Unbelievable "white morph" Snow Goose in Slovakia

On Wednesday evening I browsed website, where interesting bird sightings in Slovakia can be found. For the first time ever there was written "Snow Goose - Anser caerulescens". It was found at fishponds near Malacky by a local expert birdwatcher and naturalist Rudo Jureček. Fishponds, only 40km from Bratislava, are used as a roosting site for wintering and migrating Geese, mostly White-fronted, Bean and Greylag. From time to time he use to find in the large flocks some great birds as Red-breasted Goose or Barnacle Goose, but this was simply unbelievable. White morph in Central Europe! Its origin is still uncertain, but it seems to be wild. No rings, or problems with flying. May be the official Slovak bird checklist will need to be recompiled again. I reported it to my colleagues and we drove to the site immediately as it was possible. We found the bird shining in the flock of Bean Geese just after our arrival. As we didn't want to disturb the flock of c4000 geese we observed it from distance of 400m. Pics are worse than documentary, but the amazing life tick is done. To be honest we really didn't care about the immature White-tailed Eagle, that was perching on the tree less than 500m from us. Who would ever say that it is possible to spot Whooper Swan, Tundra Swan, White-billed Diver, Red-breasted Goose and Snow Goose in a perimeter of less then 50km from Bratislava, Slovakia, Central Europe in 23 days.

geese flock, mostly Bean Geese (Anser fabalis)

Snow Goose (Chen caerulescens) "white morph"

Early February in Morava Floodplain

After the lifeticks earlier in the week I decided to make a birding walk in Morava floodplain NW from Bratislava. Area offers good habitats for birds of prey. I hoped to spot at least Red Kites or White-tailed Eagles. Near the waste dumping site I found at least 9 Red Kites. I observed short flyover of male Hen Harrier over the embankment. Pair of White-tailed Eagles was roosting in the meadow. After spotting my first Great Grey Shrike of the year I was already satisfied with the walk. I didn't know that I will have an opportunity to spot pair of Eastern Imperial Eagles and as I will walk to railway stop back home I'll find Water Pipit and Green Sandpiper feeding on the gravel bank of Morava River.

Check the photos and list of observed bird species during the day.

morning in Lamač

Mute Swan (Cygnus olor)

floodplain meadows

Red Kite (Milvus milvus)

Goosander (Mergus merganser)

White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla)

White-tailed Eagles well hidden in the grass

Eastern Imperial Eagle (Aquila heliaca)

Fieldfare (Turdus pilaris)

tea birding as usual - Bao Zhong oolong from Taiwan

List of observed bird species:
Common Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus)
Greylag Goose (Anser anser)
White-fronted Goose (Anser albifrons)
Mute Swan (Cygnus olor)
Wigeon (Anas penelope)
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)
Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula)
Goosander (Mergus merganser)
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea)
Great Egret (Egretta alba)
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo)
Red Kite (Milvus milvus)
White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla)
Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus)
Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo)
Eastern Imperial Eagle (Aquila heliaca)
Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus)
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus)
Common Gull (Larus canus)
large Gull (Larus cachinnans/michahellis)
Feral Pigeon (Columba livia f. domestica)
Collared Dove (Streptopelia decaocto)
Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major)
Black Woodpecker (Dryocopus martius)
Green Woodpecker (Picus viridis)
Great Grey Shrike (Lanius excubitor)
Common Magpie (Pica pica)
Rook (Corvus frugilegus)
Hooded Crow (Corvus cornix)
Marsh Tit (Poecile palustris)
Great Tit (Parus major)
Blue Tit (Cyanistes caeruleus)
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus)
Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes)
Nuthatch (Sitta europaea)
Blackbird (Turdus merula)
Fieldfare (Turdus pilaris)
Robin (Erithacus rubecula)
House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)
Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus)
Meadow Pipit (Anthus pratensis)
Water Pipit (Anthus spinoletta)
Greenfinch (Carduelis chloris)
Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula)
Yellowhammer (Emberiza citrinella)

Beast from the East

On Tuesday I received good news from my colleague that two other Slovak birdwatchers want to see reported White-billed Diver (Gavia adamsii) in Vienna and we could join them. Our small twitching expedition started after 13:00 from Bratislava and in an hour we were in the southeastern outskirts of Vienna. During our ride we spotted two White-tailed Eagles soaring near the bridge in Hainburg. It was a good sign. We parked near Neue Donau canal and had a short walk to the nearest bridge. At first it gave us only short glimpses as the bird was diving for a pretty long time and could swim long distances under the water. For a short while the only birds I found were Goosanders and a Coot. I was the last from the group who had the luck to spot this "Beast from the East" in full beauty. Bird decided to clear its feathers so we were able to observe it on the water surface. I couldn't compare it to anything as my only Diver species observed before was Black-throated Diver and this bird was simply huge and incredible. Its bill was really frightening, like a pair of extreme sharp scissors. Then the bird started to dive again but for a several times it emerged not more than 30-40 meters from us. This bird was a lifer for all members of our small expedition. There is only one record of White-billed Diver in Slovakia in modern era. One bird spent few weeks in Bratislava in January and February 1994. Now almost everybody can understand that such a rarity found in Vienna is simply irresistible for any of Slovak birders living close to Vienna. After horrible time on Saturday that I spent counting White-tailed Eagles in wind, freezing rain and cold I mentioned that I wish to have some interesting bird observation in return in following months. I didn't thought that I will observe three Whooper Swans and one Bewick's Swan on Tuesday and amazing White-billed Diver on Wednesday. Two arctic lifelist ticks in just two days in Central Europe between Vienna and Bratislava are simply unbelievable.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Three Swan species in my spotting scope

While having a walk at Kuchajda Lake in Bratislava to check if the Canada Goose is still in the flock of Mute Swans I received a message. My colleague wrote me that White-billed Diver was seen in Vienna. Immediately as I came home I checked the web for the rare bird sightings in Austria. I discovered that beside mentioned Diver there are 3 Whooper Swans and Bewick's Swan just few kilometres from Bratislava. As I knew that it would be impossible to connect with White-billed Diver in Vienna on Tuesday I decided to have a walk and try to find those Swans.

 I crossed Morava River in Devinska Nova Ves.

I spotted Goosanders, Mallards, Teal, Wigeons, Great Cormorants or Great Egrets on the river and its banks.

Two young Hen Harriers were hunting over the meadows on the Austrian side.

I reached the site, where the Swans were observed. I met with an Austrian birdwatcher and had a little talk. We counted 69 Swans in the flock, that was grazing in the field.

Three of them were Whooper Swans (Cygnus cygnus) and they were accompanied by one Bewick's Swan (Cygnus columbianus). This small Tundra Swan was an incredible lifer for me. Despite the distance I had great opportunity to compare all three European species of Swans without moving the spotting scope