blauet birding tours

Un blog per conèixer millor els ocells que viuen a Catalunya

• Fotografies d'ocells
• Índex d'observacions
• Ocells de Catalunya - Fitxes
• Llocs on observar ocells a Catalunya
• Com atraure ocells al jardí

dissabte, 27 de novembre del 2021

Blauet (alcedo atthis).

És un ocell que he trobat en força llocs diferents de Catalunya, com el Delta de l'Ebre, el Francolí, el Gaià, la Torre d'en Dolça, la Séquia Major, la desembocadura de la riera de Riudoms (Cambrils), el Delta de Llobregat, els Aiguamolls de l'Empordà, ...

Una cosa és veure aquesta fletxa blava i l'altra, ben diferent, és poder-lo fotografiar. Per sort l'he immortalitzat diverses vegades, algunes relativament a prop com aquestes de Cambrils:

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Last Spots on a few upcoming tours NEW ZEALAND Spaces: 3 Nov 9-27, 2024 ($8575) with Dan Lane & local guide Tour Limit: 12 Beautiful landscapes as a backdrop for nearly 50 endemic birds plus a great selection of seabirds. URUGUAY: BIRDS & WINES IN THE LAND OF THE GAUCHOS Spaces: 4 Nov 23 - Dec 5, 2024 ($7925) with Marcelo Padua & local guide Tour Limit: 10 Great birding and fine wines in the land of the gauchos. ARIZONA WINTER SPECIALTIES Spaces: 1 Dec 28, 2024 - Jan 3, 2025 ($2875) with Cory Gregory Tour Limit: 7 Exceptional winter birding on a short tour with numerous specialties and potential rarities. ECUADOR'S WILDSUMACO LODGE Spaces: 4 Dec 28, 2024 - Jan 7, 2025 ($4450) with Willy Perez Tour Limit: 8 Exploring the riches of the eastern Andean foothills of northern Ecuador for numerous specialties at Wildsumaco Lodge. May be combined with Amazonian Ecuador: Sacha Lodge AMAZONIAN ECUADOR: SACHA LODGE Spaces: 3 Jan 7-16, 2025 ($5225) with Jesse Fagan & local guide Tour Limit: 8 One-site tour to one of the most comfortable lodges in western Amazonia with some of the birdiest canopy platforms anywhere. May be combined with Ecuador's Wildsumaco Lodge

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Alaska 2024: Utqiaġvik: Ross’s Gull Quest High Arctic Adventure

October 8 – 13, 2024 Spaces available!

Sri Lanka: Endemics and Wildlife 2024

October 12th – 22nd, 2024 Full, waitlist available!

South Texas in Winter 2025: Whooping Cranes and Lower Rio Grande

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Alaska 2025: Nome & The Seward Peninsula I Arctic Birding

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Alaska 2025: Pribilofs, St. Paul Island Seabirds and Rarities

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Alaska 2025: Dutch Harbor & The Whiskered Auklet

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Arizona 2025: Hummingbirds: Jewels of Southeastern Arizona

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Alaska 2025: Utqiaġvik: Ross’s Gull Quest High Arctic Adventure

October 8 – 13, 2025 Spaces available!

Northern Colombia 2025: Santa Marta, Caribbean & Perija

June 28th – July 8th, 2025 Spaces available!

Alaska 2026: Utqiaġvik: Ross’s Gull Quest High Arctic Adventure

October 8 – 13, 2026 Spaces available!

Sri Lanka: Endemics and Wildlife 2026

January 2nd – 12th, 2026 3 Spaces available! Limited to 6 participants.

South Texas in Winter 2026: Whooping Cranes and Lower Rio Grande

January 31 – February 8, 2026 Spaces available!

Colorado 2026: Prairie-Chickens, Grouse & More

April 01 – 11, 2026 Spaces available!

Arizona 2026: Southeast Arizona Specialties & Nightbirds

May 2 – May 9, 2026 Spaces available!

