I hadn't intended going down to the Guadalhorce again until tomorrow when I should have been with Bob Wright and his group but circumstances beyond my control have intervened - my apologies to his group.
Sooo, when Xulio, who is from Galicia, rang to say that he was down with his wife, Esther, and could we meet, it didn't take much thought to agree. And a very pleasant couple of hours we had along with mutual friend Salva García, an ardent gull ring reader and for whom none gull species hardly exist.
Best birds first in this very brief report: 3 male Garganeys (lovely) and a female; at least 15 male White-headed Ducks in a high state of hormonally induced excitement (an important number if one remembers that the Guadalhorce hosts about 30% of the total Andalucian population); a single Tree Pipit, a pair of female/immature weavers, probably the Black-headed, starting to build a nest and an immaculate male Black-eared Wheatear of the black-throated form.
WARNING: the dreaded TICK season has started, it was early last year and even earlier this, so examine trousers regularly, remember they can be seen more easily against paler colours. And while there are flocks/herds/swarms in the sunshine, as the sun fell there was, at a conservative estimate, some 25 billion to the power 25 mosquitos in the air, some of which were hungry, and normally they never bite me.
15/3/09
it's all happening...
Yes, spring is definitely here, the little birds are singing and doing what little birds (and big ones too) are supposed to do, and I, like most of you, am missing some of them. So, off we joolly well go with birds and pieces.
First, Antonio Miguel, Patricia, Gonzalo Lage and the ineffable Kirri went to Almería on Thursday, the best being a large - I suppose over 300 birds is large - flock of Garganey, a truly bonny duck and one I always like to see, ever since the first male about 1957-58 at the Beacon Ponds north of Spurn Point, East Yorkshire, one ghastly late March afternoon. This insignificant flock was at the salinas de Cerrojillos, Roquetas de Mar. They also managed to contact with c.20 Dotterel, a super little plover, at Las Almoladeras.
And now to things more local, like the Guadalhorce ponds in the past day or so. Last week I reported on one or two first migrants and in the past 48 hours there have been more firsts for the year. Yesterday, a male Northern Wheatear - interestingly one was at the London Wetlands Centre last week, long before ours. as in fine weather they just keep on flying and overshoot, and this morning a male Black-eared Wheatear and I missed both. On the other hand, I did connect with my first Woodchat Shrike of the season this warm morning and had the first 2 Short-toed Larks of the season, but missed a Sedge Warbler.
We came across a a nice flock of around 20 Yellow Wagtails, all but one males and a single female. This is the best time of year to see the males and the yellow on some of them is a stunning dayglo, and it's also interesting to try and sort out the races whilst they rabbit around in the long grass, a challenge if ever there was one! This morning's group included at least 5 flava, the Blue-headed, and 8-9 iberiae, the Spanish Wagtail, and the remainder we couldn't get a bead on. So far I have seen five races this spring, the others being singles of cinereocapilla - Ashy-headed, thunbergi - Grey-headed and a British race flavissima, the yellowest of the lot and sometimes known as the Yellow-headed. What we really need to see is the Black-headed feldegg from the Balkans and eastwards and which are fantastic. Only the males can be separated, females all look the same as far as we humans are concerned but fortunately the males know them! Mind you, hybrids do occur and the past couple of years there has been a male hybrid iberiae x flava holding a territory down at the ponds.
On the way out, just before noon when the great unwashed masses were entering in their droves, either on foot or on their bicycles with reluctant children in tow, a Nightingale uttered a few mellow notes.
I am down there again on Tuesday with Bob Wright and his birding group from the Axarquia and will leave it to him to write up in his blog http://birdingaxarquia.blogspot.com/ (copy this address and paste to get to it) as this will probably be my last blog for 10-12 days as the family Paterson is off to Tenerife for 3 full days when I hope to renew acquaintance with Blue Chaffinch and see the Tenerife races of Firecrest, Blue Tits and, especially, a brief pelagic to watch cetaceans and (I hope) some seabirds!
