Cape Hatteras : 18 May - 1 June (part 1 : seabirds)

This trip was an old dream for me ever since I heard and then read about Brian Patteson and his trips out in to the Atlantic on his boat ‘Stormy Petrel II’ (r) and saw his sightings on his web site
www.patteson.com – you only have to take a look at the list of species and the photos to understand the reason for my dream. Furthermore, last year we took part in the best pelagic in the eastern Atlantic out of Madeira so I thought that it was now time, before age caught up with me totally, to partake of the best pelagics in the western Atlantic. I therefore broke open the piggy bank and started to plan. What follows is the story, in two parts, of the trip. This first part is devoted to the seabirds and the second, which will hopefully appear in a week, will concern all the other species seen.

For those whose geography leaves something to be desired, Cape Hatteras is the southern point of a long spit of land with over 80 miles of dunes and various habitats which runs north-south in the area known as the Outer Banks of North Carolina. There, just before arriving at the tip just before arriving at the sound that separates it from Ocrakoke island, is the village of Hatteras. And from Hatteras Brian Patteson, along with the tireless help of Kate Sutherland (l) and a variety of well known birders as 'spotters', takes trips out into the immensity of the Gulf Stream.

I got there by flying from Madrid to Dulles (Washington DC) and thence to Norfolk (Virginia) with a United flight operated by Aer Linctus (sorry, Aer Lingus). From there I took a hire car (expensive) and the poorly signed route some 50 miles down to Coinjock (NC) where I spent the night in the motel section of the Midway Marina. There, the following morning, the birding started, but of that more in the second part of this chronicle.

I undertook 10 pelagics on 20-23, 25-28 and 30-31 May. Meeting at the marina took place in the predawn at 05.15 while the mosquitos attacked in wing strength and after the briefing we were usually on the way out to sea by the first light of day. Usually Brian ran the boat south for some 2 to 2 hours 30 out into the warmer waters of the Gulf Stream beyond the continental shelf. Once in position, Kate's job of starting the chumming began.

For the chumming a commercial fish oil made from menhaden (Brevoortia patronus) and frozen blocks composed of mashed up fish remains used to attract fish for sport fishing which is the major source of income for the village of Hatteras. This, slowly motoring along, a slick line of fish oil was spread over several miles of ocean to which, with luck, petrels, shearwaters and stormies, all of which have well developed olfactory bulbs, would be attracted. This system has its pros and cons when compared with the Madeira Wind Birds rather more static drifting around frozen blocks, although Brian would often double back along the slick and circle when there were aglomerations of birds.

At this point I should make it clear that I now understand Einstein's theory of relativity and that there definitely more than three or four dimensions, rather five or six. I will explain: When the vessel is going in one direction at, say, 6 or 7 knots over waves of 4-5 feet which make it roll and move somewhat, the bird that one is trying to see is going in another -often at high speed with changes in height and direction in the case of the petrels, and you are using one hand for the binoculars or camera with one hand for the boat and the other for the equipment, well the answer is obvious! Add to that the fact that species such as Leach's and Madeiran/Band-rumped Stormies tend to keep well back, it's all very difficult and accounts for the poor quality of some of the photos.

However, enough talk, on to the birding!

I think that it's fair to say that the majority of us hoped to see Pterodromas or gadfly petrels, but regrettably we saw only two spp. during my trips, the Black-capped Petrel P. arminjonia (230+ exs.) and Fea's Petrel P. feae (3).

So, on the first day we were all looking out for smething similar to the photo on the left, a petrel arcing over the horizon. The Black-capped is somewhat variable on the head and underwing and has a large and very visible white rump, all of these can be seen in the following photos.



The two here, left and right, show birds with whiter heads, that on the right with the black eye virtually isolated whilst the bird on the left shows a grey, not white, collar.

The differences in the underwing are not so great but within individual birds clearly visible, as is the moult pattern (l), for while some birds showed little others were more advanced with inner primary moult. Those which showed nomoult were presumed to be birds of the year and the others adults on immatures in post breeding moult, the species breeding from December onwards according to HBW.