Texas 2026: Spring Migration and Hill Country

April 12 – 23, 2026 Spaces available!

Alaska 2026: Adak, Aleutian Specialties & Eurasian Vagrants

May 20 – 23, 2026 Spaces available!

Alaska 2026: Spring Migration in Gambell “The Siberian Express”

May 26 – June 03, 2026 Spaces available!

Alaska 2026: Nome & The Seward Peninsula I Arctic Birding

May 30 – June 03, 2026 Spaces available!

Alaska 2026: Nome & The Seward Peninsula II Arctic Birding

June 3 – June 7, 2026 Spaces available!

Alaska 2026: Denali & Kenai, Vistas, Mammals, & Seabirds!

June 08 – 16, 2026 Spaces available!

Alaska 2026: Barrow: The High Arctic Spectacle

June 17 – 19, 2026 Spaces available!

Alaska 2026: Dutch Harbor & The Whiskered Auklet

June 20 – 23, 2026 Spaces available!

Northern Colombia 2026: Santa Marta, Caribbean & Perija

June 27th – July 7th, 2026 Spaces available!

Arizona 2026: Hummingbirds: Jewels of Southeastern Arizona

August 15 – 22, 2026 Spaces available!

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Naturalist Journeys offers birding and wildlife tours through the United States. Our US birding and wildlife tours explore habitats across the country — from Washington's Olympic Peninsula to South Florida, from Arizona to New Jersey, and many states in between. Join a birding migration tour, a desert monsoon tour, or simply witness the wonder of our national parks on a Yellowstone wildlife tour or Olympic Peninsula wildlife tour. Independent US Travel If our small group US birding tours don't fit your schedule or your interests, Naturalist Journeys is happy to arrange an independent birding venture designed just for you.

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Group travel is rewarding and fun! With more eyes you see more species. Travel Planners of Naturalist Journeys have been creating memorable journeys for 40+ years. We offer you small-group birding and nature tours, limited to just 8-13 persons led by expert guides. Learn and explore with like-minded people, enjoy local food and culture, and immerse yourself in birding and nature.

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2025 Puerto Rico Escape – Endemics and Island Birding

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2026 California – Southern California Specialties

2025 Texas Winter — Whooping Cranes and Rio Grande

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NATURALLY AVIAN Birding Tours and Nature Photography

Welcome to Naturally Avian birding tours and nature photography!

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Put-in tours

Original tour agency in moscow and st petersburg..

Onboard a Soviet van!

Welcome to Russia!

We are Sergey and Simon, a Russian and a Frenchman, both  passionate about Moscow, Saint-Petersburg and classic cars. Together, we have created Put-in tours. Our goal is to help you experience Russian culture off the beaten path. Join us onboard our classic Soviet van and let’s get rolling!

In Moscow we offer you a city tour to discover most of the city in an original way as well as a night tour to admire the lights. Our pubcrawl is ideal to explore Moscow’s night-life and have fun. If you are craving to discover Russian culture, come impress your senses during our monastery diner or join our 100% Russian Banya Excursion . The latest will also bring you to Sergiyev Posad and it’s famous monastery!

For the most extreme travellers, our shooting tour will deliver your daily dose of adrenaline whereas our tank excursion will let you ride a real tank and shoot a bazooka.

We also offer help to receive your visa , safe and multilingual airport transfers , as well as organisation services for team-building events or bachelor parties .

All our excursions (but the monastery diner) happen onboard our Soviet military vans and can be covered by our  professionnal photographer or videographer.

In Saint Petersburg

We welcome you in Saint Petersburg onboard our Soviet van to discover the imperial city with our city tour and night tour .

Continue your discovery in style! The adrenaline lovers will like our shooting tour  which brings 3 Russian weapons to the tip of your trigger finger.

