Biggest news is that I found out the other day that a fellow Indian PhD student at IFW Dresden just happens to also be a birder. Totally blown away! Thought I would never find another of my species over here :)
He told me about a nice location just behind our workplace where he recently found Reed Warblers. I was quite eager to discover this new spot, and find a new lifer. Today around 6pm I ventured there on my own, and discovered tree-lined fields of wild grains, wh=ith excellent views of Dresden city. When I reached the top of the hill a short 10 minute walk west revealed at least 4 singing male (Common) Whitethroats (Sylvia communis) as well as 2 singing Reed Warblers (Acrocephalus scirpaceus). That made 2 lifers, yes! The only other noteworthy sighting was a flyover Kestrel.
Other new yearbirds recently:
Spotted Flycatcher (Muscicapa stiata) - no joke! I was having a beer with friends in a Biergarten in the early evening, after work, and a single bird flew out of a tree for a minute to perch and call from a wire RIGHT overhead! It might have been the most odd and unplanned lifer ever! Luckily I was sober enough to ID it, without bins too because it literally was overhead, but buzzed enough to get extremely excited about it amongst nonbirder friends, who thusly became freaked-out.
White Storks - 3 spotted from the train I was on last Sunday (June 5) in Brandenburg countryside on the way back to Dresden from a visit to Berlin. I spotted 2 in flight, and the other was nearby landed in a plowed field. Still working on finding a Black Stork; one of these days!
Good birding and butterflying to all, and stay as cool as possible this summer!
