Odds & Sods to 8 July

After being out of the loop with the adult female section of the household in hospital in Málaga since a week last Sunday and braving the horrendous traffic twice a day to visit her (only the vilest words will suffice to describe it), birding (I hope that she realises my incredible selflessness!) and even taking the dog for a walk (she - meaning the dog - is depressed, according to the son and for once I agree with him, and his mother is too) has had little place in my life.

I haven't been to the ponds, but append a report on the RAM (combined coordinated seawatches, I'll explain them some time) from Blas López at Calaburras, W of Fuengirola, an edited list from Patricia Macauley, more news of Eleonora's Falcons in Coín from Teo Todorov (doesn't sound a very Spanish name, does it?), a sentence or so on migration at the Guadalhorce ponds yesterday evening and today, and that's your lot (as Tommy Cooper would have said). So, here goes.

1 July, Lesser Crested Tern, Tarifa (Cádiz) One seen flying E (into the Med.) by David Cuenca (in rarebirdspain).

3 July, Brown Booby, Roquetas de Mar, Almería A subadult seen by a species experienced observer (B. Carlson, in rarebirdspain).

5 July, 3 h seawatch at Calaburras, W of Fungirola (edited and translated mail from Blas López to forogiam) 150 Cory's Shearwaters (probably feeding movements) and 109 Balearic Shearwaters (W post-breeding movement to the Atlantic), the first Mediterranean Gulls moving W, very smart still in their breeding plumage, and a few Audouin's. A few Gannets, Sandwich Terns and, rather surprisingly, Gadwall and a few Turnstones.

6 July, Guadalhorce ponds (edited mail from Patricia and the super photo on the left of the juv. Red-rumped Swallow sitting on one of the hides is hers also) Antonio Toro was waiting for me on the new bridge and we went straight to the Old River - we saw a Yellow Wagtail - but only because I wanted to see one and really searched. Otherwise only Stilts and the odd plover. For the rest, lots of gulls - Black-headed, Mediterranean, Yellow-legged ( they really are huge), Audouins and some terns and a Gull-billed Tern. LOTS of House Martins and some Swallows and Red-rumped Swallows and the Osprey was there.We left around 11.30 - it was just too hot.

More on Eleonora's Falcons at Coín Teo keeps seeing a few Eleonora's from the flat lands to the south of Coín village (Málaga) and the splendid photo here of the bird pulling 5+gs as it goes in to attack something is his also.
Ernest García has commented that from the photos most of the birds appear to be immatures.

Note that this photo is NOT manipulated, rotated or anything illicit but is as taken by Teo during the weekend.

First wader migration at Guadalhorce ponds Evening of 7 July I took my depressed (but not when there's food around) spaniel for a walk down by the river in the last minutes of the day before sunset. I could hear what I reckoned to be 2 or 3 Redshanks calling very noisily, the sort of calling that says 'we're very nervous and are ready to go off on a night flight somewhere'.
Sure enough, after a few minutes the tempo increased and with the binoculars (I never go out without them, otherwise I feel undressed) I picked up 5 birds gaining height in the last light and calling loudly and watched them as they set out over the sea for Morocco and points south. I wonder where there are now and how many Ks they put in over night before settling down again?

Antonio Miguel Pérez (in naturAnd) picked up an early Wood Sandpiper flying and song-flighting (!) at the ponds during the course of the day.

On 8 July, Antonio Miguel also watched 2 juv. Penduline Tits at the ponds, as well as a single Redshank and a single Dunlin (in naturAnd).

Things are starting to move! Autumn migration, here we come!