Cranes over Koper

Part of a massive flock of Common Cranes Grus grus, migrating over the Sinai peninsula in October 2009

More Crane passage today as the weather remains dry, sunny and windy. Just before midday, while walking in the town of Koper (Slovenia) I was lucky enough to spot 5 COMMON CRANES circling above the buildings and heading west. A few minutes of good urban birding!
A quick look at Škocjanski zatok NR yesterday revealed spring's first waders in the form of 1 Ruff and 2 Lapwings on the grazing marsh. The water levels are now quite high even in the freshwater marsh and wildfowl is the more obvious element at the moment. Lots of Wigeons, Teals, Shovelers and also 6 Gadwalls (uncommon here). But still no Garganey (even if one was reported last week). Pygmy Cormorants are numbering at least 6 birds and there are also 3 Cattle Egrets on site. Also watched the display of a pair of Great Crested Grebes in the lagoon. Pretty much everything else is in spring mode (Little Grebes calling, Chiffchaffs singing in the blooming hedges ect). The warden told me there's a Scaup somewhere in the lagoon, which is probably the first record for the reserve. The Bearded Tits are also still around, but not so straightforward to see.
Earlier this morning I also had the pleasure to watch a flock of showy Siskins drinking water from a puddle near Sežana - one of my few sightings of the species this winter.

Crane migration

Flock of Common Cranes Grus grus - by Neža Gregorič

On Sunday I guided a small group of friends around the coastal wetlands. It was a grim and cloudy day and the feel was quite winterish. In the morning I had a look in my patch, on the sea near Miramare, where 2 Common Gulls were the highlight. With the others we then checked the sea at Duino/Devin and got the usual flock of Eiders, with the smart males performing display. A look at the wind-swept sea in the bay of Panzano, near Monfalcone revealed the 3 wintering Long-tailed Ducks (still present), 2 Slavonian Grebes, 1 Red-necked Grebe and commoner species. Interesting to note that most Black-necked Grebes are now in breeding plumage, whereas the Slavonians are still in the winter one. So now they are very easy to pick out and tell apart. Valle Cavanata NR held a mix of the commoner dabbling and diving ducks, including Tufted Duck, Pochard, 3 male Scaups and a few Goldeneyes. Also around were 8 Spoonbills, a few Spotted Redshanks, 150 Lapwings, 1 Marsh and 1 Hen Harrier. The beach of Banco Mula di Muggia near Grado at low tide was covered with Dunlins and Grey Plovers, as well as a flock of 29 Bar-tailed Godwits. The highlight (and surprise) of the day came in the afternoon at Isola della Cona NR, where a flock of 128 COMMON CRANES appeared in the sky low above the marsh, before heading south-west. At the moment there is a good passage of Cranes, as mid-sized flocks are reported from all over the region, including some migrating above Trieste.
Yesterday instead short stroll on the Karst with 1 territorial Black Woodpecker, a mix of common woodland birds (everything into song now) and a beautiful singing male Cirl Bunting.
At the time of writing there's a Black-necked Grebe in breeding plumage on the sea - seen from my bedroom's window of course.

Wallcreeper at last

Wallcreeper Tichodroma muraria

View on the Wallcreeper cliffs. To the left in the background (out of view) lies the town of Trieste.

Went for a stroll in the Glinščica valley (Val Rosandra) with a friend yesterday. We were lucky enough to finally see a WALLCREEPER on the cliffs, which showed for more than 20 minutes, while climbing up and down the rocks. Pretty exciting.
A male Peregrine was also in the area, suggesting a probable breeding on the cliffs. The pines at the edge of the heathland held a loose flock of +30 Fieldfares with some Redwings also mixed in it. Both quite good finds on the Karst.
The afternoon was rounded up at the Eagle Owl site, where the male was heard singing just after sunset.

Kokra river

Dipper pin badge - today's most satisfying Dipper

Goosander Mergus merganser male in flight

Helleborus niger - quite common in woodlands

A nice trip today brought me to the Gorenjska region in Slovenia. The focus was primarily to check the river Kokra for breeding Dippers for a future study on the species. Only three birds were seen in the course of the day, although a total of 6 active nests were found (out of 11 nests in total) - mostly under concrete bridges crossing the river. Apart from the Dippers, the most attractive birds of the day were Goosanders - a total of 20 birds seen on the lake of Trboje. This lake and the one at Zbilje were checked and produced a good number of other winter species like 11 Goldeneyes, lots of Tufted Ducks, 1 Pochard, Great Crested and Little Grebes and commoner stuff.

From Pygmy Owl with love

Pygmy Owl Glaucidium passerinum

Trnovski gozd in the snow

Dipper Cinclus cinclus - smart as always

Sunny afternoon in the snow-covered Trnovo forest with a PYGMY OWL above your head. Can you ask for more? I don't think so.
Sorry for the above pics, it's just a documentative phone-binning attempt. Nevertheless a great moment watching a Pygmy Owl sat for 15 minutes on the top of a fir.
Other birds in the forest included the commoner species like Coal and Willow Tit, Crossbill, Bullfinch, Brambling and so on. An unexpected surprise were 3 ROOKS in a field near Ajdovščina. Pretty scarce winter visitors here. Highlights along the Hubelj river included the pair of Dippers still building their nest, 1 Kingfisher and 2 Grey Wagtails. All the three river specialists.

Primula auricula

Bear's-ear Primula auricula

This morning, a proper botany-orientated excursion on the Karst. Main target: Bear's-ear Primula auricula. In Slovenia this plant has its stronghold in the Alpine region, but there are also several isolated "island populations" (in glacial refugia), including a handful on the Karst. It usually grows on calcareous soils and thrives on steep vertical limestone cliffs. With a bit of searching (and climbing) I found several flowering plants (above).
Supporting cast on the karstic woodland's floor included the typical early spring wildflowers like: Galathus nivalis (snowdrop), Primula vulgaris (primrose), Helleborus multifidus, Hepatica nobilis, Corydalis cava, Isopyrum thalictroides, Cardamine enneaphyllos and Crocus reticulatus.
Quite a lot of bird activity in the woodlands, consisting mainly of the common species - nothing really extra to report.

Bearded Tits

Male Bearded Tit Panurus biarmicus - phone-binned!

Škocjanski zatok NR: this afternoon I made a 20 minute stop at the reserve and got rewarded with brilliant views of a pair of BEARDED TITS, feeding at the edge of a reedbed, close to the "double screening". Besides the two birds observed close by, there were at least another two calling deeper in the reedbed. This small flock is wintering in the area and can be sometimes observed quite well from the main circular path. My visits of the reserve have greatly diminished in the last months, so I didn't have the chance to catch up with this little reedbed beauties until today. My last proper Bearded Tits were in Hungary back in 2011, although I heard them in January 2012 at RSPB Minsmere (England).