10th April 2013 – Local area roundup

Hi all,

The weather over the last week seems to have finally settled, although on Friday night we had a short period of heavy rain, and since then temperatures have been much lower than in the preceding week.  The wind has generally been light, picking up in the afternoons, generally from the northwest, although yesterday (Tuesday) it backed round to southwest.

On Wednesday 3^rd April, I managed to get out into the field for the whole afternoon, and decided to go to the old sewage farm at El Algar (still hopeful for my Garganey) and San Pedro Salinas (just in case the dowitcher might have re-appeared).

Although you can normally only view the EDAR (sewage farm) at El Algar through the gates, I had a stroke of luck in that the area was being worked on, and I was invited in to check over the lagoons.  In the first lagoon to the left of the entrance track there was a good level of water (although this is evaporating fast), and peering through all the weeds that have sprung up, I counted good numbers of waders, including 25 Black Winged Stilts, 5 Redshank, 5 Green Sandpipers, 6 Wood Sandpipers (the first I’ve seen this year), at least 6 Little Ringed Plovers which were trilling away in courtship displays, 2 Common Snipe and 2 Greenshanks.  Other birds seen were 2 pairs of Shelduck and 8 Mallard, a couple of Tree Sparrows (the first time I’ve seen them here this year – I was beginning to wonder if they’d been killed off by the Winter), Swallows, Swifts and a single Southern Grey Shrike, plus White and Iberian Wagtails.

I stayed at the EDAR longer than I’d anticipated (I didn’t want to waste the opportunity of going in the EDAR), so I was late getting to San Pedro.  I shouldn’t have worried too much – it was fairly quiet there, best birds being 4 Ruff (1 Ruff and 3 Reeves), and 3 Spotted Redshanks about halfway into their breeding plumage.

As things were so quiet, I left there early so as to have time for a short walk along the rambla de Albujon, back towards Los Urrutias.  Here things were also quiet, but I did hear a single Reed Warbler in the reedbeds and a distant Quail, and walking up the rambla, put up 4 Common and a single Jack Snipe.

Lastly, I called in alongside the Mar Menor at the km.8 layby, to see if there were any Common Scoters still about.  There were, four females quite close in plus 23 Great Crested Grebes, some paired off and performing their courtship ritual, which is always good to watch.  Coming back to my car, on the actual ‘marina de Carmoli’ (which is the waste area and reedbeds on the opposite side of the road) there were two female/immature Marsh Harriers quartering the reedbeds, and I saw something else fly up which attracted the attention of some Yellow-legged Gulls there and which they chased over towards the Mar Menor, where I was – a Short-eared Owl.  It flew up high then started crossing the Mar Menor, but obviously thought better of it as it circled round and returned, and I last saw it disappearing over the back of the reedbed.  And my last record of the day, on my way home, sat on the roof of an abandoned building, a Little Owl.

On Friday 5^th April, on an early morning walk around the Cabo de Palos lighthouse gardens, I was joined by José Antonio Cañizares Mata from Albacete who was spending a few days here by the seaside.  As is normal when you have someone with you, there was no great fall of birds, and the best we managed were a couple of Chiff/Willows, a single Woodchat Shrike, a female Northern Wheatear and 3 Swallows, and out at sea two Shags (adult and juvenile) sat on rocks.  It was pretty much the same at the Salinas of Marchamalo, apart from a group 13 Little Stints and a group of 27 Greater Flamingos which were there when we arrived but flew off heading north shortly after.