And on a last, happy, note, the digiscoping centre in Madrid has told me that my Zeiss telescope is back from Deutschland and ready for collection, so I shall have it in very short order and be happy to look through it again. Even the bill isn't exorbitant for what needed to be done and the chap in the shop tells me that it looks like new.
First, Antonio Miguel, Patricia, Gonzalo Lage and the ineffable Kirri went to Almería on Thursday, the best being a large - I suppose over 300 birds is large - flock of Garganey, a truly bonny duck and one I always like to see, ever since the first male about 1957-58 at the Beacon Ponds north of Spurn Point, East Yorkshire, one ghastly late March afternoon. This insignificant flock was at the salinas de Cerrojillos, Roquetas de Mar. They also managed to contact with c.20 Dotterel, a super little plover, at Las Almoladeras.
And now to things more local, like the Guadalhorce ponds in the past day or so. Last week I reported on one or two first migrants and in the past 48 hours there have been more firsts for the year. Yesterday, a male Northern Wheatear - interestingly one was at the London Wetlands Centre last week, long before ours. as in fine weather they just keep on flying and overshoot, and this morning a male Black-eared Wheatear and I missed both. On the other hand, I did connect with my first Woodchat Shrike of the season this warm morning and had the first 2 Short-toed Larks of the season, but missed a Sedge Warbler.
We came across a a nice flock of around 20 Yellow Wagtails, all but one males and a single female. This is the best time of year to see the males and the yellow on some of them is a stunning dayglo, and it's also interesting to try and sort out the races whilst they rabbit around in the long grass, a challenge if ever there was one! This morning's group included at least 5 flava, the Blue-headed, and 8-9 iberiae, the Spanish Wagtail, and the remainder we couldn't get a bead on. So far I have seen five races this spring, the others being singles of cinereocapilla - Ashy-headed, thunbergi - Grey-headed and a British race flavissima, the yellowest of the lot and sometimes known as the Yellow-headed. What we really need to see is the Black-headed feldegg from the Balkans and eastwards and which are fantastic. Only the males can be separated, females all look the same as far as we humans are concerned but fortunately the males know them! Mind you, hybrids do occur and the past couple of years there has been a male hybrid iberiae x flava holding a territory down at the ponds.
On the way out, just before noon when the great unwashed masses were entering in their droves, either on foot or on their bicycles with reluctant children in tow, a Nightingale uttered a few mellow notes.
I am down there again on Tuesday with Bob Wright and his birding group from the Axarquia and will leave it to him to write up in his blog http://birdingaxarquia.blogspot.com/ (copy this address and paste to get to it) as this will probably be my last blog for 10-12 days as the family Paterson is off to Tenerife for 3 full days when I hope to renew acquaintance with Blue Chaffinch and see the Tenerife races of Firecrest, Blue Tits and, especially, a brief pelagic to watch cetaceans and (I hope) some seabirds!
And on a last, happy, note, the digiscoping centre in Madrid has told me that my Zeiss telescope is back from Deutschland and ready for collection, so I shall have it in very short order and be happy to look through it again. Even the bill isn't exorbitant for what needed to be done and the chap in the shop tells me that it looks like new.
9/3/09
Lesser Flamingos en Fuente de Piedra.
More on the Lesser Flamingos. Manolo Rendón, long-time friend and excellent person, apart from being director at Fuente de Piedra, has been in contact today and has given me the following information (below the photograph) and the photograph of Araceli's, for which I am most grateful. As can be easily seen, the Lessers stand out like the proverbial sore thumbs!
A pair of Lesser Flamingos is breeding in the Flamingo colony (Phoenicopterus roseus) at Fuente de Piedra Lagoon (photograph by Araceli Garrido). In previous months six Lesser Flamingos were counted and three pairs were prospecting in the colony (J. M. Ramírez, A. Garrido and M. Rendón-Martos).
