Birding in Geneva - Report of my excursion to Marais de Sionnet on 03.04.17

Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus)

It was once again a fantastic birding excursion to Marais de Sionnet this morning. I have been countless times there but it keeps surprising me. We are now in the middle of the spring migration and that brings some very nice rarities. I spent most of my morning observing 2 females Little Crake (Zapornia parva), a lifer for me.

Female Little Crake (Zapornia parva)

This species is so small, and so discrete. On top of that, its plumage is obviously a perfect camouflage in the reeds. It took me a couple of hours to get this shot of the bird's entire body in the clear. And it is still not a great shot for me, due to the light being already too harsh past 9am. But anyways, I was very happy to observe this species for the first time in such great conditions.

From the same spot, I could see 2 Wood Sandpipers (Tringa glareola), another lifer! It was a real challenge to get a sharp shot of this species at the distance I was. 

Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola)

I have seen 24 bird species in total, including Reed Buntings, Northern Shovelers... But there was much more to see for sure. I was just too focused on the Little Crakes!

Finally, here is another image taken this morning. This Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) was fishing on the pond, and I took this shot only a couple of seconds before the catch, when the water was still perfectly calm.

Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea)

JAG