On Saturday 6^th April, being the first Saturday in the month, we had our ‘RAM’ census (three hours from 8-30 till 11-30 sat on the end of Cabo de Palos counting seabirds and sea mammals).  It was pretty cold to start with – we even needed gloves – but gradually got warmer as the day progressed.  The birds seen were nothing too out of the ordinary (Cory’s Shearwaters, Balearic Shearwaters, Gannets, Audouins Gulls, Sandwich Terns, four Great Skuas and a couple of Razorbills, plus a Peregrine Falcon that came in across the sea, and a continual movement of Swifts – those that I could i.d. were all Common Swifts), and I had time to take a quick walk around the lighthouse gardens (to be honest, it was more to warm up than actually look for birds!).  Here I had a splendid male Blue Rock Thrush, 2 Woodpigeon (strange to say, I think the first I’ve ever seen here), a Whimbrel, the back ends of two Nightingales as they shot into bushes, and the normal Sardinian Warblers, Blackbirds, Spotless Starlings, Collared Doves and House Sparrows.  I went back to the census on the cliffs and after we finished and were walking back to our cars, I saw a largish (as in larger than a sparrow, but smaller than a Blackbird) bird with white wing flashes and white on its tail.  It flew up into one of the post plants (the succulents that after 7 years produce a ‘post’ with seed pods that you see everywhere here).  It was a way off and I could have done with getting my ‘scope on it, but as a couple of people were about to walk past it and I knew that they would flush it, so I had to make do with bins.  As it flew I could see that the white was a band around the tip of the tail – a very strange location for the bird, but a Hawfinch nonetheless!  We went round to where the bird had appeared to fly to, but couldn’t re-locate it, just having a very bright male Common Whitethroat instead.

 The male Blur Rock Thrush on the cliffs at Cabo de Palos

On Sunday, 7^th April, I had arranged to go with José Antonio to the ‘Arenal’ at Los Nietos (the area between Los Nietos and Los Urrutias), to look for the Richard’s Pipit.  Here I’m glad to see that wooden posts have been put up to restrict vehicular access to the beach (although I’m not sure that they’ll last), which should curb the breaking down of the dunes.  Due to the rain that we had on Friday night, the large ‘mud’ areas were now shallow lagoons, and approaching the first one, we were amazed by the sight of an adult Common Crane in flight, being chased by Yellow-legged Gulls.  We followed this in our bins, and then I heard a Whimbrel call and located this, together with another two later on.  Walking along the beach, we had good views of a Richard’s Pipit, and later saw a different individual and heard a possible third.  Other birds seen were a female Stonechat, 4 Greenshank, literally hundreds of Swifts, a group of 5 ‘flava’ Wagtails, a female Woodchat Shrike, Willow Warbler and we heard a Quail calling distantly.

 The Common Crane being harrassed by Yellow-legged Gulls

José had to leave for family duties, but I carried on birdwatching, stopping off first at the Club Nautico at Los Urrutias, where I just had a single Greenshank, Little and Great White Egret, and then at the Mar Menor ‘marina de Carmoli’ (km.8 on the F-34 road), where I again had the 4 female Common Scoters, 18 Great Crested Grebes, 2 Black-necked Grebes, Grey Plover, 18 Turnstone and looking along to the ‘desembocadura de la rambla de Albujon’ I could see a further two Little Egrets and another single Great White Egret.

My next stop was the ‘ramble de Albujón’ itself where I keep hoping to see Spotted Crake, but I think this year it’s not going to happen – I’ve normally seen them by now.  Apart from 12 Black Winged Stilts, 2 Common Snipe and Green Sandpiper in the rambla and House Martins, Swallows and Red-rumped Swallows flying about over it, notable birds were a now breeding plumaged Water Pipit, and a single Reed Warbler singing from the reeds.

 A general view of the rambla

My next stop was again at the old sewage farm (EDAR) at El Algar.  After the rain on Friday evening, there was a good layer of water, and from the gates I could see 32 Black Winged Stilts, 3 Green and 12 Wood Sandpipers, 6 Little Ringed Plovers, 2 Common Snipe, Redshank and Greenshank, and purring away from a palm tree, my first Turtle Dove of the year.

 A couple of general views over the EDAR El Algar

And some of the birds there - top, Green and Wood Sandpipers, below, 2 Wood Sandpipers

Moving on again, I drove up to the Salinas at San Pedro del Pinatar.  I started at the main port road checking the lagoons on either side, but the only out of the normal birds were a group of three Cattle Egrets on one of the mud banks.  Bumping into Mark and Tracy Powell, we all went round to the El Mojón area of the Salinas as Mark wanted to see where the dowitcher had been seen.  Here we almost had heart attacks – one of the first birds we saw, flying with a Redshank was a light grey wader flying away from us, with a lightly barred dark and white tail – could it be the dowitcher returned?  Well after chasing it down and finally getting the bird on the deck, we could see it wasn’t – it was a winter plumaged Knot!  Quite a rarity itself but not up to dowitcher standards!  Mark stayed for a while but I hung around much longer to try and get some photos of the Knot, and managed to get a few. 