Manolo has commented that in his opinion, and who am I to disagree with one of the top experts, that there was no breeding in 2007 and 2008 and that it seems most likely that the Lessers that were seen incubating had probably appropriated an abandoned egg and nest of a Greater Flamingo.
A pair of Lesser Flamingos is breeding in the Flamingo colony (Phoenicopterus roseus) at Fuente de Piedra Lagoon (photograph by Araceli Garrido). In previous months six Lesser Flamingos were counted and three pairs were prospecting in the colony (J. M. Ramírez, A. Garrido and M. Rendón-Martos).
Manolo has commented that in his opinion, and who am I to disagree with one of the top experts, that there was no breeding in 2007 and 2008 and that it seems most likely that the Lessers that were seen incubating had probably appropriated an abandoned egg and nest of a Greater Flamingo.
8/3/09
Spring hath come!! Sunday at the Guadalhorce
Sounds nice, but it has this morning, as the birding has shown. On top of that of yesterday in the previous blog, what a good weekend I have enjoyed! So, up early, not windy, not cold, body more or less functioning and amenable to going out, so off I trotted to the Guadalhorce. ('One day you'll go and live there!' quote from the wife). And I was not in the least defrauded, quite the reverse.
The first bird to be seen was not unusual, although there do seem to be more than usual at the ponds, was a juvenile Corn Bunting, yes, a juvenile, with its mouth wide open, yellow gape visible and wing quivering at the adult birds nearby. A very early bird this one which we were to all see again later. And so to the hide at the Charco Grande, the Big Pond (we are so creative in naming!), where the Little Ringed Plovers are busily and very noisily claiming territory, while on the water a few male White-headed Ducks were getting their hormones in shape too. A couple of male Bluethroats showed, one briefly and the other halfway reasonably and by that time Antonio Miguel Pérez, Paco Rivera and Antonio Toro had arrived and as the 7 Garganey seen yesterday had gone, we trotted off to la Laguna Escondida, the Hidden Lake, and stopped to look at some sparrows.
Sparrows, I hear you scoffing, but during the week Antonio Miguel had seen a male Spanish Sparrow, an incredibly rare bird in the reserve and the first record that I can remember. The good are always rewarded and we were with not one but two males, one of which sat in the top of a bush and allowed itself to be scoped. On the way Antonio M. found a small snake (I forget which species) which was picked up and protested very vigorously at the indignity, trying to bite Antonio T. as he tried in turn tried to photograph it, my own best effort is here.
There was little of note in the Laguna Escondida and apparently not much in the Laguna de Casilla either, but once sitting comfortably in the hide and watching and listening there were two very pleasant early records, the first for the year in each case, of a single Sedge Warbler and a single Reed Warbler singing - it's amazing that so many birds, once they hit Europe, think it-s time to start singing. By that time the day was warming up nicely and it, for the first time, a case of sweater off and shirt sleeves all the way down to the seawatch mirador, there being bext to nothing in the way of waders as the water levels are still far too high, and thence homewards.
As a late post scriptum, I have just heard from Patricia that yesterday at the ponds there was a female Pintail, a pair of Red-crested Pochards and the first Woodchat Shrike of the year! The date's about right for it.
The first bird to be seen was not unusual, although there do seem to be more than usual at the ponds, was a juvenile Corn Bunting, yes, a juvenile, with its mouth wide open, yellow gape visible and wing quivering at the adult birds nearby. A very early bird this one which we were to all see again later. And so to the hide at the Charco Grande, the Big Pond (we are so creative in naming!), where the Little Ringed Plovers are busily and very noisily claiming territory, while on the water a few male White-headed Ducks were getting their hormones in shape too. A couple of male Bluethroats showed, one briefly and the other halfway reasonably and by that time Antonio Miguel Pérez, Paco Rivera and Antonio Toro had arrived and as the 7 Garganey seen yesterday had gone, we trotted off to la Laguna Escondida, the Hidden Lake, and stopped to look at some sparrows.