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At Put-in tours, we put you in our classic Soviet vans to go explore Moscow, Saint Petersburg and Russian culture off the beaten path. Discover our Moscow city guided tour, visit Moscow by night, join our banya & Sergiyev Posad excursion, visit and dine in one of Moscow's oldest monastery or even Luzhniki stadium, before you party on our famous pubcrawl! Original and atypical tours : Shoot AK47 and a bazooka after riding on a tank with our tank & bazooka excursion ! Extreme tours: Fly a fighter jet in Moscow onboard a L-29 or L-39 aircraft!

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Bird Watching in Russia

Russia is home to over 700 species of birds, some of which are rare, or endemic to Russia. Many bird watching expeditions will take you to either the national parks, or to wildlife preserves, which proliferated during the past two decades. All bird watching tours organized by Sergei Shushunov are conducted by professional guides with a degree in wildlife biology.

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Common nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos) singing tour

The common nightingale is an amazing singing bird, having the most complex and melodically pleasant bird song, which consists of up to 250 sound combinations. Nightingale chicks reproduce the sounds heard from their father. The richer father’s repertoire, the more complex the singing of the grown birds will be. Because nightingales learn singing form each other, the complexity of songs has geographic differences. One of the richest repertoires have nightingales inhabiting the vicinity of St. Petersburg.

The purpose of the nightingale song is the most practical. The whirling trills are produced only by males to attract the female during which the lady of the heart sits nearby carefully listening for the concert. The more the virtuoso feathery singer tries, the more chances he has to make an alliance with the female he likes. During the performance, the nightingale is so carried away that he becomes completely immersed in the world of singing, that sometimes it can be approached and petted. There is a romantic notion that the singing bird only arranges concerts for her beloved at night. But that’s not true. Singing, which begins a few days after returning from wintering, takes place during the day, but the most intense singing can be heard until about 8 am and the beginning of sunset.

The most talented singer in the world of birds continues to perform after the girlfriend sits down to breed: this is how he encourages the female. The songs only stop after the chicks have hatched, which happens around mid-June.

Astrakhansky Nature Preserve (Zapovednik)

After twisting its way through northern Russia gaining volume, the Volga River splits into a fan of more than 250 channels that flow through the arid steppes of southern Russia before spilling into the Caspian Sea. Roughly the size and shape of the state of California, the Caspian Sea is the world’s largest inland sea, and has a significant impact on the development of the delta. Together the sea and the silt-carrying flow of the Volga River have formed this delta and continue to change its relief, continuously creating new islands and channels. As the Volga River carries sediment downstream, it deposits it at the edge of sea, creating islands of alluvial deposits of sand, silt, and clay. Meanwhile, fluctuating water levels in the Caspian Sea have alternatively dried and flooded the southern reaches of the delta over the course of several decades.

The Volga delta is one of the largest in the world, an intricate maze of streams and rivers that provide spawning grounds for many species of fish. Narrow stands of willows arch over the calm waters while wild boars, foxes, and rodents roam through islands of tall reeds. These ecosystems are preserved in Astrakhansky Zapovednik (Astrakhansky Nature Preserve), one of Russia’s oldest nature reserves.

Despite the proximity of the sea, the Volga delta is located in the midst of a semi-desert region. Warm winds rising from the Central Asian deserts provide for abundant sunshine and a frost-free period that lasts 200 days. Summer temperatures rise to 45 degrees Celsius, while heavy local rainstorms keep the air and soil moist. Even so, winters are cold and continental, stretching from December to March, and freezing even the lower reaches of the delta and the northern part of the Caspian Sea. In spring, floods rise to cover many of the islands of zapovednik, up to 90 percent of the reserve’s total area. At its average level, water covers about 70 percent of the reserve.