 Here, the Knot...

  ... and again, with a Sanderling...

 

 

 ... and here with a Common Redshank

There were quite a few other waders there, of 16 different species (Whimbrel, Ruff, Common and Green Sandpiper, Little Stint, Sanderling, Turnstone, the Knot, Black-tailed Godwit, Black Winged Stilt, Avocet, Redshank, Spotted Redshank, Greenshank, Kentish Plover, and my first Curlew Sandpipers of the year).   

Some of the waders seen during the afternoon:
 

 Male Kentish Plover

 Some of the many Black Winged Stilts, that were continually fighting

 

 Black-tailed Godwits

 Spotted Redshank - now you can see why it's called 'Spotted'!

 Ruff, Black-tailed Godwit and Spotted Redshank

 

 The Ruff as it flew off

 Common Redshank

 Sanderling checking out the sky for predators...

 ... as was this Turnstone

I finally left San Pedro at around 6-30 p.m., and on my way home, passing through El Algar, sat on its own on a ploughed field was a solitary Collared Pratincole.

 The solitary Collared Pratincole

Yesterday, Tuesday 9^th April I had another look at the lighthouse gardens at Cabo de Palos – in fact I had two looks, once early in the morning, and as I was in the area, I returned for the last couple of hours of daylight.  In the morning there weren’t many birds about but with the wind picking up from the southeast I thought it would be worth a look later.  Migrants seen in the morning were Nightingale, Black-eared Wheatear (male, black masked form), 5 Northern Wheatear, 2 Willow Warbler, Subalpine Warbler, Woodchat Shrike (female), a Hoopoe in off the sea, Swallows, Red-rumped Swallows, a group of 7 Little Egrets through and 3 Night Herons flying around the lighthouse.  Another unusual bird was a male Great Tit which was moving all over the gardens, singing like crazy.

 The group of seven Little Egrets that passed by heading north

 The male black cheeked Black-eared Wheatear

 

 By no means common, this Great Tit was covering the whole gardens, singing its head off

 

 The standard Northern Wheatear...

 

 ... and another

 Out to sea, and quite noisy, three Night Herons

 

In the afternoon new birds were two Woodchats (now male and female), 2 Subalpine Warblers, 7 Northern Wheatears (mainly males), 2 Common Whitethroats, plus Nightingale, Black-eared Wheatear and Night Heron, presumably the same birds seen this morning.

 One of the blue-grey backed Northern Wheatears that we seem to get each year

 

 This female Common Redstart was quite showy...

 ...unlike her mate

 This Night Heron seemed to be genuinely lost...

 

 ... and finally settled on the cliffs

 Another shot of the blue-grey Northern Wheatear...

 ... look, no hands!

 And finally, another of the afternoons' Northern Wheatears

And that’s about it for the week, so until my next entry, happy birding!!

Chauu!

3rd April 2013 – Local area roundup

Hi all,

Another slow week, with migrants coming in, but in small numbers.

On Wednesday 27^th March, I took a morning look at the lighthouse gardens at Cabo de Palos, where there had obviously been something of a small fall.  Of interest were 3 Chiffchaff, 1 Willow Warbler plus a further 7 Chiff/Willows; 5 Songthrush; 4 Robins; 2 Woodchat Shrikes; a Northern Wheatear; a male Common Redstart; 2 Blue Rock Thrushes (male & female); 2 Common Swift; a Dartford Warbler; 6 Red-rumped Swallows and 3 Swallows, but the birds of the morning were two Short-toed Larks seen early on in my walk.

 Now seen frequently flying around the Cabo de Palos lighthouse area, Red-rumped Swallow

In the afternoon, we had our monthly count at the EDAR (Sewage farm) at Beaza, Cartagena.  En route I called in rapidly at the EDAR El Algar where I had hoped for Garganey, but had no luck with these.  Birds seen here included Greenshank, Green Sandpiper and a couple (pair?) of Little Ringed Plovers.

At the EDAR Beaza, things were fairly quiet, with the majority of the overwintering ducks having now departed north.  The most interesting birds were the waders, with various pairs of Little Ringed Plovers, Common Snipe, 2 Redshank, 2 Greenshank, 2 Common and 4 Green Sandpipers, a pair of Stone Curlews and our first Collared Pratincole of the year, looking very dishevelled on the banks of one of the lagoons, obviously a recent arrival.

