All "Birding stories" from the current blog are now moved to a new address www.NatureMonitoring.com: април 2013

понеделник, 29 април 2013 г.

BirdID training: Eastern Rhodopes

Spring is coming and time for blogging gets shorter and shorter. Will do my best to keep up to date posts.

I just came back from a trip to the Eastern Rhodope mountains where I conducted a training on Bird identification for Bulgarian volunteers participants in the breeding birds survey. It was marvelous. Fantastic weather, lovely birds, stunning scenery. In total about 20 people took part in this training. We spend a couple of days around Madzarovo searching for local birds. The diversity of the landscapes there make it a unique place for everyone willing to learn bird identification or just enjoy birding.

I ended up with quite a few photos but it will take some time to finalise all the material. I managed to get some images of Egyptian and Griffon Vultures, White and Black Stork, Orphean Warbler, Long-legged Buzzard, Eastern Black-eared Wheatear, Corn Bunting, Golden Eagle, Woodlark, Cuckoo, Subalpine Warbler, Black Kite, Red-backed Shrike, Raven, Turtle Dove, etc.

Checklist of all the species seen for the period April 22-26, 2013.

1.Scops Owl (Otus scops).
2.Little Owl (Athene noctua).
3.Sombre Tit (Parus lugubris).
4.Wood Nuthatch (Sitta europaea).
5.Common Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs).
6.Nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos).
7.Blackbird (Turdus merula).
8.Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris).
9.Cirl Bunting (Emberiza cirlus).
10.Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus).
11.Corn Bunting (Miliaria calandra).
12.Black Stork (Ciconia nigra).
13.White Wagtail (Motacilla alba).
14.Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis).
15.Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica).
16.Woodlark (Lullula arborea).
17.Egyptian Vulture (Neophron percnopterus).
18.Hooded Crow (Corvus corone cornix).
19.Greenfinch (Carduelis chloris).
20.Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo).
21.Hoopoe (Upupa epops).
22.House Martin (Delichon urbica).
23.Griffon Vulture (Gyps fulvus).
24.Spanish Sparrow (Passer hispaniolensis).
25.Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes).
26.Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus).
27.Crag Martin (Ptyonoprogne rupestris).
28.Jay (Garrulus glandarius).
29.Mistle Thrush (Tyrdus viscivorus).
30.Grey-headed Woodpecker (Picus canus).
31.Eastern Black-eared Wheatear (Oenanthe melanoleuca).
32.Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus).
33.Eastern Orphean Warbler (Sylvia hortensis).
34.Ortolan Bunting (Emberiza hortulana).
35.Alpine Swift (Apus melba).
36.Red-backed Shrike (Lanius collurio).
37.Long-legged Buzzard (Buteo rufinus).
38.Subalpine Warbler (Silvia cantillans).
39.Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus collybita).
40.Short-toed Eagle (Circaetus gallicus).
41.Blue Rock Thrush (Monticola solitarius).
42.Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea).
43.Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus).
44.Rock Bunting (Emberiza cia).
45.Red-rumped Swallow (Hirundo daurica).
46.Eastern Bonelli's Warbler (Phylloscopus orientalis).
47.Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus).
48.Song Thrush (Turdus philomelos).
49.Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis).
50.Bluetit (Parus caeruleus).
51.Robin (Erithacus rubecula).
52.Middle spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos medius).
53.Golden Oriole (Oriolus oriolus).
54.Lesser Whitethroat (Sylvia curruca).
55.House Sparrow (Passer domesticus).
56.Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos).
57.Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo).
58.White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla).
59.Marsh Harrier (Circus aeruginosus).
60.Woodchat Shrike (Lanius senator).
61.Green Woodpecker (Picus viridis).
62.Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos).
63.Semi-collared Flycatcher (Ficedula semitorquata).
64.Black Kite (Milvus migrans).
65.Honey Buzzard (Pernis apivorus).
66.Black-headed Yellow Wagtail (Motacilla flava feldegg).
67.White Stork (Ciconia ciconia).
68.Quail (Coturnix coturnix).
69.Black Redstart (Phoenicurus phoenicurus).
70.Turtle Dove (Streptopelia decaocto).
71.Feral Pigeon (Columba livia).
72.Black Woodpecker (Dryocopus martius).
73.Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea).
74.Rock Nuthatch (Sitta neumayer).

75.Little Egret (Egretta garzetta).
76.Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficillis).
77.Coot (Gallinula chloropus).
78.Lesser spotted Eagle (Aquila pomarina).
79.Bee-eater (Merops apiaster).

Here are some of the first images.

copyright: Iordan Hristov, Danbirder.blogspot.com

Eastern Black-eared Wheatear photography

Long-legged Buzzard photography

Griffon Vulture photography, copyright: Iordan Hristov

Red fox photography

If you have any questions please contact me at biomonitoring.ltd [@] gmail.com

петък, 19 април 2013 г.

