Pfaffenstein Table Mountain - Gray-headed Woodpecker, Warblers, and RED KITE!

Last Sunday's gorgeous weather pulled me away from the books and back to the mountains of Saxon Switzerland. After much weighing of choices, I finally decided, since I had a hiking map of the area, to go back to Königstein, but hike about an hour southeast, past the quiet little village of Pfaffendorf, to Pfaffenstein Table Mountain. This cluster of mountains is geologically amazing ( to me at least) because during the Cretaceous period, between 1,444 and 66 million years ago, a stretch of sea covered the land where today you will find gorges, mesas and rock towers in abundance. The region was formed when rivers flowing from the peaks of the Ore mountains deposited sediment and seashells as the waters flowed to the sea. Technically speaking the Elbe Sandstone Mountains are not mountains at all. The landscape was formed by erosion, from water and wind, which created the region's distinctive features; sandstone blocks, u-shaped valleys and vertical walls, which descend in several steps and are broken up into spurs and rock towers.

Now I told myself not to go too far on the "commentary" this time for (a) it might bore some readers, and (b) I don't really have time as a PhD student/slave to have a true blog, so from now on I will try to just review species, especially new ones for the year (FOYs) and LIFERS, as well as other significant natural history notes, since that is what this blog is about in the first place. Though what lacks in diversity and extravagant beauty of avifauna when going birding in Europe (as opposed to, say, birding in Ecuador or New Guinea!) is made up for in the rich cultural history that can simultaneously be enjoyed on any birding trip within Europe. (Come to think of it, then perhaps China is probably one of the greatest places to travel to!)
SO, here it goes...

Birds of interest:


1) Gray-headed Woodpecker (Picus canus) - FOY, LIFER! An adult male, with red patch on forecrown. Very secretive; not a peep out of him, and was very flighty. I have a feeling these birds, though surely less common than both Green and Great Spotted Woodpeckers, is not as rare as it might seem, and these are just quiet and shy species...something to look further into. Any readers have experience with the habits of this specie?

2) Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus collybita) - FOY, LIFER! Finally, this small, canopy-hopper couldn't stop bobbing its tail (not unlike a Palm Warbler back home). I read about the various characters that differentiate this bird from the similar (and equally common, though in slightly different preferred habitats) Willow Warbler. Compact shape (shorter primary projection), dark legs, darker below, not-too-strong of a supercilium, slightly thinner and darker bill....but the tail bobbing made it easy to ID as well.

3) Ravens (Corvus corax) - A nice pair was found perched, and calling from atop a conifer.

4) Willow Tit (Poecile montanus) - FOY. Single bird found at the top of the mountain in the same location as the Ravens.

5) Firecrest (Regulus ignicapilla) - FOY, LIFER! High up in a conifer, discovered by high-pitched song. Only saw below and face, and the latter was enough to tell who it was! There were some deciduous (birch mainly) trees around, so it wasnt pure coniferous and so perhaps not the ideal habitat for Goldcrests as much as for Firecrests(?).

6) Great Cormorants (Phalacrocorax carbo) - *FOY for Germany (Zurich in Jan). An adult and a juvenile bird, separated by about 30 seconds or so, flew NW down river (Towards Dresden).

7) Red Kite (Milvus milvus [one of the best Latin names for birds I've seen!]) - FOY, LIFER! Adult cruising over the Elbe river, appearing amazingly 2 minutes before my train back to Dresden arrived! It disappeared almost as soon as it appeared, but with my bins I had an awesome look at it; when I saw that long, strongly forked tail I knew it was special (I think my initial excitement might have startled nearby civilians), and then the dark underwings with light windows at the ends and the deep, rufous body left no doubt in my mind that this was what it was! Whew, what I'd give though to have enjoyed it for even 5 more minutes!

Also, the day before (Saturday), I had just enough time to swing by the Grosser Garten in town and had...

8) Fieldfares (Turdus pilaris) - FOY, LIFER! 6+ individuals; behaviorally they most reminded me of colorfully patterned American Robins, and associated with some European Blackbirds.

9) Blackcaps (Sylvia atricapilla) - FOY. 2 males, looking like crossbreeds of a Catbird and a Wilson's Warbler, were actively gleaning insects. Another male was seen near Königstein on the hillside the day after.