Thursday 28^th March saw me again at the lighthouse garden first thing, where there had been another small arrival. Migrant birds seen were 2 Chiff/Willows, 4 Willow Warblers, 6 Robin, 1 Hoopoe, 2 Woodchat Shrikes, 1 Black Redstart (female), 3 Black-eared and 2 Northern Wheatears, 2 Songthrush, and a strong representation in different species of ‘sylvia’ warblers, with Sardinian, Subalpine and 2 Spectacled Warblers, and a female Blackcap.

 Some of the birds seen during my stroll around the Cabo de Palos lighthouse gardens, from top to bottom

Northern Wheatear; Serin; Subapline Warbler; Swallows and Goldfinch

 

As it was a holiday and I didn’t have work, I went from the lighthouse garden over to El Mojón (San Pedro del Pinatar) to check up on the Short-billed Dowitcher.  Meeting up with some people who had been watching since first light, it became obvious that the bird was not in its normal place in the corner of the lagoon, so I did a complete circuit of the lagoon, but without luck.  On my way round, of interest were a/the very nice breeding plumage Mediterranean Gull and a couple of Spoonbills, and something distant in flight caught my eye.  Getting my ‘scope on the bird I watched it for around 5 minutes as it tried to land various times including on a tree at the entrance to the Salinas, but every time was chased off by Yellow-legged Gulls.  Eventually I saw it drop into a reedbed – my first Purple Heron of the year.
Other birds seen were the normal waders – Black Winged Stilts; Black-tailed Godwits; Redshanks; Spotted Redshanks; Sanderlings, Turnstones; Common Sandpiper and Ringed and Kentish Plovers – and a single Reed Warbler was singing from one of the reedbeds at the entrance to the Salinas.

 From the end of the canal surrounding the salinas at El Mojón, a group of Sanderling on the beach...

 ... an adult Audouins Gull...

 ... and an adult Slender-billed Gull

On Good Friday, I once again started the day at the lighthouse garden, but this time much later than normal (arriving at around 11:40).  I hadn’t actually intended to go there, but coming out of my house in the morning I saw a Black Redstart on a fence opposite my front door and thought if migrants were around so far inland, there must have been a massive fall on the coast.  Totally mistaken!!  The only migrant I saw at the lighthouse was a single Swallow which was probably a summer resident bird.

On the 30^th (Easter Saturday) I called into Calblanque for a change.  Last year we tried out ringing there, in the arboretum next to the camping area and had some interesting birds there.  It’s a good place for the more ‘woodland’ type migrants, such as Bonelli’s Warbler and Redstart and flycatchers later in the season when they come in.  Today I had nothing too special there, a single Woodchat Shrike on the way down from the information centre and a group of 20 or so Swifts/Pallid Swifts plus the resident finches (Greenfinches, Linnets, Serins). 
Calling next at the Salinas there (Salinas de Rasall), I counted 45 Audouins Gulls and read a single colour ring, but by now (11:30) the heat-haze was too much for the distance of the birds and although I could see at least another single colour ring, I couldn’t read it.

Easter Sunday (31^st March) saw me once again at the Cabo de Palos lighthouse garden, in what I thought were ideal conditions for a fall (almost full moon and clear skies in the early part of the night, clouding over by daybreak and spitting with rain and no wind by the time I got there) but it was not to be.  The only thing I got was wet! (Oh, and a couple of Gannets south, a group of 5 Red-rumped Swallows and a couple of Chiff/Willows calling from some bushes).

The afternoon of Monday, 1^st April saw me once again at the lighthouse garden where things were a little more animated, starting with a couple of Alpine Swifts flying around the lighthouse itself, a group of 7 Mediterranean Gulls moving slowly north out to sea, a couple of Songthrushes (I’m surprised that these are still moving through).  Smaller birds included a couple of Woodchat Shrikes, female Blackcap, Subalpine Warbler, Spectacled Warbler and my first Common Whitethroat of the year, a bright male, and around the rocks at the base of the lighthouse, a group of 9 Northern Wheatears including at least 4 males.

