This
weekend I went with other members of the Natural History group of the Popular
University of Cartagena (Naturalistas Desahuciados) to the town of Nerpio,
which is just over the Murcian border, in the province of Albacete. This is a small mountain town located in the
Sierra del Segura mountain range, which has for the past few years, been
promoting itself as an ornithological mecca of unspoilt, high mountain habitats
(the area in general is over 1,000 metres above sea level, with some peaks just
short of 1,500 metres). Here we would
meet with local Albacete
birders. (For more details of the area,
see www.alasparanerpio.blogspot.com.es.)
The main
aim of the weekend was to take part in the ‘censo de aves nogales’, or Walnut Tree bird census. Around here is one of the main walnut growing
areas of Spain, and we were to count the birds that use this habitat type, of
small fields with Walnut trees and bush cover at the edges of mountain
streams. Very different to what we’re
used to around Cartagena.
We stayed
the weekend in a local ‘albergue’ (youth hostel) just outside the main town,
the ‘Cortijo Covaroja’. In total there were more than 30 of us, including the
group from Albacete.
Friday, 25th
May 2012 – Cartagena
to Nerpio
Weather: Sky 1/8 cloud, temp. 28ºC.
12:30 – 20:00. With Diego Zamora Urán, Isabel Campillo Inglés
We set out
from Cartagena
at 12:30, very warm and hardly a cloud in the sky. As I was in the car of Diego Zamora and Isabel
Campillo, I had the luxury of being able to birdwatch out of the car window all
the way, although the only birds of note was a White Stork north of the RM15
motorway halfway between Alcantarilla and Mula, and a Griffon Vulture close to
Archivel, just inside the Murcian border.
As we got higher, we did start to note Carrion Crows in fields at the
side of the motorway.
Stopping for a late lunch in Nerpio itself, we then went to our lodgings. These were all closed up, so Diego and I decided to have a walk to try to accustomize ourselves to local birds (and more importantly, their calls and songs) while we waited for it to open.
We took a
leisurely walk along the side of a road for about an hour each way, reaching a
small hamlet, checking all the birds we saw and heard en route. Then back at the cortijo for supper and a
short talk on the census method for tomorrow morning, and an overview of the
birds we might see and hear.
Species seen/heard
Red-legged
Partridge (Alectoris rufa)
Great
Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus) –
(Taibilla reservoir)
White
Stork (Ciconia ciconia) – (en route)
Griffon
Vulture (Gyps fulvus) – (en route)
Coot
(Fulica atra) – (Taibilla reservoir)
Swift
(Apus apus)
Bee-eater
(Merops apiaster)
Great
Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major)
Woodlark
(Lullula arborea)
Swallow
(Hirundo rustica)
Black
Redstart (Phoenicurus ochrurus)
Mistle
Thrush (Turdus viscivorus)
Black-eared
Wheatear (Oenanthe hispanica)
Melodious
Warbler (Hippolais polyglotta)
Spectacled
Warbler (Sylvia conspicillata)
Dartford
Warbler (Sylvia undata)
Spotted
Flycatcher (Muscicapa striata)
Long-tailed
Tit (Aegithalos caudatus)
Crested
Tit (Parus cristatus)
Coal
Tit (Parus ater)
Blue
Tit (Parus caeruleus)
Great
Tit (Parus major)
Nuthatch
(Sitta europaea)
Chough
(Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax)
Spotless
Starling (Sturnus unicolor)
House
Sparrow (Passer domesticus)
Rock
Sparrow (Petronia petronia)
Chaffinch
(Fringilla coelebs)
Serin
(Serinus serinus)
Greenfinch
(Carduelis chloris)
Goldfinch
(Carduelis carduelis)
Corn
Bunting (Miliaria calandra)
Saturday, 26th
May 2012 – Nerpio, ‘censo de aves nogales’
Weather: Sky 2/8 cloud, temp. 12 - 22ºC. 07:30 – 10:30.
With Diego
Zamora Urán, Antonio Fernández-Caro Gómez
The main
reason for the visit. After a sleepless
night (not easy to sleep in a room with 20 other people in bunk beds without
someone snoring), I was up at 5-30am, and went outside to hear, apart from
Woodlarks, single Tawny and Scops Owls.
