Second national BirdID training: day 4 - the end

The last day of the training was planned for the conifer forest. We collected tents and gear and down we went to a lovely track in the middle of a coniferous forest. En route we had more Nutcrackers, Bullfinches, Crossbills, Wren, Blackcap, Great-spotted Woodpecker and a group of 20+ Pallid Swifts that have bread under the gutter of a chalet by the car park.

The track was fairly quiet. There were many flowers and some butterflies but birds weren't abundant. Still, we managed to get a Dipper, Grey Wagtail, a high flying Black Stork and lots of wild strawberries that distracted the participants from my talks.

Dactylorhiza cordigera, copyright Iordan Hristov

Dactylorhiza saccifera, copyright Iordan Hristov

Lilium martagon, copyright Iordan Hristov 

Well that was it. The second national training is over. Participants were glad to be in a different habitat and be out again. They definitely appreciate this training and look for the next trip in autumn.

We saw a total of 44 species listed below:
1.White Stork
2.Black Stork
3.Golden Eagle
4.Common Buzzard
5.Eurasian Sparrowhawk
6.Kestrel
7.Wood Pigeon
8.Pallid Swift
9.Hoopoe
10.Great spotted Woodpecker
11.Skylark
12.Crested Lark
13.Crag Martin
14.Barn Swallow
15.House Martin
16.Water Pipit
17.White Wagtail
18.Grey Wagtail
19.Wren
20.Dipper
21.Dunnock
22.Alpine Accentor
23.Robin
24.Black Redstart
25.Mistle Thrush
26.Blackbird
27.Ring Ouzel
28.Blackcap
29.Chiffchaff
30.Coal Tit
31.Crested Tit
32.Wood Nuthatch
33.Red-backed Shrike
34.Jay
35.Nutcracker
36.Alpine Chough
37.Raven
38.Common Starling
39.Common Chaffinch
40.Goldfinch
41.Siskin
42.Bullfinch
43.Crossbill
44.Corn Bunting
45.Lesser spotted Eagle
46.Whinchat
47.Greenfinch

Second national BirdID training: day 3

Day 3 from the training was under risk of heavy rain too. Today our group was larger since more people joined for the weekend. Today we wanted to go to a mountain shelter next to a lake called "Strashno ezero". Literary translated the name of the lake means "the scary lake". The reason for this name is the high risk of thunders that occur in that area. Apparently there is a lot of ore in the cliffs around that attract the thunders.

The first part of the route was even steeper than on the previous day. However, the part after that was nice to walk and quite a few birds turned up. There were more of my favourite Alpine Accentors. At a place we had quite a few juveniles.

Alpine Accentor juv, copyright Iordan Hristov

Further along we had Water Pipits and Siskins, which people appreciated.

Water Pipit, copyright Iordan Hristov

There were also a few orchids ...

Pseudorchis albida, copyright Iordan Hristov

Saxifraga rotundifolia, copyright Iordan Hristov

and again more superb landscapes.

Second national BirdID training: day 2

We woke up at 6 a.m. After the intense survey last week in Norway it was time to search for birds again. This time i wanted to show them to the participants in the BirdId training that I lead for the Bulgarian Society for the protection of birds and the Nord-Trondelag University college.

We wanted to make the route from Maliovitsa chalet to the peak with the same name. This was going to be the direction with no necessity to reach the peak. What I wanted most is to see and show some alpine birds.

Before breakfast we enjoyed the first sunlight and the Crossbills which were still around the chalet before people have started moving about.

Crossbill, copyright Iordan Hristov

The trail followed a picturesque valley surrounded by peaks. Lush meadows were home of the endemic Rila primrose Primula deorum. This pretty flower was everywhere.

Rila Primrose Primula deorum, copyright Iordan Hristov

Rila Primrose Primula deorum, copyright Iordan Hristov

Other than it we enjoyed at least five Balkan chamois that were calmly grazing on the top of the hills on the edge of the valley.

Balkan Chamois, copyright Iordan Hristov

The scenery was superb.

Rila mountains, copyright Iordan Hristov

Soon we had one of our target birds: Alpine Accentor. It is in severe decline and I am really worried about the fortune of this bird. Together with all the other alpine species it is understudied and we don't know why is the species disappearing.

Alpine Accentor Prunella collaris, copyright Iordan Hristov

Alpine Accentor Prunella collaris, copyright Iordan Hristov

Alpine Accentor Prunella collaris, copyright Iordan Hristov

We managed to reach the hill top but a gust of winds and dark clouds took over. Heavy rain was coming and we decided to go back to the chalet. Some of the group members really regretted that they couldn't climb up to the peak but our choice was wiser. A tourist passing by told us a site for the superb Wallcreeper but we had to give it up.

As it usually happens, once we got to the chalet Sun came out. Never mind, an hour later the heavy rain was back we managed to stay dry. That's the weather like in the mountains.

The second national BirdID training in Bulgaria starts today: day 1

The second national BirdID training starts today. It is organised by the Bulgarian society for the protection of birds and the Nord-Trondelag University College HiNT. The training is a part of the project for common bird monitoring and aims at preparing new participants in the monitoring scheme.

The second national training will be implemented in Rila mountains and will focus on mountainous birds. Before heading up to the mountains a small group of us decided to do some photography down in the lowlands. Birds weren't very active so we focused on butterflies and orchids. We did see a few Whinchats, Hoopoe, a pair of Lesser spotted Eagle and some Common Buzzards but the weren't very tame so we couldn't take many pictures.

