Wednesday 2 November
Arrived at Bratislava from Manchester mid-morning.
Grassland around Airport
Rook, Hooded Crow, Jackdaw, Kestrel.
Old Gravel Pit near Senec
Syrian Woodpecker in poplar tree flew off before I could unpack the cameras. Mallard, Coot, Cormorant Tufted Duck, Great Crested Grebe.
Vodná nádrž Kráľová (Reservior & Oxbows) Šoporňa
Wigeon, Teal, Moorhen, Green Sandpiper, Little Grebe, Kingfisher, Lapwing.
Clouded Yellow species moving south along reservoir banks.
About
Magpie, Common Buzzard, Mute Swan, Pheasant, Great White Egret, Grey Heron, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Jay, Starling,
Thursday 3 November
Svrbice (Walk over farmland)
Song Thrush, Yellowhammer, Goldfinch, Long-tailed Tit (white-headed form), Linnet, Tree Sparrow, Raven.
I then visited the following Reservoirs.
Vodná nádrž Krtovce Almost dried up no new species.
Veľké Ripňany Almost dried up no new species.
Zalužiansky rybník, Malé Zálužie Almost dried up, flock of Teal and around 20 Caspian Gulls.
Lukáčovce full of water, Pochard.
Alekšince full of water, but workers by the water had disturbed most wildfowl, other than a large flock of Mallard.
About
Collared Dove, House Sparrow,
Friday 4 November
Sokolovce river and oxbow
Blue Tit, Blackbird, Sparrowhawk, Swallow.
Tesáre Reservoir
Walked around this small Reservoir a pair of Marsh Tits was all of interest.
About
3 Great Grey Shrikes seen while driving around today.
Saturday 5 October
Sokolovce river and oxbow
Pretty much the same as the previous day. Swallow still present and new birds in Chaffinch and Green Woodpecker. Sad to see a large group of the angling fraternity with chainsaws and loppers hacking out new fishing pegs along the oxbow, where I had Night Herons and Gargany in Spring! There are already many fishing pegs and vehicle access around the river and the reservoir.
Sunday 6 November
Sokolovce river, reservoir and oxbows
Few more birds about this morning, new birds Wren, Nuthatch, treecreeper species, Siskin, Hawfinch, Greenfinch and what is an uncommon bird in Slovakia Redwing.
In the afternoon a family hike up a 1,000 metre mountain near Trenčianske Jastrabieonly only found a few Great Tits.
Spent the night in a huge communist era hotel at Považská Bystrica rooms were good, modern and cheap.
Monday 7 November
Visited the limestone gorge Kostolecká tiesňava a known location for Wallcreepers. Spent over an hour walking up and down the gorge, but no luck, then I had to give up when it started raining.
A return visit to open forest near Dubové. As soon as I left the village a raptor that seemed on the large size flew towards the car. Should have gone for the camera, but got out and put my bins on it, as it flew straight overhead. At this point 2 Ravens attacked, being much smaller and it dawned on me it was a Golden Eagle. By the time I got my camera out, all I got was photos of it flying away. In the distance it circled and it could clearly be seen it was a sub adult bird. A Great Spotted Woodpecker had managed to fit a spruce cone into a hole in the top of a broken tree and was videoed pecking away at it.
Now spending 4 nights at my regular mountain haunt at Strelniky in Central Slovakia.
Tuesday 8 November
Streniky to Ľubietová via Povrazník
Blackbird, Magpie, flock of over 50 Hawfinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Bullfinch, Hooded Crow, Raven, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Goldfinch, Buzzard, Mistle Thrush, Yellowhammer, Tree Sparrow, Siskin, Jay, House Sparrow, Marsh Tit.
Bus back to Strelniky then an afternoon walk to the west of the village which turned out to be very quiet until, I hit a hot spot after 3:00 pm, Long-tailed Tit more Siskin and good numbers of Mistle Thrush and a couple of distant Red Deer.