We started the
census at 7:30am. Each group of birders
had a number of stations to check. The
method was to spend 5 minutes at each station, noting all birds seen and heard,
in three distinct groups - within 25 metres, outside 25 metres and distant
birds.
Our group, made up of Diego, Antonio and myself, had 5
stations to check, and were lucky in that three of them could be checked from
the roadside. Although we only had to
annotate birds during a 5 minute period, we actually spent nearer 20 minutes at
each site – after all, we don’t get too much chance to see such birds as
Nuthatch, Great Spotted Woodpeckers, Short-toed Treecreepers or even Coal Tits
locally so we decided we would make the most of it. A surprise bird during our census was a
female Pied Flycatcher – a late migrant or maybe a breeder (in which case it
would be the first recorded breeding).
A typical (and not uncommon) bird of the area, Nuthatch
A record shot of another typical, fairly common bird, Great Spotted Woodpecker
It wasn't all birds - a Red Squirrel keeping an eye on us
As we were finishing our cencus, this Common Buzzard flew overhead
At the end
of the census, many of us made our way up to the holiday home of one of the participants, in a small group of houses known as Los Poyos. Here we saw a Short-toed Eagle overhead, and
saw many Rock Sparrows, Rock Buntings, Black Redstarts plus a very pale
Northern Wheatear (and enjoyed a very welcome beer or two).
A Rock Sparrow, of which there were quite a few
Male Northern Wheatear which was nesting somewhere nearby
In the
afternoon, we went to various high viewing points in search of the elusive
Lammergeier which have recently been re-introduced nearby and are occasionally
seen. We had no luck with this, but en route did
see another local rarity, Egyptian Vulture, which is now becoming very scarce
in the south of the Spanish peninsula.
In these
high barren areas, we had some more local specialties, such as Tawny Pipits
singing, a large flock of around 40 Chough, plus Carrion Crows, Magpies, Booted
Eagles, Peregrine and Griffon Vultures.
And the common vulture around here, Griffon Vulture
Part of the group searching for Lammergeier
Species seen/heard
Red-legged
Partridge (Alectoris rufa)
Griffon
Vulture (Gyps fulvus)
Egyptian
Vulture (Gypaetus barbatus)
Short-toed
Eagle (Circaetus gallicus)
Sparrowhawk
(Accipiter nisus)
Buzzard
(Buteo buteo)
Booted
Eagle (Hieraaetus pennatus)
Peregrine
(Falco peregrinus)
Woodpigeon
(Columba palumbus)
Collared
Dove (Streptopelia decaocto)
Cuckoo
(Cuculus canorus)
Scops
Owl (Otus scops)
Tawny
Owl (Strix aluco)
Swift
(Apus apus)
Bee-eater
(Merops apiaster)
Hoopoe
(Upupa epops)
Wryneck
(Jynx torquilla)
Great
Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major)
Woodlark
(Lullula arborea)
Crag
Martin (Ptyonoprogne rupestris)
Swallow
(Hirundo rustica)
House
Martin (Delichon urbicum)
Tawny
Pipit (Anthus campestris)
Grey
Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea)
White
Wagtail (Motacilla alba alba)
Wren
(Troglodytes troglodytes)
Robin
(Erithacus rubecula)
Nightingale
(Luscinia megarhynchos)
Black
Redstart (Phoenicurus ochrurus)
Stonechat
(Saxicola torquatus)
Northern
Wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe)
Black-eared
Wheatear (Oenanthe hispanica)
Blackbird
(Turdus merula)
Mistle
Thrush (Turdus viscivorus)
Cetti’s
Warbler (Cettia cetti)
Melodious
Warbler (Hippolais polyglotta)
Blackcap
(Sylvia atricapilla)
Spectacled
Warbler (Sylvia conspicillata)
Dartford
Warbler (Sylvia undata)
Spotted
Flycatcher (Muscicapa striata)
Pied
Flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca)
