Birdwatch Otok Hvar 29/4 – 8/5/2024
This year I purposely came a week later than last time in order to see BeeEaters which hadn’t arrived last year by the time I left. I was not disappointed.
However, first I'll mention notable absences: Alpine Swift, I don’t want to say they weren’t there but I didn’t see any and I cannot remember not seeing any on previous visits. Similarly, Corn Bunting: I saw and heard one bird, but these are normally one of the most common by the pond and in and around the fields I visit, so I was disappointed. I did not hear many Serins either, which used to be regular visitors to the trees by the small church in Dol, but they were not there. Finally the BeeEaters, Yes they were there but I am concerned as to where they can nest. For several years they had nested at Gringos boatyard in Jelsa. The habitat looks the same but after three visits no sign of a bird, although I did hear some high up and not too far away. I found a few while I was cycling between Dol and Vrbanj. They were a bit distant, I took a couple of pictures for reference. I do wonder perhaps with the new supermarkets in the area, they've lost their habitat around the Jelsa petrol station and perhaps they've lost food sources too, this is just guessing with no evidence.
On April 30th I was really pleased to get a good picture of a Cirl Bunting.
Another highlight was a successful chance photograph of a spotted flycatcher.
As most of you know I do all my bird watching in and around Dol Svete Ane plus Stari Grad plain footpaths and probably the most important site is the pond at Dračevice. This year I purposely visited Dračevice at different times of the day, sometimes twice but it made little difference. That said, it certainly did not disappoint, but what was interesting this time I did not see more than two species of bird at the same time.
On my first day after a visit to the PBZ bank in Jelsa, I saw House Martins already feeding their young. I stopped at the Café Bar Splendid and exactly as last year I heard a Blue Rock Thrush calling. Last year I glimpsed it there, while this year it was out of sight but it was certainly within 100 metres of the PBZ bank on Jelsa's main square. As I was biking around I think the most common bird in song was the Blackcap, followed by the Nightingale – a bird heard often but seldom seen. I managed a poor picture this year. In the fields and footpaths of Stari Grad plain I would suggest the most obvious singing came from Sardinian Warblers and Sub-Alpine Warblers. Even after all this time I still get confused with their individual songs although I can narrow them down to one of the two.
30th brought a new arrival at Soline, Turtle Doves, they certainly weren’t calling the previous day. This year I didn’t get a picture, and only saw three of them during the trip.
1st May brought my only sighting of a Hoopoe, I did hear them calling but generally in olive fields in and around Dol and I don’t like to casually walk in to private property unless I ask somebody first.
2nd May I was out early morning near Konoba Kokot trying to track down and photograph a Golden Oriole, I saw it and indeed got a picture but it was a bit distant. A better picture followed later in the week. Whilst walking out I managed a picture of a very obliging Whitethroat so I was delighted with that.
Riding my bike through Vrbanj, I could hear a Blue Rock Thrush singing. I got off my bike and eventually tracked it down. Once again I managed a poor picture but enough for confirmation. It was singing from the very top of the spire on Vrbanj church.
Dračevice was definitely the place to be over the whole period. I think birds pass over, see water and land but are gone the next day, or so it seemed. Wood Sandpipers seemed to be there at various times during the day and every day. The first day 29/4 there were three Wood Sandpipers and this year they let me get surprisingly close so I managed some decent pictures.
Also on 29th there was a Black headed Yellow Wagtail. On May 2nd I had a new species for me on the island and indeed a first for me anywhere. I sent picture off to three friends in UK to ID it. This was clearly exciting and at the time a star bird – it was a Temmincks Stint. A very small plain looking wader and even the call when it flew was quiet.
It had disappeared on 3/5 but replaced by a pair of Black Winged Stilts. Not a first for me on the island but a first at Dračevice. I saw a Wheatear on my way back up to Dol, the only one I saw but I suspect like Redstarts and Stonechats they could have passed through.
4/5 brought nothing new except a Blue Tit in Dol. I discovered a pair of Great Tits also feeding young in Dol. 5/5 This for me was probably the bird of the week once again at the pond. Definitely another first for the island, a Glossy Ibis Although I had seen the species before, I had never seen it in breeding plumage. I got plenty of pictures but most obscured by vegetation. Like the Black Winged Stilts the Ibis wasn’t there on the following day.
6/5 brought another new species for the week, a Squacco Heron. I had seen this before at Dračevice but this bird was far more wary of me than the others. I managed several pictures but partially obscured. The Temminks Stint also returned, albeit briefly.
I was very pleased with the overall numbers of species identified, I totaled 42 over the period of my visit. The bird species are there but you don’t always see them, visiting frequently certainly increases your chances. So, until the next time!
Overall I'm happy with that!
© Steve Jones, May 2024.
