Odonata first for Romania?

Had a great first day in the Danube Delta, the easy highlight though was a single female Selysiothemis nigra on the Ultima Frontiera property where we are staying. There are just two observations from the Black Sea coast of Ukraine that I could find in a short internet search, otherwise the nearest records are coastal Bulgaria. I think I may have bagged a country first?

an hour in Bucharest

Arrived in Bucharest mid-afternoon on a recce trip to the Danube delta, highlights of a short walk around an open-air village architecture museum were two species of woodpecker, this poorly-imaged middle-spotted and a Syrian.

A rather unpleasant looking lake supported both European pond terrapin (above) and the introduced red-eared slider (below)

The first odo of the trip was Orthetrum cancellatum...

go east old man

Last day of sun for a while I suspect, so I got out for a day after dragonflies. Forgetting my Atlas work for a change I headed east out of BK hoping to find Epitheca bimaculata at some likely looking spots. En route I stopped at a very dry Klarningen, return migration evident here! Spotted redshank (1 and BK year-tick), ruff (1), green sandpiper (3) and wood sandpiper (2).

First odo stop was Sjöjalt, climbed out of the car and there on the square fishpond near the big lake was an obvious Epitheca flying backwards and forwards just out of reach form the bank! I watched it for some time before it blundered into the verandah of the cafe and I caught it by hand! Another two males were also present over the lake.

If you are into odos, Epitheca bimaculata is rather special, it is rather local and has a short spring flight period giving it a certain cache. It is also very under-recorded, I found three new sites for this species during the day.

ker-ching!

Also flying at Sjöjalt were a number of Gomphus vulgatissimus, my first for the year.

Other species flying at Sjöjalt included Calopteryx virgo (1), Erythromma najas, Gomphus vulgatissimus (3) and Libellula depressa.

Next stop was some nearby lakes at Hällalteknallen, similar species here (including another Epitheca bimaculata!) with some added Pyrrhosoma nymphula for good measure.

Epitheca seem to like the sunny sides of lakes that are surrounded by trees. They often fly high or well offshore.

Happy with my haul and with time surging on I headed next for Lärkeröd hoping to twitch off Leucorrhinia albifrons for the year. I managed to get lost though walking in and bumped into a different set of pools, a little further west. I had no knowledge of this good-looking site and tramped about picking up Leucorrhinia rubicunda and Anax imperator for the day. I then checked a likely looking lake off to one side, surrounded by trees it delivered a single Epitheca in just five minutes watching. Site number three. Walking back out I drove round and walked into the gravel pit complex the long way, picking up a surprise male Orthetrum coerulescens on the way. This little former gravel extraction site is amazing for dragonflies and produced a reasonable number of Leucorrhina albifrons, a few Leucorrhinia dubia and my first Somatochlora metallica and Orthetrum cancellatum for the year, as well as another Anax imperator.The final species total for the day: 21 odos!

Leucorrhina albifrons

One the way back home I dropped in and checked a few site in BK outside my Atlas squares (nothing exciting) and dropped in for a quick look at Ranarpsstrand. Rather quiet here but I did find another spotted redshank and my first (!) Sandwich terns (2) of the year. A great day.

on yer bike for BK river warbler

Thanks Mats!

With the car still at the menders with a f***ed clutch we have been stuck at home enjoying a four-day bank holiday weekend, ie doing all the things around the house and garden that get successfully ignored most of the time.

As a result I have been kinda hoping for a quiet weekend birdwise but the peace and calm was shattered yesterday when Mats L found a river warbler at Slottet. I was tempted to go last night but Mrs B persuaded me to go in the morning and despite nearly herniating myself on a bike I managed the 5 km before 0630 and got the bird. It was singing very sporadically on arrival but eventually showed well and got into some sustained bouts of singing. Dream bird in BK laid to rest and back to the gardening...

20 minutes

Not much time in the field today but managed 20 minutes in the late afternoon, carefully negotiating the valley mire in Sinarpsdalen looking for dragonflies. Surprisingly few damsels on the wing here just Pyrrhosoma nymphula. Got my first Leucorrhinia rubicunda for the site though and a few Libellula quadrimaculata were on the wing too.

morning glory

Found out yesterday that I had been searching for the corncrake in the wrong place and that it had been ringed whilst I was looking for it... So it was out again to Ehrenstorp last night this time to check the right area but no joy, the bird had moved on I guess and an hour here netted just nightjar, woodcock and tawny owl. I was more than a little pissed off...

After dipping I headed onwards into the night to check reports of a possible Blyth's reed warbler at Eskilstorp. After midnight I was installed and listening to Acros intently here (they all sounded marshy to me) and was completely stunned to find the harsh rasp of a corncrake intruding on my concentration. It was singing from a lovely herby, rough field near the golf course car park! Result. I moved into a better position to hear it and make sure it was not another birder using a tape and a male quail flew over calling! I never knew that they called in flight. What a morning.

Rolled back into bed and got out much later in the day to hear a few snatches of red-breasted flycatcher song at Tvehöga before the clutch cable on the car parted and left us stranded in the field. A day of mixed emotions then but corncrake is OML!

dragons

Tired after yesterday's dipping I headed out into the sun rather late for some Atlas square bashing targeting the early flying Odonates that have suffered due to time spent birding and poor spring weather over the last few years. Nothing wrong with the weather today though.