At times we encountered small mixed flocks floating on the water, here there are 3 Cory's, a single Sooty and 2 Black-capped Petrels, whilst others incorporated Audubon's Shearwaters and also isolated groups of Wilson's Storm-petrels. We saw only 3 Fea's Petrels - a major rarity there - and I have only a single poor but identifiable photo, and that the only one managed amongst all on the boat. At least I can now say that I have seen them on both sides of the pond! We saw only one Great Shearwater (r), a bird which came in rapidly over the slick, gave us a single glance and went on its way.

Sooty Shearwaters (l) were often seen nearer to the shore than the other spp.. In flight, especially as they took off, it was easy to see the silvery white of the underwing.

One day we saw a Manx Shearwater, a regular but rare species in the Gulf Stream, which in turn caused great excitement amongst many of the Americans aboard as it was a lifer for some.

On the other hand, the Cory's Shearwaters -a species which I know only too well here and we saw several birds daily. The majority clearly belonged to the Atlantic race borealis but I did see one of the Mediterranean race diomedea.














Brian and others commented that they had observed birds which appeared to be intermediate between the two races and that they gave little credence to the claims that Scopoli's Shearwater (the Med. race) is a separate species.

The other frequently seen shearwater was the Audubon's, a species I knew well from my years in the Bahamas.
In some ways it reminds me of our Balearic Shearwater with a longer tail, whiter and less variable underparts and underwing.

With regard to the stormies, the most numerous by far was the Wilson's which was in its migration from the austral breeding grounds to summer in the North Atlantic. It is impossible to give any estimate as to numbers seen as some birds followed the vessel along the slick for miles and there was a constant coming and going of movement, but on one occasion I estimated a minimum of 55 birds in sight at once.


The adults were in active wing moult and some in a frankly lamentable state, as can be seen from the photo on the right. A minority, not more than 15% by estimation, showed a perfect wing pattern and a slightly darker forewing and these are presumed to be juveniles. Also, in the photo on the left, the yellow web between the toes can be seen.
We saw only one European Storm-petrel, which for the Americans was a major tick and the cameras - mostly Nikons and Canons with huge telephotos were firing away like machine guns.
We saw very few Leach's Storm-petrels and slightly more Madeiran/Band-rumped and neither lent themselves to easy photography as they kept well away from the boat, often feeding or flashing through the slick at distance, coming close on few occasions. Amongst the Madeiran (although I am starting to take a liking to calling them Band-rumped) there were both birds in unmoulted plumage, presumably summer breeders (l), whilst others were showing wing moult and therefore winter breeders in post-breeding moult (r) and therefore. according to one American
lister/twitcher, proposed as Grant's Storm-petrel, a different species under the new ideas and probable separations in sight.
The left hand bird also shows a dirty and much reduced rump.

There were also the always spectacular Brown Pelicans, be they only or in loose formation in small groups with their powerful flight and the spectacular dives à la tern or gannet.

And now, and with no excuse for saying it, the photos that I consider to be the best of the trip, especially that on the right, of one of the most spectacular of seabirds - the White-tailed Tropicbird.
These winged beauties - we saw 4 in total - always arrived when we were well out at sea, 30miles or more, always arrived out of nowhere, made several circuits of the boat inspecting us and probably ticking some of us off its annual list to the sound of the machine gn rattle of shutters, before continuing on their way.

And now on to the skuas, gulls and terns. Only one of my target birds, a South Polar Skua, was seen and that on the one day I didn't got to sea and we saw only immature Pomarine Skuas/Jaegers, all of these 1st summer or immatures birds, usually distant as photo quality shows.

The gulls were another story, starting with the surprise species, a rather tatty 1st summer Glaucous Gull which was still there when I left on 1 June but which delighted Americans as it often stood on a piling in the harbour on our way back in in the afternoon.
There were also some Great Black-backed Gulls, the aduklts keeping well clear of humans, and two immatures, a 1st summer bird and a second summer which is shown here.


