Autumn shorebird flock that floats our boat - 3 species.
Pobrežniška sezona se vsako leto otvori že zelo zgodaj - že konec julija in začetek avgusta se pričnejo seliti npr. prodniki, a ker gre večinoma za odrasle ptice, ki poti poznajo boljše in se selijo v stabilnejšem vremenu, se z redkejšimi vrstami v tem obdobju težje srečamo. Proti koncu avgusta se števila pobrežnikov na štajerskem običajno povečajo, predvsem na račun mladih ptic, in takrat se na dravskih akumulacijah, največkrat na Ormoškem jezeru, pojavijo tudi naši, iz leta v leto manj otroški obrazi. Ker nas je s pričetkom septembra šola vsako leto priklenila v učilnice so se naše avanture hitro tudi končale in običajno nam je uspel le kratek izlet ali dva, a letos so nam študentske počitnice dopustile drugačno organizacijo...
Prvi letošnji daljši skok na štajersko sem izvedel sam med 24. in 26. avgustom. Spal sem v Lagunah ter vse tri dni pregledal tako Ptujsko kot Ormoško jezero. Po nevihtni noči s prvega na drugi dan sem si obetal zanimiv terenski dan, a mi je spričo visokega vodostaja ob prihodu na nasip greben nekoliko uplahnil. Med štetjem sem se pomikal proti Ormožu, ko se je na nasipu kakšnih 15 m od mene nenadoma znašel PEŠČENEC Calidris alba. Po ogledu z daljnogledom sem presenečen ugotovil, da je ptica odrasla in da ji manjka več kot polovica desne noge. Ker ga je nočna igra vremena vidno prizadela, sem ga po nekaj OK dokumentarnih fotografijah pustil na miru, a kljub temu ga že uro kasneje nisem več zasledil na nasipu. Vsakič, ko je peščenec vzletel, se je oglasil s pridušnim čivkom - oglašanjem, ki je med pobrežniki zelo unikatno in ne spominja niti najmanj na oglašanje ostalih prodnikov. Jezero je tisti dan gostilo še 8 srpokljunih prodnikov Calidris ferruginea ter dva komatna deževnika Charadrius hiaticula. V Lagunah me je počastila mlada žličarka Platalea leucorodia, vodni bivoli pa so v svoje vrste po več letih le priklicali kravjo čapljo Bubulcus ibis, ki jo je bil tega jutra zapazil že Jurij, ki sem ga srečal na jezeru.
An exhausted Sanderling without the right foot. Despite the injury, he seemed fine and had no difficulty flying around and feeding whatsoever.
Juvenile Curlew Sandpipers joined the party quite late in the afternoon and left in about 15 minutes - a true migratory flock!
A Cattle Egret, the cattle is unfortunately just outside the frame.
Lagune's very own Otter is making a daring escape from the water buffalos that have just had some new calfs.
A juvenile and trusty Redshank.
Naslednjih nekaj dni je bilo namenjenih regeneraciji, saj smo 29.8. ob petih zjutraj že prehitevali tovornjake na dolenjskih avtocesti, ob desetih pa smo že ležali v Dinjiških solinah (no, v luži, ki je od njih še ostala). Takoj ob prihodu smo tam namreč našli velikega prodnika Calidris canutus, ki očitno še ni srečal človeškega bitja v svojem kratkem neukem življenju - pred slabima dvema mesecema se je še prekopiceval čez kopuče v tundri in užival v polarnem dnevu. Popoldne in naslednja dneva smo preživeli izmenjaje na Velem Blatu, Dinjiških in Paških solinah. Tam smo poleg prodnikov, katerim je bil odmerjeno največ časa, videli tudi nekaj živali, ki naseljujejo Pag zaradi njegove kamnite dalmatinske pokrajine - prlivke Burhinus oedicnemus, kotorne Alectoris graeca, rjavoglave srakoperje Lanius senator in kačarje Circaetus gallicus. Med opaženimi pobrežniki se na žalost ni znašlo nič takega, kar bi ornitologu na terenu pospešilo srčni utrip, smo pa si nabrali mnogo lepih srečanj z njimi ter nekaj prijetnih fotografij in videov.
The only Ringed Plover we've encountered on the trip. Their absence was a slight bummer, but they rarely turn out to be photogenic anyway.
A stunning juvenile Knot that we found in Dinjiška saltpans on the day of our arrival. It lingered on the site for the whole trip and from some posts in FB groups it seems that it stayed there for weeks!
Relaxed birders are having loads of fun!
Knot and his pale grey rump.
Knot and his facial details
poor knot
A shot that showcases just how retarded the bird was.
A Woodchat Shrike, perching proudly by the road.
An elusive and shy Stone Curlew - their numbers increased masively till spring which indicates quite some successfully fledged juvs.
A poor Coot, we didn't figure what was wrong with it, the bird had no fractures or wounds. Most likely poisoning or some parasites.
A mixed flock of Garganeys and Teals, resting on the rocky coast of Velo Blato.
First Dunlin of the post came quite late :) A Temminck's Stint was also present but getting photos was a no-go.
A Black Tern, with its nice dark breast patch.
A Zitting Cisticola's nest. A very late one, isn't it?
Short-toed Eagle, scountig the landscape for some snakes. Hope it had better luck than us - we were looking for snakes and grass lizards unsuccessfully for two days straight.
On the edge of one pool in Pag saltpans, we discovered a Little Stint gathering site. Observing plumage details, ageing and comparing individuals is extremely fun up-close, but also a good learning technique. Here's an adult amongst some juvs.
Another adult, these birds proved to be rather difficult to approach and became a bit nervous in 3 m range.
