Crexing about

A close encounter with a Corncrake Crex crex

Yesterday I went to Cerkniško jezero (Cerknica lake) to investigate on a Citrine Wagtail Motacilla citreola that has been photographed there on Tuesday. The date of the sighting is quite odd for a non-breeding bird and moreover a probable juvenile was also photographed the same day. This could be the first breeding of the species in Slovenia, which is otherwise an accidental (with 8th confirmed records). Despite an intensive search I didn't find the birds so I gave up and spent the rest of the evening enjoying other birds around the lake. The star of the day were CORNCRAKES Crex crex. I had 7 singing birds in total and also managed to see one down to a few metres (above).
Other highlights around the lake included a Short-toed Eagle Circaetus gallicus doing some motionless "hanging", 3 Reed Buntings Emberiza schoeniclus (the area is the only regular breeding site I know), lots of showy Sedge Warblers Acrocephalus schoenobaenus, an awful lot of Whinchats Saxicola rubetra (20-30), a few Yellow Wagtails Motacilla flava cinereocapilla (with juvs), Fieldfare Turdus pilaris (2), Marsh Harrier Circus aeruginosus (1 f), Wood Sandpiper Tringa glareola (1) and 2 families of White Storks Ciconia ciconia.
In the evening also a Beech Marten Martes foina in the middle of the road and two more singing Corncrakes at Planinsko polje.

The sun setting over Javorniki mountains and Corncrakes singing all over the plain!

Centaurea alpina & Latin names

Centaurea alpina

After the hard botanical twitching in the Alps, today I went to see a "rarity" on the Slovenian Karst near Sežana. The above plant is an Alpine Knapweed Centaurea alpina, which is very rare and found only on two locations in Slovenia. The other location is Mt.Čaven on the southern edge of Trnovski gozd. Overall there are no more than 20 wild specimens in the whole of Slovenia!

Today I've also been to Škocjanski zatok for my weekly bird monitoring. July has been quite calm with most interesting birds being mainly the breeding species like Little Tern Sternula albifrons (1-2 pairs), Little Bittern Ixobrychus minutus, Black-winged Stilts, Common Terns and so on. Today I noticed some signs of movement with increasing wader numbers (all the common species), a juvenile Purple Heron Ardea purpurea, a few Pochards, Teals, a Med Gull and a Hoopoe Upupa epops feeding on the path (also present last week). A Fan-tailed Warbler Cisticola juncidis calling over the lagoon was also of note (one last week as well).

As you may have noticed, in this post I started to use Latin names in the text as well. In the future I'll use them just for the most interesting species (those in bold) to highlight their importance and I'll do so in an international scientific language. I think is a good and more complete way of reporting sightings. And of course is more helpful for the readers who don't know English bird names. The public of this blog is quite varied and I think this will be a welcome addition.
As for the names of plants I'll use the Latin names only, as usual, because I don't know all of the names in English. Moreover there are some species here in this corner of the world that don't have English names (yet).
So: from now on the highlights (species in bold) will have Latin names as well.
In the future (or in some occasions) I may extent this rule to all the bird names... I don't know yet, it's a test. I hope I won't get bored in the process of adding... ;)

Kanin - Alpine immersion part 2

 

Alpine Chough Pyrrhocorax graculus

Second trip to the Julian Alps in a week. Not bad. This time the Kanin mountain range on the border between Italy and Slovenia. Worked the north side of Kanin's plateau and climbed onto Bela peč (2146 m). Still a lot of snow, but also lots of flowers to enjoy (see pics). The highlights on the bird front were some alpine specielities like SNOWFINCH (2 birds), Alpine Chough (4-5), ROCK THRUSH (4-6 birds; mostly juvs), Water Pipit (common), Ring Ouzel (1 female), Alpine Accentor (1). Payed attention to the presence of Rock Ptarmigan, but found only a few droppings. Also common were Linnet, Black Redstart, Raven and Dunnock. Here and there in the valleys also a few Crag Martins and a couple of Griffon Vultures on the way back home.
A stop at the alpine lake of Cavazzo (Udine) produced a summering Black-throated Diver (in winter plumage), a Black-necked Grebe and a pair of Tufted Ducks.

Pulsatilla alpina

Potentilla nitida

Linum julicum and Silene acaulis

Silene acaulis

Ranunculus traunfellneri

Pedicularis rostratocapitata

Dryas octopetala

Chamorchis alpina (Orchid)

Saxifraga paniculata

Primula auricula - amazingly still in bloom up here

Rock Ptarmigan Lagopus muta droppings

Alpine rock garden by the path to Bela peč

View from Bela peč towards the north-western part of Kanin's massif.

View north-eastwards with mt. Mangrt in the distance (highest top).

On top of Bela peč (2146 m) - a Rock Ptarmigan paradise!

