Pannonian BirdExperience – Day 3
Sunday, April 17, 2011
On the 3rd day of Pannonian BirdExperience on Sunday afternoon an excursion took place on Hrušovská zdrž water reservoir on the Danube River that lies in the outskirts of Bratislava, capital city of Slovakia. This large water body is a part of Gabčíkovo hydroelectric power plant. This large water reservoir provides very good conditions for wintering of waterfowl in Slovakia and is a part of a major international migration corridor. The man-made water reservoir and waterway is surrounded by fragments of original floodplain forests that are part of IBA Dunajské luhy.
In cooperation with the Slovak Ornithological Society/BirdLife Slovakia we took an opportunity to guide this excursion. We were enjoying probably the best weather conditions of this spring as the sky was almost clear with a temperature of 18°C and lots of sunrays. Without any evidence of wind we have seen the most calm water surface ever in this part of the Danube River. During our excursion we observed several interesting bird species with the total number of 44.
List of observed bird species:
Common Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus)
Greylag Goose (Anser anser) 1
Gadwall (Anas strepera) 30
Wigeon (Anas penelope) 12
Garganey (Anas querquedula) 4
Red-crested Pochard (Netta rufina) 40
Pochard (Aythya ferina)
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula)
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator) 1 male
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis)
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus)
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) 1
Pygmy Cormorant (Microcarbo pygmeus) 10
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo)
Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus) 1
Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo) 1
Coot (Fulica atra)
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus)
Little Gull (Hydrocoloeus minutus) 3
Mediterranean Gull (Ichthyaetus melanocephalus) 8
Yellow-legged Gull (Larus michahellis) 8
Common Tern (Sterna hirundo)
Black Tern (Chlidonias niger) 4
Feral Pigeon (Columba livia f. domestica)
Carrion Crow (Corvus corone) 1
Hooded Crow (Corvus cornix)
Penduline Tit (Remiz pendulinus) H
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica)
Willow Warbler (Phylloscopus trochilus) H
Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus collybita)
Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla) H
Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)
Robin (Erithacus rubecula) H
Common Nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos) H
Black Redstart (Phoenicurus ochruros)
Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus)
White Wagtail (Motacilla alba)
Meadow Pipit (Anthus pratensis) H
Serin (Serinus serinus) H
Siskin (Carduelis spinus) 6
Yellowhammer (Emberiza citrinella)
unidentified woodpecker (Picidae sp.) H
number of observed individuals is mentioned only if we were able to count them, or make an estimation; “H” means that we heard it