The juveniles, however, could be snuck up to even les than a meter (bear in mind that we weren't using any camouflage clothing)
While we were lying there, we had a brief encounter with 4 Curlew Sands. They kept their distance and were always on the more distant side of the group. At least they made it up for it with their size...
Straight comparison ;)
Bubiiiiiiiii
Khem...
Again, sorry for the Little Stint spam
Jon is already very evolved.
Passionate Dunlin photoshoot
A solitary Dunlin (unfortunately not sandpiper).
Ruff
Spotted Redshank
Our Crew
Mitja
An awesome grasshopper
An introverted Mantis
A Rock Partridge rolling from the fence
Velebit
While strolling along the Velo Blato coast, we encountered a funnily vocalising Green frog, being eaten by a massive Grass snake (the head of the latter can briefly be seen in the upper left corner of the video)
A tortoise, the only significant reptile of the trip.
Po tem, ko smo počitnice izkoristili do zadnjih minut, so morali pridni šolarji le začeti s poukom, v (novopečenih) študentih pa se le naselilo ugodje, ki je trajalo do ponedeljka tega tedna. To ugodje je eksponentno naraslo z vestjo, da bosta prvi teden septembra hkrati izpraznjeni obe dravski akumulaciji - Ptuj in Ormož. Z Matijo in Luko smo tako dorekli, da izvedemo najdaljši izlet na Štajersko do sedaj, za cel teden. V Ormož sva se z Matijo primajala 2.9., prvič za teden dni in prvič s kolesi (ti sva ilegalno prepeljala iz Ljubljane z vlakom). Ponovna sva prispela dan pred hudo vremensko motnjo, ki je čez noč divjala po Sloveniji in predvsem na Koroškem pustila za seboj razdejanje, ki se je z dvodnevnim zamikov po Dravi pripeljalo tudi do Ormoža.
Paški luksuz prodnikov, ki se ti sprehajajo čez noge se je razblinil v nič takoj, ko sva stopila na nasip. Seveda, kot da tega nebi pričakovala. Slovenska stran je gostila le nekaj rac, ogromna jata zelenonogih martincev, prib in prodnikov pa se je nagnetla na najbolj oddaljenem in nepreglednem delu hrvaške strani jezera. A pravi razlog za kolesa je tičal prav tu! V desetih minutah sva se že prebijala na hrvaški nasip, priklenila kolesa in zakoračila po izpostavljenem rečnem dnu. Sprehodila sva se prav v osrčje jezera, ko sva zaslišala v zraku nemarno dretje. Bližali sta se nama rejeni KASPIJSKI ČIGRI Hydroprogne caspia, naju obleteli, zaokrožili in se usedli na prod nedaleč od naju. Sledile so jima še tri, skupaj pa so se kasneje prestavila na plitvine blizu otoka na jezeru - tam so sedele in lovile do večera.
Vse naslednje dni se je število vrst in osebkov na jezeru le malo spreminjalo, novih zanimivosti pa ni bilo. Tu bom zato povzel seznam vsega zanimivega na jezeru:
Mali prodnik (1-2 juv, cel teden)
Spremenljivi prodnik (št. raste čez teden, na koncu 32)
Srpokljuni prodnik (8, izginejo naslednji dan)
Komatni deževnik (50, čez teden št upada, na koncu 28)
VELIKI PRODNIK (1juv, naslednji dan izgine)
Temmnickov prodnik (4, naslednji dan izginejo)
Močvirski martinec (iz 30 na 95)
Zelenonogi martinec (cca. 30 cel teden)
Rdečenogi martinec (iz 3 na cca. 15)
Črni martinec (iz 10 na 4)
KASPIJSKA ČIGRA (4ad 1 juv, 1 ad. in juv imata rdeče švedske obročke, naslednji dan izginejo)
Beloperuta čigra (4 juv 1 ad, mlade ostanejo, odrasla izgine naslednji dan)
Belolična čigra (1 juv, izgine)
Črna štorklja (1 ad na jezeru cel teden)
Belorepec (dvakrat ad na jezeru)
PEŠČENEC 1 juv na Ptujskem jezeru
A muddy birder, commonest of all sights this week.
A Zander, one of thousands of dead fish we found. Most of them were the endangered European Bitterling :/
Bikes provided us with speed and efficiency...
An inviting feral goose
A Caspian Tern with the famous Ormož chimney in background.
Matija standing in the middle of the lake.
We can see clear skies on the horizon, but at the moment it's still raining - a textbook cold front.
Hansaplast, spavaš li mirno?
It's over, rain is no more!
A Spined Loach, another fish victim.
Far from being pics from Pag, this is still better than nothing. Other waders are Dunlins and a Greenshank.
Highlights staying together
All Caspian Terns in one photo, clearly outsizing BH Gulls and nearly as big as the YLG!
Some flight shots...Power Shot is an excellent camera but it can make you rage if you're taking lots of these.
A rare sight - Whiskered and White-winged Tern (respectively) posing for a picture together.
An even rarer occurence is this adult WW Tern.
Marsh tern collective taking a rest
A distant shot of the majority of Ringed Plovers, which were the most numerous amongst "smaller" waders this week.
Distant, impossible to approach and against the sun - a summary of our weekly conditions.
Wood Sandpipers are always kindly close-up.
Gold diggers
The only Ok photo of a Ringed Plover we got through the week - they are a photographer's pain in the ass (also for scaring other birds with their constant calling).
We compromised not having showered the whole week by bathing in the clean river.
This Black Stork was feasting on freshly exposed fish for the whole week.
Gazda, ne zatvaraj klub!
