Škocjanski zatok NR: this morning while counting the Teals I came across one of my best finds ever: a beautiful drake **GREEN-WINGED TEAL**! Needles to say I immediately recognised the duck due to the vertical white stripe down the shoulder. There was almost no golden/buff border on the green eye-stripe (as seen in Teal), so the head seemed a bit different as well. It didn't seem to have any rings on the legs, but we'll have a check in the next days (if the bird remains there). If accepted it would be the second ever record for Slovenia and of course the first for Škocjanski zatok NR!
Tomorrow I'll be probably back there trying to get more views. For now I leave you with the above photos.
Quite a lot of other movement today, with several new arrivals. First of all I had both Porzanas in a day: a female LITTLE CRAKE and a SPOTTED CRAKE - both showing well at the edge of a reedbed area (freshwater marsh). Little Crake being the year's first.
A female Ferruginous Duck was on the Jezerce pond, along with several Pochards and 2 Tufted Ducks. A flock of about 20 Alpine Swifts over the reserve held a COMMON SWIFT as well - my first this year!
The lagoon produced the first 3 COMMON TERNS of the season.
Other commoner birds included: 3 Wigeons, 10 Garganeys, 2 Black-necked Grebes (lagoon), 2 female Marsh Harriers, 5-6 Black-winged Stilts, several Little Ringed Plovers, 6 Wood Sandpipers, 3-4 Green Sandpipers, 1 Redshank, 2 Spotted Redshanks, Greenshank & Curlew, 2 Black-tailed Godwits, lots of Snipes, cca 60 Ruffs, 1 Common Gull, about 10 Swallows over the reserve, Water Pipit (a few remaining birds - in breeding plumage), YELLOW WAGTAIL (heard repeatedly).