There was an interesting slection of 1st summer American Herring Gulls (which the Americans may well end up naming the Smithsonian Gull), and if anyone wants a full selection, please write to me privately. However, the two shown here will give an idea of the variety of plumages to be seen. There were a few adults also.
The most abundant gull, and they were everywhere, in the harbour, the streets and parking lots, was the Laughing Gull with a huge number of adults but the number of immatures, all 1st summer birds (r), could be counted on the fingers of one hand. They are very confiding, cheeky and noisey. One of their many calls sounds very much like that of a Gull-billed Tern, a species seen but not photographed.
Amongst the terns, I saw one Caspian Tern, like the Gull-billed, several Least (the American version of Little) and the adult and imm. Forster's seen, on Pea Island (I shall talk about this site in part 2), but many of these photos are poor because of distance and heat haze (38ºC) .

At sea we saw 1 Arctic Tern and several Common Terns, and also a 1st summer Bridled Tern which was most obliging and, like many species seen, in moult. It would have been nice to see an adult too, as well as a Sooty Tern, but t'was not to be.



And last, another flier, not a bird but a flying fish. These never ceased to amaze for the distances they can glide, often in excess of 50m, although they definitely need to evolve in terms of making an elegant landing instead of colliding ignominiously with a wave.

catching up: reports from Almería

As those who do cast an occasional eye at this stuff, I have been away in North Carolina (of which more in coming days/weeks) since 15 May and am now in the process of going through 450 plus e-mails and face a similar number of photos to edit and eliminate from two weeks sea and other birding. However, as Dave E-B has sent a ton of stuff so I think that it might be best to get this out in order of receipt, so herewith a mammoth bog of the Almería birding scene.

18 May : Los Filabres
It was Helen who requested our trip up the Los Filabres today, so we all knew who to blame if the threatened rain appeared. Mary and I had attended the birding day at Sierra de Maria last Saturday. After an hours lecture on Bird of Prey identification in Spanish we, together with 30 other Spanish, were taken to the Bird/Animal rescue and recuperation centre. We saw a couple of Eagle Owls and Barn Owl and numerous local Tortoises. Then we were taken to the vulture feeding station near Velez Blanco. A few Griffons and a Short-toed Eagle flew over, disappointed that we weren't going to leave a carcase!

Something was obviously lost in translation during the above lecture as one of the first birds I misidentified as a bird of prey high up on the mountain ridge at the bridged valley above Tijola turned out to be a Red-legged Partridge! Unbelievably my fellow birders spuriously suggested I wouldn't mention this uncharacteristic faux pas in my report!! The weather was a bit grey, which didn't seem to deter the singing Nightingale or the calling Cetti's Warbler. A pair of Grey Wagtails were nervous by our presence. Also seen were Blue Rock Thrush, Long-tailed Tit and Cirl Bunting.

We headed up to the layby on the road above us. Here we saw a Green Woodpecker, the first of many Black-eared Wheatears on the power lines and Mary found a pair of Dartford Warblers. On the way to the next stop we saw a very agitated group of Feral Pigeons. We think a large female Sparrowhawk on a nearby telegraph pole could possibly have been the reason! A pair of Subalpine Warblers were seen before we made our way to the old copper mine.

We heard Rock Sparrow, but didn't see any there. A pair of Black Redstarts was seen as were passing Red-billed Choughs. A Scops Owl called. I tried to get it make an appearance with the help of my MP3 player. It replied but didn't show itself. There was then a sound of excited chicks coming from the cliff face. A Red-billed Chough exited from one of the numerous holes having obviously just fed its family. Gilly spotted a Blue Rock Thrush.

We made our way up to the Observatory, seeing Northern Wheatear on the way. On the top we were enveloped with low cloud, so didn't hang around. Gilly and Helen in my truck spotted a pair of Rock Thrushes through the gloom. We ended up with 38 species. A very good day considering the poorish weather.

