^rno~eli srakoper Lanius minor Lesser Grey Shrike – several observations of groups of adult and juvenile individuals in the 2007 and 2008 breeding seasons in the eastern part of the Vipava valley (UTM VL18, UTM VL17, SW Slovenia) Zadnje dni junija 2007 me je izjemno presenetila in seveda razveselila senzacionalna novica kolega Andreja Figlja, da je na ajdovskem polju nedale~ od deponije v smeri proti Ajdov{~ini na{el 2 do 3 pare ~rno~elih srakoperjev Lanius minor. Seveda mi radovednost ni dala miru, in tako sem se 3.7.2007 {e sam odpravil na omenjeno lokacijo – odprto kulturno krajino z redkimi drevoredi odraslih topolov in cipres med hitro cesto Vipava–Ajdov{~ina, lokalno cesto Ajdov{~ina–Dolenje, reko Vipavo in `e omenjeno deponijo (UTM VL18). Kaj kmalu sem lahko opazil nekaj odraslih osebkov ~rno~elih srakoperjev, ki so posedali na `icah elektri~nih daljnovodov in se spreletavali na razmeroma velikih razdaljah, tudi po par sto metrov. To mi je ote`evalo {tetje osebkov, katerih {tevilo sem ocenil enako kot Andrej pred menoj. V kro{nji topola sem med odraslimi lahko opazoval in fotografiral tudi nekaj mladostnih osebkov te vrste (slika 8). Do pomladi leta 2008 je nato tlelo upanje, da se z novo sezono ~rno~eli srakoperji vrnejo na to lokacijo. In res, 18.05.2008 sem na ajdovskem polju spet lahko opazoval ~rno~elega srakoperja. Opa`anja so se na tej lokaciji vrstila {e v juniju in juliju 2008, vrhunec pa so dosegla 16.07.2008, ko sem lahko opazoval najmanj 8 ~rno~elih srakoperjev hkrati; med njimi so bili najmanj 3 odrasli, drugi pa mladostni osebki. Tudi to leto sta se torej na tem obmo~ju zadr`evala najmanj 2 para teh ptic in najmanj enemu paru je spet uspelo speljati mladi~e. Poleg teh opazovanj sem v letu 2008 na{el {e dve lokaciji ~rno~elih srakoperjev v zgornjevipavski dolini: 11.6.2008 ter 29.6.2008 sem lahko opazoval en odrasel osebek blizu cerkvice Sv. Iz ornitolo{ke bele`nice / From the ornithological notebook Roka ob lokalni cesti Podnanos – Podraga (UTM VL17), v obdobju med 25.6.2008 in 17.7.2008 pa sem lahko ve~krat opazoval {e en odrasel osebek v Lokavcu pod zaselkom Paljki v bli`ini ceste Lokavec–Predmeja (UTM VL18). Tudi ti dve lokaciji sta v odprti kulturni krajini, v kateri stoji vsaj nekaj odraslih topolov in daljnovodov, na katerih `icah in stebrih ~rno~eli srakoperji o~itno zelo radi posedajo. Vsekakor gre za razveseljujo~a opa`anja, {e posebej v lu~i ~rnogledih napovedi za populacijo te vrste v ve~jem delu Evrope. Tudi v Sloveniji je njegova raz{irjenost in {tevil~nost od prve polovice osemdesetih let prej{njega stoletja mo~no upadla (Geister 1995). Isti vir pa hkrati navaja, da je ~rno~eli srakoper v obdobju pred zlomom populacije `e gnezdil v Vipavski dolini in bli`nji okolici. Peter Kre~i~, Podraga 47, SI−5272 Podnanos, e−mail: suzana.krecic@guest.arnes.si Mali strnad Emberiza pusilla Little Bunting – one 1y individual caught in mist net on 7 Oct 2007 at Ljubljansko barje (UTM VL69, central Slovenia); the record was confirmed by the National Rarities Committee (10th record for Slovenia) Dne 7.10.2007 sem obro~kal pti~e na Ljubljanskem barju, tik ob Kozlarjevi go{~i (UTM VL69). Bil je obla~en dan, temperatura je bila okoli 12°C. Tega dne so bile zelo {tevilne sive pevke Prunella modularis, obro~kal sem jih kar 151. Sredi dopoldneva sem ob prihodu k mre`i opazil ujetega malega strnada, ki sem ga dobro poznal `e od prej. Seveda sem ga najprej obro~kal, nato pa v roki slikal (slika 9). Zbrani so bili naslednji biometri~ni podatki: prvoletni osebek (1y/3), dol`ina peruti 67 mm in te`a 16.2 g. Glavna zna~ilnost malega strnada, ki ga lo~i od samice Slika 9 / Figure 9: Little Bunting / Mali strnad Emberiza pusilla, 7.10.2007, Kozlarjeva go{~a, Ljubljansko barje. Foto: D.