Wednesday 9 November
Strelniky to Ľubietová via walks to the west
A very grey, overcast and mild day. Spent the day walking around Strelniky. Blue, Great and Marsh Tits. Siskin feeding a top Silver Birchs were encountered many times. Nuthatch, Great Spotted Woodpecker and a distant treecreeper species, which are likely to be common here, but without a decent photo cannot separate. 33 Hawfinch were counted in one tree and shorty afterwards a different flock of over 50 flew over. Only new trip bird today was a male Hen Harrier which flew over a clearing in a wood. Good size flocks of Yellowhammer and Goldfinch. A Great Grey Shrike flew by in the afternoon.
Thursday 10 November
Drove several miles north to the Low Tatras National Park above Hiadeľ. Undertook a walk along a tarmac forest track through mostly spruce forest high into the mountains. First two birds were new trip species Crested and Coal Tits. Then after 3 hours, only added Bullfinch, Jay and Raven just to show how difficult this habit is to work. On the way back to Strelniky hit a good patch along a quiet lane, when I was surrounded by Hawfinch along with Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Yellowhammer and numerous Jay's none of which would be photogenic. After lunch, a walk to Povaznik, a Great Grey Shrike in the same area as Wednesday. My first decent size flock of Fieldfare, and more Hawfinch along with Siskin. A Red Fox passed by and a herd of Red Deer in the distance. All went very quiet after 3.00 pm.
Friday 11 November
One last walk to Povaznik and back. Much as before with flocks of Hawfinch, Siskin, Yellowhammer and a Great Grey Shrike. I then returned to Sokolovce stopping off for a walk into the Polarna National Park at Kyslinky great area of open forest again Hawfinch and Siskin plus a Red Squirrel. Upon returning to Sokolovce I was taken to a meeting of a branch of Birdlife Slovakia in Tranava. It was a book launch for some bird atlas work on an area of land to the north of Tranava.
Saturday 12 November
Sokolovce river resr, and oxbow
More flocks of Hawfinch and Siskin. Constant fly over of Grey Herons, Great White Egrets and Cormorants. A very vocal Black Woodpecker allowed fairly close approach and brief views of a Grey-headed Woodpecker. At last my first trip Chaffinch! My daughter was helping the local hunting fraternity with a big boar hunting festival. 80 hunters with dogs went into the woods on a driven Boar hunt, but failed to kill a single Boar!
Late morning I took my two grandsons for a walk in Hlohovec Castle Grounds. Another Black Woodpecker flew around with much calling.
Austria/Hungary
By mid-afternoon I was on the Andue/Tadtern Plains Austria. Some Yellow-legged Gulls were following a plough. Then I came across 13 Great Bustards feeding among crops. The low sun was behind them making photography impossible. My first autumn sighting. Raptors were disappointing for this often-great site. Plenty of Buzzards, otherwise 1 Kestrel and 1 Sparrowhawk. A large flock of Tree Sparrows were the only passerines. A skein of White-fronted Geese flew over at dusk.
Spending 3 nights in a hotel at Fertőszéplak, Hungary about £23 per night!
Sunday 13 November
Fertő-Hanság National Park, Hungary
Dense fog down on the Hungarian plains made for a late rising. Even at gone 8.00 am I had no choice but to sit it out listening to noisy flocks of Rooks, passing geese and Ravens that could not be seen and wait for the sun to burn it off. A walk along a track found nothing other than Tree Sparrows.
Late morning as the fog lifted drove into Austria to explore the wetlands of the Neusiedler See – Seewinkel Nationalpark. Over the next few days I would find that most of the lakes had all but dried up after a long dry summer.
Neusiedler See
The water level was way down with the reedbeds mostly out of water.
Greylag Goose, Common Gull, 5 Curlew flew over. As the sun came out a few Clouded Yellow species flew south.
Between Apetlon and Wallern im Burgenland
Over 100 Cranes flew over west
Tadten Planes, Austria
21 Great Bustards at least 7 were obviously the bigger males, they seemed to be feeding on the leafs of Kale, eventually flying off east. Adult White-tailed Eagle flew over in the distance. A ring-tailed Hen Harrier was quickly followed by a male, which caught some prey on the ground. Interesting to note that the male harrier flew over a number of Pheasants and did not bother them in the least. Large flock of Yellowhammer and a single Great Grey Shrike. On my return 3 Great Bustards had returned to feed on the Kale. Driving back to Hungary the sky was full of skeins of geese, most going east.
