Michael´s Second Year

[michael-ibk]

394/E170.) House Martin (Delichon urbicum) / Mehlschwalbe

 

Oberbergtal, Tirol, 23/7/2017. Unlike the Barn Swallows these common Martins are nesting at the outside of buildings.

 

 

And one in flight from Mühldorf, Carinthia, 30/7/2017

 

[michael-ibk]

395/E171.) Northern Wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe) / Steinschmätzer

 

Lake Constance, 29/4/2017. Not an uncommon bird in the mountains in summer but I´ve seen very few of them this year.

 

 

And one I won´t include in the general count because it does not even pass as an ebc - not sure if it is an Common or a Short-Toed Treecreeper (E172.).

 

 

And one more just for the Europe count - Alpine Swift (E173), a special bird to see here in summer. Believe me, they are Alpine Swifts, even though it´s not easy to tell from this photo.

 

Edited September 24, 2017 by michael-ibk

[michael-ibk]

396/E174.) Eurasian Wryneck (Jynx torquilla) / Wendehals

 

Mühldorf, Carinthia, 15/04/2017. Heard it singing in my mother´s garden this spring and was happy to finally find it in the trees.

 

 

 

Edited September 24, 2017 by michael-ibk

[Dave Williams]

Getting close if you haven't already got them in the bag. 400...wow!

[michael-ibk]

A few more birds (all ebc I´m afraid, otherwise I would have long posted them) I´ve seen already (in a much more photogenic way) in Ethiopia to boost the Europe count - would really like to crack 200 this year here "at home".

 

-/E175.) Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola) / Bruchwasserläufer

 

Maria Elend, Carinthia, 16/4/2017. Seewinkel is normally a good place to get close shots but failed to deliver this year.

 

 

-/E176.) Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos) / Flussuferläufer

 

Haapsalu, Estonia, 13/8/2017. The only wader one can expect to see in the Alps. Spotted several of them this year but none of them were as cooperating as this one in the Balticum.

 

 

The ones at home generally fly off when you try to get close, like this one in Carinthia.

 

 

-/E177.) Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus) / Waldwasserläufer

 

Lleida Steppes, Spain, 15/7/2017. Have only seen one of them in Austria so far this year.

 

 

-/E178.) Black Stork (Ciconia nigra) / Schwarzstorch

 

Comana, Romania, 22/9/2017. This one, OTOH, I´ve never seen so far in Austria although they do occur. So much rarer than their white cousins.

 

 

-/179.) Montagu´s Harrier (Circus pygargus) / Wiesenweihe

 

Estonia, 14/8/2017. Marsh Harriers are not really difficult to find in suitable areas, this one is a different story altogether. A male.

 

 

And a female from Seewinkel, 9/9/2017. A few of them are breeding in the area.

 

 

-/180.) Purple Heron (Ardea purpurea) / Purpurreiher

 

Seewinkel, 25/5/2017. Our rarest breeding Heron.

 

[michael-ibk]

397/E181.) Red-Breasted Flycatcher (Ficedula parva) / Zwergschnäpper - NEW

 

Bucharest, 22/9/2017. The ebc-saga continues with this ISO16000 photo.

 

[michael-ibk]

398/E182.) Whiskered Tern (Chlidonias leucopterus) / Weißflügel-Seeschwalbe

 

Comana, Romania, 22/9/2017. A rare breeding bird in Austria, I´ve seen them at Lake Constance in spring.

 

[michael-ibk]

399/E183.) Pygmy Cormorant (Microcarbo pygmeus) / Zwergscharbe

 

Comana, Romania, 22/9/2017. An extremely rare bird in Austria, only found in the Seewinkel area in small numbers. In Romania, however, they are very common.

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

400/E184.) Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) / Eisvogel

 

Comana, Romania, 22/9/2017. Not a photo that will win any prizes (it´s a very tight crop) but I was really happy to finally get reasonably close to a Kingfisher that I chose it for #400. It was sitting on the slope of an artificial dam pretty far away. I tried to approach it, crouched down, then crept on the dam and thereby managed to get within an acceptable distance before this dashing little blue streak noticed me and was off.

 

Edited September 24, 2017 by michael-ibk

[Dave Williams]

Nice one Michael, I had a sneaky feeling No 400 was on it's way! Can't see anyone catching you but you never know!!!!!!

[Tdgraves]

Congratulations on 400 @michael-ibk

[xelas]

Another excellent Big Year, @michael-ibk! Congratulations on reaching #400, and I am sure #500 and above is easily reachable again this year!

 

12 hours ago, Dave Williams said:

Can't see anyone catching you but you never know!!!!!!

 

Hmmm, I have heard notices of 700+ species being spotted by a fellow member and Big Year participant ... not sure if tickers or clickers though  !

Edited September 25, 2017 by xelas

[PeterHG]

Congratulations on 400, @michael-ibk ! What a collection you have managed to collect!

[lmSA84]

@michael-ibk - congratulations! Brilliant collection - so varied

[Peter Connan]

Very well done! 400 is a magnificent total!

