New spring migrants

 

Garganey Anas querquedula

Flock of 7 Black-winged Stilts Himantopus himantopus

Škocjanski zatok NR: typical spring joy this morning when I spotted my year's first 3 SWALLOWS and later 3 HOUSE MARTINS flying over the freshwater marsh. Catching a glimpse of that really distinctive hirundine silhouette zipping through the sky is quite thrilling. The reserve was actually full of other true spring migrants, all back from Africa. About 30 Garganeys were scattered across the freshwater marsh, most were smart drakes (above). Otherwise there's now a general decline in the number of the other duck species. Other typical spring harbingers were 7 Black-winged Stilts, 1 Wood Sandpiper, 1 Black-tailed Godwit and 2 Green Sandpipers - all joining the Ruffs, Curlews and Snipes already present on site. Some winter birds are still around in the form of Water Pipit, Reed Bunting, Tufted Duck or the flock of 13 Wigeons. Two Cattle Egrets at the grazing marsh were also of interest, along with a female Ferruginous Duck in the area of deeper freshwater and the usual 6-7 Pygmy Cormorants.

Local patch: yesterday afternoon I had my record count of Garganeys on the sea - counted a total of 758 individuals which is really impressive. Other flocks of ducks included 30 Wigeons, 84 Shovelers, 15  Teals and a drake Pintail mixed among them. Still about a hundred of Common Gulls on passage.

A spring of Cranes

Common Cranes Grus grus above the gulf (and city) of Trieste

Euphorbia wulfenii now in full bloom all over the limestone cliffs

Local patch: conditions for vis migging were excellent today, so in the late afternoon I headed up to the cliffs, hoping to see some migration going on. I was immediately lucky when I arrived on site: a flock of 37 COMMON CRANES rose up from the coast and flew past the cliffs (really close!) heading SE towards Trieste. Just the 4th record for the local patch area by the way.
The sea was otherwise quite lively as well with flocks of ducks. Yesterday I managed to see this year's first GARGANEYS in a flock of 17 birds. Today from the cliffs I spotted a raft of 75 individuals. Nearby was also a flock of 15 Teals and further out at sea a raft of 25 Wigeons.  
Common Gulls are now present in their hundreds in the gulf and are regularly seen aggregating on the sea, together with large numbers of Black-headed Gulls. Summer-plumaged Black-necked Grebes are also commonly seen in flocks of up to 30-40 ind.
The cliff area also produced two Rock Buntings, 2 Ravens but not much else.
Also 2 Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers were heard earlier in the afternoon on the Karst.

Vipava & Nanos

Goosanders Mergus merganser on the river Vipava (Slovenia)

Quite productive morning in the Vipava valley with two groups of GOOSANDERS on the river Vipava being the highlight. A group was formed by three showy (and displaying) males and a female (above), the other was a pair. A total of 6 birds. Good variety of other commoner birds seen in the course of the day: Grey Wagtail (also on nest), Green Woodpecker, Cirl Bunting, Woodlark, Mistle and Song Thrush, Corn Bunting ect. A Peregrine and a lonely COMMON CRANE (on migration) were the main attraction at the limestone cliffs of Lijak. 

Midday hours were spent on the grassy plateau of mt. Nanos, mostly enjoying the sun and two GOLDEN EAGLES performing overhead. In the area also another Peregrine (with prey), 15 Ravens, 2 Crag Martins flying past and several showy Rock Buntings along the road.

Eagle Owl census on the Karst

Eagle Owl plate at the Škocjan caves

Cliff birds of the Škocjan caves

Velika Dolina (karstic sinkhole) with the river Reka on the bottom

Potentilla tommasiniana

Yesterday I attended the traditional, yearly Eagle Owl census on the Karst, organised by DOPPS - BirdLife Slovenia. With a couple of friends we checked a census point which was unfortunately owl-less, although we had some Grey Herons migrating overhead. Nevertheless a good sunny day spent roving around the Slovenian Karst. Some birding earlier in the day produced a Great Grey Shrike, 3 Lapwings on migration and a Peregrine (with prey) at the airfield of Divača, plus another Peregrine later at Škocjanske jame (Škocjan caves). Also commoner birds like Woodlark, Raven, Rock Bunting, Green Woodpecker were seen. More interesting was the botany front with Bear's Ear (Primula auricula) seen in flower at two of the known locations on the Karst (see this post) - one is the massive sinkhole Velika dolina at the Škocjan caves. Also good to see the first flowering Potentilla tommasiniana (karstic endemism) and the first early sprouts of Pulsatilla montana.
The day was rounded up with a singing Tawny Owl in the evening.

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.