Trumpeter Finch

 A few weeks ago

 Visiting birder Dale Kelly and I went to Montnegra and Maigmo Mountain, we searched for Trumpeter Finch at Montnegra and dipped out big time, it was blowing a gale and a very cold wind. But today was a completely different story and 3 weeks later.

Arriving about 9 o'clock we had an excellent show of Red Rumped Swallows, whizzing around our head for a little while.  Blue Rock Thrush almost immediately and pair Black Wheatear showed off,  heard and seen on the wires European Bee-eater. Red-legged Partridges scurried around.

The Jewel in the Crown

Trumpeter Finch

  One of the most sought-after Finch in Spain has returned to Montnegra. We only gave it an hour or so which included the first breakfast and a wedge of lemon drizzle. We watched from a distance at first, and after confirming they were back we moved a little closer to get a photograph, of these stunning rare and elusive little Finch with that big red bill, in pristine breeding plumage these little Finch are simply spectacular.

So what's different this time

I've photographed these birds extensively over the years and their leg rings, but now they are colour-coded on their right legs. see the photos, I'm sure there are returning birds from the previous breeding seasons. At some point, I'll try and get a photo of a ring number from the silver ring.  It might answer some questions about where they go after breading.

Other birds seen at least 3 Woodchat Shrike, Rock Sparrow, Chough, Dartford Warbler, Rock Bunting, Nightingale, and Serin. Southern Grey Shrike, Mistle Thrush, Jay,  Rock Bunting.

Maigmo  Mountain at the very top

Was shrouded with dark clouds creating its weather system, it was cold, blowing a gale and only 16 degrees compared to lower slopes a comfortable 22 degrees.

We stopped at sites on the way up,  which would produce a few opportunities to see birds, they didn't  disappoint Crossbills, Wood Lark, all of the Tit family, and lesser Short-toed Tree creepers were everywhere, Swallow-tailed Butterfly were in good number today

To be honest we didn't do justice to Maigmo Mountain just up and down as I had to get back. So I'll be heading back there soon.

I've not mentioned every bird seen.

Have fun and a great day

Cheers Bryan 

Photos to follow

 

Maigmo, Montnegra, San Felipe, Santa pola Salinas, Clot de Galvany

 

Part 2

Target birds

Woodlark, firecrest, Crested Tit, Trumpeter Finch? Rock Bunting.

 and anything else we bump into

8.00 o'clock  start and Birding Maigmo Mountain by nine, amazingly lightning does Strike twice at the first stop and Woodlark singing its Head off on the wires above good opportunity for photography 

Woodlark

Dale was in his element and the camera was busy, next stop up the hill, another Woodlark point blank amazing.

We put some effort into the lesser short-toed Treecreeper a difficult mouse-like creeper bird  which is often seen but a nightmare to photograph  but we cracked it in the end

All the Tits were seen and one of the target birds Crested Tit was done, also seen Crossbill, Serin, Firecrest, Rock Bunting,

Sod's law at the top of both peaks workmen were busy chopping down trees so a bit of a letdown and very noisy with a chainsaw in action

So we buggered off

Heard only Wren, Iberian Green Woodpecker, Greater Spotted Woodpecker, Jay, opportunity missed golden eagle heard and just a glimpse through the trees.

Montnegra 

So we crossed the valley to Tibi and onwards to Montnegra, I was not expecting much.  No sign of the Dartford Warblers that were present 2 weeks ago, 

Trumpeter Finch was a no show, and Griffon Vultures were seen, but distant. I predicted Black-eared Wheatear for today but it wasn't to be

We cut our losses and head off to

San Felipe 

Lots of Gloss Ibis. Slender-billed Gull, Black-winged stilt, Red Knobbed Coot, Booted Eagle, Marsh Harrier, Iberian Southern Grey Shrike, Yellow Wagtail, flocks of linnets and Goldfinch, Swallow, Pallid Swift, House Martin, Snipe, Avocets, Green Sandpipers, Purple Swamp Hen. Greater Flamingos. Nothing mega but a great views of the resident birds

Black-winged stilt

Dale Camera was busy with lots of new birds.

Red Crested Pochard,

 Clot de Galvany

I was hoping that the 4 Ferruginous Ducks would still be there alas they've gone, just the resident ducks etc were there,  White-headed Duck, Gadwall, Red Crested Pochard, Common Pochard, Marble Duck, Teal, Shoveler. A juvenile Audouin's Gull drop and a nice show Yellow-legged Gull.

