Lake Ptuj and Rače fishponds yesterday and Zbilje lake today

Last two days were quite birdish but nothing really special to report. Firstly Alen and me went to Ptuj where we had all the usual stuff for the season like all commoner dabbling ducks, Tufted Ducks and Pochards still in hundreds, Goosanders, Goldeneyes, Little and GC Grebes, Great and Pygmy cormorants, Common, Black-headed, Yellow-legged and Caspian Gulls, Kingfishers, Sparrowhawk, lots of Buzzards migrating etc.

 Caspian Gull Larus cachinnans

 Cromorants Phalacrocorax carbo

 Pygmy Cormorant Microcarbo pygmeus

Common Gull Larus canus

Later we headed back and get to the Rače fishponds. Not very lively there but within a month ponds will get filled with waterfowl. Othervise like Matej we also had a pair of White Storks in nearby willage where they are overwintering in their nest on a high tree. Other birds of interest included a 'singing' White-tailed Eagle, first Ferruginous Duck and a pair of Smew. Later we also checked lake Požeg which is close to the ponds but there was total dissapointment with less than 10 birds all together (Grey Herons, Cormorants, Kingfisher and Yellow-legged Gull).

 Male and female Smew Mergus albellus

 Female Ferruginous Duck Aythya nyroca

 Yellowhammer Emberiza citrinella

Hooded Crow Corvus cornix

Today we went to count birds on Brnik airport but nothing to report from there so we later went to check if drake Red-crested Pochard is still present on Zbilje lake and we managed to find it quickly because he was swimming 5 metres from the bank and was very confident as usual. It only gets there to overwinter last two years and in the spring and summer it dissapears. Other birds there included usual stuff like many Tufted Ducks, single male Pochard, Coots, Cormorants, Little and GC Grebes, Common Gull, Kingfisher etc.

Male Red-crested Pochard streching

Medvedce reservoir

I was at Medvedce reservoir yesterday. It was a nice sunny day with loose SW wind (I was a bit worried about it, but it turned out very well indeed). While I was walking there from the train station, I saw 2 White-tailed Eagles (ad. and 1y.) and numerous mixed flocks of Lapwings and Starlings. Those flocks were actually the commonest scene that day. The start looked promising! At the end of the day (or better said a 3-hour visit) I counted almost 500 Lapwings. Other interesting birds: a Gooshawk, 3 Sparrowhawks, 12 Graylegs, more than 20 Great White Egrets, only 5 local Coots, just 40 Teals, first 2 Little Grebe, 49 Wigeons, a male Gadwall, also years first 4 Ferruginous Ducks, 2 Hen Harriers (females or 1y.), 1079 Mallards, 8 Goosanders, 15 Tufted Ducks, a pair of Goldeneyes and a male Greater Scaup. The last one is very rare visitor here at Medvedce reservoir, with less than 10 sightings in last 15 or 20 years.

Other birds: Starlings (all together around 2.000), Ravens, Woodpigeons, Stock Doves, migrating Reed Buntings and Skylarks. So yes, migration is now really here. My next visit at Medvedce will probably be next week.

Another interesting birds these days were 2 wintering White Storks in the nearby village Rače and 3 Tawny Owls in the Maribor City park (2 males, 1 female).
There are still many BHGs at the Drava river in Maribor. Today I successfully read 5 color rings, 4 of them were ringed in Croatia and one with Polish ring (that bird had been also observed in Ptuj on 20. January)

First Cranes and good signs of spring

Yesterday i went to look lake Žovnek which is quite close to my home and situation with birds was still quiet so i should wait a month or so when more birds is going to come back to breed there and than i'm going to be available to start making some good pictures after a calm winter.

 The lake itself.

First i went to look nearby Grey Heron colony which is settled in a willage just 100 metres away from the lake and as i could see there were about 10-15 active nests. Othervise on the lake itself there was a nice flock of Mallards which included some Pintails and Teals, 10 Cormorants (2 of them were also ringed, 1 had a blue plastic on the right and a metal ring on the left leg, the other one have only metal ring on the right leg. I also have one ringed Cormorant from Estonia 2 years ago in the same area.), 22 Grey Herons, 3 GW Egrets and 1 GC Grebe.

The highlight of the day was an owerflying flock of 49 Cranes which was heading NE and was nice to see there!

