Wednesday, 11th April 2012

Calblanque (Los Belones)

Weather: Sky no cloud,  wind SW F0-2, temp. 14ºC.  07:45 – 10:45. With Angel Sallent (ANSE).

Continuing with our ringing from last night, but obviously everything must have moved on overnight.  I think our total birds ringed was only 5, Greenfinch, Serin, Robin, Blackbird, Sardinian Warbler, and so we packed up early.  We were party to a display by some 8 Bee-eaters that flew through feeding, and heard somewhere in the distance the call of a Wryneck, and had a large ‘sylvia’ warbler fly by which perched but was in the sun, so we couldn’t see it too well.  Angel thought from its posture perched (very upright) that it was a Western Orphean Warbler, which if so is the first one I’ve ever seen in the region of Murcia.  We tried to refind it after it flew off, but without success.  We also had a Thekla Lark feeding in the carpark area where we do the ringing.

 And when we got there, the nets were all bare

Ringing (and eating) at Calblanque

 

On the way out of Calblanque, I counted 9 Woodchat Shrikes perched on various trees, and saw a couple of Common Redstarts, so there were some migrants about.

Species seen

Yellow-legged Gull (Larus michahellis)

Red-legged Partridge (Alectoris rufa)

Wryneck (Jynx torquilla) - heard only

Bee-eater (Merops apiaster)

Hoopoe (Upupa epops)

Swift/Pallid Swift (Apus apus/pallidus)

Crested Lark (Galerida cristata)

Thekla Lark (Galerida theklae)

Sardinian Warbler (Sylvia melanocephala)

Western Orphean Warbler (Sylvia hortensis)

Common Redstart (Phoenicurus phoenicurus)

Robin (Erithacus rubecula)

Blackbird (Turdus merula)

Woodchat Shrike (Lanius senator)

Spotless Starling (Sturnus unicolor)

Corn Bunting (Miliaria calandra)

Greenfinch (Carduelis chloris)

Linnet (Carduelis cannabina)

Serin (Serinus serinus)

House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)