikes

Quite busy with university at the moment. Actually today's trip to Trnovski gozd (Trnovo forest) in Slovenia was a guided excursion with our botany professor. We had a quite good weather during the day and saw a good array of rare plant species, endemics and interesting stuff, for example Primula carniolica, Primula auricula (pic above) and P. veris, Daphne cneorum, Artemisia nitida, Gentiana clusii and so on.
On the bird front the morning was quite poor with just a couple of Cuckoos singing in the forest, along with a calling Grey-headed Woodpecker, Bullfinch, Lesser Whitethroat, Rock Bunting and commoner stuff. The hedges around the village of Lokavec yielded a singing Icterine Warbler and a Common Redstart.

Primula carniolica

Primula veris

Daphne cneorum

Gentiana clusii

The afternoon was more productive with 3 nice LESSER GREY SHRIKES in the Vipava valley (see below).

It's all about hawthorns

I've been out on the Slovenian Karst this morning, mainly in the breeding area of the BARRED WARBLERS. I'm glad they are finally back as today I found at least 4 singing males. They were not so easy too see this time, because they kept hidden in the thick hawthorn bushes. But with a bit of fieldcraft and waiting I managed to get some really brilliant views of the males with their distinctive yellow eyes. The shots (above) instead are quite poor, because I just learned that photographing Barred Warblers is far from easy!
The area was so lively with countryside birds that it was difficult to follow all the going-ons and birds songs all around. During the scanning of the bushes I even managed to find a rarity in the form of a WOODCHAT SHRIKE - the second this year! It showed well on the top of the hawthorns and allowed some shots (below).

Woodchat Shrike

The area was also stuffed with Red-backed Shrikes (15 or more I guess). Most were males, with just 3 females around.

Red-backed Shrike - male

Then I was greeted by no less that two migrant MONTAGU'S HARRIERS (male and female) hunting above the meadows. Other raptors also included Hobby (3 - hunting insects over the grass), a single Kestrel, Honey Buzzard (2-3), several Common Buzzards and with a bit of waiting also the local SHORT-TOED EAGLE materialised in the sky. After a steep glide it landed on the top of an oak tree (see pic).

Short-toed Eagle

As I said there was a good variety of other common birds that included: Corn Bunting, 2 Wood Warblers, 1 Tree Pipit, +10 Skylarks, 3 Woodlarks, 2 Golden Orioles, 3-4 singing Lesser Whitethroats, +8 Common Whitethroats, 5 Whinchats, 2 singing Cuckoos, 2 Yellowhammers, 3 Wrynecks, 3 Hoopoes (only heard), Crossbill (passed overhead), Chiffchaff, 1 Black Woodpecker, Hawfinch, Mistle Thrush, 5 Sand Martins (migrating overhead), Linnet, Serin and a single Nightingale.
Interesting to note that up on the Karst the hawthorns (Crataegus) are not yet in bloom as opposed to the same bushes in full white colour down here on the coast.

The Woodchat Shrike is back

A WOODCHAT SHRIKE was found early this morning on the meadows of Campo Carri - in the same place where it occurred two consecutive years (2010, 2011). The dates are also quite timely: 29th April in both 2010 and 2011 and on the 30th this year. Well a day later, but maybe the bird was already there yesterday, as nobody went to check.
Anyway I was on site by mid morning and the bird performed really well (see above). It wasn't so nervous as shrikes use to be. It allowed a closer approach and remained more or less on the same side of the grassland, at the border with the woodland and hedges. It also perched on an abandoned lamp (third photo). Nearby were also lots of Red-backed Shrikes (at least 5; just 1 female) and on one occasion both species were seen sitting together on the same bush (last photo above).
More entertainment was produced by 3 singing male Cuckoos and a crazy female flying around the grassland all the time and perching in full view on the pines (below).

Female Cuckoo performing well

Also in the area were my first Spotted Flycatchers of the year (at least 2), 1 male Golden Oriole (flying overhead), 1 Wood Warbler, 4 Tawny Pipits, 5 Whinchats, 2 Black Woodpeckers (flying above the woodland and calling loudly), some Crossbills flying overhead, 1 Goshawk, Linnet, Rock Bunting, Woodlark and so on. Very strangely no sign of the Wheatears.

