An early morning on Lake Skadar

At the beginning of September, I had the chance to join an early morning boat tour on Lake Skadar. The two-hour trip began in narrow channels and along reed-fringed shores. I had especially hoped to finally see Common Kingfishers, and the first appeared almost immediately. More kept turning up throughout the morning. Once we left the channels, numerous Pygmy Cormorants were resting on branches and posts above the water, often beside a few Great Cormorants. Lake Skadar is an especially good place to watch this comparatively scarce small cormorant at close range. The shallows also held smaller birds, including Wood Sandpipers, Western Yellow Wagtails and White Wagtails. As the tour continued, Little Egrets, Great Egrets and Squacco Herons appeared among the many wetland birds. The biggest surprise came overhead when a flock of more than 30 Black-crowned Night Herons passed us in flight. Whiskered Terns worked across the open water while Bank Swallows and Barn Swallows hunted insects above the lake. By the end, my checklist held 31 observed species, including a Rock Pigeon for which I did not take a photograph. The mixture of kingfishers, cormorants, herons, waders and swallows made this a particularly successful morning on Lake Skadar.