Weekend trip

Last weekend's trip was more productive than I expected. It was meant to be kind of a family gathering and travel to the Western Rhodope mountains where a place called Bratsigovo is situated. The area itself is great. The habitat is coniferous forest with lovely mountain glades. Whilst the scenery was great birding was a bit quiet. We had a nice Black Woodpecker, some Yellowhammers, White Stork, Black Redstarts and a lovely call of my first for the year Scops Owl. Photography opportunities were not great just because I didn't have the time. However, on the way down from the mountains we had a lovely stop at some hillsides. I didn't realise when a couple of hours just passed. Birds were all around and the nice thing is, the people in the car enjoyed seeing them as well so they didn't mind me taking photos. They got quite excited when I happened to miss a chance to photograph a bird. They become keener than me. Excitement overtook when I suggested we can see a Little Owl breeding in the area. Well here it is:

Little Owl photography in Bulgaria

Corn Bunting photography in Bulgaria by www.NatureTravel.eu

Crested Lark photography in Bulgaria

Tree Sparrow photography in Bulgaria

Whinchat photography in Bulgaria

At the end of the day when I had even packed my camera this lovely Red-footed Falcon turned up. A small group of 5 was preparing for a night roost. The light was pretty miserable but I still managed to get this shot.

Red-footed Falcon photography

понеделник, 8 април 2013 г.

BirdID training

The first bird ID training in Bulgaria is already a fact. It commenced in the area of Plovdiv in Bulgaria. The training consisted of field classes on bird identification. It was for two days: 1) along Maritsa river, and 2) in Bessapari hills. All the participants who were 12 were rather impressed by the variety of birds. Amongst the highlights were Pygmy Cormorants, Collared Flycatcher, Semi-collared Flycatcher, Subalpine Warbler, Great spotted Cuckoo, Lesser spotted Eagle and many others. In total we had 65 species on the first day and 45 on the second.

The great variety of habitat and great enthusiasm of the people were evident. We were lucky to see and hear the first for the year Nightingales, Cuckoos, Whitethroats, etc.

Every participant in the training can get a certificate at the end of it if a test is passed.

Short-toed Eagle photography, copyright Iordan Hristov

Crested Lark, copyright: Iordan Hristov

Corn Bunting photography by Iordan Hristov

More images are coming soon...

Checklist of birds seen during the training:
Day 1, Maritsa river

1.Little grebe
2.Great Cormorant
3.Pygmy Cormorant
4.Night Heron
5.Grey Heron
6.White Stork
7.Mallard
8.Lesser spotted Eagle
9.Short-toed Eagle
10.Common Buzzard
11.Kestrel
12.Grey Partridge
13.Moorhen
14.Little ringed Plover
15.Green Sandpiper
16.Common Sandpiper
17.Snipe
18.Yellow-legged Gull
19.Wood pigeon
20.Stock Dove
21.Feral Pigeon
22.Collared Dove
23.Turtle Dove
24.Cuckoo
25.Common Swift
26.Alpine Swift
27.Hoopoe
28.Black Woodpecker
29.Green Woodpecker
30.Great-spotted Woodpecker
31.Syrian Woodpecker
32.Lesser-spotted Woodpecker
33.Skylark
34.Crested Lark
35.Barn Swallow
36.House Martin
37.Red-rumped Swallow
38.White Wagtail
39.Winter Wren
40.Robin
41.Nightingale
42.Song Thrush
43.Blackbird
44.Blackcap
45.Lesser Whitethroat
46.Chiffchaff
47.Willow Warbler
48.Wood Warbler
49.Collared Flycatcher
50.Pied Flycatcher
51.Great Tit
52.Blue Tit
53.Penduline Tit
54.Wood Nuthatch
55.Magpie
56.Jay
57.Jackdaw
58.Hooded Crow
59.Common Starling
60.House Sparrow
61.Tree Sparrow
62.Chaffinch
63.Golfinch
64.Greenfinch
65.Corn Bunting

Day 2, Bessapari Hills: Biaga - Isperihovo
1.White Stork
2.Lesser Spotted Eagle
3.Short-toed Eagle
4.Common Buzzard
5.Long-legged Buzzard
6.Marsh Harrier
7.Kestrel
8.Sparrowhawk
9.Collared Dove
10.Cuckoo
11.Great spotted Cuckoo
12.Common Swift
13.Alpine Swift
14.Hoopoe
15.Syrian Woodpecker
16.Skylark
17.Crested Lark
18.Calandra Lark
19.Barn Swallow
20.House Martin
21.Nightingale
22.Blackbird
23.Isabelline Wheatear
24.Blackcap
25.Lesser Whitethroat
26.Common Whitethroat
27.Willow Warbler
28.Chiffchaff
29.Semi-collared Flycatcher
30.Great Tit
31.Magpie
32.Jay
33.Hooded Crow
34.Raven
35.Common Starling
36.House Sparrow
37.Tree Sparrow
38.Spanish Sparrow
39.Chaffinch
40.Goldfinch
41.Greenfinch
42.Corn Bunting
43.Cirl Bunting