Mt.Nanos with Ring Ouzel and flowers

Been on the mount Nanos (1262 m - above) in nearby Slovenia today, with a couple of friends from university. We had more of a botanical trip (which was pleasant), but we managed to see a couple of interesting birds as well. On top of the list goes a gorgeous male RING OUZEL feeding on a Crocus-covered meadow on the top of the mountain. It showed quite well for several minutes, until some trekkers passed by and flushed it. Always a cool bird to see and a year's first for me. Never seen one on Nanos by the way.
After midday, in the hottest hours of the day, 4 Griffon Vultures appeared above the ridge, slowly gliding SE over our heads. While walking up on the mount earlier in the morning we heard a singing Cuckoo, 1 Song and 1 Mistle Thrush, seen 1 Rock Bunting and several commoner woodland birds. Also around the top were lots of singing Tree Pipits and a few Skylarks, along with some Black Redstarts in the rocky valleys. Otherwise just more or less the usual upland stuff including Kestrel, Raven, Buzzard and so on.
On the botanical front Helleborus niger was perhaps the most interesting, together with carpets of Crocus vernus and an awful lot of Wood Anemone (Anemone nemorosa), Hepatica nobilis, still several Snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis), and lots of other smaller, greener stuff.

Helleborus niger

Crocus vernus

Anemone nemorosa

Nightingale special

Local patch: spring is now in full bloom with green leaves and lush grass appearing everywhere and flowering trees exploding in white colour. There are several Nightingales singing at the woodland's edge and today I managed to watch one for quite a while as it delivered its song from an oak tree (above). It gave really brilliant views in full sunshine. I now presume more or less where this bird could be nesting.
Other birds of interest also included a Lesser Whitethroat, together with several Blackcaps, feeding on the blooming trees and a female Common Whitethroat nearby. But I still can't find a Subalpine Warbler in the patch this year...
Also lots of other commoner birds singing in the surroundings, like Green Woodpecker, Cirl Bunting, Black Redstart, Hawfinch, Serin and so on. House Martins and Common Swifts are now a usual sight in the sky and a few migrant Swallows pass by as well at times.
Scops Owls are now heard almost on a daily basis - usually late in the evening or at dusk.

SHORT-TOED LARK & new arrivals

Škocjanski zatok NR: I had my weekly bird count this morning which was very productive in terms of migrants. Top highlight of the day was a SHORT-TOED LARK that I found in the freshwater marsh. It's something like the second or third for the reserve (the first in recent years) and the 11th for Slovenia (if accepted). Well, I consider it a true rarity and I also never seen one in Europe so I was very happy. The bird remained almost always quite distant while feeding on the grass in the middle of the marsh (viewed from the 2nd screening). The jizz was very distinctive with quicker foraging movements than the other larks and the body plumage was clear enough. I only managed some blurry pics for documentation (see above).
The now finally blooming hedges were stuffed with migrants and the commonest species seemed to be Lesser Whitethroats (+21 counted), Blackcap (+20) and Willow Warbler (40 birds). Some of the latter, along with a few Chiffchaffs, were singing incessantly. Also lurking in the bushes was my first Wryneck this year - always a pleasure to see. Another year's first, this time from the reeds, was Sedge Warbler with up to 10 birds recorded (also singing).

Lesser Whitethroats on Prunus bush

Other birds of note: 4 Pygmy Cormorants, 1 Purple Heron (year's first), 2 Wigeon, 2 Gadwalls, up to 115 Shovelers, 45 Garganeys, 6 Pochards, 1 Tufted Duck, 2 Ferruginous Ducks (m & f), 2 Marsh Harriers, 33 Black-winged Stilts, 5 Little Ringed Plovers, 2 Lapwings, 1 Common 5 Green & 1 Wood Sandpiper, 3 Common Redshanks, 12 Common Terns (already on the colony), 1 Skylark, 4 Water Pipits (in breeding plumage), 1 Tree Pipit (overhead), 1 Meadow Pipit, 18 Yellow Wagtails (mostly cinereocapilla, some flava and 1 male feldegg), 1 Stonechat, 17 Wheatears (most on the grazing marsh), 1 Song Thrush, 13 Penduline Tits and a few fly-by Serins.
The sky over the freshwater marsh was also teeming with life: mostly Swallows (more than 100), +30 House Martins, +10 Sand Martins, about 40 Common Swifts and later in the morning also two fly-by Alpine Swifts.

Male Wheatear

 Green Sandpiper

Yesterday evening I also had a few year's firsts in the form of: Scops Owl (1 singing in the patch), Nightingale (1 heard near the airport of Ronchi dei Legionari) and a load of Lesser Whitethroats.