Cold as... winter!

Otters are a common sight in cannals and waterways around Koper.

A couple of chilly weeks with ocassional Bora have turned the coast into its winter state but the snow. In terms of birds, passerines can be seen in Koper's gardens attacking the olives and khakis still in the trees, mostly Chaffinches, House Sparrows and Blue and Great Tits.

A quick walk in Škocjanski zatok NR produced a large number of ducks at the back of the reserve, with hundreds of Teals and Mallards, about 60 Wigeon and a few Common Pochards and Tufted Ducks. One Sparrowhawk was guarding the ducks probably more focused on the finches, tits and Robins. The lagoon was quiet with no sign of the recently spotted Greylag geese.

A Mute Swan prinning its feathers among ducks.

Photoscoping the Sparrowhawk.

Next week I will be birding in Spain, watch this space!

Autumn's blues

In the two visits I paid to Škocjanski zatok NR this week I could appreciate the slow transition into winter. Decidious trees and shrubs shedding colourful leaves, the sun no longer climbing high up into the sky and cronic layers of clouds dampening the light. Still, temperatures are rather high (15°C-17°C) so walking around is pleasant.
In terms of birds, Black-necked Grebes can already be seen in the main lagoon...

One of the three Podiceps nigricollis yesterday in the Lagoon

Black-necked Grebe diving amid a group of Coots

...together with a good number of Wigeons, Teals, Shovelers, Mallards and a few Pochards. Yesterday I also got a single Tufted Duck in the reserve.

Other goodies this week: a small group of Tree Sparrows, one Sparrowhawk flushed from reeds, a pair of Stonechats and 2 Lapwings resting on islets at high water. Also 2 or 3 Cattle Egrets scorting the cows across the meadows. The number of Little and Great Egrets has diminished dramatically while Little Grebes and Grey Herons remain ubiquitous.

That is all for now, I am eagerly waiting for the first cold spells to bring more interesting birds.

Between showers

Autumn is in full bloom with constant showers and chilly temperatures, perfect for birding!

Highlights of Škocjanski zatok this afternoon: one Glossy Ibis grazing amid a group of Mallards, a Hobby patrolling the reeds, a Common Buzzard perched on a pole and a Green Sandpiper.
In the Lagoon I got superb views of this Kingfisher. Apologies for the digiscoping.

Patient Kingfisher.

I was also approached by this little warbler, perhaps a Chiffchaff (note the dark legs and short primaries).

Little Blue Job moving around, most likely a Chiffchaff.

From previous days I would like to mention an Osprey, seen yesterday in Škocjanski during the European day of birds. A pity the constant rain, but there were birds aplenty.

I had an encounter with a ghost-bird in Europe, the Helmeted Guineafowl, in the most unlikely place. The Koper Farm Show on Saturday 5th. The birds were on sale next to regular chickens.

Captivity-reared Helmeted Guineafowl. The bird is all but extinct in North Africa these days.

Also, on the 4th, I visited Strunjan. A very interesting and overlooked area, with a priceless unspoiled cliff. A Kingfisher and a Whinchat were showing well in the salty ponds. I shall return more often.

Ibis

01^st October, Škocjanski zatok

Admitedly, Ibis are not the most beautiful of birds. Its lanky profile with a prominent neck and beak does not make them win beauty contests, however to me they evoke memmories of Ancient Egypt. The sacred ibis was closely associated to Djehuti, God of knowledge and wisdom. Glossy Ibises can be seen in the Adriatic with relative ease, they move up and down the coast throughout the year. In Koper they are regular visitors but not always let themselves be seen. A few days ago a group of Ibides were spotted in Škocjanski zatok, so in the first sunny day after the storms I grabbed bins, scope and camara and got moving.

Glossy Ibiss hidden from view.

And the first thing that I found was... two Glossy Ibis, hidden behind the long grass in the company of a flock of Little Egrets. I apologise for the poor quality of the images.
Lazy warm afternoon with gushes of Bora (the chilly northern wind). Lots of people around and surprisingly good numbers of birds: White and Yellow Wagtails in the meadows, Winchats on the wires and a flying dart of blue crossing in front of me, that is, a Kingfisher.

A White Wagtail and a Yellow Wagtail in the recently mowed meadows.