It was getting warm and soon we decided to head up to the mountains. Not before we had lunch in a small restaurant in a village called Govedartsi. It was fairly difficult to find a place in the middle of the week but we managed anyway.

On the way up to the mountains we walked along a nice little road in a pine forest where we saw some Crested Tit, Nutcrackers and Crossbills. Butterflies weren't very abundant but some presented good opportunities.

Crossbill, copyright Iordan Hristov

Balkan Copper Lycaena candens, copyright Iordan Hristov

It was time to head up to the mountains. We packed our stuff and got ready for an hour and a half trek up a mountain trail. The heavy backpacks didn't let us do a lot of birding. Nevertheless we got a very distant Golden Eagle, Eurasian Sparrowhawk, more Nutcrackers and Crossbills and Bullfinches.

distant Golden Eagle

Soon we arrived in the mountain chalet at 1960 m above the sea level right on the edge of the tree line. Here we were going to be based for the nest three nights. After a refreshing drink we grabbed the cameras and binoculars and dashed around. Right in front of the chalet we saw a Ring Ouzel, Dunnock, which here is primarily a mountainous bird, Crossbills, Nutcrackers and Black Redstarts.

Dunnock is primarily a mountainous bird breeding in the dwarf pine, copyright Iordan Hristov

The sunset light nicely lit the surrounding summits...

view from the Chalet

Breeding bird survey in Norway: the end

Leaving Tromso early in the morning revealed spectacular landscapes visible from the sky. It was magical. I would assume looking from space is even more beautiful. Have a look.

image: Marina Hadzieva

image: Marina Hadzieva

image: Marina Hadzieva

image: Marina Hadzieva

Breeding bird survey in Norway: day 14

Route 1907 is the last one I had to survey. On the previous day we managed to find out that there is a trail leading to the first survey plot. If we hadn’t found that it would have been really difficult. The first point was about 2 km from the road up on a mountain hill. Having in mind that I had to start at 4 a.m. this meant it would have taken ages to get there. Luckily there was a trail and I managed to find it thanks to a gentleman who told me where to go. It was really kind of him and rather useful. In this occasion I had to wake up at 2,30 a.m. and in other cases may be it had to be even earlier.

The trail took me an hour to get to the first point so I managed to start just on time. This time I was by myself which was probably an advantage in this case because I walked really quickly to be able to start on time. Once I saw the route I realized it wasn’t going to be as difficult as initially imagined. The route was around the top of a plateau with minor change of altitude. Mind you the first point was at 300 m and the highest one was at 650 m a.s.l. so there was some hiking. Nevertheless it was really pleasant. I don’t know if it was because of the rest I had last night or because of the motivation for the route being the last one but it was rather pleasant. There were quite a few birds too. I flushed several Willow Grouses along the way. On the top there was a Rock Ptarmigan and this turned out to be the plot with the highest number of breeding Golden Plovers counting over 10 pairs. They were very noisy birds that made sure I would leave their territory and curiously approached me now and then down to 20m. Unfortunately I didn’t have my camera but at least this let me do the work that I was here for.

The top of the plateau was very easy to walk: no vegetation, small rocks and unfortunately no birds. May be it was too windy for them to breed up there although at the moment the weather was just superb. And the view… Magnificent….

route 1907, copyright Iordan Hristov

route 1907, copyright Iordan Hristov

Well this was the last of the 11 routes I had to survey. On the next days we traveled to Tromso and spent some time in Oslo where not much birding was involved. I think I will finish with the birding stories. Will upload a collection of photos in any of the next posts.

Hope you enjoyed my Norwegian adventures. 

Breeding bird survey in Norway: day 13

We woke up full of enthusiasm to see the local bird life. Grabbed our staff and off we went to the north where our first survey point had to be. Walking was rather easy since there was very little vegetation and it wasn’t steep. Upon arrival a Willow grouse took off from a nest. This was a good start, wasn’t it.

We carried on with the survey which was rather pleasant. We were doing 4-5 points per hour which is what it should be. Had a few pairs of breeding Whimbrel, Redshank and Common Sandpiper. Further along we had a Black-throated Diver and Red-breasted Merganser. There was a small hill with some vegetation but nothing in comparison to the previous routes. We found a rather interesting a pleasant to touch bit of moss. It was rather soft and spongy. It probably takes quite some time to grow since it was very thick in comparison to other places where we saw the same thing.

The highlight of the route was a breeding Slavonian Greebe in breeding plumage. What a bird! This is the first one I see in this plumage.

Managed to finish with the plot at about 8,30. Really a relief after last days’ adventures. On the way back we had a pair of Greenshanks which were rather cautious around their nest and accompanied us long way away from their territory.

Enjoyed the morning and off we went towards Grytoy, an island to the north of Harstad where our last route was going to be. We had enough time and decided to stop for a while in the town to get an idea where we were. The town didn’t prove anything spectacular that is worth mentioning so we carried on to the ferry on our way to the island.

What a place! The ferry was an excitement by itself but the island looked superb. Gorgeous landscapes accompanied by a bit of worry about the route for the next day. On the map we had there was a sign for a place to stay and after the last days camping we decided to spend a night in a proper bed. Following the directions of the map we managed to find an absolutely gorgeous guest house.

Grytoy island, copyright Iordan Hristov

Grytoy island, copyright Iordan Hristov

It was a two stores house with a huge living room, five bedrooms, one kitchen and a superb relaxing lounge with a sea view. Well we deserved it. We really needed something like this. The place had everything of a contemporary modern house regardless of its remote location including internet. We had a lovely evening with a drink and a salad and managed to have a proper rest for the next day.

view from our living room