Birder-SMS-Meeting 26.-27.02.

For this year I have resolved to put more emphasis on making field studies of painting birds. Last weekend I had my first opportunity to put my plan into practice when the members of the Austrian Birder-SMS met in the Seewinkel/Burgenland.

It was quite cold but still I could make a few sketches:

 White-fronted Geese at Hochgstätten (Illmitzer Hölle)

 Long-eared Owl in Apetlon

 Tundra Swan and Red-crested Pochards at Warmblüterkoppel Illmitz

For me the highlight of the trip were the Tundra Swans (all in all there were three), the 6th record of this bird species in Austria apart from the Rhine Delta/Vorarlberg and the first ones I've ever seen in nature. I also could make some digiscoping fotos of these birds, here is one together with Greylag Geese:

The second day of the meeting was also quite good for birdwatching, we met with Czech and Slovak birders at lake Čunovo south of Bratislava. We could watch there thousands of diving ducks and a few Long-tailed Ducks, Smews and Red-brested Mergansers as well as Pygmy Cormorants. Yet it was even colder than the day before, constantly under 0 degree and a strong wind, so the only suitable picture I could make were these two male Goldeneyes (although the bill of the left one is also much too big, due to the trembling of my fingers).