[ere Slika 8 / Figure 8: ^rno~eli srakoper / Lesser Grey Shrike Lanius minor, 3.7.2007, Vipavska dolina. Foto: P. Kre~i~  trstnega strnada Emberiza schoeniclus, je v tem, da ima svetlo piko na koncu lic, obi~ajno konkaven zgornji del kljuna in perje ne`ne le{nikove barve na glavi. Zadnji moj obro~kani mali strnad je z Ornitolo{ke postaje Vrhnika, to je bilo 1.10.1999. V jesenskem ~asu se obro~kovalci v Sloveniji sre~ujemo s to vrsto od konca septembra do za~etka novembra, spomladi pa smo ga doslej obro~kali samo v mesecu marcu. Podatek je potrdila Nacionalna komisija za redkosti (10. zapis za Slovenijo). Dare [ere, SCOP, Prirodoslovni muzej Slovenije, Pre{ernova 20, SI−1000 Ljubljana, Slovenija, e−mail: dsere@pms-lj.si Hrva{ka / Croatia Shelduck Tadorna tadorna Duplinska kozarka – trije osebki opazovani 18.1.2008 v Stonskih solinah (UTM BN62, J Dalmacija, Hrva{ka); avtor predstavi tudi druge zanimive vrste, opazovane v solinah istega dne I took advantage of the winter day of 13 Jan 2008 for a regular visit to the Ston saltpans (UTM BN62, S Dalmatia, Croatia). Even before entering this area, I had an opportunity to watch four Great Egrets Egretta alba and 13 Grey Herons Ardea cinerea. Both species were hunting in the shallow part of the Ston Channel, along which the saltpans are located. Nine Little Grebes Tachybaptus ruficollis were also seen hunting in the same part of the bay, as well as five Cormorants Phalacrocorax carbo. In the saltpans themselves, I recorded three Snipes Gallinago gallinago, an adult male Wigeon Anas penelope, one dead adult Little Gull Larus minutus, and three Shelducks. In Croatia, Shelduck is a rare and irregular bird, mainly recorded in the winter period (Kralj 1997). I had already had a chance to observe a female of the same species at this site, on 9 Apr 2006. After the saltpans, I visited the nearby reed patch, with narrow fresh water channels cutting through it. Although they were largely inaccessible to me, I managed to catch sight of several birds in it: one Bittern Botaurus stellaris, six Coots Fulica atra, four Moorhens Gallinula chloropus and five Little Grebes. Dubravko Dender, Od [kara 4, HR−20000 Dubrovnik, Croatia, e−mail: dubravko_dender@yahoo.com Rock Partridge Alectoris graeca Kotorna – dne 26.4.2008 je bil opa`en en osebek na avtocesti Split-Zadar, 2 km od izvoza “Zadar- jug” (UTM WJ18); kotorna je po~asi pre~kala cesto; podatek nakazuje mo`nost velikega vpliva avtoceste na obmo~ju jedra populacije te vrste na zahodnem Balkanu On 26 Apr 2008, I was driving home to Austria along the recently finished section of the A-1 motorway between Split and Zadar (UTM WJ18, W Croatia). There was very low traffic in the early afternoon, when approx. 2 km ahead of the “Zadar-jug” exit I noticed a solitary Rock Partridge entering the left lane. While I was braking, the obviously frightened bird was slowly stealing away to the right across the road. This rare record indicates that according to its characteristic behaviour of silently making off on the ground from predators and other disturbances, the species may be extremely susceptible to road casualties. When finished, the new highway will run for more than 400 km through the species’ core breeding range in the western Balkans. Therefore the road’s effect on local populations by road casualties, fencing, traffic noise and other disturbances should be carefully investigated. Peter Sackl, Steiermärkisches Landesmuseum Joanneum, Forschungsstätte Pater Bl. Hanf am Furtnerteich, Raubergasse 10, A–8010 Graz, Austria, e−mail: peter.sackl@museum-joanneum.at Scops Owl Otus scops Veliki skovik – med 21. in 30.5.2008 je bilo na otoku [olti (UTM WJ90, XJ00) pre{tetih 13 klico~ih osebkov The Scops Owl is a regular nesting species in the coastal areas of Croatia, but during the second half of the 20th century its populations declined considerably (Kralj 1997). Not being a shy bird, it moves to parks and to the surroundings of human dwellings in the breeding season. Its presence is best noticed during the dusk and night hours when it emits its characteristic calls (Rucner 1998). It is considered to be the most common owl species on the island of [olta (Dalmatia, W Croatia; Su{i} et al. 1990). There are no data available about the size of the population nesting on the island, thus we made an attempt to count them based on the counting of calling individuals, between 21 and 30 May 2008. The surveys were made in 8 settlements, between 21.00−23.00h each night. In total, 13 birds were heard calling at the following localities: 1 individual at Maslinica (UTM WJ90), 1 individual in the wood near the road 2 km west of Donje Selo (XJ00), 3 individuals at Donje Selo (XJ00), 3 individuals at Srednje Selo (XJ00), 1 individual at Grohote (XJ00), 3 individuals at Roga~ (XJ00) and 1 individual at Gornje Selo Acrocephalus 29 (136): 67−75, 2008