10) Willow Warbler (Phylloscopus trochilus) - FOY, LIFER! 2 were gleaning insects from high up in the canopy of a deciduous tree, and chasing each other as if competing over food or possible courtship?? Similar to Chiffchaff, but slightly less compact with a long primary projection, coupled with a lighter, whitish underside (belly at least) and stronger supercilium and lighter colored legs and bill. Unfortunately did not vocalize, besides the squabble from the fight.

What a near-perfect weekend, that's all for now until the next outing which may or may not be this next coming weekend depending on weather...but hey, get out there and enjoy the birds when you can!

Hiking to Fortification Königstein

This past Saturday, with temperatures reaching into the 70s, I headed with my Semester Ticket to the Main Train Station for the next regional train heading into the nearby Elbe sandstone mountains and Saxon Switzerland National Park. It was named after the Swiss painters Adrian Zingg and Anton Graff, whom it reminded of the Jura mountains when they went walking there in 1766. Besides moderate hiking through a romantic landscape full of flat-topped mountains and bizarre shapped rock walls created from seas in the Cretaceous period, there are quaint medieval villages as well, tucked into the valleys and to the banks of the Elbe river.

On this particular outing, I decided to conquer Königstein, a small town along the Elbe, south of Dresden, under the largest rock fortification in Europe. Of course there are tourist buses that frequently escort visitors swiftly to the fortification from town, but I was there mainly to hike to it, birding and observing nature along the way. However, this trip quickly (and to my satisfaction) turned into a mixed adventure of culture and natural beauty. The now mostly-deserted (it would almost be if not for the tourists) picturesque towns along the Elbe are evidence of this region's once great affluence from mining; the rocks used to build all those Baroque palaces and churches in Dresden and Leipzig, and even Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, came from this Saxon Swiss region.  After finding one of the main paths (the longer, but also more scenic one) leading up to the fortification Königstein, the church bells started ringing as it was noon (hey the train was late as everyone wanted to get out of the city on the most gorgeous day of the year so far). Here is what it sounded and looked like (I think I was humming "the hills are alive..." to myself):

Then, climbing up the mountainside in mostly coniferous forest, where I picked out at least 5 different varieties of pine cones (therefore concluding that there were at least 5 different species around), I took a short video to record the songs of Robins and Chaffinches. The closer (and thus louder) flute-like warbling is the European Robin (Erithacus rubecula), and the fainter, but much more robust multi-toned "machine gun" song is a Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs). Here you go:

 

Other birds encountered were the typical breeders: Great and Blue Tits, Greater Spotted Woodpecker, Green Woodpecker, Eurasian Jays, Starlings, Common Wood Pigeons, Common Blackbirds, Eurasian Goldfinch, Eurasian Siskin and European Nuthatch. Then, as I was hiking along the forest edge of a grass field, about half-way up to the fortification, my life Common Brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni) darted into the forest, right in front of me. This early time of year, and moreover that neon greenish-yellow flash made the ID unmistakeable (reminiscent of the Cloudless Sulphurs (Phoebis sennae) back home which usually show up in southern New Jersey at the end of summer in a reverse-migration from the south). Germans are straight-to-the-point, and call them Zitronenfalter (literally "Lemon butterflies"), which sounds cool, but Brimstone sounds much cooler still! (Brimstone by the way was the archaic/biblical term for sulphur, FYI).

Soon I came across an orange Nymphalid butterfly species which was fluttering quite a ways off, and then disappeared, that will remain unidentified unfortunately. My best guesses would have to be Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui) or Small Tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae). And just before reaching the final leg of the hike up the mountainside, at quite high elevation, 2 female Orange Tips (Anthocharis cardamines), with the orange tips of the forewings missing, but with greenish speckling on the underside of the wings, flitted slowly by. Its flight style is notably different from other white pierids, like Cabbage White (Pieris rapae).

Of note at the top of the fortification (besides breathtaking views) included: a Common Raven (Corvus corax) both flying and "croaking" not far off, my first White Wagtail (Motacilla alba) singing from the roof of an inticing ice cream shop (believe it or not, it was above 70 F!) and while observing some longhorn beetle species, my eyes caught sight of an owl pellet actually lying on the stone wall around the southeastern edge of the fortification:

Its small size (about 1.5 inches long, and 0.5 inch in diameter) leads me to guess that it most likely originated from a Tengmalm's Owl (Aegolius funereus) or perhaps the less common (European) Pygmy Owl (Glaucidium passerinum). I now should try to come here before dawn, or stay until the sun sets, to listen and watcing for owls, especially Pygmy Owls, since they are known to be more of a crepuscular hunter, than a night hunter like Tengmalm's. This is also the best time of year for that since they are most vocal during there prenesting season.