A record shot of the two Alpine Swifts that were whizzing around the lighthouse in the late afternoon

 

Tuesday 2^nd April saw me once again at the lighthouse garden in the morning, and today’s birds were 3 male Common Redstart, a female Woodchat Shrike, a female Black-eared Wheatear (no sign of the Northern Wheatears of last night), the same Common Whitethroat, Subalpine Warbler, 3 Willow Warblers and 4 Chiff/Willows, and the star bird being the single Bee-eater (first heard, then seen) that flew over high up – my first of the year (although in other parts of Spain they’ve been seen for a couple of weeks now).

 Some of the birds seen on themorning of the 2nd April - here a male Common Redstart...

 ... Willow Warbler...

 ... a couple of immature Cormorants - the large flocks have now gone...

 ... and finally, another male Common Redstart

 And that’s it, so until my next report,


Chauu

26th March 2013 – Local area roundup

 Hi all,

Normally by this time in the year, the Spring passage is in full swing, but presumably due to the persistent winds from the NW and fronts crossing the Iberian peninsula, although some migrants are coming in, they are not in anything like their normal numbers for the time of year.

On Wednesday 20^th March, I took a morning look at the lighthouse gardens at Cabo de Palos, more than anything to see if the Hoopoes I’d seen the previous evening were still there.  However, I only saw two of them, which may well have been new birds in, as there were a few other birds actually entering from the sea, such as a couple of Chiff/Willows (out of a total of 6 seen) and another couple of Swallows. Apart from these, there were no obvious migrants around, and calling in to the Marchamalo Salinas on the way back from Cabo de Palos, where the water levels are quite high at the moment, the only birds of note were a high-ish number (21) of Shelduck and a small group of 5 Little Stints.

In the morning of Thursday, 21^st March, I had another go at the lighthouse garden.  This time there was a bit more movement, with a single Woodchat Shrike, a couple of Red-rumped Swallows, a female Blackcap and 3 Robins all being new.

 Woodchat Shrike - now that they're on the move, they should be seen frequently

 At this time of the year with the Audouins moving north, they're not infrequent either

In the afternoon, I called over to El Mojón to the north of the Salinas of San Pedro del Pinatar to check if the Short-billed Dowitcher was still there, which it was, but again in the far corner of the lagoon, so views were not particularly good.  Other birds of interest there were Ruff, Redshank, Spotted Redshank and Greenshank, Little Stint, Dunlin, Sanderling, Avocet, Black Winged Stilt and Kentish Plover.  I went from the lagoon to the beach pine area where of interest were a couple of Subalpine Warblers, and on my way back to the car a Rose-ringed Parakeet flew over, which according to my records is the first one I’ve ever seen in Spain – normally the parakeets I see commonly in Los Belones and around La Manga and Cartagena are Monk Parakeets.

Friday 22^nd March, being a local holiday, I had the whole day for birdwatching, and I started the day at Calblanque.  On the way from Las Jordanas down to the information centre I had a single Woodchat Shrike (this is one of their favourite areas when they first come in), and in the arboretum next to the beach carpark down from the information centre, a male Common Redstart.  Calling round at the Salinas (de Rasall), I counted 208 Audouin’s Gulls on the walls of the lagoons and around 60 Yellow-legged Gulls, and a single adult Lesser Black-backed Gull.

The owl most likely to be seen at Calblanque, Little Owl

 Also commonly seen, Black Wheatear

From here I called into the Cabo de Palos lighthouse garden again, and today there was definitely more movement.  4 Swallows flying around, 4 Robins, 6 Hoopoes, singletons of Subalpine Warbler and Woodchat Shrike, a couple of stunning looking male Black-eared Wheatears, one with just the black mask and the other with a black chin, a male Blue Rock Thrush and a Whimbrel.

One of the migratory wheatears, male Black-eared Wheatear...

 

 ...this shot showing its black underwing coverts

 A bird that's been quite numerous over the last few days, Hoopoe

 Another bird that's been frequent over the last couple of weeks, Whimbrel...