Surrounding forests held some nice birds like several calling Grey and Black Woodpeckers, Buzzards are now in every part of the forest, lots of Crested Tits in some high trees etc. Also an owerwintering Great Grey Shrike was present.

It was a nice sunny day and i enjoyed it but hopefully tomorrow on lake Ptuj it's going to be better so stay tuned!

2 Wallcreepers in 2 Days!

I was informed yesterday about a Wallcreeper observed near Celje. I was quite near there and I decided to find it. I knew the exact location - an old church, so finding this rare alpine species was not difficult. It was feeding on high stone walls. Nice bird to be seen here in lowland where Wallcreepers are wintering. In spring most of them return in the Alps, very often above 2000m a.s.l.
But that is not all! Today I found another one in Maribor, feeding on concrete dam located on the Drava river. Holly shit, 2 birds in 2 days :) I normally see just one per year, not ...

Well, few minutes later another surprise. An adult Red Kite was circling above Maribor, gaining on height, and then it flew Northeast. It was also chased by a Hooded Crow and a Peregrine, but that big red bird of prey just did not care. Above the Drava river there is a big clif, where it looks like both Raven and Peregrine are going to build their nest. But can they nest just 20m apart? I do not think so. Ravens should be stronger... Bad luck for Falcons. I wonder if the Peregrines will relocate their current position somewhere else. They still have some very high buildings not far away.

My main purpose was to count waterbirds and birds of prey in that section of the Drava river (1km from the city centre). I saw some Pochards, a female Goldeneye, 20 Tufted Ducks, 2 Mute Swans, 5 Little Grebes, 1 Caspian Gull, 16 Yellow-legged Gulls (migrating North), 2 Kingfishers with very close viwes, Coots, Cormorants, Mallards and more than 250 BHGs. Later on I had a chance to read one with a color ring, too! It was ringed in Croatia. According to my data that BHG has been there at least since 15th January 2014. I also quickly read some rings on Swans. Most of them are from Slovenia, but also one from Slovakia and two from Hungary (yellow plastic rings). I saw years first Blackcap, too!

Tomorrow I am visiting Medvedce reservoir. Few days ago there were more than 1900 Lapwings on migration! Huge number for our country... I hope for a good day with lot of migrating birds and nice weather (especially without wind).

Ringed Black-headed Gulls

As I said I have paid attention to ringed Black-headed Gulls. I was observing them in Maribor at Lent (near the Drava river) where they are very numerous. Here a lot of people feed waterbirds so I could get closer to them. Sometimes I also managed to read metal rings, too! 
I have not got all information yet but BHGs were ringed in Croatia, Czech Republic and Poland. Quite interesting most of these gulls were 1st. w. individuals, but they were less shy than adults - important fact! Other waterbirds: Coots, Pochards, Tufted Ducks, Mallards, Caspian Gull, Little Grebes and Kingfisher.
Yesterday I was lucky to see Tawny Owl in Maribor city park.
Otherwise bad weather these days, but it is going to be better next week :)

Ptuj Lake

Yesterday me and Jure went to Ptuj Lake, witch is one of the more important wintering sites for waterfowl in Slovenia. Our goal was Long-tailed duck, female that was wintering here for several weeks, but unfortunately we didnt saw it. At the beginning we stopped at pedestrian bridge where we ussualy get nice views of different gulls (Little, Bllack-headed, Common) and Pygmy Cormorants. After hundred of gull shots we went around lake and stopped every few . On the lake we saw lot of Tufted Ducks, Gadwalls, Pochards, Wigeons, Goldeneyes and a single Shelduck. Pygmy and Great Cormorants, Little and Great Crested Grebes were hunting all over the lake. As wind was very strong birds weren't very active, so we took some time and photograph some more Black-headed Gulls.

At the end we checked surrounding fields and flocks of Mute Swans and got lucky with wintering Whooper Swan (bird is present few weeks already).

Black-headed Gull roost

I was observing Black-headed Gulls at roost that evening in Maribor (close to the city-centre). Gulls are sleeping not far away from the bank of the Drava river so counting them is not difficult. I could see 908 BHGs and only 1 Common Gull. It is good to know gulls are very numerous because I will try my luck at reading ringed birds.