Sparrows, I hear you scoffing, but during the week Antonio Miguel had seen a male Spanish Sparrow, an incredibly rare bird in the reserve and the first record that I can remember. The good are always rewarded and we were with not one but two males, one of which sat in the top of a bush and allowed itself to be scoped. On the way Antonio M. found a small snake (I forget which species) which was picked up and protested very vigorously at the indignity, trying to bite Antonio T. as he tried in turn tried to photograph it, my own best effort is here.
There was little of note in the Laguna Escondida and apparently not much in the Laguna de Casilla either, but once sitting comfortably in the hide and watching and listening there were two very pleasant early records, the first for the year in each case, of a single Sedge Warbler and a single Reed Warbler singing - it's amazing that so many birds, once they hit Europe, think it-s time to start singing. By that time the day was warming up nicely and it, for the first time, a case of sweater off and shirt sleeves all the way down to the seawatch mirador, there being bext to nothing in the way of waders as the water levels are still far too high, and thence homewards.
As a late post scriptum, I have just heard from Patricia that yesterday at the ponds there was a female Pintail, a pair of Red-crested Pochards and the first Woodchat Shrike of the year! The date's about right for it.
7/3/09
Fuente de Piedra
After a week of fairly rough weather with some rain, grey skies and wind in vast quantities, the metcast yesterday promised a reduction in wind strength and, dare I even think it, blue skies and sunshine! So, with that in mind, Bob Hibbett and I set forth for a short visit of less than 3 hours to Fuente de Piedra lake and surrounds this morning.
Mind you, we had doubts as when we left the skies were grey and lowering and there was a wind that could hardly be described as a zephyr. And by the time we were nearing the top of Las Pedrizas, the big road that goes up and up out of Málaga, we were in the clouds with foglights on and the wind buffeting the car, and thus it continued until we started on th downhill run at El Romeral which leads to Antequera and billiard table flat plain when the first faint rays of a reluctant sun illuminated the landscape.
There was nothing at the Laguna Dulce, Campillos, and that in spite of the first standing water that I have seen there in several years, testimony to the rains of this last month. So, from there on to Fuente de Piedra, first stopping at the west end to look down over the lake and with the very pleasant surpriseof a few little heads peering over a rise on the far side of the road- 6 Cranes which soon showed as being an awful lot more, around 60 or so to which can be added another 29 at Cantarranas, sum 89 plus birds which should be rather more north by now. As the birds that winter in the are are usually on their way north by the end of the third week in February, I suspect that these were from further south still, probably Morocco.
There were plenty of flamingos, little, distant, pink spots, in the lake but that didn't deter us scanning hopefully for signs of the Lesser Flamingos which have been reported and it didn't take long to locate two amongst the mass of widely spread Flamingos, of which there were some small flocks in full display with heads and necks extended and wing-flashing at each other. We found another two later on from the information centre mirador. Finding and identifying them isn't too difficult, the colouration is much richer, almost an orange-pink in sunlight, and they are much smaller than their larger relatives. There is an ongoing discussion as to the origin of these and some are certainly escaped birds, indeed we caught one during the 1998 (I think) ringing of the chicks which bore a collection ring - a stunning bird in the hand with its ruby-red eye. But, there are so many records that I, and many others, believe that some probably make their way up with our flamings which venture down as far as the Banc d'Arguin, Mauretania, where there is a colony of Lessers.
As to the other species, a small selection of waders including a couple of Green Sandpipers and 3-4 Redshanks, a few each of Little Ringed and Kentish Plovers, a single Ruff, a considerable number of Golden Plovers, 80-100 at a guesstimate, and about half that number of Lapwings. There was a flock of Little Stints, possibly as many as 50 but many were distant dots, amongst which 8 Dunlins mixed and 3 Black-tailed Godwits rounded off the waders of the morning.