 ... and the same bird in flight

The other variant of Black-eared Wheatear, this one having a black chin

 

Saturday 23^rd March I had an early start as I’d arranged to go with some people to the Saladares del Guadalentín (the area between Alhama de Murcia, Totana and Mazarron).  We started off at the EDAR (sewage farm) of Alhama de Murcia, arriving there at 9 a.m.  I would have hoped for more birds there (for all the clouds of midges flying around there wasn’t a single hirundine or swift to be seen), but birds of interest were 10 noisy Black Winged Stilts, a single Little Ringed Plover, a Cetti’s Warbler actually seen (plus various others singing from the reeds), a couple of Reed Warblers singing one of which could actually be seen intermittently in the reeds - the first I’ve seen this year, and good numbers of Shoveler, Pochard and White-headed Ducks.

 Here a pair of White-headed Ducks, female on left and male on right

For the breeding period the adult males bill turns this bright blue, and no prizes for guessing why it's part of the stifftail family of ducks

 

Arriving at the Saladares at around 10 a.m., although we saw some good birds, there were still fewer than I would have hoped (not a single Great Spotted Cuckoo, for example).  However, we did see Tree Sparrow, Lesser Short-toed and Calandra Larks, a couple (adult male and female) Marsh Harriers, adult male and female Hen Harrier, Little Owl, Booted Eagle, male Spectacled Warbler singing, Woodchat and Southern Grey Shrikes, plus a single mixed group of around 6 Swallows and 8+ Swifts.

Our last stop before lunch in Bolnuevo was the lake at the EDAR Mazarron (at the bottom of the rambla de las Moreras).  Here we had more of the same ducks, and a couple of Purple Gallinules, but no sign of the Garganey that I had hoped for.  Other interesting birds seen were a group of 4 Red-billed Chough, one of which appeared to be carrying nesting material to another on top of an electricity pylon.  Other birds seen and/or heard were Swallow, House and Sand Martins, Reed Warbler and Hoopoe.

After lunch, I left the group and carried on down to Cabo Cope (as I was already halfway there from home), where a Wallcreeper had been seen a few days ago.  I spent a couple of hours there looking for it, but there are a lot of cliffs there and Wallcreeper is a small bird to find on your own, so I wasn’t really surprised that I didn’t see it.  Still, it was worth a try.

I admitted defeat - too much cliffs to search for such a small bird on my own!

 

On Sunday, 24^th March, I started off at the lighthouse garden at Cabo de Palos.  There had been rain overnight and when I got there it was still spitting – I hoped the rain might have forced something down but the only migrants today were 5 Chiff/Willows, a Blackcap, 2 Woodchat Shrikes, a Hoopoe and a couple of Swallows and ‘flava’ Wagtails over.

 Another Woodchat, this time a female

 

 And another Audouin's Gull

I went on to El Mojon (San Pedro del Pinatar) as I hadn’t heard any news on the Short-billed Dowitcher for a couple of days, but when I got there, there were a couple of people watching it in the same corner of the lagoon as in my last few sightings.  The wind had picked up quite strongly, so after a quick count of the other waders there (of which there were almost all the waders you could expect to see at this time of year – Black Winged Stilt, Avocet, Sanderling, Greenshank, Redshank, Spotted Redshank, Dunlin, Little Stint, Ringed and Kentish Plovers, Common Sandpiper, Ruff, Black-tailed Godwit, Turnstone), I carried on to the beach pine area in the hope that there may have been some small birds around.  On the way there, in the lagoon were a quite big group of around 40 Slender-billed Gulls with a single Mediterranean Gull feeding along the edge and a couple of Sand Martins braving the wind, but when I got to the pine area there was absolutely nothing moving.

 The pristine adult breeding plumaged Mediterranean Gull...

 ... and another shot of it in flight

 Another flight shot - this time an adult Slender-billed Gull

 Another couple of Slender-billed Gulls - note the pink flush on the breast, ruby eyes and bill, denoting adults

 This photo tickled me - a Black-necked Grebe with the golden facial feathers being blown out by the wind

 

 Another photo of Slender-billed Gulls, with a bird of last year in the foreground.

Note the grey eye and orange/brown bill

 

 Finally, a couple of waders seen commonly at the moment - here a Turnstone...

 ... and here an Avocet

On my way home I called in briefly at the Rambla de Albujon and the Mar Menor opposite the Marina de Carmoli.  At the rambla de Albujon, there was nothing too stunning – best bird being a Water Pipit coming into breeding plumage, and at the Mar Menor, a Great White Egret, and a group of 6 Common Scoter still there, 2 males and 4 females.

And that’s it for now, so until my next report

Chauu