Founded in 1919 to protect the rapidly disappearing delta ecosystems, the zapovednik is now famous as a kingdom of birds, where trees and skies are ever filled with the noisy songs of eagles, swans, ducks, geese, cranes, and pelicans. Zapovednik covers 66,800 hectars (167,000 acres) and with more than 250 avian species recorded in the reserve, Astrakhansky Zapovednik has earned its reputation as a sanctuary for birds. Year-round the skies and shoreline forests are filled with  White-tailed Sea Eagles  ( Haliaeetus albicilla ), one of 27 endangered species of birds, enetered into the red book, found in the zapovednik. Other endangered birds of prey include  Osprey  ( Pandion haliaetus ) and  Saker Falcon  ( Falco cherrug ).  Mute Swans  ( Cygnus olor ), once nearly extinct in the region, have made a remarkable comeback in the 20th century, such that now thousands nest in the Volga delta, and hundreds in the zapovednik.  Dalmatian Pelicans  ( Pelicanus crispus ), recognizable by the curl-like tufts of feathers on their heads, can regularly be seen skimming the surface of the water.

The Volga delta offers one of the world’s most important nesting grounds for water birds.  Great Cormorants  ( Phalacrocorah carbo ) build large, noisy colonies in willow trees along the riverbanks. Colonies of  gulls  ( Chlidonias hybrida, C. niger, C. hirundo ) attract carnivorous fish such as  Wels Catfish  ( Silurus glanis ), which swim to the banks in hopes of making a meal of baby birds that have fallen from their nests. Sharing of nesting sites, an unusual phenomenon in nature, is characteristic in the zapovednik, where  Great White Herons  and  Little Egrets  ( Egretta alba, E. garzetta ),  Glossy Ibises  ( Plegadis falcinellus ), black-crowned  Night Herons  ( Nycticorax nycticorax ),  Eurasian Spoonbills  ( Platalea leucorodia ), and  Pond Herons  ( Ardeola ralloides ) frequently build nests in the same colonies.

Summer is a particularly colorful season in the zapovednik, where more than 25,000 ducks spend their molting period.  Mallards  ( Anas platyrhynchos ) are the first to arrive in June, followed by  Northern Pintails  ( A. acuta ),  Green-winged Teals  ( A. crecca ),  Garganeys  ( A. querquedula ), and  Gadwalls  ( A. strepera ).  Northern Shovelers  ( A. clypeata ) and  Wigeons  ( A. penelope ) complete this annual gathering of ducks, which nest deep in the wildest regions of the reserve before heading to the outer reaches of the delta near the close of August.

Away from the water, forest birds are dominant.  Great Titmice  ( Parus parus ),  wood pigeons  ( Columba palumbus ),  Golden Orioles  ( Oriolus oriolus ), and  Tree Sparrows  ( Passer montanus ) nest in willows.  Reed Buntings  ( Emberiza schoeniclus ),  Savis Warbler  ( Locustella luscinioides ), and  Bearded Tits  ( Panurus biarmicus ) prefer to build their nests in the thick reeds. Meanwhile  Cuckoos  ( Cuculus canorus ) are spread throughout the reserve, laying their eggs in unguarded nests of  Warblers  ( Acrocephalus spp. ) and then abandoning them.

The City of Astrakhan is accessible by the airplane from Moscow. The customized itinerary may include visits to St. Petersburg, Moscow and Astrakhan.

Olonetsky Wildlife and Nizhnesvirsky Nature Preserves

One of the most interesting individual and group tours is to the North-Western part of Russia not far from the Finnish border. This tour offers a several day stay in St. Petersburg, the largest city in the world located above the 60th parallel. It includes excursions to the Hermitage, St. Petersburg zoological museum, which is one of the largest in Europe, and finally a field trip to the  Olonetsky  and  Nizhneswirsky Preserves – Karelian Bird Eldorado , located 300 kilometers (200 miles) North-East of St. Petersburg near the town of Olonets.

This is a place in Russia that allows it’s visitors a chance to see many diverse birds in such great numbers it is more than many people have ever seen in their entire life. It is situated on the south-eastern shore of Lake Ladoga – the largest European freshwater lake, located within the middle subzone of the dark coniferous boreal forest zone. The area around the town of Olonets, with it’s extensive farmlands, chiefly under perennial and annual grasses, is generally atypical of the local climate. If it were not for the draining ditches and shrubs growing on their sides, one would surely get a feeling that they have been suddenly transported to the steppe surrounded by woods over beyond the horizon. This may actually be the way the area is perceived by birds living there, among which there are some representing the steppes.

