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.