25 May : Cabo de Gata / Rambla Morales
Today was a day of pleasant surprises. It began as Gilly, Helen and I drove through Retamar on our way to Cabo de Gata. I know the birders in the west of Andalucia must be fed up with Monk Parakeets, but I spotted our first one. We met up with Brian, Mary, Dave and Myrtle and made for the first hide. The most numerous birds were the Avocets. There were smaller numbers of Black-winged Stilts, Kentish Plover, Grey Plover, Ringed Plover, Little Egret and Shelduck. The second surprise was a single breeding plumaged Black-tailed Godwit. Brian then spotted surprise number three.... a pair of adult Gannets flying south along the beach. A Corn Bunting obligingly posed on the fence in front of us.

In the large shrubs off the track to the second hide a pair of Spotted Flycatchers was seen. At the hide Gilly counted 373 Greater Flamingos, but there was nothing else of interest there. We had the same result at the public hide. An adult and young Thekla Larks perched beautifully on fence posts by the carpark. From here the others headed for Morales as Gilly, Helen and I went round the rear of the reserve. Gilly spotted a large bird of prey high above us. A sub adult Golden Eagle being mobbed by a pair of Ravens. Next spotted was a high flying Peregrine Falcon being harassed by at least 8 Alpine Swifts.....another surprise.

We disturbed a pair of Stone Curlews close to the track. I was just saying we never usually see them till they fly off when I noticed something under a dead tree next to the salinas edge. Not one, but two Stone Curlews sheltering in the shade. On the odd insect front Gilly spotted a Lacewing species on a bush by the truck.

Meanwhile the others were sweating in the midday sun on their trudge to Morales. They manged to add 6 to the day list. The most notable birds being a Stonechat and a White-headed Duck.

1 June : Sierra de María
There was only Dave, Myrtle and myself on this weeks outing to the Sierra de Maria. It's got to be my favourite birding spot at this time of year. Very good birds and the fields were full of poppies. As we arrived at the chapel car park the sun was shining and above us a Booted Eagle. The Nightingale could still be heard near to the public water supply and Myrtle and I both managed to spot the Golden Oriole in the poplar tree.

As we began to walk up to the information centre at the Botanical Gardens two grey clouds arrived on the scene. One was up in the sky which thankfully didn't deposit its contents upon us. The second took the form of a coach full of 7 year old noisy school kids. We spotted a flying Woodlark before they overtook us. We whizzed passed them as they had a welcoming speech from one of the rangers. We had good views of a Short-toed Treecreeper. Myrtle spotted a Long-tailed Tit. Birds were singing all around us, bus now being covered in leaves, spotting them was difficult. We eventually did see Iberian Chiffchaff, Melodious, Bonelli's, Subalpine and Orphean Warblers. There were at least two Common Cuckoos within hearing. They graced us with a high fly past. A Robin made an appearance as did a Mistle Thrush and a Cirl Bunting. A Coal Tit posed very nicely, thank you.

We then headed to the La Piza recreational area. Crossbills were in all the trees around the water deposit. Dave thought he spotted the Hawfinch as Myrtle and I tried to trace the sound of an unusual bird....and failed! We did spot a Griffon Vulture. Rejoining Dave at the deposit we all had good views of a Crested Tit. As we drove off a Rock Bunting was taking a bath in one of the puddles. At the old farm buildings we heard a Green Woodpecker. As I wandered round the back of the buildings, seeing a Rock Sparrow, Dave and Myrtle did see the woodpecker. We saw about 8 Griffon Vultures in the far distance.

Proceeding on to the plain, we picked up both Black-eared and Northern Wheatear, both Calandra and Lesser Short-toed Lark and the Lesser Kestrels. As we returned to Maria for lunch, the heavens opened. 48 species for the day.

