Thrush street

I took a short walk in my borough. Just 300m from my flat I spotted small flock of c35 Waxwings. I turned into the Strážnická street. Mistle Thrush was calling from the treetop. Then I stopped at the crossing with Moskovská street. I just took short look at small tree with several Blackbirds. In a minute there was Redwing and later one more. Two Fieldfares appeared and surprisingly one Song Thrush too. It is almost unbelievable that you can spot 5 from 6 Slovak Turdus sp.Thrushes in one street in the center of Bratislava. Ring Ouzel will come in the end of March and certainly couldn't be spotted here as it breeds in mountainous regions outside big towns. In addition I found male Black Redstart on the roof of nearby embassy, Kestrel and 2 Sparrowhawks flew over my head. 

Later in the afternoon I observed Peregrine Falcon as it flew over Main square (Hlavné námestie) and c15000 Rooks mixed with Jackdaws that were gathering over Danube before flight to their night roost site.

What an amazing day! Let's check the photos from "Thrush street":

Waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus)

location of Thrush tree

Redwing  up, Redwing down

Redwing (Turdus iliacus)

Redwing and Waxwing I

Redwing and Waxwing II

Song Thrush (Turdus philomelos)

Fieldfare (Turdus pilaris)

Search for Waxwings - Redwing found

Waxwings occupy streets of Bratislava 8 weeks in row. My friend asked me to try to check wider centre of Bratislava to estimate number of wintering Waxwings. I decided to search in old town, Sad Janka Kráľa public park, castle hill,garden and squares behind presidential palace. My total number was 362 Waxwings. According to my friend's count and one other birder's we estimate their number around 4500 individuals in Bratislava area. We were shocked when we reached 1000 in December. Again two weeks ago when we counted 2000+ birds and today's count is simply breath-taking. I can't believe that I have seen my first ever Waxwings only two month ago and now I'm part of the team that tries to monitor them during the whole time of their stay in the city.

(In following days were photos from this count revised and one other birder's observation was added. Total number stands on 5112 Waxwings.)

But one can't forget also other birds. Yearlist tick Peregrine Falcon with caught Feral Pigeon. Fieldfares made my highest count today(800+). And in the flock of c700 Fieldfares and c100 Waxwings I have also found one Redwing (another yearlist tick). It was second time this winter that I spotted 4 different Turdus sp. thrushes in few minutes(Blackbird, Mistle Thrush, Fieldfare, Redwing).

Here are some photos from today:

Robin (Erithacus rubecula) always counts

hybrid Hooded Crow (Corvus cornix) x Carrion Crow (Corvus corone)

Hooded Crow (Corvus cornix)

Mistle Thrush (Turdus viscivorus)

Fieldfares (Turdus pilaris)

lonely Waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus) in Fieldfare (Turdus pilaris) flock

my first Redwing (Turdus iliacus) of the year

Fieldfare in the snow