Thursday 5th April 2012

Cabo de Palos lighthouse garden

Weather: Sky cloud 7/8, no wind, temp. 12ºC.  08:35 – 10:45.  With Mick Brewer.

A few different names in the list of birds seen today, with both Black-eared and Northern Wheatears being seen (the latter my first of the year, the latest first date in 5 years), and also Nightingale seen fleetingly between bushes.

Again, a large group of Corn Buntings (22 seen together, and a total of 29).  Looking out to sea from the car park at the base of the lighthouse we saw close in a Great Skua, a Cory’s Shearwater and a group of 8 Balearic Shearwaters pass by.

Species seen

Cory’s Shearwater (Calonectris diomedea)

Balearic Shearwater (Puffinus mauretanicus)

Shag (Phalacrocorax aristotelis)

Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus)

Yellow Legged Gull (Larus michahellis)

Audouin’s Gull (Larus audouinii)

Sandwich Tern (Sterna sandvicensis)

Great Skua (Catharacta skua)

Pallid Swift (Apus pallidus)

Swift (Apus apus)

Swallow (Hirundo rustica)

Black-eared Wheatear (Oenanthe hispanica)

Northern Wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe)

Nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos)

Sardinian Warbler (Sylvia melanocephala)

Subalpine Warbler (Sylvia cantillans)

Rock Dove/Domestic Pigeon (Columba livia)

Collared Dove (Streptopelia decaocto)

Blackbird (Turdus merula)

Spotless Starling (Sturnus unicolor)

White Wagtail (Motacilla alba alba)

House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)

Corn Bunting (Miliaria calandra)

Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis)

Monk Parakeet (Myiopsitta monachus)

Little Egret (Egretta garzetta)

Calblanque, Los Belones

Weather: Sky 8/8 cloud,  wind SW F1, temp. 15ºC.  11:00 – 14:00.

After finishing at the lighthouse garden, I went over to Calblanque where Mick joined me later (he called by the Marchamalo salinas and had amongst other things, a Whinchat).

Here I had my first Bee-eaters of the year (a group of 3 and later another of 6), and a superb male Subalpine Warbler singing (which flew off as soon as I got my camera out).

Apart from that the only thing of note was that there were a minimum of 4 1^st year Audouin’s Gulls amongst the total of 112 seen. These very rarely call in at the Salinas, so to see 4 together is quite an event.  I also managed to read 14 colour rings on the Audouin’s Gulls.

The Woodchat that seems to have taken up residence in Las Jordanas, en route to Calblanque

Species seen

Shelduck (Tadornas tadorna)

Black Winged Stilt (Himanoptopus himanoptopus)

Greenshank (Tringa nebularia)

Yellow-legged Gull (Larus michahellis)

Audouin’s Gull (Larus audouinii)

Little Owl (Athene noctua)

Woodpigeon (Columba palumbus)

Bee-eater (Merops apiaster)

Woodchat Shrike (Lanius senator)

Southern Grey Shrike (Lanius meridionalis)

Crested Lark (Galerida cristata)

Thekla Lark (Galerida theklae)

Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis)

Subalpine Warbler (Sylvia cantillans)

Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla)

Linnet (Carduelis cannabina)

Greenfinch (Carduelis chloris)

Corn Bunting (Miliaria calandra)