11 May : Sierra María

A quickie, thanks to Dave and Gilly and members of the Arboleas Group who have been up the Sierra María with Helen, got back and, as Dave reports, were slightly shaken by the 5.2 Richter scale 'quake in Murcia. And there was Dave wondering if he'd taken too much at lunch...

The weather was sunny, but there was a bit of a breeze today. Gilly and I picked up Helen near Cantoria and we had seen 7 Rollers before we'd got to Partaloa on our way up to Sierra de Maria. As we approached Maria there were Woodchat Shrikes on the power lines. We met up with Brian, Mary, Dave and Myrtle and went to the chapel. We immediately heard a Golden Oriole, which most of us eventually saw. Also heard, but not seen was a Nightingale. I located a Spotted Flycatcher (sorry, Bob) high up in a tree. Crossbills were also seen.

Round the Botanical Gardens warblers were well represented. A very obliging Bonelli's Warbler lured into camera range. Melodious, Orphean, Subalpine and Iberian Chiffchaff were also seen. Woodlark and Stonechat made an appearance. A pair of Cirl Buntings were seen on the walk down to the vehicles.

We stopped briefly at the farm buildings, seeing a Common Buzzard and a pair of Black-eared Wheatears. Along the plain straight, I slowed as I saw a Northern Wheatear which put 5 Black-bellied Sandgrouse to flight past a Little Owl. Way to the north we could see two massive plumes of raptors, presumably Griffon Vultures. I counted at least 50. There were still Lesser Kestrels at the hamlet. Also seen today were a Great Spotted Cuckoo and a Turtle Dove. Gilly had a brief glimpse of the Hawfinch at the La Piza recreational area, but we didn't stay long as the Spanish Army were on exercise there. 43 species in all. Possibly will be back here on Saturday as there is a birdwatching tour(?) organised by the Park Rangers.

Just as I was about to type this report, the house shook for about 5 seconds. We're about 40 mins away from Lorca where a 5.2 earthquake has apparently caused fatalities and major damage! (4 dead at the last count - Andy.)
Dave & Gilly

9 May : down by the riverside....

Right, I didn't get to Fuente de Piedra last Saturday as hoped, but instead got down to the Guadalhorce this morning in the always pleasant company of Bob Wright, who immediately made me envious by recounting his birding over the weekend (see his blog: Birding Axarquía or something like that). However, before starting on this morning's birding and just to get my own back on him after the luck that he had had and to remind him what a Spotted Flycatcher looks like (he hasn't seen one yet this year!), herewith a photo of one that was in the pine tree in the garden yesterday (Sunday, 08/05), along with a Bonelli's Warbler and Melodious Warbler, neither of whichwould not cooperate and be photographed. So, that said and the stirring done, on to this morning's walk around the ponds at the Guadalhorce.

It was coolish as we went in at about 09.15 but within a relatively short time we were rather glad that we had not taken anything to keep us warm. The hot weather has arrived and by the time came off around 12.00, we were glad to reach the shade of the cars and trees by the church. We soon knocked the 3 spp. of hirundines and also Common Swifts of which there were fair numbers. It was straight across to the eastern bank and the two hides. The first hide that overlooks the laguna de la Casilla was fairly uninspiring but there was at least some sign of life at the second on the upper area of the río Viejo and it was there and on the lower reaches towards the sea that proved to be the best part of the birding.

From the second hide there was at least some mud visible, not a lot but sufficient to hold 10 Dunlin plus 2 later, 5 Avocets with 2 more further down, a single Redshank with another further down, plus a pair of Little Ringed Plovers trying to share a few square meters with a pair of Stilts. The escaped Ruddy Shelduck is still present and still appears perfectly happy here rather than in some park somewhere - and I can't say I blame it. An Osprey sat across in the trees between the eastern and western parts.

From there Bob and I strolled gently along the beach and were treated to sights of a few Kentish Plovers, I love these little chaps and got a few photos, including these of the pair together (above) - and there aren't many pairs this year, and of this lovely little male (left).