The Yellow Wagtails are coming through now, and while last weekend I had a male Ashy-headed cinereocapilla, today we had the pleasure of a superbly coloured male of the iberiae race -the Spanish Wagtail - and another which was of the Scandinavian thunbergi race, also known as the Grey-headed Wagtail while I had a brief view of what I believe was a British Yellow Wagtail, the flavissima. Other passerines of interest included 2-3 late Song Thrushes and, I am almost certain, a single Redwing. There were plenty of hirundines in evidence and passage is now in full flow, especially as the sun emerged and the temperature jumped 10º - lovely to be in shirt sleeves this afternoon!
And as a PS, this week there have been several reports of Pallid Swifts in the Málaga area Indeed, on Wednesday I saw 4 near my home and on Thursday around 20 birds in the same area, one of which was prospecting a site where I know that several pairs breed.
Mind you, we had doubts as when we left the skies were grey and lowering and there was a wind that could hardly be described as a zephyr. And by the time we were nearing the top of Las Pedrizas, the big road that goes up and up out of Málaga, we were in the clouds with foglights on and the wind buffeting the car, and thus it continued until we started on th downhill run at El Romeral which leads to Antequera and billiard table flat plain when the first faint rays of a reluctant sun illuminated the landscape.
There was nothing at the Laguna Dulce, Campillos, and that in spite of the first standing water that I have seen there in several years, testimony to the rains of this last month. So, from there on to Fuente de Piedra, first stopping at the west end to look down over the lake and with the very pleasant surpriseof a few little heads peering over a rise on the far side of the road- 6 Cranes which soon showed as being an awful lot more, around 60 or so to which can be added another 29 at Cantarranas, sum 89 plus birds which should be rather more north by now. As the birds that winter in the are are usually on their way north by the end of the third week in February, I suspect that these were from further south still, probably Morocco.
There were plenty of flamingos, little, distant, pink spots, in the lake but that didn't deter us scanning hopefully for signs of the Lesser Flamingos which have been reported and it didn't take long to locate two amongst the mass of widely spread Flamingos, of which there were some small flocks in full display with heads and necks extended and wing-flashing at each other. We found another two later on from the information centre mirador. Finding and identifying them isn't too difficult, the colouration is much richer, almost an orange-pink in sunlight, and they are much smaller than their larger relatives. There is an ongoing discussion as to the origin of these and some are certainly escaped birds, indeed we caught one during the 1998 (I think) ringing of the chicks which bore a collection ring - a stunning bird in the hand with its ruby-red eye. But, there are so many records that I, and many others, believe that some probably make their way up with our flamings which venture down as far as the Banc d'Arguin, Mauretania, where there is a colony of Lessers.
As to the other species, a small selection of waders including a couple of Green Sandpipers and 3-4 Redshanks, a few each of Little Ringed and Kentish Plovers, a single Ruff, a considerable number of Golden Plovers, 80-100 at a guesstimate, and about half that number of Lapwings. There was a flock of Little Stints, possibly as many as 50 but many were distant dots, amongst which 8 Dunlins mixed and 3 Black-tailed Godwits rounded off the waders of the morning.
The Yellow Wagtails are coming through now, and while last weekend I had a male Ashy-headed cinereocapilla, today we had the pleasure of a superbly coloured male of the iberiae race -the Spanish Wagtail - and another which was of the Scandinavian thunbergi race, also known as the Grey-headed Wagtail while I had a brief view of what I believe was a British Yellow Wagtail, the flavissima. Other passerines of interest included 2-3 late Song Thrushes and, I am almost certain, a single Redwing. There were plenty of hirundines in evidence and passage is now in full flow, especially as the sun emerged and the temperature jumped 10º - lovely to be in shirt sleeves this afternoon!
And as a PS, this week there have been several reports of Pallid Swifts in the Málaga area Indeed, on Wednesday I saw 4 near my home and on Thursday around 20 birds in the same area, one of which was prospecting a site where I know that several pairs breed.
