Diginocking in the mountains

After last weeks' fun taking photos through my ELs, I decided to do a little more of it this morning. Last night we had taken a hike back in to the mountains to a most gorgeous of spot: Solsteinhaus, a hut set way back in the mountains on the edge of my favorite mountain in the whole wide world (Große Solstein - on the right in the first photo).


I was admittedly lazy in getting up this morning, but when I got out there was still something to be seen. The Alpine Accentors were not very vocal at all and we ended up playing an interminable game of hide and go seek. I was not the one hiding. No useful photos there.

But the Ring Ousels were far more obliging. Weary, but far more interested in singing from the "tree" tops to be too worried about me. I don't have the little Snap Shot Adapter anymore - it was borrowed - so these were all taken by just holding my camera to the binoculars. As you can see, I am still learning how to focus effectively.

I also spent some time trying to get some shots of the Crossbills, but they were proving elusive:

catching one taking off was completely by accident:


Here is a habitat shot:
Mostly grassland with some stunted trees (mostly below head hight). Also about were some Grey Wagtails, Wheatears, a couple of ravens and a few other little bits and pieces.

A couple of digibinned insects:

This digibinning thing really is a whole lot of fun. and it means that I can still take bird photos even if my huge digiscoping setup is a home.

Happy birding
Dale

Yellow wagtails, grey wagtails and great big Golden Eagles!

I have always had an interest in wagtails. There is something about their nature that always caught my eye. That calm demeanour. And a ritualistically wagging tail. It is like looking at a monk calmly chanting his maha mantra. I remember being fascinated by the little cape wagtails that visited our garden as a child. Scoured every brook for a longtailed wagtail, and never failed to point out the odd pied wagtail. A little later, the pipits (basically ridiculously difficult to tell apart brown versions of wagtails) drew my attention.

This morning we went out on a joint walk with BirdLife Austria, and WWF to Schloss Tratzberg to walk about in the fields and stream-side habitats. Early on, we found a few cute little birds; some of my favorites being the european blackcap and the jackdaw. But when the sun started to rise in the sky, and the day started to "warm" up a bit (all relative of course - the snowy peaks do not lend themselves to warm mornings), the wagtails started to come out.

A gorgeous grey wagtail presented himself for examination alongside a little stream. Our competant guide Andreas Schwarzenberger regaled us with his trick to telling the grey from the yellow wagtail: "It's easy" he said "just look at the colour of their back." You see, both species are rather variable in their coloration but their back color is always rather constant: if it has a greenish or brownish back, it's a yellow wagtail, and if the back is grey then (you guessed it), it's a grey wagtail. Easy when you know how!

The day's highlight was, for me, two gorgeous golden eagles. Granted, I am prone to exageration. But these birds were absolutely incredible. They were way up, circling the peaks and they still looked impressively large. One of the birders had brought along his Swarovski telescope, affording us great views as they circled in and out of the morning mists. Previously, I had thought that they may be somewhat difficult to tell apart from other large raptors, but their distinctive eagle wing shape and their sheer size gave these guys away in a snap - keep a look out for the bulging trail edge to the wings (thanks Andreas!), and the enormous wingspan.

To add to the day's raptor tally, we also saw a couple of black kites (sorry, couldn't resist noting them here), a steppe buzzard and a pair of greater kestrels (being mobbed by the jackdaws).

All in all, a lovely morning.


Dale Forbes