IWC on the Slovene coast

Had a busy day on the Slovene coast, counting for the IWC (International Waterbirds Census). I had a couple of coastal transects between the towns of Koper and Izola. The top highlight appeared right at the beginning when I spotted 6 female VELVET SCOTERS in the bay of Koper. They gave good flight views before landing distantly on the sea. Other birds seen during the census included: 3 Red-breasted Mergansers, 2 Great Egrets (over the sea), 4 Black-necked Grebes, 27 Great Crested Grebes, 21 Cormorants, 3 Common Gulls, 2 Shags, 1 Med Gull and 1 first winter Caspian Gulls (Izola harbour).
Later in the day I checked Škocjanski zatok NR, which held some newly arrived northern guests: 19 White-fronted Geese (arrived overnight). The flock was quite flighty and wary and always on the move between the grazing marsh and some other fields in the Srmin area, out of the reserve.
Otherwise pretty much the same in the wetland, with the usual numbers of wildfowl, but an astonishing number of gulls. A flock of about 800 Black-headed Gulls and 500 Yellow-legged Gulls held also at least 3 first winter Caspian Gulls and 48 Common Gulls.

Caspo

In the Srmin area (near Ankaran) I also checked a newly built "sewage farm" or some kind of strange reservoir, which held twice the number of gulls. Among the three commonest species I also found at least 6 additional Caspian Gulls, this time also two nice adults and some sub-adults.

Two adult Caspian Gulls

 

A Fieldfare was in the nearby fields, along with Meadow Pipits and about 40 Jackdaws.
My final stop was in the evening in the bay of Lazaret - Debeli Rtič (near Ankaran) where I had to count the Shags at the roost. There was a miserable total of 29 Shags and 122 Cormorants. The sea here held additional common grebes and Red-breasted Mergansers and most surprisingly, a lone White-fronted Goose (it didn't seem too handsome). The final highlight came at the end when I spotted an adult LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL on one of the buoys.
A quite gull-y day I must say (I probably broke my record for Caspian Gulls in a day!)

LONG-TAILED DUCK, BEWICK'S and WHOOPER SWANS - Ptujsko jezero (SLO)

 

Today I spent an exciting day in the far north-east of Slovenia. I visited the lake of Ptuj (Ptuj reservoir) to see a couple of rarities reported there since last week. As I arrived to the south-eastern part of the lake, at the dam close to Markovci, literally the first bird in my scope was the LONG-TAILED DUCK. This bird, which was a female, was the main target of the trip. I was really relieved to find it so quickly. It was swimming with a group of 9 Velvet Scoters, which showed all very well (see above), quite close to the reservoir's concrete bank. After about 15 minutes I was watching it, the whole group (including the Long-tailed Duck) took off and headed to the central part of the lake (last two pics above). Later in the day I couldn't find them again.
From the dam at Markovci I then checked the rest of the wildfowl which included some very interesting birds. The first which caught my attention were 4 drake SMEWS. The commonest duck was Mallard, with probably more than a thousand birds on the lake. Both Tufted Ducks and Pochards were also abundant, along with the funny-displaying Goldeneyes, which formed good groups as well. A few Pintails, Gadwalls and some more Wigeons were also around. Other interesting sawbills included about 23 GOOSANDERS (both sexes) in a big raft in the middle of the lake. I didn't find any of the reported rarest grebes (Red-necked and Slavonian), but a Red-throated Diver was quite good as well. A few Pygmy Cormorants were also present, along with at least 20 Common Gulls and flocks of Rooks in the surrounding farmland.

Female Velvet Scoter

  
Mixed wildfowl on the lake, including a raft of Goosanders in the background

Next stop were the open fields close to the lake where I went looking for the two reported rare swan species.
Not long after I discovered a small muddy road going through the fields (sewage works area), I spotted some white dots in the distance. I approached a few hundred metres and soon I had in the scope 4 yellow-billed swans among some 15 Mute Swans.
Two were adult WHOOPER SWANS and some metres away from them were feeding also 2 BEWICK'S SWANS (adult and juvenile). Comparison here was possible due to the presence of both species; a bit like at Welney WWT in Britain! I never imagined I would see both species together in Slovenia. I know Bewick's is the second record for the country and probably there are no more than 10 records for Whooper in Slovenia, so both true rarities!

 Two adult Whoopers

Adult Bewick's

 Juvenile Bewick's

In the afternoon I went to check the Medvedce reservoir - a must-stop on the way home. Also here Mallards were the most numerous and among them I managed to pull out a 6 GOOSANDERS, some Wigeons and Teals. A Great Grey Shrike was as usual present in the surroundings and about 24 White-fronted Geese were grazing on the nearby fields. A nice ending to the day were four Hen Harriers preparing to roost (2 males and 2 females) on the central part of the reservoir.
By the way I also heard that flocks of Waxwings have been seen in Maribor and other parts in NE Slovenia, but today I didn't have time to go and look for them.
Well, I can't complain... I had an excellent day regardless!