Gadwall

So a full-on few days Birding with Dale Kelly thank you Dale, and thanks to Mary CBBC for putting me in touch with Dale I mentioned that I'd reset Dale's camera because of the focus issue on day 1 unknown to Dale it also set the recording quality to fine jpeg  which is not the end of the world but RAW is better 

Yellow-legged Gull

It was quite an eventful birding adventure with Dale Kelly! From Woodlarks to Bustards and an array of other bird species, we covered a lot of ground. Despite some missed opportunities, made for a rewarding experience. Plus, spotting Mouflons and an Iberian Red Squirrel added an extra dimension to our wildlife observations.

Mouflon

Have fun go Birding make some new

Cheers Bryan 

Bonete and Great Bustards

Part 1

A few days Birding with Dale Kelly on his tick list was to see and photograph Great Busted and Little Bustard and anything else that we could bump into 

No pressure then?

Arrived at Bonete at about 9.15 and the first stop 6 Great Bustard, "that was easy I said" Dale had an issue with his camera and wouldn't focus so I reset his camera and took the battery out, and the camera started focusing and we were off more on that later.

Great Bustards

Dale was busy taking photographs of the Great Bustards, In the air plenty of Calandra lark singing, Woodchat Shrike on the wires, and good numbers of Rock Sparrows, Hoopoe.

Rock Sparrows

Hoopoe

On route to

Corral Rubio

All the seasonal lakes are completely dried out and have been ploughed for planting, I've no idea what's going to grow as the drought continues in Spain. Back at Gran Alacant, we've not had any significant rainfall for over 12 months.

Another 10 Great Bustard, Lapwing, Marsh Harrier, Glossy Ibis, Green Sandpipers, Corn Bunting, Swallow, to be honest, the lack of rain is having a major influence on the birds in the area,  the evaporation of Patrola lake is gathering pace, see the photograph.

Patrola lake

In the past, I've seen thousands of Greater Flamingos on this lake and today hardly any birds, a few Yellow-legged Gulls, Shell Duck, Black-headed Gull nothing much else just a smelly evaporating mass of water.

Lapwing

We left Petrola and headed across the plains to Higuriella and on to the Estación for little Bustard, lots of Hoopoe around today and good opportunities to photograph Thekla lark,

Thekla lark

Dale found the little Bustard while driving, and an emergency stop followed, which caused I little chaos as Dale exited the car rapidly while it was still moving and I photographed the little Bustard from a driverless moving vehicle.

Little Bustard

Anyway no harm was done and Little Bustard was under the belt, and as we were almost back at our starting point Bonete.  I suggested we should visit Yecla and give it a go, I pre-warned him that I was there 3 weeks before and it was incredibly poor

Yecla

Thekla lark

And so the afternoon was taken up covering the tracks of Yecla there were a few stand-out moments, and we worked hard for those moments,  plenty of Thekla lark, Crested Lark, Calandra Lark, Lesser Kestrels, could be 5 pairs, at the Barn, Stone Curlew, Pin-tailed Sandgrouse, Chough, Swallow, Pallid Swift.

Calandra Lark
This bird has a deformed bill at first I thought it was carrying food

 I've not mentioned every bird seen

Calandra Lark

And that was our long day out with a few mega moments 

Pin-tailed Sandgrouse

And what will our next Birding Adventure bring 

Pin-tailed Sandgrouse

See part 2

Have a great day

Cheers Bryan

Missed opportunities

A short review

Most of the Trees are in Bloom and look stunning
 This is one my favorite photo from the bird trip as well as the last photo on this Blog. 

Purple Swamp Hen

Black Tailed  Godwit

3 + days birding around Alicante Provence, Santa Pola Salinas, San Felipe, Clot de Galvany, Yecla, Montnegra, Maigmo Mountain, and everything else in between.

Stonechat 

Stonechat 

Big effort every day and lots of mileage traveled. The weather was mostly clear blue skies, but high winds and the wind chill sort of bugged it all up, just trying to use the telescope was out of the question let alone get a few photos.

Cattle Egret

85 species seen 

Ferruginous Duck

Short Summary 

Stand-out moments and there weren't many, Osprey (3) over the Santa Pola Salinas (although still a bit distant) an Oscar-winning performance of a Dartford Warbler, (Montnegra) 

 Dartford Warbler

 Dartford Warbler

Ferruginous Duck

 At least 4 Ferruginous Duck (Clot de Galvany). Thekla lark, Black-bellied Sandgrouse, Calandra Lark, Lesser Kestrel, Short-toed Lark, (Yecla)  stunning Firecrest (Maigmo)

Ferruginous Duck

 miss opportunity Golden Eagle dipped out of sight before ID confirmed, G S Woodpecker on call only (Maigmo)?

