Lesser Grey Shrike family

Breeding Lesser Grey Shrikes are now almost extinct in Slovenia. Perhaps the last remaining pair is the one in the Vipava valley. Yesterday I spent some time at the location and witnessed some amazing parental behaviour. There were 4 fledged and fully flying LESSER GREY SHRIKES around, along with the two adults bringing a constant food supply. The male was frequently seen flycatching (also dragonflies) or hunting other insects on the ground, while the juveniles were waiting up on the poplar trees.

Adult with a dragonfly in the beak

Adult (right) with a juvenile (left)

Juvenile

Adult

A happy family: all 4 juveniles + an adult together

Nearby was also a pair of Red-backed Shrikes and the male sat just a few metres away from the male Lesser Grey. From a front view, the only thing you could see were whitish underparts and a black mask in both species. The distinguishing feature was of course the extensive black on the forehead showed by Lesser Grey and the different bill structure (bulkier in LGS). A nice scene for comparison of both species. Note the differences below:

Lesser Grey Shrike

Red-backed Shrike

In a nearby vineyard a Hoopoe put also on show while feeding on the ground and a singing Crested Lark was also around.

Later in the morning I also had a look at the extensive upland grasslands of mount Nanos, which produced the hoped-for GOLDEN EAGLE - an adult soaring not too high above my head. If I don't go wrong, the last Golden Eagle I saw was here in the same place, back in 2010. I'm quite glad I saw one after a long time. Other raptors included a Griffon Vulture heading W, 1 Hobby (hunting), 1 Goshawk and 5 Buzzards. A few breeding passerines were also around: Chiffchaff, Common and Lesser Whitethroat, 2 pairs of Stonechat, Skylark and at least 4 singing Rock Buntings. 

Golden Eagle

Rock Bunting

Cerkniško jezero - Rosefinch paradise

The Cerknica lake (or Cerkniško jezero) in Slovenia is a spectacular place that rarely disappoints. Yesterday was no exception when I ventured there for the evening with a friend. We started birding early in the afternoon around Postojna where we saw the local colony of Crag Martins, nesting along with good numbers of House Martins. We then checked the village of Planina and surroundings where a pair of White Storks was rising a brood in their nest. Here and in the other villages around the Cerknica lake the countryside birdlife was abundant (things like Black Redstart, Spotted Flycatcher, Linnet, Tree Sparrow, Skylark ect.).
After a few hours of birding the lake we amassed a good number of interesting species of which the highlight was with no doubt COMMON ROSEFINCH. At least 3 singing males were heard in different scrubby areas on wet meadows. One male bird in particular put on good show and allowed the best views while perched on low bushes (pics above) and a female was also close nearby (pictured in the last photo on the right).
During the afternoon we had a good selection of birds including: a SHORT-TOED EAGLE (soaring with a snake in the talons), Common Quail (2 singing males), Marsh Warbler (3), Great and Little Egret, Great Reed Warbler, White Stork (another local nest), Whinchat (quite common), Yellowhammer (5), Red-backed Shrike, Common Whitethroat (3), Yellow Wagtail (nesting behavoiur), Great Crested Grebes (families of ads+juvs), Honey Buzzard (4), Teal (about 30), Shelduck (1, I think this is a quite interesting record for the area), Marsh Harrier (1 f), Sedge Warbler (4), Golden Oriole (2), Tree Pipit (1), Hobby (1 hunting), Fieldfare (5, nesting birds in the area). A flock of about 30 or so Black-headed Gulls on the lake also contained an adult Mediterranean Gull which was fine.
Other interesting birds came shortly after the sunset in the form of the first singing CORNCRAKES. At the end of the evening we recorded at least 8 singing males around the lake. Not a very high number for the area, but of course the season is a bit late, so they tend not to be so territorial at the moment.
Shortly after also two GRASSHOPPER WARBLERS began to sing - which came as a bit of a surprise... a pleasant surprise!
We then headed for some "night safari" along the roads around the lake and encountered a few mammal species as well: Roe and Red Deer, Fox (2) and a Beech Marten.
Our last night stop on the lake's shores produced yet another two goodies. In a chorus of Marsh Frogs we managed to pick out the calls of both Porzanas breeding in the area: first a LITTLE CRAKE and then also a SPOTTED CRAKE. After a while both birds were heard singing together, so direct comparison was possible.
What a better way to round up the day?

View over part of the lake (with Mt. Slivnica in the background)

Botanical lifers

Afternoon strolls on the Karst seem to be the a good way to escape from the hot temperatures down on the coast, while seeking freshness elsewhere. Yesterday me and a friend went to see some (more!) wildflower meadows which haven't been mowed yet. We found such amazing plants like Lilium bulbiferum (2nd above) and Gladiolus illyricus (1st above), which I've never seen before, as well as stared at the endless carpet of many other wildflowers.
On the bird front the highlight was a SHORT-TOED EAGLE carrying a snake in its beak, probably heading to its nest. Other raptors included a nice Hobby which was frequently seen hunting in the air during the afternoon, sometimes along with up to 5 Common Buzzards and a Kestrel. Two juvenile Honey Buzzards were also around and put on good show while perched on some low poles out in a field. Pretty unusual behaviour for a Honey Buzzard. In the open grassland area we also found a Hoopoe's nest, down on the ground among some rocks. There must have been several juveniles in it - we heard them when the parents entered the nest hole to bring food. The adults were otherwise seen frequently flying around with beakfuls of insects. Other birds around also included a singing QUAIL, 1 Cuckoo, Skylark and Woodlark, 1 Stonechat, Hawfinch and the quite abundant Red-backed Shrikes and Corn Buntings.

Corncrake on the Karst

Yesterday evening I went to get some fresh air on the Karst. Visited both the Slovenian and Italian side. I waited dusk in an area of lush meadows (covered by impressive "carpets" of colorful wildflowers) while listening to the songs of: a QUAIL, no less than 6 Cuckoos (together), 1 Golden Oriole and a few Nightjars (total of 5 later).
In the hour before sunset I also managed to see 2 Hoopoes carrying food to their nest, +15 Red-backed Shrikes (really abundant here), Corn Buntings, Skylarks, 1 Wryneck (heard), Mistle Thrush and other commoner birds.
After dark I moved to an area on the Italian side where a CORNCRAKE has been holding territory for the past few weeks. As soon as I arrived, the bird was there, advertising its presence with the incessant and repetitive song. A good record for the Karst, where the species is rare due to the lack of good habitats.
The above photo is from last year's ringing session on Breginjski Stol.

Lush meadows before sunset

Black-veined White (Aporia crataegi) on Knautia illyrica

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.