Back in town, before heading back to Dresden, I came across another Common Brimstone and my first European Peacock (Inachis io), an absolutely gorgeous insect, especially for the first time seeing this amazingly (and thankfully) common species:

Birds in this sunny spot near the town included more rambunctious White Wagtails (a flock of 5 actually) chasing each other and my first-of-year (FOY) Black Redstart (Pheonicurus ochruros); a nice adult male, with dark face and the white wing pannel.

Other FOY birds seen in the past 2+ weeks:

1) Song Thrush (Turdus philomelos) - 3 in a field near southwest entrance to Grosser Garten.

2) Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes) - small flock 4-5 "tinking" secretively at the tops of trees...it's a bird which seems to not want to draw attention to itself! 

3) Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) - heard only (but still such a great sound!) at the Grosser Garten the day after the trip reviewed above.

4) Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus)- actually several seen from around Dresden, including the first one a few weeks back seen from my office window at work.

At least I finally broke 100 species of birds for the yearlist (combining Europe and New Jersey lists), but still have a long way to go to my goal of 300-400, which should be easy if I get some good birding in when I'll be home in Cape May the end of August and the first half of September...ANYWAY:

Enjoy the new life blooming and singing all around, and happy spring birding to all!

Spring is Coming! - 2 more "lifers"...in the backyard?!

Today was amazing because I just went for a stroll to explore new parts of the city (Dresden) with no high expectations, however I am now very glad that I decided to bring my bins and camera, for I had 2 life birds (bird species which I had never encountered and identified previously)!

Just a block or so south from my appartment, on the way to the northern shore of the Elbe river, my ear picked up what sounded like a mixed flock of passerines, and sure enough, I discovered a feeding flock around a series of amply supplied feeders including Great Tits, Blue Tits, 2-3 Greenfinches, a few House Sparrows, a Jay and gorgeous "chink-chink-chinking" Chaffinches...and then a flock of noisy and nimble birds, feeding from the thinest branches of birch trees (exactly as they are depicted in their plate in birds of Europe (Svensson et al.)), which upon closer inspection revealed themselves to be Siskins (the Eurasian species of course). This was my first long-overdo lifer of the day, which already made my day, however it got much better a few minutes later when I stumbled across my second lifer: a single adult Brambling!

I previously learned that flocks of these guys roam around central and southern Europe in winter and then summer in the Nordic countries and Russia in the summer, but I did not exprect to find one here in the city! The orange chest of this male, along with the dusky-tipped yellow bill and pale-fringed clack head feathers (2 features of the winter basic plumage, as in breeding plumage the males have all black heads and bills) caught my attention first, but when it took to a short flight to nearby branch, revealing a distinct white rump, at that moment its ID was clear to me! Size and shape are extremely similar to Chaffinch, but according to Birds of Europe Brambling single-specie flocks are more compact than Chaffinch flocks. Unfortunately I could not test this with one bird, so I'll be keeping an eye out for flocks of both species in the future.

When I was satisfied with these birds, and nothing new was popping up, I continued on south another block until I reached the Elbe. At the shoreline, a quick scan revealed hundreds of Black-headed Gulls (it's funny how I hear so much about this specie on Jerseybirds, I don't get it?) and Mallards, 4 Mute Swans (2 pairs?), a gaggle of Greylag Geese, and innumerable Eurasian Coots. In the mix on my side of the river were 15 Mandarin Ducks. This bird gives me a headache because I don't know whether to count them; they were escapees of course, but also clearly have established a local population...either way though, they are gorgeous. A nice sign of spring coming (or winter at least coming towards the last stretch) was the various amounts of black feather coming in on the heads of the Black-headed Gulls. The photograph below shows this diversity. One bird (left of middle, back) has almost a completed hood (save for a few white specks at front of face, just above the bill) and completely black primary tips, another (left, front) has more white on the front of the face but still has the partial eyering and white-tipped primaries showing, a third bird (middle, back) does not have any sign of an eyering yet but a good amount of black "splotching" is evident, and the rest still have mostly basic plummage with the ear patch and mostly white heads:

I can't wait for April for two reasons:

(1) I will be an official PhD student at TU Dresden, and will receive a Semester Ticket which (for a low price) will give me unlimited free transportation for 6 months within the State of Saxony, which means every weekend with good weather I will not be birding the city parks, but rather the mountains and countryside, to find more diversity and get back into shape through serious hiking :) and...