In summer, these fields are ordinary fields with a typical assemblage of bird species. However, in spring there are enormous numbers of birds that pass through this area on their way to the north-east along the Baltic-White Sea flyway from their wintering grounds in Western Europe and Africa. Some, like the  Brent Goose  ( Branta bernicla ),  Red-necked Phalarope, Black-bellied Plover  ( Phalaropus lobatus, Pluvialis squatarola ) and the others usually cross the distance between the Baltic and the White Sea in one non-stop flight. Most other migrating birds stop to rest and forage in the Olonets’ fields.

In spring  geese, swans, diving and puddle ducks, wood pigeons , many  wader  and  passerine species , as well as numerous other migrants make stops here. Where there are concentrations of potential prey there naturally appear large numbers of  raptors .

Particularly large concentrations in the 0lonets area are formed by  geese , who find perfect feeding conditions in the vast fields, and beautiful and safe overnight shelter on Lake Ladoga or on large marshes. This very combination facilitates the formation of large geese concentrations, the greatest ones in Northern Europe. How many times have you seen 5 thousand geese of various species feeding simultaneously in one place? Such flocks are quite common in the Olonets fields in spring, and before departing for the night the birds sometimes gather in even larger flocks numbering some 10,000 individuals.  White-fronted Geese  ( Ancer albifrons ) make up the bulk of the flocks. There are  Bean Geese  in the flocks. If you look closer, you can see not only  Tundra Bean Goose  ( Anser fabalis rossicus ) but also the  Taiga Bean Goose  ( A. fabalis fabalis ).

The search for various rarities in an aggregate multi-species flock is an extremely exciting activity, especially when there are several watchers. They are inevitably involved in competition in spotting birds with unusual coloration, melano, albino, hybrid individuals, banded birds. It is not so easy to locate such birds among the many thousands. One should be really attentive, however, not to miss the  Greylag Goose, Pink-footed Goose, Lesser White- fronted Goose,  ( Ancer ancer, A. brachyrhynchus, A. erythropus ) which are rare in the Olonets fields. If you are very lucky, you may see also some rare visitors to the area –  Branta Geese: Canada Goose, Red-breasted Goose and Brent Goose  ( Branta canadensis, B. ruficollis  and  B. bernicla ). The Brent goose may be represented by two subspecies:  Branta b. bernicla  and  B.. bernicla Hrota.  Stopping in fields is generally very atypical of the Brent Goose. As has been mentioned above, they are birds of passage throughout Karelia up to the White Sea. They are one of the last birds to migrate, departing mostly in the last ten days of May – early June. They normally fly at a considerable altitude, often at night.

In addition to geese, you will certainly feel curious about  puddle ducks . Their abundance in the area actually shows 4 – 5-fold annual fluctuations depending on the availability of ice-free water in shallow areas along Lake Ladoga shore and the number of seasonal bodies of melt water in the fields. In years when the duck migration peaks coincide with the abundance of spring water in the fields and ice-covered shallows the birds concentrate in farmlands, and vice versa. The period of the maximum intensity of puddle duck migration through the area is quite short – normally up to 5 days. This period falls on the last ten days of April – first five days of May, depending on how the spring proceeds. After the migration peak is over, only local ducks stay to breed and raise their young. These are mainly the  Mallard, Green-winged Teal, Garganey, Northern Pintail  and  Northern Shoveler  ( Anas plathyrhyncha, A. crecca, A. querquedula, A. acuta, and A. clypeata )

Diving duck  species are abundant in shallow areas along Lake Ladoga shore. The eastern shore features large stopping places of the  Tufted Duck, Greater Scaup, Common Scoter  and  White-winged Scoter  ( Aythya fuligula, A. marila, Malanitta nirga  and  M. fusca ) When the migration reaches it’s peak of over 10,000 birds of various species pass the flow-way each hour. Diving duck stopping concentrations and migrating bird flows on Lake Ladoga most often form in the second half of May. In some years this happens in the end of the first ten days of May, together with mass arrival of passing Tufted Duck flocks. In shallow areas with reed clusters one can see, in addition to diving ducks, aggregated puddle ducks,  swans, gulls, terns  and  waders .