From Wallcreepers to Caspian Gulls

Here's a few updates from the last three days. On Friday I was doing my usual monitoring in Škocjanski zatok NR. The highlight there were at least 3 first-winter CASPIAN GULLS mixed within a flock of 170 Yellow-legged Gulls and about 800 Black-necked Gulls in the freshwater marsh. Also of note were 11 first-winter Common Gulls and a summer-plumaged Black-headed Gull (complete hood).
A ringtail Hen Harrier was quartering the grazing marsh and reedbeds, while a Peregrine was seen flying past, heading towards the port of Koper. Other birds around included 2 Greylag Geese (still present in the freshwater part), 50 Shovelers, 30 Wigeons, 250 Teals, 4 male Pochards, 2 female Tufted Ducks, 6 Pygmy Cormorants, 2 Water Rails, 15 Greenshanks, 10 Curlews, 11 Snipes (flock in flight), +20 Penduline Tits, a few Goldcrests, 6 Jackdaws, 1 Chiffchaff, Hawfinch, Reed and Cirl Buntings.

1st winter Caspian Gull

Yesterday instead I spent another lovely and warm sunny day out on the Karst (Italian side). I was leading a group of biology students on a birdwatching trip. In the beech woodland near Bazovica we had several species of woodpeckers. Earlier in the morning I had great views of a female Grey-headed Woodpecker. Later we also observed 1 Black Woodpecker (female + 1 male heard calling), 2 territorial Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers and a few Great Spotted Woodpeckers. The local Nuthatches, Short-toed Treecreepers and Marsh Tits were quite vocal and territorial too.
On the Mt. Stena (in the Glinščica valley NR) after a long wait, we were lucky enough to see both WALLCREEPER and ALPINE ACCENTOR - the two winter specialities here. The Alpine Accentor (1 or maybe 2) showed briefly on some rocks along the cliff-face and gave a few flight calls. The Wallcreeper instead was really obliging and showed superbly and close on the sunbaked rocks.
The pine woodland held the usual Coal and Crested Tits.

Wallcreeper

Alpine Accentor

In the evening we then went to listen to the Eagle Owl, just out of the town of Trieste. When we arrived to the spot, a male Goshawk greeted us with close flight views. At dusk the male EAGLE OWL started to sing and we soon spotted it perching in full view on a rock. The best possible end to a karstic field excursion!

1st January - Cerkniško jezero

I needed to start well the new year, so yesterday I visited the Cerknica lake in Slovenia. Compared to my last visit (in December), this time the lake was almost completely ice-free and there was more wildfowl scattered around. Snow on the ground was absent, so walking around was again relatively easy!
The first birds noticed were +20 Goldeneyes, along with a few grebes and more interestingly 2 redhead SMEWS (first 2 pics above). The usual wintering flock of at least 1000 Mallards was present, but unfortunately it didn't contain many other species. Some Wigeons were heard, along with a single male Pintail swimming around and 4 Tufted Ducks. Four Shelducks were also of interest.
In the nearby fields at least 3 Great Grey Shrikes were seen and it was quite interesting to see 3 Grey-headed Woodpeckers in different woodland habitats (a male above). On the fields around Martinjak 4 Hen Harriers were hunting (all females except one). Other birds around the lake included the usual forest mix of Crested, Marsh and Coal Tit, Siskin, Mistle Thrush, Hawfinch and so on.
Later in the day, other parts of the Notranjska region were visited, from Postojna to Pivka and Ilirska Bistrica, back to the Karst. Birds seen in the rest of the day included 4 other Great Grey Shrikes, a couple of Ravens, 1 Peregrine (perching on the cliffs at Podstenje) and lots of Common Buzzards - accurately checked in the search of a Rough-legged.
Oh, and I must mention my first bird of the year - a Blackbird in the garden (07.30 am).

OTTER at Cerkniško jezero!

Today I had a stop at the Cerknica lake (in Slovenia) on my way back home from "official business" in Ljubljana. It proved to be a very wise idea.
It was a wonderful day for being outdoors with about -10° to -1° C (coldish), but with a bright sun shining all over the snowy countryside. There must have been about 1 metre of snow on the ground. So I had a nice walk into the snow up to the knees (and sometimes even deeper). The walk brought me to my usual "watchpoint" above the lake, where I had a good view over the main unfrozen water bodies. As soon as I began scanning, a huge perched silhouette appeared on a short pole - an adult WHITE-TAILED EAGLE. It was perched near the biggest water body which contained a thousand or more Mallards, +20 Teals, 9 female Tufted Ducks, a few Coots and some Mute Swans. It stayed there for a long time and sometimes changed perches - also seen on the other side of the lake in the afternoon:

Minutes after the eagle discovery, I was about to have a heart attack when a Coypu-shaped animal appeared in my scope. Coypus are of course (and unfortunately) common around freshwater places, but here one would appear a bit out of place. And after the first look I realized this was no Coypu... it was an OTTER! The animal was quite distant (maybe 1 km away), somewhere right at the centre of the lake. It was showing well, completely out of water, while feeding on the ice. I could watch it for 6 minutes and see all the main features, including the strong, smooth tail, elongated head profile and smooth fur (see pics). Sometimes it moved around a bit and showed even better. Then, after finishing its meal, it dived into the water, never to be seen again.

