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

Birdwatching in Straits of Gibraltar & La Janda (1 Viewer)

Eee.... well you certainly seem to have had a great time Stewart!

Congrats on all those Lifers too (I didn't realise you had any left to get ;))
 
Hi again Stewart

Yes, I'm fine thanks... well apart from this, that and the other LOL.

I hope you are keeping well too - still on the boats, or retired yet?
 
Back to the UK yesterday, wonderful holiday intend to do it all again next year perhaps for a month this time. 3 lifers Ruppels Vulture, Little Swift and Tawny Pipit. Our hostal was very well placed 3 Kms North of Tarifa to observe much of the morning passage.

Some photo's attached, Bald Ibis at the golf course and roosting R N Nighjar at La Handa. (Excuse quality they were taken with a compact and the final nightjar heavily cropped)

Nice photos, Stewart. I'm particularly envious of the R-n Nightjar - where exactly did you see it and how on Earth did you spot it?
 
Good to bump into you at Cazella Stewart and thanks for all the gen. Looks like the torrential rain will stop all of the raptor passage for a while but due to improve again by Tuesday.

Significant passerine movements underway now with large flocks (40+) of corn buntings - can't be long before the first bluethroats arrive. Rice is now being harvested so the fields at La Janda should be even more interesting soon.

I would thoroughly recommend a longish trip. Good accommodation at fair prices isn't difficult to find particularly if you move inland a few km.
 
The recent rain has brought quite a change to La Janda. Some larger pools have formed attracting a large flock of Coot (c.200) and about 50 Shoveler together with a few Gadwall. Over the fields there were very large (c.600) flocks of sparrows, both Spanish and House and around the thistle beds were large gatherings of Goldfinch; the Serins that I had seen a couple of weeks earlier were notable by their absence and the Corn Buntings were also nowhere to be seen.

Smaller numbers of Marsh Harriers are now present together with a single immature Montagus Harrier and we also saw one Northern Wheatear. On the track at the eastern end a "couple of buzzards" revealed themselves to be a Honey Buzzard with most of its tail missing and a Long-legged Buzzard. Some returning sunshine may produce more of interest before we finally have to leave.
 
The cold and damp has now seen the majority of Glossy Ibis leave La Janda with only around 200 remaining.

Otherwise very quiet today.
 
In the last two days I have seen large flocks of barn swallows 100+ feeding above the trees in front of my house in the centre of the town.The local birds have long gone and these must be second broods from the north.They feed for five minutes or so and then go as quickly as they came....Eddy
 
Bluethroats arrive.

Indeed the Glossy Ibis might have gone, but the Bluethroats are back. 5 were seen along the canals together with other migrants, Plenty of Barn, House and a few RRSwallows, N.Wheatear, Whinchat, Hoopoe, Turtle Dove, Yellow Wags, Spanish Sparrow, GSTLark, and the usual ducks, Mallard, Shoveler, also Coot & Purple Swamp-hen, Green Sandpiper, Snipe. Plenty of raptors around, Marsh, Montagu's, Griffon, Egyptian, Black-shouldered Kite, Osprey. 3 Purple Heron & 2 Squacco Herons (image attached) rounded off a nice day.
 

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Indeed the Glossy Ibis might have gone, but the Bluethroats are back. 5 were seen along the canals together with other migrants, Plenty of Barn, House and a few RRSwallows, N.Wheatear, Whinchat, Hoopoe, Turtle Dove, Yellow Wags, Spanish Sparrow, GSTLark, and the usual ducks, Mallard, Shoveler, also Coot & Purple Swamp-hen, Green Sandpiper, Snipe. Plenty of raptors around, Marsh, Montagu's, Griffon, Egyptian, Black-shouldered Kite, Osprey. 3 Purple Heron & 2 Squacco Herons (image attached) rounded off a nice day.

Nice Squacco Heron there, Birdman

Regards
Kathy
x
 
I was at La Janda yesterday PM,and the glossies are back in force.The highlights for me were 8 marbled duck and one red knobbed coot among the 160 other common coot.Took some searching I must say,also an Osprey fishing in the large pool in the rice paddy.Seen but not by me were Imperial eagle, Bonelli's eagle and Peregrine falcon.The other bird that I saw briefly was a small snipe in flight before it dashed into the rice paddies.This was obviously smaller than the common snipe,of which there are many.Is a Jack snipe a possibility down here at this time.?.....Eddy.
 
Hi Eddy
The last Jack Snipe I saw was in Doñana in October last year. They arrive at this time to winter down here, probably from Sweden and Finland breeding populations?
 
Thank you Kevin I will search for it next time there as it would be a Spanish 1st for me,it was definitely smaller and flew much straighter than common snipe but very brief views I'm afraid....Eddy.
 
I was at La Janda yesterday PM,and the glossies are back in force.The highlights for me were 8 marbled duck and one red knobbed coot among the 160 other common coot.Took some searching I must say,also an Osprey fishing in the large pool in the rice paddy.Seen but not by me were Imperial eagle, Bonelli's eagle and Peregrine falcon.The other bird that I saw briefly was a small snipe in flight before it dashed into the rice paddies.This was obviously smaller than the common snipe,of which there are many.Is a Jack snipe a possibility down here at this time.?.....Eddy.

How frequent are records of Crested Coot on La Janda? In the days when it was still a lake they were said to be common, but I hadn't realised that they still turn up there.
 
Hi John I'm not privy to past records but my own over the last few years and I can say that this year is the first I have seen so many coots in the pools,and definitely I have never seen a red knobbed coot here before.I will ask around those who have better knowledge than I to see if I can answer your question.As far as I am aware the nearest breeding red knobbed coots are at Laguna Medina,so maybe this group has flown in from there.
Unfortunately unless we have substantial rain again this winter these pools will disappear with the advent of the rice harvest which I think will be later this year.I will report back with my findings,regards to all ...Eddy.
 
I don't know if it's an indication of anything other than the conditions on the day I visited Eddy, but when I went to Laguna de Medina on 31st August I thought coots of any type had been removed from the face of the earth. The only birds in any number on the water that day were great crested grebes.

Sometimes you go there and it's hard to see the water for coots and I've seen the red-knobbed ones there when numbers have been both high and low. There was a family party of them the day I took this photo in 2010.

I don't know where the coots get to when they aren't there.

Congratulations on your bird..
 

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