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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Birding in Alicante Province (5 Viewers)

There is a nice Sociable Plover (Vanellus gregarius) in the fields south of El Hondo at the moment - it is among a large flock of Lapwing.

Found yesterday 1st November by local birder and photographer Bryan Thomas, it was still there today, didn't get a decent photo myself so far but it could well be in for a prolonged stay.
 
Hello all, can anybody give me more specific instructions to see the Azure winged Magpies. All I can find is, Las Balcones, La Mata, the pink lake at Torrevieja.
 
Still present on the 13th; also a Spotted Eagle at El Hondo on the 14th.

No sign today despite extensive searching. Seen again on the 19th I believe. Monk Parakeet at La Mata my 211th Spanish bird. I too would like better directions for the Magpies although I will take a look regardless. Plenty of Booted Eagles plus Little Bittern etc so far.
 
Hello all, can anybody give me more specific instructions to see the Azure winged Magpies. All I can find is, Las Balcones, La Mata, the pink lake at Torrevieja.

Got the Azure-winged Magpies this morning. Directions are dead easy. Head to La Balcones past Torrevieja hospital. Don't take the first roundabout into La Balcones - take the second roundabout. Turn right and park at the end of the road. There is some rough ground to the right and a garden on the left. I saw the first 2 magpies here. I then walked another 100 yards towards the lake where I found at least 5 more magpies on the left on more rough ground, watched from a break in the wall on the left hand side. Took about 15 minutes and got awesome views.
 
Had a fantastic day today - started with Common Scoter and Arctic Skua seen from La Mata plus some v v distant shears. Watched the AW Magpies as detailed above late morning. This afternoon I went to El Hondo and watched from the fields to the south, the western Santa Agueda hide and San Felipe Neri. At least 2 Spotted Eagles (adult but not Tonn and a sub-adult). Also 2 Bonelli's Eagles (adult and 2nd CY) after a juv yesterday. Also Osprey, several Booted Eagles, c25 Marsh Harrier plus Wryneck, Black Stork and Bearded Tits. Cracking.
 
Thanks Hotspur, I have driven fruitlessly around Los Balcones in the past because I took the 1st roundabout!:C

I will have another go next time I'm there (possibly over Xmas).:t:
 
Thanks Hotspur, I have driven fruitlessly around Los Balcones in the past because I took the 1st roundabout!:C

I will have another go next time I'm there (possibly over Xmas).:t:

Are these the birds that turned up at Clot a few years ago or were they here all the time?
 
I think they may have been at Torrevieja for some years now, others may know better. It is highly likely that the individuals seen at the Clot de Galvany and also around El Hondo are from this group. Certainly Malcolm Palmer from the CBBC will know the full details, but I don't think he's on Birdforum.
 
I failed to find the Magpies on the one visit I managed. Maybe next time. The newly flooded El Hondo is such an improvement on what it was. So much more to see now the birds are much closer. I visited Clot de Galvany for the first time too. I found it to be excellent. I also recommend another little gem, Natural Municipal Lagunas De Lo Monte. I sat with a non English speaking Spaniard watching a Bluethroat. He used his mobile communicate with me with pictures etc.

http://www.pilardelahoradada.org/sites/default/files/medio-ambiente/LagunasDeLoMonte.pdf
 
BTW I will be there 27th Dec to 31st. If anyone wants to meet up let me know. I am not a very good bird watcher but my Spanish is quite good.
 
Out for a very short pre-Xmas visit (the lady wife had an appointment with a Spanish specialist today), plenty of the usual suspects at El Hondo including at least 2 Spotted Eagles and there have been several confirmed sightings of a Black-shouldered Kite along the Palm Farm Road.

Of course I didn't see it on my only visit to the El Hondo area, but I did find something else! I think this is the escaped Harris Hawk which has been intermittently reported over the past few years, so just be aware of this strange-looking raptor when you're searching in the area. It almost looks purplish-blue in good light, and has a clear white tail ring in flight.

Sorry about the poor quality, it was at extreme range and of course it flew away from me seconds after this shot...:C
 

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Sorry if this is the wrong place but I need help! I will be posting from Guardamar where I am a permanent resident. I think that with your help Mark I might be in the right place! So far I have been confused by the sheer size of the site. Where should I post any sightings? Where do I post my photos? I am not set up for bird photography, I own a Pentax Optio E85, but if I can get close enough then at least I can maximise photos to help identification. Maybe in future I will be able to post some reasonable pics. Do postings and pics go into a separate member's folder where they may be easily found? Sorry for the daft questions, I put it down to advancing years!
Regards, Tony.
 
Hi again Tony

Of course you can post your Guardamar sightings and photos in this thread, as you will see from reading this thread from the beginning several people regularly contribute. When I was in Guardamar last week we had an interesting white-tailed sparrow circling our table for dropped crumbs, of course that was the day I didn't have my camera with me!

The larger of the two parks (Parque de Alfonso XIII) could well be worth close study, I'm sure I've heard Crested Tit in there but no sightings as yet, I'd like to have confirmation that my hearing is still up to scratch.
 
Hi again Tony

Of course you can post your Guardamar sightings and photos in this thread, as you will see from reading this thread from the beginning several people regularly contribute. When I was in Guardamar last week we had an interesting white-tailed sparrow circling our table for dropped crumbs, of course that was the day I didn't have my camera with me!

The larger of the two parks (Parque de Alfonso XIII) could well be worth close study, I'm sure I've heard Crested Tit in there but no sightings as yet, I'd like to have confirmation that my hearing is still up to scratch.

I can confirm at least one sighting of Crested Tit in Parque de Alfonso XIII :)

Actually my girlfriend saw it first, high in the tall trees to the west of the park. Her family has an apartment in Guardamar (and a villa near Almoradí) so I'm over there at least once a year. I think this was 2008 or 9. She isn't a birder, and she regularly teases me about the fact that she spotted it.

So far as Parque de Alfonso XIII in general is concerned, I have had most luck in May/early June seeing birds there. After that it's pretty quiet. That goes for the smaller park and wasteland to the south too, which I've probably had as many sightings from. The most productive birding I've had in the vicinity has been after heading west into the countryside past the urbanisation.
 
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Seen today near the mouth of the Rio Segura; a large Cormorant (about 2" bigger than normal) which had a completely white front. It was standing upright on a post in the river separated from the gang of Cormorants standing on the sunken white boat but behaved like them. I thought that it was too far North to be a penguin!!!
Can anyone identify it please? (I have photos of it but don't know how to post them).
 
Seen today near the mouth of the Rio Segura; a large Cormorant (about 2" bigger than normal) which had a completely white front. It was standing upright on a post in the river separated from the gang of Cormorants standing on the sunken white boat but behaved like them. I thought that it was too far North to be a penguin!!!
Can anyone identify it please? (I have photos of it but don't know how to post them).

That's a young cormorant.
 

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