What an animal! In Slovenia, Otters inhabit places like the Cerknica lake, but they are far from numerous, quite localised, extremely shy and hard to see - especially by day. I still think about the Otter as a "ghost animal"... a bit like the Lynx. I think I had a considerable amount of luck today and maybe the icy conditions influenced the animal's activity.

The third highlight of the day followed shortly afterwards when I heard the characteristic call of COMMON CRANES. I looked up and saw a flock of 17 birds flying SW, high over the lake. The firsts of the season, lovely!
Otherwise it was a bit quiet, with not even a single Great Grey Shrike seen (usually present in the area). The only other thing of interest were some mid-sized flocks of Fieldfares hopping on the ice edges all around the water bodies. Also quite funny to hear two Water Rails responding to a dog's barking.

 And here some magnificent landscape views to round up the day

Wallcreeper & Alpine Accentor

This afternoon I found two cliff specialities that are typical winter visitors along the karstic ridge, but never guaranteed. In the warm afternoon sunshine I decided to check the cliffs of mount Stena which overlooks the Glinščica valley (Val Rosandra), just minutes out of Trieste.
After the usual wait of about half an hour on my preferred clifftop, the first glimpse of crimson flashing on the distant rocks: a WALLCREEPER. At first it was quite far, but in a few minutes it flew closer and gave brilliant views for the rest of the afternoon (see above). A video here. While watching it, hopping up and down the rocks, I noticed another movement a few metres away from it. I was a small Dunnock-like bird that in my bins appeared magically as an ALPINE ACCENTOR. So I could watch both birds at close distance from one another, feeding in the same area of the cliffs. The accentor also ventured into some vegetation and looked for food among the grassy tufts growing out of the rocks. It was also quite vocal and a few times it seemed there were more birds calling, but it was quite difficult to judge the direction of the sound. When you hear a lone Alpine Accentor you always expect to see a whole flock of birds. Instead there's only one calling (a bit like the Jackdaw's call).

Alpine Accentor

Some distance away from the two birds there was also a female Black Redstart on the cliffs, along with a calling Rock Bunting. Otherwise the area was very quiet, as usual in winter. Just two Ravens passing by and a few tits and Goldcrests in the pines.

Earlier in the morning I had my weekly count at Škocjanski zatok, but there wasn't anything really of note. Maybe 2 Black-throated Divers in the lagoon and 4 migrant Lapwings were the highlight. The Great Grey Shrike by the road was also still present.

Winter goodies on the coast

Today I had a really good time along the coast, discovering some freshly arrived "winter gems". In the morning we had a walk with the local bird group at Lisert where we managed to see quite an astonishing number and diversity of grebes and divers. Best bird of the day was a handsome SLAVONIAN GREBE fishing on the sea, just metres away from the concrete bank we were standing on (pics above). Thus I had my best views ever of this northern species. Needles to say it was a season's first.
The sea was literally stuffed with divers: +30 Black-throated Divers (incl. 17 together and one breeding plumaged bird!) and +10 Red-throated Divers (pics below). Two Red-necked Grebes were also present, along with just a few Great Cresteds and about 30 Black-necked Grebes all concentrated in the bay of Panzano. In a nearby marina we picked out the first COMMON GULL of the season among a group Black-headed Gulls.
Other birds in the Lisert area included: 20 Curlews, 2 Common Eiders, Water Pipit, 6 Pintails & Shovelers, 15 Skylarks, 1 Greenshank, 1 Peregrine (soaring high above Monfalcone), 5 Common Sandpipers, several Sandwich Terns out on the sea, 2 Goldcrests, Reed Buntings & Penduline Tits in the reedbed, 1 Song Thrush, 1 Short-toed Treecreeper, both Rock and Cirl Bunting, 15 Jackdaws, 1 Stonechat, 1 Snipe and a few commoner things.

In the afternoon we went to Isola della Cona and had some additional highlights in the form of: 1 male MERLIN hunting on the saltmarsh (first of the season), 2 ringtail Hen Harriers, 1 Red-necked Grebe (Quarantia canal), 2 Tufted Ducks, about 15 Goldcrests, 6 Dunlins, 1 Marsh Harrier and other commoner marshland stuff.
Also glad to see the returning White-fronted Geese - at least 60 seen today in the freshwater marsh. But others will follow...