Der zumindest namentlich weithin bekannte und, mit Ausnahme der Antarktis, nahezu weltweit verbreitete Wanderfalke lebt in Österreich vorwiegend in felsigen Mittelgebirgsregionen. Besonders im Winter erscheint die Art aber auch im Hügel- und Flachland. Das Grazer Stadtgebiet besuchen einzelne Individuen immer wieder und vor allem in der kalten Jahreszeit, zumindest 1-2 Vögel verbringen mittlerweile aber auch Teile der Sommermonate in der Stadt (siehe ältere Beiträge).
Der Wanderfalke ist auf die Flugjagd auf Vögel spezialisiert, besonders in Städten bilden Tauben einen Großteil seiner Nahrung.

 

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I’m happy to announce my new bird photo exhibition.

May 24th – July 30th 2013, Knielyhaus, Leutschach/Austria

Vernissage: May 24th 2013 – 20h
Including a performance of my friend Rytz with his band “Niederspannungsrock-Trio”. Check out his webpage and music!www.rytz.at/niederspannungsrock

I put together a compilation of bird observations and photos from the Seewinkel region in the winter of 2012/13 (in german) for my employer. You can download it here.

Ein zweites Poster mit typischen und seltenen Vogelarten der Region Neusiedler See – Seewinkel ist fertig. Die Illustrationen kommen wieder vom ungarischen Natur-Maler Szabolcs Kókay.
Dieses ist etwas kleiner als das Gartenvögel-Poster (70 x 50 cm) und ebenfalls auf 130g Offsetpapier gedruckt. Die Artnamen sind auf Deutsch, Ungarisch, Englisch und Latein angeführt. Das Poster kann ab zwei Stück zu je EUR 7,- + Versand- und Verpackungskosten, je nach Zielland, bestellt werden. Einzelstücke können gerne ohne zusätzliche Kosten in Graz und Wien selbst abgeholt werden. Zur Bestellung nutzen Sie bitte die e-mail Adresse hier.

A second poster with typical and rare bird species of the region Lake Neusiedl – Seewinkel is finished. Illustrations are again by the hungarian wildlife artist Szabolcs Kókay.
This one is a little smaller than the garden birds poster (70 x 50 cm) and also printed on 130g offset paper. Names are included in German, Hungarian, English and Latin. You can order two or more pieces for EUR 7,- each + shipping and packing costs, depending on where you live. If you like to order, please contact me via this address.

During the last five days, I was guiding a group of BirdLife Austria through the Po Delta/Italy. We had wonderful observations of many of the wanted species. I finished the trip report (in german) while on the bus trip back to Vienna: click here (9 MB). This wasn’t a photo-trip at all, but I still managed to get some shots – see a selection below.
Tomorrow starts the Pannonian Bird Experience, Austrias birdwatching fair in the national park Lake Neusiedl – Seewinkel.

 

Mit den herausragenden Illustrationen des ungarischen Natur-Malers Szabolcs Kókay habe ich ein Poster mit 60 häufigen Vogelarten Mitteleuropas herausgegeben.
Es ist in DIN-A1 Größe (84 x 59,4 cm) auf 130g Offsetpapier gedruckt. Die Artnamen sind auf Deutsch, Englisch und Latein angeführt. Das Poster kann ab zwei Stück zu je EUR 8,- + Versand- und Verpackungskosten, je nach Zielland, bestellt werden. Einzelstücke können gerne ohne zusätzliche Kosten in Graz und Wien selbst abgeholt werden. Zur Bestellung nutzen Sie bitte die e-mail Adresse hier.

The outstanding illustrations of 60 common bird species of central Europe by the hungarian wildlife artist Szabolcs Kókay are featured on a new poster I have published.
It’s DIN-A1 (84 x 59,4 cm) in size, printed on 130g offset paper. Names are included in German, English and Latin. You can order two or more pieces for EUR 8,- each + shipping and packing costs, depending on where you live. If you like to order, please contact me via this address.

After focusing on birds for more then a decade, it had to be the image of a crab to get to the final in a major international wildlife photography contest…
I feel honored that “In the surf” was considered a “highlight” by the jury and made it to the winning 87 out of 18450 photos entered in the “Glanzlichter” contest. Check out the competition at www.glanzlichter.com

The picture shows a Sally Lightfoot Crab (Grapsus grapsus) clinging to a volcanic rock as a wave crashes down on it. Taken at Puerto Ayora/Santa Cruz/Galápagos Islands on July 28, 2012.

April will be a busy birding month for me. You can join me in one of the following events!

April 6., 9-12h
Vogelstimmenwanderung / Spring bird songs, Leibnitz
Birding walk in the Naturpark Südsteirisches Weinland, co-led by Michael Tiefenbach
http://www.naturparkakademie.at/programm.php?id=469

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April 14.-18.
Reise zu den Flamingos ins Podelta / Birdwatching trip to the po delta
I’m leading a 5-days birdwatching tour to the world-famous Parco del Delta del Po for BirdLife Austria – some spots left!
http://www.birdlife.at/veranstaltungen/auslandsexkursionen.html

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April 19.-21.
Vogelfoto-Ausstellung / Bird photo exhibition, @Pannonian Bird Experience, Illmitz
I will be at the bird fair on all three days for St. Martins Therme & Lodge and presenting photographs.
http://www.birdexperience.org/fotografen-2013/

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April 21., 13-16h
Frühling in der Steppe / Spring in the steppe, Illmitz
Faunistic and botanical excursion in the national park Neusiedler See – Seewinkel co-led by Manuel Böck (botanist) and Elke Schmelzer (zoologist).
http://www.birdexperience.org/programm-2013/programm-2013-detailinformation/#xxx9

In Austria, the winter of 2012/13 has been the one with the least sunshine of all time. After some sunny days during the last two weeks, people were starting to hope again for spring to arrive. There’s no reason to hope. Today, according to ORF, we experienced  one of the coldest spring days in eastern Austria – ever. With new snow, even in the dry, easternmost parts of the country.

I’m currently putting together a review of my winter observations in the top birdwatching-area Neusiedler See – Seewinkel.
For now, you’ll find just some of today’s images of birds in the snow – including some obviously disappointed long-distance migrants which now face a serious problem.

 

Today I joined the twitch of a Great Northern Diver (Gavia immer) at Neue Donau, Vienna. The bird was reported as an adult yesterday and was still present at noon. It showed very well at 70-100m most of the time, though it sometimes seemed a little restless between the 15+ birders watching from both riversides.
Although sources on ageing of the species (extending beyond the differentiation of juveniles and adults) are limited and captions of photos on the net often seem contradictory, I think that the bird in question could be a subadult, in 3rd or 4th calendar-year. The eye seems too dark for a full adult, which should show a brighter reddish-brown color.
Since 1980, there have been 36 records of Great Northern Diver from Austria (birdlife-afk.at) of which one was at the same location in November 1998 (Ranner, A. 2002: Nachweise seltener und bemerkenswerter Vogelarten in Österreich 1996- 1998. 3. Bericht der Avifaunistischen Kommission von BirdLife Österreich. Egretta 45: 1- 37.)