The wagtails followed in the steps of oxen, catching insects.

Every time I walk the path near the river I peer through the bushes in search of an old friend...

Juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron basking in the sun.

...a Night Heron! So here it was perched on a tree.

Nice start of the Autumn in the south of Slovenia. Looking forward to bird surprises in the coming days.

Observations (note that for common species no exhaustive count was performed):
- Glossy Ibis, 2.
- Shoveler, 1.
- Wigeon, 4.
- Teal > 10, male in fresh plumage.
- Mallard, > 4.
- Little Egret > 14.
- Great Cormorant, 2 juveniles + > 6 adults.
- Pygmy Cormorant, 1 in Lagoon + 7 in reserve.
- Black-headed Gull > 3.
- Mute Swan > 4 ad + > 8 juveniles.
- Little Grebe > 4.
- Kingfisher, 1.
- Great-crested Grebe, 3.
- Greenshank, 2.
- White Wagtail, 6.
- Yellow Wagtail, 4.
- Curlew, 2.
- Grey Heron > 12.
- Coot > 30.
- Hooded Crow, 2.
- Starling, ca 80.
- Great Egret > 3.
- Winchat, 2.
- Black-crowned Night Heron, 1, juvenile.
- Moorhen > 6.

Across the Gulf of Trieste

19^th September, Marano Lagunare, Italy

The Gulft of Trieste is rich in marshes and tidal shores. A number of them are protected within nature reserve boundaries. Today I visited Marano Lagunare, half way between Trieste and Venice, and laying next to a picturesque fishing village.

A Little Egret treads gingerly the shallow waters.

I came attracted by the recent sight of a rare Siberian wader, the Terek Sandpiper. This russian friend has been moving along the Gulf with abandond showing hither and thither, so I knew it was not going to be easy. Anyway, a splendid sunny morning seemed auspicious.
In my search I found a good number of Snipes, Curlews, Spotted Redshanks, Little Ringed Plovers, Lapwings and Greylag. One Grey Plover and a couple of Little Stints were also resting in a sand bar. I paid particular attention to the Snipes to see if any was the less common Jack Snipe or the even rarer Great Snipe, none of them were unfortunately.
I checked the main lagoon from the different hides and waited patiently as the sun raced accross the skies. From time to time small parties of geese would call noisily, take off and head west. No one else around me, it was time for capturing images and reflect on migrating birds. All the dangers ahead of them... long distances and unpredictable weather... human barriers and traps... uncertain fate...

Black-headed Gull resting on a submerge tree branch.

My Terek friend was nowhere to be seen. Is it still around? Perhaps on its way south to the Dalmatian coast or to Venice. Free to roam the world, but unlikely to ever meet another of its own species. 

Snipe (Gallinago gallinago) pocking the mud for worms.

On my way back home I found this interesting large caterpillar (10 cm) moving across the garden. Moth? Butterfly? Beautiful anyway.

Orange caterpillar.

Of Teals and Rain

11^th September, Škocjanski zatok

The end of the Eurobasket in Koper has come with T-storms and heavy showers.

Raining in my terrace.

This morning I spotted a gap in the sky and head to Škocjanski zatok to check for migrants. I found a large number of Teals resting in the reserve. I counted 280 before a Marsh Harrier flushed them into hiding. The lagoon was particularly calm and not much of notice. As summers ends breeding birds leave while the winter ones do not seem to have arrived.

Grey Heron stalking prey.

A mass of menacing dark clouds advancing from the Gulf of Trieste made me reconsider my birding plans. I return home just as the rain started to fall violently. Proper Autum indeed!

Autumn is coming

06^th September, Škocjanski zatok

This late morning a quick walk on the reserve revealed lots of Dragonflies and Butterflies but small numbers of birds. Often few birds does not equal to boring. In the lagoon I found a distant Red-breasted Merganser sitting on an isle. It sported a slightly upwards beak, white flanks and hardly any contrast between the red-tinge of the head and the breast. Either female or male coming out of eclipse into winter plumage!
Also in the lagoon I spotted a group of Sandwich Terns together with some Common ones. No sign of the juvenile Black Terns of previous weeks.
As a group of kids was noisily chasing me around the reserve I did not take pics of brids today but here you have some invertebrate:

Peacock (Inachis io) upon yellow flower.

