New Andorinha article

https://academic.oup.com/cz/advance-article/doi/10.1093/cz/zoab053/6325085?login=true

Schiermonnikoog (August 20 - 23)

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy (and all play and no work made Jack a mere toy..?), so I was off to Schiermonnikoog, a small island located in the Dutch Waddensea, for an educational as well as recreational bird ringing experience at the "Groene Glop", our bed & breakfast & ringing station (with Joop vA (and family) and Jorien vS).




At times it was crowded at the coffee table. Captures can be found on http://www.trektellen.nl







Bycatch: a Great Green Bush-Cricket Tettigonia viridissima







View towards the east, with Rottumerplaat on the horizon (where I once spent a summer looking towards the west...).




Northern wheatear Oenanthe oenanthe

Ring Ouzel (Turdus torquatus). April 20, Zwolle (The Netherlands)

A relatively rare (and primarily spring) migrant in this part of the world. Found at a doorstep after a probable window collision. Third CY female (??-http://www.ringouzel.info/infoandadvice/Ring%20Ouzel%20Photo%20ID_Birdwatch%20Mar13.pdf)







The finding coincided with the appearance of multiple migrating individuals in the area, including one on the same property as the one above was found, on the same date (first record of a live bird there): https://knnvzwolle.waarneming.nl/soort/view/226?from=2016-04-21&to=2017-04-21&show_zero=0&species=soort+226&prov=0&maand=0&os=0&prov_wg=0&rows=20&references=0&waardplant=0&poly=1&hide_hidden=1&global_tag=0&page=1

153 Andorinhas by night...

Hirundo rustica. Vera Cruz, Aveiro, Portugal. December 14, 2016, 22:05h. 10°C, partly cloudy.

Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) in Aveiro, Portugal

These migrants saw the American election results coming and left their continent? I noticed several of these in and around Aveiro daily for the past few weeks, always difficult to photograph.

Photos of Sagres - Portugal (September 14 - 18)

Back from a short trip to Europe´s most southwestern point, where during primarily western winds both bird migration and the surf turned out a bit disappointing. In the heat the 2016 crew kept their spirits up, as the place carries its name for a reason... (and then there was also that medronho liquor...)

At the fishing harbor Porto da Baleeira a few thousand gaivotas were present, primarily Larus michahellis. Four rings were read, all were applied during the birds’rehabilitation in southern Portugal.

Blue rock thrush Monticola solitaries, perched at Fortaleza.

Aquatic warblers in Salreu

Aquatic warblers Acrocephalus paludicola are the rarest and the only internationally threatened passerine in mainland Europe. Apart from a very small remnant population in Western Siberia, its breeding grounds are completely confined to Europe. Drainage has meant that this species has declined. Its stronghold is now the south of Belarus, where 70% of the world's population breeds. This time of the year Aquatic warblers show up also in the wetlands of Salreu. These birds are on their way to Africa, where they spend the winter. They use the food rich marshes of Salreu to build up strength for the next part of their journey. JMN and I managed to ring two of these birds on September 4.




Typical Aquatic warbler habitat in Salreu: sedges and rice fields.