Further down the beach with heat shimmer starting to make identification difficult and series of bumps slowly resolved themselves into 5 Grey Plovers in varying stages of moult to add to the singleton we had seen on the río Viejo, plus a single Sanderling. All these birds have still got an awfully long way to go as it is the later migrants that go furthest north.

From there we cut inland along to the laguna Grande where there was not a vast amount to see apart from the presence of 2 immature Grey Herons and then to the laguna Escondida, where virtuousness was rewarded with the sight of 2 Little Bitterns. Less than 50 spp. but at least a pleasant morning with good company and very definitely a damned sight better than being at home!

4 May: Arboleas Group at Cabo de Gata; EXTRA NOTES.

I am totally tied up this week between translations and wifely problems (nobody'll take her) before I shove to the USA in the mddle of month, so I am doubly grateful to Dave for this, but please take a shufti at the BIRDING NOTE FROM HOME at the end. I may even manage to get to Fuente de Piedra on Saturday, but nothing is guaranteed.

4 May, Cabo de Gata
The weather forecast was good, so Gilly, Helen and I headed down to Cabo de Gata, meeting up with Brian, Mary, Dave and Myrtle. The recent rains had raised the water level into the shrubs in front of the first, hopefully not destroying too many ground nests. Not that many birds were on view. Avocets, Black-winged Stilts, Shelducks and Slender-billed Gulls in/on the water, Kentish Plovers on the sand. Woodchat Shrike and an Iberian Yellow Wagtail were also spotted.

As the others made their way to the second hide, Gilly, Helen and I crossed over the road to see if there was water in the pond. There was, but it only attracted a Stilt. We managed to see a Willow Warbler and our first Spotted Flycatcher of the year was hunting from the Desalination Plant fence. Some Bee-eaters flew over.

At the second hide we observed Little Terns over the water. In the distance I spotted a Grey Heron and a flight of Cattle Egret. On the scrubland a solitary Northern Wheatear and a Stone Curlew were seen. As we walked back towards the beach, where Dave and Brian had seen Sanderlings, a high flying group of Grey Herons flew over.

At the public hide a count of the Greater Flamingos totalled 141 for the day. From here we parted company with the others as Gilly, Helen and I ventured round the rear of the reserve. Predictably the track was muddy, rutted and had large puddles which attracted some Common Sandpipers. Other waders on the saline water consisted of Little Stints, Curlew Sandpipers, Red and Greenshank, Ringed Plover and Dunlin. A Little Owl was spotted as was a Short-toed Eagle atop an electricity pylon.

Meanwhile the others had gone through the campsite to reach the lake at Morales. They added White-headed Duck, Whiskered Tern, Collared Pratincole and Turtle Dove to the list.

A total of 49 species for the day and it didn't rain till late afternoon!! The real Spanish summer has got to arrive soon....please!!

EXTRA BIRDING NOTES

As noted, I have not been out at all this week for a variety of reasons but yesterday evening I added another species to my garden list (a.k.a. Andy's Important Bird Area by Antonio Tamayo) when a pair of Mallard dropped in to the swimming pool, which has been kept filled all winter. This gives me a list of more or less 112 species.

I chased them away at dusk as it is hardly an ideal situation but they have returned again this morning, have been chased away twice (we have far too many cats around) and have twice returned to bathe (L & R), graze a bit and rest in sun and now under a blanket of fog, so they shall have to chance their luck!

Hannu was down at the Guadalhorce on Monday (02/05) and amongst several good spp., saw an unprecedented one, a Green Woodpecker! An incredible record. On Wednesday (04/05) he was up at the laguna Dulce outsideCampillos and Fuente de Piedra and I quote him directly : Ready at the beginning (just before 9 o'clock) it was clear what the bird of the day was: Common Swift. The airspace of northern end of the Laguna was literally full of them! I estimated more than 10000! Later at Laguna Dulce further 5000 birds too. Enormous numbers. Thanks, Hannu!