(2) I am planning a 4-day trip, over Easter break, to explore the Sumava mountains and forests in Southern Bohemia in the Czech Republic, which is quite close and cheap (esp. if I can get someone to come along) but should be an awesome few days! The unique combination of Central/East European mountains and early spring mean one thing: go find calling Owls, Woodpeckers, and lekking Grouse!!! (of course these birds are more-or-less residential, but they can be very difficult to find outside of a relatively short window of Late March - Early May, when they are more easily heard giving their calls. I hope to see (among others) Black Grouse, Capercaillie, Hazelhen, Tengmalm's Owl (just love that name), Ural Owl, as well as Black, Grey-headed, White-backed, and Three-toed Woodpeckers. My goal for this trip will be 10-15 lifers, but I believe it will be more about quality than quantity (I never was one much for list-building anyway, someone always has a larger list, but you can believe that you have the best experiences overal! Besides how can you enjoy birds when you are thinking about the next one already? The World Series of Birding is the exception, of course...). The forests in this area, on the border with Germany (Bavarian Forest) and Austria, was depopulated and closed off under communism, which was very beneficial for the wildlife. Also the mountain range, covered in primeval spruce forests, supposedly are some of the most geologically oldest ranges in Europe...

Well, before I get too excited, too soon, I should get back to my work-related studies. But good birding to all, and get out to enjoy the signs of the transition into Spring; it has already begun!

Treecreepers!

Walking to the IFW for some afternoon studying, and moreover to check on a running experiment, I passed a patch of thin deciduous trees when a thin, high-pitched, ethereal trill sounded; it was 2 Eurasian Treecreepers. Actually I didn't have my bins on me (naughty as usual), not expecting to come across much interesting I guess, and there would not have been any chance to distinguish by naked eye which specie of treecreeper it was, if it hadn't called. I am learning the songs slowly through xeno-canto, an excellent, fastly growing birder-shared database of uploaded bird vocalizations (it would be nice though to have a "Stokes Guide to European Bird Songs!").
By the way, Short-toed Treecreeper must take the award for the "Bird named for the Most Discrete Field Marking"! According to Birds of Europe (2nd ed. Svensson, Mullarney, Zetterstroem), the Short-toed is more likely at lower elevations (range map does show extensive coverage over most of continental Europe, except the tallest areas such as the Alps and Transylvania.) and often is found in parks and gardens in towns...but I am quite sure it sounded more like the plain (eurasian) Treecreeper. Well, it also is winter so they are all over searching for food! I will however have my bins on me tomorrow on the way to work, in case I have another chance to observe them, at which time I will check plumage details (pattern of wing-bar edges on folded wing, the presence of spots on the primary tips, relative bill length, etc...but toe length will be last for sure!) for a confirmation of my hypothesis. Good birding all! And let this be a lesson: don't ever leave home without some decent optics on your person :)

8 Yearbirds...in the city park!

Finally, today was partly sunny and unseasonably warm (~9C) and almost all the snow has melted...I had to see what was flying about! I went to the Grosser Garten (Dresden's Central Park) and took a leisurely 2-hour stroll to check out what was happening, and I was surprised a couple of times!
First there was a beautifully perched first-of-the-year (FOY) male Eurasian Sparrowhawk, with lovely rufous cheeks and breast, only shortly after discovering it, a Hooded Crow chased him away. But at least I had a nice opportunity to observe it fly, which is very sharp, quick bursts of wing beats between short periods of gliding; more reminiscent of a small Cooper's Hawk (or pigeon), than a sharpie I thought. Next surprise was a calling, and then found, FOY Green Woodpecker. She (its mustache did not have a red center) was all the way at the top of a leafless deciduous tree. I wasn't previously familiar with the Green Woodpecker's call before today, as I actually have only come across a few, but at first I thought it might have been some hawk; in fact it didn't sound completely unlike a Cooper's Hawk...a loud, startling at first, "kyu-kyu-kyuck". Then, a few moments later, a cacophony sounded as an adult Common Buzzard flew out almost eye-level, being chased by crows...these Dresden Crows were relentless today!