Dragonfly posing for the split of a second.

Sun basking Dalmatian Wall Lizard scaping from the camera.

Of Snails and Birds

24^th August, Škocjanski zatok

After a few days idling I finally got my bins out again and paid an early visit to Škocjanski zatok. Target:migrants and early winter arrivals. Result: Snails! After the overnight rain large and small ones were crisscrossing the paths. If we were in Spain they would end up in a pot, lucky guys.

But there were more than gasteropodes around. As the sun broke through the skies hundreds of Swallows circled the reserve. Even more impressive were the Starlings. Thousands of them gathered noisly in nearby reeds...

... and suddenly at 6:32 silence... the were aloft together and left towards Trieste. Impressive!

Coming back to Earth I found a couple of Sedge Warblers moving together with Reed Warblers close to the Lagoon.

And in the Lagoon, quite some activity: Greenshanks, Wood Sandpipers, Pygmy Cormorants, Yellow Wagtail and 3 young Black Terns. I managed to digiscope two of them with my phone, sorry for the poor quality.

Back to the plains and reeds of the reserve I saw my first Turtle Dove in Slovenia, then a female/juvenile Winchat and a group of Garganeys. There were some little blue jobs around but after playing hide-and-seek for a while I gave up identification. I also flushed a heron from the banks of the river which I wonder whether it was the reported elusive Black-crowned Night Heron, food for thought.
Finally as the day heated up I turned my attention to the berries, hmm... so apetising, soon there will be ready!

Raining in Isola della Cona

14^th August, Isola della Cona, Italy

I took a break from the beaches of Croatia to pay a visit to one of the marshes areas in the Gulf of Trieste: Isola della Cona. The weather was supposed to be stormy overnight but it also turned out very wet and cold (14^oC) during the morning, pity. Indeed the reserve was deserted but birds were confident, like this Little Egret.

I was amazed by the large numbers of Spotted Redshanks showing different transtions to winter plumage.

From Miramare's observation tower a feast of waders made the most of the rain: Snipes, Great Egrets, Greenshanks, Little Stints, Ringed Plover, Wood Sandpiper, etc. The odd Lapwing and Pygmy Cormorant rested near shore or perched.

 

The highlight of the morning was 3 short-stay Grey Plovers. In the fields behind the cafeteria a large number of geese lazily munched the grass while a nearby Cattle Egrets mingled among the horses.
My friends and me decided to call it a day early so there was no chance to check the bushes for migrant warblers, pity pity pity...

August 13^th, 2013 Škocjanski zatok

The sun keeps on shining every day over the Gulf of Trieste, but things have cooled down a little since last week due to weak storms and a gentle Bora (north wind).

In light of the recent reports on Garganeys and other migrants I decided to pay an evening visit to Škocjanski zatok. It worked out! Garganeys were on display, mostly resting or swimming warily in the canals. I digiscoped a bit but the results make them no justice.

No much movement in the Lagoon, with low levels of water. My highlight bird today was a Spotted Redshank moving along a party of Greenshaks.

As dusk drew near birds look to roosting. Here, Great Egrets and Pygmy Cormorants sharing a tree.

Hundreds upon hundreds of Starlings were moving into the reeds. I could not hear the quarreling so common during the day on Fig and cypress trees.

Finally, the sun sunk behind the harbour that encloses the reserve.

An Egret party

August 6th, 2013 Škocjanski zatok

The heat wave continued with temperatures soaring above 35^o C and hardly any breeze to compensate. One needs to show up early to catch up some fresh air.

As the reserve woke up in shades of grey large white shapes floated in the horizont. These are Little Egrets. These days they can be seen in three-digit numbers across the canals and the lagoon.

The fresh water part was surprisingly popular today. Busy with increasing numbers of Teals, a pair of Shovelers and ubiquitous Little Egrets some shanks were also on show: Common Sandpiper, BW Stilt and Greenshank. Suddenly from the reeds a Little Bittern showed up checking the narrow shore and mobbing a Coot. Above, some Common Terns dived for fish and 1 young Black Tern joined in.

The Lagoon presented a very low water level. The usual suspects around, Common Terns, Little Terns and suddenly 3 Black Terns flying together before touching down.