1/3/09
eight days ... and no nights! (22-28 February)
Thought you may like the title for this blog, sounds a bit film-like, doesn't it? Starring myself as the overworked birder. It is a brief blog, this, as I really have been very busy, a large translation which took about 12 hours in bits and pieces, escorting visitors to the Guadalhorce ponds, a couple of visits to the doctors to see if first myself and then the wife were still alive (more or less, is the verdict), and trying to get on with the illustrations for the seabird book - they really do progress apace but as a sheet can take anything between a minimum of 5 and up to 10 hours, progress is not speedy!
So, starting last Sunday, 22 February, at the ponds for a couple of hours with the usual assortment of domingueros, we had the first 2 Red-rumped Swallows of the spring and plenty of Barn Swallows and House Martins, but still no Sand Martins. A single Water Rail showed briefly - when do they ever show for long? There were a few Little Ringed Plovers making a huge amount of noise and that was about it, as I wanted to get back and get some painting done, plus the fact that I was going to be there the following day.
Monday, 23 February, to the ponds again as an escort for Clara Coen from Chicago and Luis Robles who came along, having brought her in from Málaga. It was a grey morning but we saw the first Sand Martin (at last!) and she got good views of a Red-rumped Swallow sitting resting on the tamarisks along with the a bundle of other hirundines. On the way to the eastern arm of the river a Great White Heron/Egret (or whatever they are currently calling the damned things) gave brief views while on the pond a female Mallard appeared with her flotilla of early ducklings, these about 5 days old, I reckoned, and they kept coming and coming until 11 had paddled across in front of us. She must have started sitting right at the end of January. I managed to pick up an Iberian Chiffchaff on call, there were plenty of ordinary singing Chiffs around to compare and a good thing too, as I am not good on calls. We got good views of a nice male Yellow Wagtail (another spring first) of the cinereocapilla race, sometimes called the Ashy-headed Wagtail - very bonny. And by that time the morning had flown it was time to call it a day, Clara delighted with her morning's birding - another satisfied customer!
28 February, the ponds yet again in the morning and drizzle with Luis Aleixos - one of us seabirders who was down from Valencia on a brief visit and staying with Salva García, otherwise Señor Colour Ring himself. There was not a lot to be seen but the first 2 Pallid Swifts of the year overflew and we saw all 5 spp. of hirundines, which isn't bad! An Osprey in one of the dead eucalyptus showed its colour ring nicely, black KM7, a German ringed bird. In the afternoon we met at La Caleta de Vélez but there was no fishing fleet active, it being a Saturday, so we found little apart from 6 Balearic Shearwaters - conspicuous by their absence here this winter but Luis says they are all off the Valencia coast where he saw over 2.000 not so many days since, a single Kittiwake in the harbour and a flock of 26-27 Black-necked Grebes on the sea - very nice too.
The objective of Salva was to take Luis up to Viñuela reservoir, inland from Vélez-Málaga, where there are huge afternoon concentrations of Mediterranean Gulls, Salva has guesstimated figures of over 17.000 birds! I set off home (paint and paper called) and on the way passed under a flock of what I reckoned was around 3.000 birds! Many of the adult Med. Gulls are coming into full breeding plumage and they really are stunning birds to look at, and if you don't believe me, have a look in your field guide.
So, on the eighth day, 1 March, there was a day devoted to more painting and a brief excursion out with the dog under lowering skies about an hour since showed 2 more swifts (species unknown) winging their west.
So, starting last Sunday, 22 February, at the ponds for a couple of hours with the usual assortment of domingueros, we had the first 2 Red-rumped Swallows of the spring and plenty of Barn Swallows and House Martins, but still no Sand Martins. A single Water Rail showed briefly - when do they ever show for long? There were a few Little Ringed Plovers making a huge amount of noise and that was about it, as I wanted to get back and get some painting done, plus the fact that I was going to be there the following day.