Thekla lark

Migration 

Swallow, House Martin, Red Rumped. Seen

Marbled Duck

So most days, our last visit of the day and before dinner and wine was at the Clot de Galvany where I photographed anything close 

White Headed Duck

A birding adventure in Alicante Province!

 Despite the windy weather, we managed to spot an impressive 85 species, including some stand-out moments like the 3 Osprey over Santa Pola Salinas and the 4 Ferruginous Duck at Clot de Galvany.

Osprey

2 of the 3 Osprey

Moorish Coot

Incidentally there's been a name change from Red knobbed Coot to Moorish Coot

I think it sounds better

Have fun go birding

Cheers Bryan 

3 Ferruginous Duck? at the Clot de Galvany

Thursdays 1st Feb

Shoveler

Just a quick update there's possibly 3 Ferruginous Duck at the Clot I've been a bit slow in getting the news out, the original bird from a week or so ago (juv female) 

 (juv female)  dark eye no white in tail same bird from a week ago

 and now been  joined by two other birds? here are some record photos 

Male Ferruginous Duck 

and this one Female Dark eye with white tail

I never got all 3 bird in view at the same time but would see 2 bird together male and female and another bird would show in a different part of the pool, to be honest there could be more?

  I only had my short telephoto lens at the time so there only record images 

Night Heron

and today the Night Heron is back on his normal perch again also with a Juv Night Heron

Cheers Bryan 

Plastic Crabs and Birds an update

 

Plastic pollution

Research indicates that the natural snail shells were in decline, so it's suspected it might be becoming easier for the animals to find an artificial alternative. And lighter, plastic 'shells' might even help smaller, weaker crabs to survive because they are easier to carry.

Bottle Top Crab

There is certainly a great deal of plastic in the marine environment for the animals to choose from. A recent study that attempted to quantify the scale of plastic pollution estimated that at least 171 trillion pieces of plastic are now floating in our oceans.

That could nearly triple by 2040 if no action is taken, experts have warned.

But there is hope that 2024 could see nations finally sign up to a long-awaited global treaty to end the scourge of plastics.

"Instead of being adorned with a beautiful snail shell, which is what we're used to seeing - they would have a red plastic bottle cap on their back or piece of light bulb."

Light bulb Crab

Toothpaste top Crab

But there is hope that 2024 could see nations finally sign up to a long-awaited global treaty to end the scourge of plastic.

Plastic Birds

Imagine that you are constantly eating, but slowly starving to death. Hundreds of species of marine mammals, fish, birds, and sea turtles face this risk every day when they mistake plastic debris for food. 

Plastic debris can be found in oceans around the world. Scientists have estimated that there are over five trillion pieces of plastic weighing more than a quarter of a million tons floating at sea globally. 

Most of this plastic debris comes from sources on land and ends up in oceans and bays due largely to poor waste management.

Plastic does not biodegrade, but at sea large pieces of plastic break down into increasingly smaller fragments that are easy for birds to consume. 

A nose for sulfur

in the early 1970s showed that tube-nosed seabirds use their powerful sense of smell or olfaction, seabirds are attracted to dimethyl sulfide (DMS), a naturally scented sulfur compound. DMS comes from marine algae.

However, a study just published proposes a new explanation: For many imperiled species, marine plastic debris also produces an odor that the birds associate with food and is very similar to DMS

So much plastic trash is flowing into the oceans that 90 percent of seabirds eat it now and virtually everyone will be consuming it by 2050 In a new study published this week, tracks for the first time how widespread plastics have become inside seabirds around the world.

Scientists have been tracking plastic ingestion by seabirds for decades. In 1960, plastic was found in the stomachs of fewer than five percent, but by 1980, it had jumped to 80 percent. 

The most disturbing finding is. 

“Global plastic production doubles every 11 years “So in the next 11 years, we’ll make as much plastic as we’ve made since plastic was invented. 

You can help: pay attention to how much plastic you throw away—grocery bags, Styrofoam cups, water bottles, packaging—and try to use less and recycle and dispose of plastic correctly

sometimes I get a feeling that it is all s bit too late

Cheers Bryan