Breginjski Stol - Alpine immersion

Pleasant awakening this morning at 4.30 am on Breginjski Stol (1673 m) in the Julian Alps (Slovenia). The main focus of this alpine two-day trip was seeing Rock Partridge, other mountain birds and a bit of alpine flora. Dawn started well with a chorus of CORNCRAKES singing all over the steep grassy slopes. At least 7 birds were heard simultaneously, but there were more lower down in the valley. Two years ago, up here we ringed 14 birds in a single night (see post).
The first ROCK PARTRIDGES started to sing shortly after - 3 birds heard from a single point. Two of them were also seen quite well, even if distant (with scope), while perched on rocky islets in the sea of grass. Watched the bird in the pics for at least 15 minutes. These are the best views I ever had of a Rock Partridge so far.

Rock Partridge Alectoris graeca

Dawn on Breginjski Stol with Mt. Krn (2244 m) in the distance.

Bird activity was at its highest in the early hours of the day, until about 7.00. A nice male ROCK THRUSH was delivering its song from a dry bush, while two noisy fledged juveniles were hopping on the rocky screes. Two or three Stonechats, a few Rock Buntings, Tree Pipits and Skylarks were also around.
Raptors included 5 Griffon Vultures (yesterday), 1 Honey Buzzard and a few pairs of Kestrels. No sign of the local Golden Eagles though.
Wildflowers were the second main focus. Here's a selection of the best...

Rhododendron hirsutum with Mt. Kanin (2587 m) in the background.

Aconitum lycoctonum - apparently very poisonous.

Nigritella rhellicani

Polygonum bistorta with Mt. Kanin.

Pedicularis elongata

Trollius europaeus

Digitalis grandiflora

Lilium carniolicum - very abundant on the south-facing grassy slopes.

Lilium martagon

Helianthemum nummularium and Mt. Kanin (again!).

Saxifraga crustata

And some landscapes...

The Stol's crest, as seen from the village of Breginj - the westernmost village in Slovenia.

Extensive grassy areas on Stol's south-facing slope provide habitat for Corncrake, Rock Partridge, Quail, Rock Thrush and many more.

Breginjski Stol - on the crest.

Mt. Krn from Stol.

Mt. Triglav is visible in the distance. With 2864 m it's Slovenia's highest mountain.

On the non-bird front, good to see were two Apollos Parnassius apollo, which unfortunately were too restless to take any photos. A Chamois Rupicapra rupicapra provided some additional alpine atmosphere.
A couple of Common Redstarts and a Crag Martin were seen in the valleys (Kobarid, Tolmin), while driving. And yesterday also a Short-toed Eagle on the Karst - perched on a pylon near Sežana.

Flamingos at sunset

Flamingos Phoenicopterus roseus

Yesterday, after several months, I was back at Isola della Cona and Valle Cavanata for an afternoon trip. A large flock of more than 200 FLAMINGOS at Valle Cavanata was a great sight to enjoy in the evening light. I've never seen them so close and in such a good light. They were quite vocal too.
Overall quite a lot of birds around in the wetlands, including lots of waders at Isola della Cona: Wood and Green Sandpipers, Common and Spotted Redshanks, Marsh Sandpiper (1), Greenshank, Black-tailed Godwit, Avocet (2), Ruff, Lapwing ect. Among the others, also cool to see were Little Bittern (1), Squacco Heron (2), Spoonbill (1) and a Hobby dashing through the freshwater marsh. Also quite a lot of movement on the Bee-eater bank, with more than 20 birds around and an occasional Kingfisher also sitting nearby.
Valle Cavanata also held a few Purple Herons, a Marsh Harrier and nesting Common Terns on the artificial rafts.
An evening owling session in the nearby areas of farmland produced a BARN OWL by the roadside, 2-3 calling Little Owls (including 1 perched on a wire) and a LONG-EARED OWL perched on a road sign.
All in all a pleasant afternoon.

Olivaceous Warbler

Eastern Olivaceous Warbler Hippolais (Iduna) pallida by Igor Maiorano

Ortolan Bunting Emberiza hortulana

This morning I was brought to see a breeding pair of OLIVACEOUS WARBLERS in Istria (Croatia). Saw at least one adult bringing food to 2-3 juvs. Also got to know their calls and song - direct comparison with Melodious Warblers breeding nearby. No opportunities to take photos, so above is a pic from Egypt by Igor Maiorano (hence the exotic tree).
Olivaceous Warbler is a mystery species that has been recorded as a breeding bird in the coastal part of Slovenia in the past. But in the last few years there have been just occasional records of vagrant birds. I tried to catch up with this species in the past, having checked unsuccessfully the known breeding sites. It also eluded me as a migrant bird in Egypt, so today I was happy to finally see it, although I had to go to Croatia.
In the same area I was also glad to hear a Fan-tailed Warbler (Zitting Cisticola), a species which had a marked decline both in Italy and Slovenia. I think I last saw one several years ago. Good to see were also up to 4 or 5 Golden Orioles feasting on a fig tree, a Wryneck, some Turtle Doves and a couple of Tawny Pipits.
The Ortolan Buntings on the Karst are otherwise doing well. Seen a few fledged and grown juveniles, which are now looking more similar to the adults. Also the Golden Eagle chick in the nest is pretty big. Still up to 5-6 Hoopoes around, but they'll be due to departure soon...