                                          Black-headed Gulls

Medvedce reservoir in February

I visited the Medvedce reservoir near Pragersko (NE Slovenia) yesterday. My plan was to count waterfowl and birds of prey. This site is certainly one of the best for birdwatching in Slovenia, especially between February to December (it is dry in winter). The place has a status of IBA (An Important Bird Area) and it is very suitable for breeding Ferruginous Ducks,  Spotted Crakes, »larger« birds of prey and others. It also has a status of »bottleneck« (just 2 confirmed in Slovenia). Due to its importance there is a monitoring survey carried out in each 10-day period of a year. My last visit is a part of this survey.

                                          Medvedce reservoir

                                          Medvedce reservoir and Boč (978m a.s.l.)

I arrived before sunrise. There was a silence when a female Long-eared Owl started calling few meters above me. Lucky start! Light conditions were improving so I began checking smaller water bodies at first (flooded clay pits). One of those is a roosting place for 40 Great Egrets. While I was walking to the main reservoir I could see many Goosanders flying from their roos site. Nearby fields were flooded (snow melting and raining) and numerous birds were searching food including 1 Greylag Goose, several Mute Swans, Teals, Lapwings. It was rather unusual to see Goldeneye, Tufted Ducks, Cormorant and even a Kingfisher diving in the middle of a flooded corn field!

                                          Flooded fields and Lapwing

The reservoir held good numbers of ducks for this time of year (also first migrants). Around 2000 Mallards, very numerous Teals (all together 400+ which is a record number!), 15 Pintails, 10 Wigeons, 3 Gadwalls, Tufted Ducks, Pochards… There was also a small raft of 11 Coots (migrating birds), 13 Greylag Geese and 2 White-fronted Geese. Many Caspian Gulls, several Yellow-legged and 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull. An adult White-tailed Eagle also did some panic in ducks and herons - as usual.

                                          Teals

                                          White-tailed Eagle

Some other species: Great Grey Shrike, Fieldfares, Green Woodpecker, nesting Raven, Siskins are almost in every Black Alder, Water Pipits, Skylarks, Reed Buntings …

                                          Siskin feeding with Black Alder

This was an excellent day with nice weather and good visibility, so I enjoyed a lot!

                                          Medvedce reservoir and Pohorje (1543m a.s.l.) covered with snow

Goosander roost

Today I also managed to do some birdwatching.  In the late afternoon I went at Teharje lake (the eastern one), near Celje, to see Goosanders at roost. When I came there had already been around 40 birds and were still flying in. At the end the total number was 66 ind. which is exactly the same as a month ago (IWC). This location is most probably the second largest roosting place for this species in Slovenia and was discovered last year. It is nice to know their number has been increasing for the past few years (also due to new breeding sites in Slovenia) so I will keep eye on them in the future, too!
Other waterfowl were mainly Mallards (around 200 ind.), 3 Tufted Ducks, 1 Wigeon, 4 Coots and a single Little Grebe.

After 10 long days of heavy sleet and snowfall having damaged almost half of all forests in the country I saw some good birds in the wood behind my house. Both Gold- and Firecrests were singing, a flock of Siskins, Raven, calling Green Woodpecker, a female Sparrowhawk, some Buzzards, Short-toed Treecreeper, etc. I saw my first 8 Starlings this year in a mixed flock of 68 Fieldfares and heard the first singing Song Trush. A male Long-eared Owl is also calling every night. So, spring is coming!

Red-necked Grebe

Today I was again at the nearby Velenjsko lake to look around for the long staying (overwintering) Red-necked Grebe and I was lucky again. Adult bird "still" in winter plumage while all the local Great crests are allready in summer plumage was swimming as usual close to shore so I was available to take some decent shots:

Othervise nothing special around just few Great Crested Grebes, lots of Coots and Moorhens, only one remainig Common Gull, some Teals etc. Also of note some first sights of spring (calling Green and Black Woodpeckers, Nuthaches,..).

 Moorhen feeding on some bread which is meant to be for Sparrows and Finches.

Long-eared Owl roost

And here we go our first post on the blog.
Few days ago I (Jure) was going to the dentist in the town Žalec near my home and I knew that there is a good roosting place for Short-ears about 1 minute walk from the dentist. They are in some low trees in front of some houses and flats so they're easy to find and they are very cooperative too. You can get down to 3 metres away from them and they just look at you. Roosting place is well known for quite a few years now and numbers are hanging from 5 to 15 birds and last time I saw 8 birds (not all are easy to find).

Two birds were nice in the open so I took some nice shots even if the light conditions weren't so good.