Long-tailed
Tit (Aegithalos caudatus)
Crested
Tit (Parus cristatus)
Coal
Tit (Parus ater)
Blue
Tit (Parus caeruleus)
Great
Tit (Parus major)
Nuthatch
(Sitta europaea)
Short-toed
Treecreeper (Certhia brachydactyla)
Golden
Oriole (Oriolus oriolus)
Jay
(Garrulus glandarius)
Magpie
(Pica pica)
Chough
(Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax)
Carrion
Crow (Corvus corone)
Raven
(Corvus corax)
Spotless
Starling (Sturnus unicolor)
House
Sparrow (Passer domesticus)
Rock
Sparrow (Petronia petronia)
Chaffinch
(Fringilla coelebs)
Serin
(Serinus serinus)
Greenfinch
(Carduelis chloris)
Goldfinch
(Carduelis carduelis)
Linnet
(Carduelis cannabina)
Crossbill
(Loxia curvirostra)
Cirl
Bunting (Emberiza cirlus)
Rock
Bunting (Emberiza cia)
Corn
Bunting (Miliaria calandra)
Sunday, 27th
May 2012 – Mingarnao feeding station, Nerpio
Weather: Sky 2/8 cloud, temp. 12 - 24ºC. 07:30 – 12:00
The morning
was spent with a trip to the Mingarnao feeding station, where a couple of dead
goats and sheep had been left, to try and attract vultures. Although fairly quiet for much of the time
with just a few Carrion Crows and Griffon Vultures, by the time it warmed up
and there were thermals, we had up to 60 Griffon Vultures circling
overhead. Also seen was a dark phase
Booted Eagle and a Common Buzzard.
Around the area of the hide was a male Subalpine Warbler pulling apart
the silk nest of processionary caterpillars, presumably to use for its own
nest, and a couple of male Black-eared Wheatears singing their hearts out.
Male Subalpine Warbler
And another Griffon Vulture seen flying to the feeding station
While
waiting for the vultures to make an appearance, I took a walk around the area
trying to photograph to identify butterflies, and think I saw the
following: Wall (Lasiommata megera); Large Wall Brown (Lasiommata maera); Western Marble White (Melanargia occitanica); Spanish Marbled White (Melanargia ines). I took
photos of these, and if any butterfly expert thinks they are mis-identified,
please let me know.
Wall - Lasiommata megera
Large Wall Brown - Lasiommata maera
Western Marbled White - Melanargia occitanica
Spanish Marbled White - Melanargia ines
We then
went into the town of Nerpio
for some r&r and also to try to find a Dipper that lives there, but had no
luck. From there, back to the cortijo
for lunch (where I found another butterfly I’d never seen before, a Knapweed
Fritillary (Melitaea phoebe occitanica)),
and then home to Cartagena
having made a quick stop at the Taibilla reservoir en route.
Knapweed Fritillary - Melitaea phoebe occitanica
Species seen/heard
Mallard (Anas
platyrhynchos)
Pochard (Aythya
ferina)
Coot (Fulica
atra)
Red-legged
Partridge (Alectoris rufa)
Little
Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis)
Griffon
Vulture (Gyps fulvus)
Buzzard
(Buteo buteo)
Booted
Eagle (Hieraaetus pennatus)
Kestrel
(Falco tinnunculus)
Woodpigeon
(Columba palumbus)
Collared
Dove (Streptopelia decaocto)
Cuckoo
(Cuculus canorus)
Swift
(Apus apus)
Alpine
Swift (Apus melba)
Hoopoe
(Upupa epops)
Great
Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major)
Woodlark
(Lullula arborea)
House
Martin (Delichon urbicum)
Black
Redstart (Phoenicurus ochrurus)
Black-eared
Wheatear (Oenanthe hispanica)
Blackbird
(Turdus merula)
Subalpine
Warbler (Sylvia cantillans)
Melodious
Warbler (Hippolais polyglotta)
Great
Tit (Parus major)
Magpie
(Pica pica)
Chough
(Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax)
Carrion
Crow (Corvus corone)
House
Sparrow (Passer domesticus)
Chaffinch
(Fringilla coelebs)
Serin
(Serinus serinus)
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