Monday, 23 February, to the ponds again as an escort for Clara Coen from Chicago and Luis Robles who came along, having brought her in from Málaga. It was a grey morning but we saw the first Sand Martin (at last!) and she got good views of a Red-rumped Swallow sitting resting on the tamarisks along with the a bundle of other hirundines. On the way to the eastern arm of the river a Great White Heron/Egret (or whatever they are currently calling the damned things) gave brief views while on the pond a female Mallard appeared with her flotilla of early ducklings, these about 5 days old, I reckoned, and they kept coming and coming until 11 had paddled across in front of us. She must have started sitting right at the end of January. I managed to pick up an Iberian Chiffchaff on call, there were plenty of ordinary singing Chiffs around to compare and a good thing too, as I am not good on calls. We got good views of a nice male Yellow Wagtail (another spring first) of the cinereocapilla race, sometimes called the Ashy-headed Wagtail - very bonny. And by that time the morning had flown it was time to call it a day, Clara delighted with her morning's birding - another satisfied customer!
28 February, the ponds yet again in the morning and drizzle with Luis Aleixos - one of us seabirders who was down from Valencia on a brief visit and staying with Salva García, otherwise Señor Colour Ring himself. There was not a lot to be seen but the first 2 Pallid Swifts of the year overflew and we saw all 5 spp. of hirundines, which isn't bad! An Osprey in one of the dead eucalyptus showed its colour ring nicely, black KM7, a German ringed bird. In the afternoon we met at La Caleta de Vélez but there was no fishing fleet active, it being a Saturday, so we found little apart from 6 Balearic Shearwaters - conspicuous by their absence here this winter but Luis says they are all off the Valencia coast where he saw over 2.000 not so many days since, a single Kittiwake in the harbour and a flock of 26-27 Black-necked Grebes on the sea - very nice too.
The objective of Salva was to take Luis up to Viñuela reservoir, inland from Vélez-Málaga, where there are huge afternoon concentrations of Mediterranean Gulls, Salva has guesstimated figures of over 17.000 birds! I set off home (paint and paper called) and on the way passed under a flock of what I reckoned was around 3.000 birds! Many of the adult Med. Gulls are coming into full breeding plumage and they really are stunning birds to look at, and if you don't believe me, have a look in your field guide.
So, on the eighth day, 1 March, there was a day devoted to more painting and a brief excursion out with the dog under lowering skies about an hour since showed 2 more swifts (species unknown) winging their west.
27/2/09
26 February, Arboleas Birding Group
Day Trip, Thursday 26th February Today 12 members of the Arboleas Birding Group visited our very local patch of the Rio Almanzora. Weather was fine and sunny. Out to sea, near the tuna farms were 10 Gannet, and quartering over the reeds was our first Red-rumped Swallow of the year. That was the good news. The not so good news was that the works for the Cuevas de Almanzora was continuing adjacent to the beach. Cormorant, Black-necked and Great Crested Grebe were fishing close by. On the pool near to the beach there were a few Audouin's Gulls, but further along towards Villaricos on the rocky outcrops, Gilly counted 181 more. 6 Sandwich Terns were also present. We then tried to drive up the lanes either side of the rambla towards Cuevas de Almanzora. Both sides were blocked by workings.
Worse was to come. We managed to cross the rambla by the "ford" further north. Where all those lovely wader rich pools were is no more. All of them have been scraped and flattened. On one surviving pool we saw a pair of Black-winged Stilt.
With heavy hearts we carried on to the Desert Springs Golf Complex, where we've kindly been given permission to birdwatch. Over the large pond we saw Crag, House and Sand Martins, the last two being firsts for the year. Whilst having a refreshing cup of coffee outside by the bar a Little Egret was fishing nearby (photo attached. 40 species for the day.....so it wasn't that bad!!
Dave & Gilly
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