Birding in Murcia (Spain), and UK visits: Saturday, 14th April 2012

Saturday, 14 April 2012

Saturday, 14th April 2012

Cabo de Palos lighthouse garden

Weather: Sky 6/8 cloud, wind SW F2-3, temp. 13ºC. 08:35 – 09:10.

A quick walk this morning just within the perimeter of the lighthouse garden itself, and round the post-office garden, and very little seen of note, just a single Woodchat and Robin, and a group of 9 Shags in the bay between Cabo de Palos and La Manga.

The only easily visible migrant this morning, this Woodchat Shrike

Species seen

Shag (Phalacrocorax aristotelis)

Little Egret (Egretta garzetta)

Yellow Legged Gull (Larus michahellis)

Audouin’s Gull (Larus audouinii)

Rock Dove/Domestic Pigeon (Columba livia)

Collared Dove (Streptopelia decaocto)

Swift/Pallid Swift (Apus apus/pallidus)

Crested Lark (Galerida cristata)

Blackbird (Turdus merula)

Robin (Erithacus rubecula)

White Wagtail (Motacilla alba alba)

Sardinian Warbler (Sylvia melanocephala)

Woodchat Shrike (Lanius senator)

Spotless Starling (Sturnus unicolor)

Greenfinch (Carduelis chloris)

House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)

Cabo de Palos (RAM)

Weather: Sky 6/8 cloud, wind SW F3-5, temp. 15ºC. 09:10 – 11:15. With Antonio Fuentes Marín, Inés Chamón Fernández; Isidro Bartolomé

This morning was our monthly seabird watch from the cliffs at Cabo de Palos. This normally takes place on the first Saturday of the month, unless this is a holiday in which case it is put back to the next Saturday.

Basically we sit there for 3 hours counting everything that goes by us (apart from Yellow-legged Gulls which would confuse things too much). Highlights of today’s count were 5 Great, 1 Arctic and 1 Pom. Skua, and the auk passage lingering on with 4 Puffins and 8 Razorbills south. Walking off the cliffs back to the car park, Isidro and I had a male Subalpine Warbler in one of the bushes, but apart from that, small-bird wise, apart from the odd ‘flava’ Wagtails flying over, things were very quiet (probably due to the wind which by then was quite strong).

Species seen

Cory’s Shearwater (Calonectris diomedea)

Balearic Shearwater (Puffinus mauretanicus)

Shag (Phalacrocorax aristotelis)

Gannet (Morus bassanus)

Great Skua (Stercorarius skua)

Arctic Skua (Stercorarius parasiticus)

Pomerine Skua (Stercorarius pomarinus)

Yellow Legged Gull (Larus michahellis)

Audouin’s Gull (Larus audouinii)

Sandwich Tern (Sterna sandvicensis)

Common Tern (Sterna hirundo)

Razorbill (Alca torda)

Puffin (Fratercula arctica)

Rock Dove/Domestic Pigeon (Columba livia)

Swift/Pallid Swift (Apus apus/pallidus)

‘flava’ Wagtail (Motacilla flava)

Subalpine Warbler (Sylvia cantillans)

Marchamalo Salinas (La Manga)

Weather: Sky 5/8 cloud, wind SW F4, temp. 17ºC. 12:45 – 13:15. With Isidro Bartolomé.

Having finished the RAM count, and stopping off for refreshment (consisting of beers and tortilla), Isidro and I had a quick look down at the salinas. There was very little change from the last time I visited yesterday – a reasonable sized group of Slender-billed Gulls (62 counted in total this time), Kentish and Little Ringed Plovers and a few Willow Warblers in the bushes being the only birds of note.