Whooper  and  Bewick swans  ( Cygnus cygnus, C. columbianus ) occur predominantly in transient flocks. They seldom stop in the fields, this is done more often by the Bewick Swan. Both species stop more often in shallow coastal areas of Lake Ladoga. These stopping places are not so abundant, but the swans use them year after year.

Among  Ciconiiformes  the  Great Bittern  ( Botaurus stellaris ) regularly nests in the coastal reed strips on Lake Ladoga. One case of breeding success is known also for the  White Stork  ( Ciconia ciconia ), which has lately been turning into a regular spring visitor to the Olonets fields. The  Gray Heron  ( Ardea cinerea ) is quite common on Lake Ladoga and other lakes of the area. after mid-summer. In spring, the bird is very rare.

Diurnal raptors  are well represented group in the area. During migration,  Rough-legged Buzzard, Common Buzzard  ( Buteo lagopus, B. buteo ) and harriers are quite abundant in the Olonets fields. Other common species are the  Kestrel, Merlin, Sparrow hawk  ( Falco tinnunculus, Falco columbarius, Accipiter nisus ), and on Lake Ladoga shore – also the  Hobby  ( Falco subbuteo ).  White-tailed Sea Eagle, Golden Eagle, Spotted Eagle, Lesser Spotted Eagles  and  Short-toed Eagle  ( Haliaeetus albicilla, Aquila chrysaetos, A. clanga, A. pomarina ) are also encountered quite frequently. Lake Ladoga also hosts the  Osprey  ( Pandion haliaetus ). A lucky observer may see some more rare birds such as the  Peregrine Falcon, Red-footed Falcon  and  Black Kite  ( Falco peregrinus, F. vespertinus and Milvus migrans ). The fields and the Ladoga shore are sometimes visited by the rare  Milvus korshun . The quite common  Honey Buzzard  and  Goshawk  ( Pernis apivorus  and  Accipiter gentilis ) are more often encountered in forested areas than in fields.

Still, the most typical representatives of raptors in the fields are obviously harriers. One would see the  Montagu’s Harrier  ( Circus pygargus ).  Hen  and  Marsh Harriers  ( Circus cyaneus  and  C. aeruginosus ) are slightly more seldom. Not so often, yet quite regularly one would see the  Pallid Harrier  ( Circus macrourus ).

The  Galliform  encountered in the spring are the  Black Grouse  [ Tetrao (Lyrus) tetrix ], diplaying spectacular fights while congregating on the leks during the breeding season in April – May, the  White-billed Capercaillie  ( Tetrao urogallus ), which could be heard singing at night from late March until the early May and the  Hazel Grouse  [ Bonasa (Tetrastes) bonasia ]. In the nearby wet pine forests one may encounter the  Willow Ptarmigan  ( Lagopus lagopus ). Those coming to the fields in June-July may hear the  Quail  ( Coturnix coturnix ), which sometimes breeds in the area.

A very common bird in the Olonets district is the  Common Crane  ( Grus grus ). The species is represented both by birds of passage showing up as early as in mid April and by resident individuals foraging in the field while marshes are still covered in snow, and by immature birds staying in the fields throughout the spring, summer and autumn, and gathering into flocks of 50-60 individuals.

Speaking about  rails  one first of all note the abundance of the  Corncrake  and  Spotted Crake  ( Crex crex  and  Porzana porzana ). A very rare species in the area is the  Little Crake  ( Porzana parva ). Reeds in some streams feeding into the Lake Ladoga are used as nesting grounds by the  Coot  ( Fulica atra ).