I learned, after initial surprise, that the bill (and eye-ring evidently) of the Common Blackbird "darken" in the winter...which I suppose means they become redder, especially at the bill base, as seen in the individual male in the above picture (click to enlarge).
Interesting also are the winter flocks of Long-tailed Tits. First of all I love these guys; they remind me of miniature Scissor-tailed Flycatchers...the most adorable birds I've seen so far! Most of the birds are actually the Northern European caudatus race, with a clean, pure white face. But today there was one Central European europaeus race, with the black nape extending in a black band across side of crown, over the eye but stopping short of the forehead (white). This is interesting because Dresden IS Central Europe, but about 99% of the birds I have seen thus far (in the past 2 weeks) have been of the northern race, and this specie is generally believed not to be migratory...hm.
Other FOY birds included: 2 pairs of Goosander (Eurasian Common Mergansers), Wood Pigeons, Great spotted Woodpecker, a male Chaffinch, and a flock of Greenfinches. The following is a full, annotated list of the species seen today:

Total number of species: 22
2011 Year list for Germany: 27
2011 Year list for Europe: 30
2011 Year list (total): 95

Mandarin Duck: 20+
Wood Duck: 1 drake, probably escape from Zoo's collection.
Mallard: x
Goosander: 2 pairs
Common Buzzard: 1
Eurasian Sparrowhawk: 1 male
Rock Pigeon: x
(Common) Wood Pigeon: 2
Great Spotted Woodpecker: 1 male, drumming
Green Woodpecker: 3+, 1 female seen.
Eurasian Magpie: 4+
Rook: x
Carrion Crow: x
Hooded Crow: x
Great Tit: x
Eurasian Blue Tit: x
Long-tailed Tit: 5-10 caudatus race, 1+ europaeus race.
Eurasian Nuthatch: x
Eurasian Blackbird: x
Common Chaffinch: 1 male
European Greenfinch: 4+
House Sparrow: x

Misses of the Day: Mute Swan, Starling, Jay, Jackdaw, Goldfinch, Robin.

Misses this year so far: Mute Swan, Ducks, Geese (Greylag even!), Jackdaw!, European Robin!!!, Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Hawfinch, Eurasian Tree Sparrow...need to kick it up a notch before March!

Nice looking Spruces in Grosser Garten; life continues in winter.

Bohemian Waxwings - Another Lifer!

I had my second lifer in 2 days, well sort of...
A few years back I had gone for an individual Bohemian Waxwing discovered on Sandy Hook, New Jersey with my bud Tom Reed. He saw the bird, but I only heard it call (distinctive) and saw a bird flying from a perch deeper into the woods that was probably him, but I didn't get a good enough look to feel confident about counting it as a lifer.

Yesterday, while walking to work in the morning (late morning, due to jetlag issues), I heard a cacophony of high trilly notes, waxwing-like, and so I looked up and back a bit from the direction I was heading in, and sure enough...a flock of 40-45 Bohemian Waxwings were perched in the canopy of a tall, leafless tree. If I had my bins, and was diligent, I should have checked the flock for a vagrant Cedar Waxwing :)

Winter flocks around here have also noticeably grew in size and thus simultaneously decreased in numbers (conservation of energy/mass). These consist of mostly Great Tits, then Long-tailed Tits, and a smattering each of Blue Tits, Nuthatches ("Kleiber" in German) and Chaffinches.

Weather is looking great for the coming weekend, so I expect to get out in the field a bit for some real observations; stay tuned!

Zurich - Tufted Ducks!

 On my journey back to Dresden I was stuck in Zurich, Switzerland for 9 hours before the connecting flight between the hours of 11:00 and 20:00 roughly...so naturally I had to do some sightseeing. I walked around the old town on both the east and west sides of the Limmat River. On the River towards the southern end, near the Fraumünster and Grossmünster churches (on the west and east sides, respectively), where flocks of Black-headed Gulls and a lifer: Tufted Duck! Here are a few pics, not great but close enough to ID without my bins (though I wish I had them with me instead of the locker at the train station!). Happy new year to all, and many lifers in 2011!