Monday 14th November
Another foggy morning, but not quite as bad as Sunday. Went for a walk around the wet woodlands at Osli-Hany-kilátó part of the Hansag Hungary. As soon as I left the car a group of poplar trees filled with birds. Great Tit, Nuthatch, treecreeper species, Great Spotted Woodpecker and for comparison a Middle Spotted Woodpecker. A Black Woodpecker flew between trees in the distance.
With the fog still persisting to late morning, went to have look at the Long-eared Owls in the conifers at Apetlon Cemetery, Austria. Managed to find 5, basically by looking for the pellets under the conifers. Most were well hidden and difficult to photograph.
A slow drive around the grasslands to the west of Apetlon found another male Hen Harrier which soon caught some prey. First Carrion Crow of the trip was with 3 Hooded Crows.
Then drove back into Hungary to visit the Fertő-Hanság National Park the main lake being almost completely dry, it was nearly full on my visit in June. A male and female Hen Harrier were hunting close to each other. Around 3:15 pm the large flock of geese on the small patch of water that was left and more from further away started to form big skeins and fly over my head to the east. Many landed on grassland in a group of tens of thousands, before leaving east. This carried on for over an hour. All identified and photographed geese were White-fronted. A White-tailed Eagle flew in from the north, immediately forcing all the geese left on the lake to flee. Another one passed by several minutes later. While watching the geese I noted a cormorant flying up and down the canal next to me looked a bit on the small side, sure enough a Pygmy Cormorant. After over an hour of constant overflying geese, I returned to the car. Just as I was packing my equipment into the car a huge flock of birds were coming towards me from the opposite direction. Different calls to the geese, this was the amazing spectacle of several hundred Cranes flying west. Another Hen Harrier capped off the day. Three Great Grey Shrike today.
Tuesday 15 November
Fertő-Hanság National Park Hungary
Confusing this morning as the geese were still all going east. On the canal 5 Pygmy Cormorant.
St Andrä Austria
Another dried up lake, which is a big tourist attraction, imagine Windermere drying up! An immature Marsh Harrier departed from an island. Green Woodpecker, Carrion Crow.
Andue/Tadtern Plains Austria
Three Great Bustards still in the Kale field. An immature Eastern Imperial Eagle flew out of a tree. Don't do very well with Woodpeckers in Austria so Black and Syrian Woodpecker doubles the number I had previously seen. A pair of Hen Harriers plus Sparrowhawk, Kestrel and numerous Buzzards, which were mostly perched.
Stopped off to explore some of the River Danube, Doborgazsziget, Hungary oxbows and flood plains. A Kingfisher was soon found but little else bird wise. Found several large willows felled and attempted to be felled by Beavers. All seems a bit pointless as there is no way they are going to dam the River Danube and even when felled most of the leafs end up out of reach!
Danubiana dam wall, Slovakia
Huge rafts of ducks, but most seemed to be Tufted Duck through the gloomy weather. Considerable numbers of Mute Swans. A big surprise was a Black-throated Diver close to the shore and a late Common Sandpiper flew along the edge. Many Little Grebes on a nearby dyke.
Spent the night in a hotel near Bratislava Airport. Caught the bus into central Bratislava for an evening meal. The bus was a big bendy-bus with five doors and scanners at each door, compared to the buses in South Yorkshire, it was like being on another planet!
Wednesday 16 November
Flew back to Manchester and came home on the third world buses and trains of the UK. Took ten minutes + to load school kids on Granville Road, Sheffield (With 3 teachers assisting!), when in Bratislava the same number of people were entering and leaving the bus in seconds!
Summary
Highlights were the daily flocks of Hawfinch and Siskin in Slovakia and impressive numbers of White-fronted geese and Cranes in Austria/Hungary. Black Woodpeckers were found on more occasions than usual and a total of six woodpecker species was good going. Unusually only a single Chaffinch was found and no Brambling, both species usually found in good numbers on previous autumn visits. A good visit for raptors with Golden/White-tailed/Eastern Imperial Eagles, Hundreds of Common Buzzards, Hen & Marsh Harrier, Sparrowhawk, Kestrel and probable Goshawk. It was obvious, having a later autumn visit than usual, that the following species must have moved south and were not recorded Woodpigeon, Robin, Stonechat, Black Redstart and any larks or pipits, all still around on October visits.
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