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