The background bird species for the fields are Charadriiformes, the  Eurasian Curlew, Whimbrel, Black-tailed Godwit  and  Common Snipe  ( Numenius arquata, N. phaeopus, Limosa limosa  and  Gallinago gallinago ). The obvious dominant among waders in the Olonets fields during the migration season is the  Golden Plover  ( Pluvialis apricaria ) with the foraging flocks numbering up to a thousand. In the period of migrations the quite common for the area sedentary  Lapwing  ( Vanellus vanellus ), Curlew, Whimbrel, Godwits are joined by a great number of migrating representatives of the species. Each spring the fields are used as a stopping place by various g. Tringa species, including the rare  Spotted Redshank  and  Marsh Sandpiper  ( Tringa erythropus  and  T. stagnatilis ). One may also encounter the  Bar-tailed Godwit, Terek Sandpiper, Eurasian Oystercatcher, Broad-billed Sandpiper, Red-necked Phalarope  and  Black-bellied Plover  ( Limosa lapponica, Xenus cinereus, Haematopus ostralegus, Limicola falcineus, Phalaropus lobatus  and  Pluvialis squatarola ).

In the second half of May and later, in summer, flocks of the  Ruff  ( Philomachus pugnax ) arrive in the fields in the Olonets area. The  Great Snipe  ( Gallinago media ) has also become a rare species in the Olonets fields. At night, there is a chance of hearing the  Jack Snipe  ( Lymnocryptes minimus ).

On the Lake Ladoga shore various  Calidrine  ( Calidris spp. ) and the  Common Sandpipers  ( Gallinago gallinago ) could be found. There is a much greater probability of seeing the Eurasian Oystercatcher,  Turnstone  ( Arenaria interpres ), Black-bellied Plover than there is in the fields.

Just before the sunset it is possible to see the  Eurasian   Woodcock  ( Scolopax rusticola ) a species quite common in the region.

The  gulls  that have become constant residents in the fields are  Common Gulls  ( Larus canus ). A surprising fact is that here they nest in separate pairs rather than in colonies.  Black-headed Gulls  ( Larus ridibundus ), which settle in very wet parts of abandoned fields, stick, however, to the colony mode of nesting. The species composition of gulls foraging in the fields is richer. In addition to the named species, there are also the  Herring Gull, Lesser Black-headed Gull, Little Gull  ( Larus argentatus, L. fuscus, L. minutus ) and sometimes even the  Great Black-backed Gull  ( Larus marinus ), which has colonized Lake Ladoga in the last decades, as well as the  Black-legged Kittiwake  ( Rissa tridactiyla ),  Skuas  and  Glaucous Gull  ( Larus hyperboreus ).

Terns  can be seen over the fields during the migration season and foraging movements. On the lake Ladoga one can see the  Common, Arctic  and  Caspian Terns  ( Sterna hirundo, S. paradisaea  and  S. caspia ), as well as the locally more rare  Black  and  Little Terns  ( Chlidonias niger  and  Sterna albifrons ).

The wood pigeons also form large staging and pre-departure concentrations in the Olonets fields. Their flocks sometimes comprise the  Stock Dove  ( Columba oenas ). The  European Turtle-Dove  ( Stretopelia turtur ), is a species occurring here regularly. Walking through the Olonets city park one may see the nesting Eurasian Collared Dove. Semi-domesticated  Rock Dove  ( Columba livia ) is quite common.

Out of  owl  species  Short-eared Owl  ( Asio flammeus ) is relatively abundant and nests throughout the fields. The  Common Long-eared Owl  ( Asio otus ) is also quite common in the area. The rest of the region’s owl species,  Eagle Owl, Ural Owl, Tawny Owl, Great Gray Owl, Northern Hawk Owl, Tengmalm’s Owl,  and  Eurasian Pygmy Owl  ( Bobo bubo, Strix uralensis, Strix aluco, S. nebulosa, Surnia ulula, Aegolius funereus  and  Clausidiu passerinum ) mostly live in the forest. Although they occasionally leave the forest to hunt in the fields, this is done chiefly during the dark time of the day, the spring white nights making the pattern not so strictly followed, however.

