165
Acrocephalus 25 (122): 161 – 177, 2004
Bean Geese A. fabalis at around 11:00 when geese 
return from arable land to the fishponds for drinking 
and resting. After landing, the swans began to swim 
and bathe, occasionally chasing Greylag Geese that 
approached them too close. Later they sat on the tree-
stump, resting and preening. Later on, the Bewick’s 
Swans were also observed by the second author, 
Stjepan Tkal~evi}, and Vatroslav [krnjug. Breeding in 
Russian tundra and wintering mainly in northwestern 
Europe, Bewick’s Swan is a very rare species in Croatia. 
The first occurrence of Bewick’s Swans in Croatia was 
confirmed on the basis of a killed specimen from 
the Neretva delta in Dalmatia [Csörgey, T. (1902): 
Fünf Monate in Spalato. – Aquila 10 (1/4): 66−104]. 
However, Csörgey (1902) did not give the exact date 
of its recovery nor mentioned the fate of the body. 
According to some resources, the specimen ended in 
the Natural History Museum Trieste, but since there is 
no such account in Sadini’s catalogue, recent authors 
consider this record as doubtful [Sadini, G. (1960/
61): La raccolta regionale degli ucceli conservata nel 
Museo Civico di Storia naturale in Trieste. – Atti Mus. 
Civ. St. Nat. Trieste 22: 67−131; Kralj, J. (1997): 
Croatian ornithofauna in the last 200 years. – Larus 
46: 1−122]. The first accepted record of Bewick’s 
Swan in Croatia dates back to 14 Feb 1998 when 
four birds were observed between Mu`ilov~ica and 
Krate~ko villages in Lonjsko Polje Nature Park. These 
birds were photographed by Lea Krivo{i} from Sisak. 
From these photographs, Bewick’s Swans could be 
determined without any doubts [Krivo{i}, L. (1998): 
U Lonjskom polju – 243. pti~ja vrsta. – Ve~ernji List, 
26.02.1998; Mu`ini}, J. & Vasilik, @. (2002): The 
first tundra swan (Cygnus columbianus) in Croatia. 
– Israel Journal of Zoology 48(3): 248−249]. Based 
on these data, we can conclude that our observation is 
the third possible occurrence and second valid record 
of Bewick’s Swans in Croatia. Also it is the first record 
for Kopa~ki Rit Nature Park, whose total number of 
bird species has now reached 292.
Jozsef Mikuska, Department of Biology, University of Osijek, L. Jagera 9, 
HR-31000 Osijek, Croatia
Tibor Mikuska, Kopa~ki rit Nature Park Management Office, Ul. P. Sandora 
33, HR-31327 Bilje, Croatia, e-mail: tibor@kopacki-rit.com
Alma Mikuska, Department of Biology, University of Osijek, L. Jagera 9, 
HR-31000 Osijek, Croatia, e-mail: almaogresevic@yahoo.com
^apljica Ixobrychus minutus
Little Bittern – four records from the end of April 
2004 on the island of Kor~ula (S Dalmatia): (1) 
exhausted individual at the village of Ra~i{~e (UTM 
XH65) on 27 Apr, (2) 1 individual at Donje Blato 
(UTM XH75) on 29 Apr, (3) 1 exhausted female at 
Donje Blato on 30 Apr, and (4) 5 individuals on pond 
near Vela Luka (UTM XH45) on 29 Apr
Ob prihodu s terena na biolo{kem taboru na Kor~uli 
v ju`ni Dalmaciji dne 27.4.2004 sem zvedel, da je 
skupina pod mentorstvom Andreja Kaple v naselju 
Ra~i{~e na{la iz~rpano ~apljico. Le-to so si lokalni 
otroci dobesedno podajali med sabo. Kljub hitremu 
posredovanju je ~apljica kmalu poginila. Drugo 
~apljico smo opazili 29.4. na Donjem Blatu. Tam se je 
spreletela z enega grma na drugega. Naslednjega dne je 
na tem istem mestu Andrej Kapla na{el samico ~apljice. 
A tudi ta je ~ez nekaj ur poginila. Predvidevam, da 
sta bila oba osebka popolnoma iz~rpana. Istega dne 
je Vesna Cafuta opazovala jato petih ~apljic ob kalu 
blizu Vele Luke. Morda je otok Kor~ula pomemben 
kot po~ivali{~e te ptice na njeni poti ~ez Sredozemsko 
morje.
Dejan Bordjan, Ulica 8. februarja 50, SI-2204 Milklav`, Slovenija, e-mail: 
dejanonih@email.si
Lanner Falcon Falco biarmicus
Ju`ni sokol – nova vrsta za naravni park Vransko 
jezero (UTM WJ46, S Dalmacija); dne 31.10.2004 je 
osebek lovil v kmetijskem obmo~ju med Benkovcem 
in Biogradom
At 10.40 on 31 Oct 2004, a Lanner Falcon flying 
from the direction of Vransko Jezero Nature Park 
tried to settle down on dry branches of a thick 
poplar along the Benkovac − Biograd road some 
four kilometers before the town in the agricultural 
area near the main canal. I could clearly see its thin 
beard and the more elegant, slenderer jizz as that of 
the larger Peregrine with longer wings and tail, but 
smaller in size. The bird was attacked by two Hooded 
Crows Corvus corone cornix, and while comparing 
the sizes of the two species, the falcon seemed to be 
slightly larger with longer wings. It flew off low over 
the cultivated area westwards in chase of birds. The 
area was full with smaller migrants such as pipits 
and wagtails, but also flocks of Yellow-legged Larus 
cachinnans and Black-headed Gulls L. ridibundus. The 
Lanner is a new bird species for Vransko Jezero, as it 
does not appear in the list of 234 species occurring in 
the Park [Radovi}, D., Tuti{, V. & Kralj, J. (2004): 
Inventarizacija i valorizacija ornitifaune Parka prirode 
Vransko Jezero. – Zavod za Ornitologiju HAZU, 
Zagreb]. The Croatian population is estimated at only 
5 pairs [Radovi}, D., Kralj, J., Tuti{, V. & ]ikovi}, D.