First stop was Drängstorp, two good-looking pools here have been at the top of my 'to do' list for some time. They were fantastic, well-vegetated and apparently fish-free they produced some great odos including one male Coenagrion armatum (sadly not photographed), a few Leucorrhinia rubicunda, stacks of Coenagrion lunulatum and of course the obligatory Brachytron.

Coenagrion lunulatum, found today at Drängstorp, the fifth site I have found this species in BK

The rather uninspiring Boarp pools were next but produced some great stuff. A new pond has been dug here and immediately produced Libellula depressa, Coenagrion hastulatum and Ischnura pumilio. The shallow pool here was looking good too and produced the square's first Brachytron. Last stop of the day was the only small pond I can find in a square near Båstad dominated by sea. Here I added a Libellula depressa to the paltry species list for the 'square'.

Libellula depressa at Boarp

Ischnura pumilio were present in small numbers at Boarp today

double dip disaster

BK ticks do not come along very often for me these days but yesterday two were on offer and I managed to connect with neither of them! Overnight Martin Ekenberg had found a singing corncrake at Bränneslätt so that was my first port of call in the morning. No sign.

I drifted towards Torekov rev which had four grey plover (year-tick!) and then checked Flytermossen for dragonflies. No sign of any armatum this time, although the edge had dried up a lot, but quite a few Brachytron. Whilst here we heard that Ulf had seen a serin whilst playing golf at Sönnertorp near Västra Karup. Failed again with this much-wanted target species but at least surveyed the rather poor ponds on the course for dragonflies whilst we were there.

Later on I went for a night-drive but things were quiet. No sign yet again of the corncrake and just a marsh warbler at Klarningen, some young ringed plovers at Petersberg and a tawny owl family at Sinarpsdalen. Rather disappointing.

finally a full day in the field

Finally a day off and a chance to catch up with a few things that have been spotted over the last week. The day started well with an icterine warbler singing from the garden! Hit Tvehöga first and took about twenty minutes to track down the singing red-breasted flycatcher, difficult amongst the noise created by all the other songbirds in this nice patch of beech forest. A quick look at Klarningen revealed a singing marsh warbler near the tower and some fluffy moorhen chicks, but little else of note.

Driving through Hulrugered on my way to check some dragonfly sites I stopped for a roadside pair of cranes and again for a mistle thrush. Bränneslätt mire was very wet and full of Odonates, my first Leucorrhina dubia and Cordulia aenea of the year were long overdue and there were plenty of the former here as usual.

Leucorrhina dubia - my first of the year.

Next stop was the pools at Bösketorp, always good for Odonates, there was plenty to look at as usual. New for the year here were Leucorrhina rubicunda  and  Coenagrion lunulatum. Birds included my first little grebe for the year (!) and a single green sandpiper.

Leucorrhinia rubicunda - note the reddish pterostigma, completely yellow costa and the larger broader abdominal spots.

Coenagrion hastulatum

 

Coenagrion lunulatum

In the afternoon I searched Vysterborg again hoping for Sympecma fusca, I had one female here last year and have yet to repeat the feat in BK... Plenty of Odos though with Libellula depressa (male, first of year) and Brachytron pratense (ditto) taking the honours. Some bird breeding evidence here as well, with young coot and shelduck being my first of the year.

Brachytron pratense at Vysterborg

Last stop of the day was the pond at Lönhult, here there were two 2K whooper swans feeding on waste seed potatoes as well as more Coenagrion lunulatum and a single Brachytron pratense.

Whopper goose or whooper swan

a quick hour

Four days spent hauling firewood, stacking it in the basement and building a bed/den in Number 2's bedroom has left me exhausted. Today I did some gardening work and it felt like a holiday. The best bit though was getting out after some birds in the late afternoon. Chased after the weekend's big bird, a singing red-breasted flycatcher at Tvehöga but failed in a short listen (just wood warblers). headed next for Klarningen which was quiet during a 45 minute spell, just two greenshank of note.

garden tick

A busy day but I still managed two hours in the field in the morning. I headed out to check the coast between Vejbystrand and Ranarpsstrand, picking up another marsh warbler on the way at Ljungbyholm. The coast was rather quiet and bitterly cold in a brisk westerly. Highlights included a greenshank (Stora Hult), and whimbrel and little tern (two apiece at Vejbystrand).

The best bit came at the end of the day though when a glance out of the window revealed a flock of 75 eider going over the garden. New for the garden and taking the garden list up to 106 - a low total but to be fair it is probably one of the more under-watched locations in BK.

22052013 - no savi

Over breakfast I discovered that a Savi's warbler had been reported at Klarningen. I headed that way after the school run on an awful rainy day. No sign of the Savi's singing anywhere when I visited. Highlights included a superb 2K white-tailed eagle (my first BK individual in May), as well as less exciting records of shoveler (male) and three ruff.

Late at night I returned to listen again but a good walk around produced singing grasshopper warbler and my first marsh warbler of the year.

2K white-tailed eagle and entourage over Klarningen this morning