The only local representative of its order, the  Nightjar  ( Caprimulgus europaeus ) is quite common in the district – not in the farmland, but in forested areas, particularly in open young stands and clear-cuts.

In addition to the  Common Cuckoo  ( Cuculus canorus ), a species common in our region, the area is sometimes visited also by the  Oriental Cuckoo  ( Cuculus saturatus ), a representative of the Siberian fauna.

There is a rich variety of migrating  passerines  including  buntings , particularly numerous between mid March and mid April, and other northerners such as the  Shore (Horned) Lark, Lapland Bunting, Red-throated Pipit  ( Eremophila alpestris, Calcarius lapponicus, Anthus cervinus ), etc. Whichever ways through fields with shrubs one chooses in spring they are certain to encounter the  Great Grey Shrike  ( Lanius excubitor ). The species composition of nesting field birds is quite common for the region. These are the  Skylark, Meadow Pipit, Whinchat, Yellow Wagtail, Grasshopper Warbler  and  River Warbler  ( Alauda arvensis, Anthus pratensis, Saxicola ruberta, Motacilla flava, Locustella naevia  and  Locustella flaviatilis ). Early in spring and in autumn the fields harbour considerable concentrations of thrushes and blackbirds, finches, buntings. Here are breeding grounds of the  Reed Bunting, Bluethroat, Sedge Warbler, Blyth’s Reed Warbler, Marsh Warbler  ( Emberiza schoeniclus, Luscinia svcica, Acrosephalus schoenobaenus, A. dumetorum, A. palustris ) and other warblers. The area has lately started being colonized also by the  Booted Warbler  ( Hippolais caligata ).

The bird fauna of the Olonets fields remains quite peculiar both in the post-breeding period and during autumn migrations. Aggregations with many thousands birds of various species are formed by the  Common Chaffinch, Brambling , ( Fringilla coebels, F. montifringilla ) buntings, thrushes and blackbirds,  Starling, Dunnock,  ( Sturnus vulgaris, Prunella modularis ) etc. Wood pigeons gather here in large pre-departure concentrations. The abundance of the Common Crane, Turtle Dove, Black Grouse, passing buzzards, harriers and falcons increases markedly. There are about 200 species of birds that can be seen in this area in the spring, including:  Podiceps griseigena, P. auritus, Bucephala clangula, Aythya ferina, A. fuligula, A. marila, Somateria mollissima, Clangula hyemalis, Malanitta nirga, M. fusca, Mergus merganser, M. serrator, M. albellus, Vanelleus vanellus, Haematopus ostralegus, Arenaria hypoleus, Actitis hypoleucos, Tringa ochropus, T. glareola, T. nebelaria, T. totanus, Trin?a erythropus, Philomachus pugnax, Cepphus grylle, Alca torda, Uria lomvia, Uria aalge, Fratercula arctica, Plotus alle  and others.

The highlights of the trip will include stalking capercallies at night, the only time during the mating season when the bird can be approached and observed at a close range, sitting in blinds to watch fighting black cocks and watching up to 7 varieties of geese form the observation towers.

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12 d’agost 2022

Tornen les nostres sortides ornitològiques¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡.

ESTIMATS AMIGUES/CS DE " BLAUET BIRDING TOURS/BBT ",

Per fi estem de nou ací per reiniciar les nostres Sortides Ornitològiques guiades " Blauet Birding Tours/BBT ".

Després de dos anys d'aturada en motiu de la pandèmia tornem amb molta Il·lusió de trobar a tots els amics i de gaudir de bons moments a la natura observant els ocells.

Ja teniu, aquí al Bloc, els llocs que visitarem i les dates.

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