[TonyQ]

Congratulations on a superb 400. And a fine bird to reach that magic number!

[screentraveller]

P.202: i love the the Long-Crested Eagle's regal posture in contrast with its  funny hair-do.

p.219: the figure and the colours of the Jacana's plumage are so nice, but the legs are simply disgusting. Great photo, of course. Another one of your bird portraits

[Galana]

More congratulations on the magical #400 with some excellent subjects to do it.

[michael-ibk]

Ok, here come the birds from my Zimbabwe and Zambia trips to Mana Pools and Kafue (Oct 4th to Oct 25th). There was quite an overlap with birds from Ethiopia, so let´s see if they will carry me to 500. Apologies for the quality of some, the weather was not always very favourable, so quite a lot of ebc-stuff.

 

401/ZZ1.) White-Breasted Cormorant (Phalacrocorax lucidus) / Weißbrustkormoran

 

Lake Itezhi Tezhi, 8/10. Common around the lake, a few on Kafue river.

 

 

-/ZZ2.) Reed Cormorant (Microcarbo africanus) / Riedscharbe

 

Kafue River, 10/10.

 

[michael-ibk]

402/ZZ3.) African Darter (Anhinga rufa) / Afrika-Schlangenhalsvogel

 

Kafue River, 12/10. Common on the river.

 

 

-/ZZ4.) Great White Pelican (Pelecanus onacrotalus) / Rosapelikan

 

Busanga Plains, 14/10. We saw many flocks of these impressive birds in Kafue.

 

[michael-ibk]

A whole group of repeats:

 

-/ZZ5.) African Spoonbill (Platalea alba) / Afrikanischer Löffler

 

Lake Itezhi Tezhi, 8/10

 

 

-/ZZ6.) African Sacred Ibis (Threskiornis aethiopicus) / Heiliger Ibis

 

Lake Itezhi Tezhi, 7/10

 

 

-/ZZ7.) Hadeda Ibis (Bostrychia hagedash) / Hagedasch

 

Kafue River, 11/10

 

 

-/ZZ8.) Glossy Ibis (Plegadus falcinellus) / Sichler

 

Lake Itezi Tezhi, 7/10

 

[michael-ibk]

More duplicates:

 

-/ZZ9.) Goliath Heron (Ardea goliath) / Goliathreiher

 

Busanga Plains, 14/10

 

 

-/ZZ10.) Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) / Graureiher

 

Mana Pools Floodplains, 20/10

 

 

-/ZZ11.) Black-Headed Heron (Ardea melanocephala) / Schwarzhalsreiher

 

Mana Pools Floodplains, 20/10

 

 

-/ZZ12.) Black Heron (Egretta ardesiaca) / Glockenreiher

 

Musekese, 10/10

 

 

-/ZZ13.) Squacco Heron (Ardeola ralloides) / Rallenreiher

 

Musekese, 10/10

 

 

-/ZZ14.) Green-Backed aka Striated Heron (Butorides striata) / Mangrovenreiher

 

Kafue River, 15/10

 

 

We also saw big flocks of Black-Crowned Night Herons in Kafue flying to their roosts at night (no photos). Some places in Mana Pools are good for Rufous-Bellied Heron but we did not find any.

[michael-ibk]

403/ZZ15.) Yellow-Billed aka Intermediate Egret (Egretta intermedia) / Asienmittelreiher

 

Mana Pools Floodplains, 21/10. Easily overlooked among all the other white Egrets. Neck shorter than Great and not hold in such a pronounced "S" shape, bill shorter and gape ends just below eye (behind eye in Great Egret). Larger and longer necked than Cattle. Yellow Bill distinguishes it from Little.

 

 

And the other three:

 

-/ZZ16.) Great Egret (Ardea alba) / Silberreiher

 

Mana Pools Floodplains, 19/10

 

 

-/ZZ17.) Little Egret (Egretta garzetta) / Seidenreiher

 

Lake Itezhi Tezhi, 7/10

 

 

-/ZZ18.) Western Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis) / Kuhreiher

 

Kanga Pan, 22/10

 

[michael-ibk]

404/ZZ19.) Saddle-Billed Stork (Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis) / Sattelstorch

 

Mana Pools Floodplains, 21/10. One of my favourites.

 

 

And a juvenile from Musekese, 9/10 - a first for me.

 

 

-/ZZ20.) Yellow-Billed Stork (Mycteria ibis) / Nimmersatt

 

Lake Itezhi Tezhi, 7/10

 

[michael-ibk]

405/ZZ21.) African Openbill (Anastomus lamelligerus) / Mohrenklaffschnabel

 

Mana Pools Floodplains, 20/10.

 

 

-/ZZ22.) Marabou Stork (Leptoptilos crumeniferus) / Marabu

 

Musekese, 11/10

 

 

-/ZZ23.) Hamerkop (Scopus umbretta) / Hammerkopf

 

Kanga Pan, 24/10

 

 

We also saw a few Wooly-Necked Storks at Lake Itezhi Tezhi.