Michael´s Year

[Peter Connan]

@@michael-ibk, just two more birds needed for you to take the lead!

 

I had better pull my finger out...☺?

[xelas]

@@michael-ibk

 

What a variety of birds you are able to find! Not so many around my house ... however I could "rent" you a shot or two of a pheasant ... just need to wait the snow to melt .

[michael-ibk]

Ok, @@Peter Connan , that made me get up at 05:30 to hunt some new ones in the morning before breakfast. From Gmunden, Oberösterreich:

 

80.) Common Wood Pigeon (Columba palumbus) / Ringeltaube

 

 

81.) Wood Warbler (Phylloscopus sibilatrix) / Waldlaubsänger - very similar to Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler, but the white belly is a good identification helper

 

 

 

 

 

[PeterHG]

Absolutely love your Dipper shots! Must have been great to see the Hoopoe, one of my favorite and I hope to see them again this summer, when I go south.

[michael-ibk]

Three new ones from yesterday at Bodensee (Lake Constance):

 

82.) Common Tern (Sterna hirundo) / Flussseeschwalbe

 

 

 

83.) Common Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna) / Brandgans (among the Red-Crested Pochards, to the right)

 

 

84.) Western Yellow Wagtail (Motacilla flava) / Schafstelze

 

 

 

And a few familiar faces:

 

Cormorant:

 

 

Whinchat:

 

 

Chaffinch:

 

 

Carrion Crow

 

 

Female Blackcap

 

[michael-ibk]

Whinchat

 

A correction: I have been told that this little guy - or gal, in fact - is actually a (female) Northern Wheatear and not a Whinchat.

[michael-ibk]

All the following ones from Seewinkel, Burgenland, 05/05 -07/05.

 

(See my mini TR here: http://safaritalk.net/topic/16335-seewinkel-safari-austrias-birding-paradise/)

 

85.) Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus) / Kiebitz

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

86.) Western Marsh Harrier (Circus aeruginosus) / Rohrweihe

[michael-ibk]

I had Common Kestrel before, but only from very far away, so here are some new ones - like the Harrier this bird is very common in Seewinkel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

87.) Black-Winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus) / Stelzenläufer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Peter Connan]

Your Northern Lapwing shots are spectacular!

[michael-ibk]

Thanks Peter - optimal conditions for these. Early morning, best light, and the Lapwing was very close - oddly enough, it was breeding next to the road, where a lot of cars and walkers are passing it by on a daily basis.

[michael-ibk]

88.) Ruff (Philomachus pugnax) / Kampfläufer

 

 

 

 

 

 

And yes, these photos all show the same species - a Ruff´s plumage can be very variable. The erected collar of white ornamental feathers is only displayed on their breeding sites, and they are just moving through here.

[michael-ibk]

89.) Little Ringed Plover (Charadrius dubius) / Flussregenpfeifer

 

[michael-ibk]

90.) Common Ringed Plover (Charadrius hiaticula) / Sandregenpfeifer

 

Despite the name this bird is much more uncommon here than the Little Ringed Plover

 

 

[michael-ibk]

91.) Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola) / Bruchwasserläufer

 

 

[michael-ibk]

I´ve already had them in the count, but only with a shot from about a km away, so here´s a series of Common Pheasant.

 

A good example for how this Big Year has changed my perception - I could have sworn I had never seen a Pheasant in my life. But I have been to Seewinkel before, and I must have seen them, they are all over the place.

 

 

 

 

The female:

 

Edited May 11, 2016 by michael-ibk

[michael-ibk]

92.) Pied Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta) / Säbelschnäbler

 

 

 

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

No, this one is not about the horses - a bird here in the picture which got all the local ornithologists in Seewinkel very excited a few years ago when they started showing up. Now they are becoming a bit more of a regular but still a rare sight:

93.) Pygmy Cormorant (Microcarbo pygmeus or Phalacrocorax pygmeus) / Zwergscharbe



A brutal crop:

 

Edited May 11, 2016 by michael-ibk

[michael-ibk]

94.) Eurasian Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia) / Löffler - another rarity here seeing which gave me a cosy "Africa" feeling.

 

Edited May 11, 2016 by michael-ibk

[michael-ibk]

95.) European Turtle Dove (Streptopelia turtur) / Turteltaube

 

Edited May 11, 2016 by michael-ibk

[michael-ibk]

96.) Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus) / Regenbrachvogel - very similar but smaller and a shorter beak than its cousin, the Eurasian Curlew



And speaking of Curlews (featured here before, but only from very far away):

Edited May 11, 2016 by michael-ibk

[michael-ibk]

97.) Sand Martin(Riparia riparia) / Uferschwalbe

 

Edited May 11, 2016 by michael-ibk

[michael-ibk]

98.) Ferruginous Duck (Aythya nyroca) / Moorente - the only European duck with almost no sexual dimorphism

 

Local birders love this one as I found out - apparently it´s quite a rare sight.

 

 

Edited May 11, 2016 by michael-ibk

[michael-ibk]

99.) Common Linnet (Carduelis cannabina) / Bluthänfling

 

 

Edited May 11, 2016 by michael-ibk