Marian’s 2008 Year List (1 Viewer)

[madamcoolpix]

I start my Year List every year but I always fail to finish it. I’ll see if posting it in a thread helps me to keep it updated!

I spent most of my Christmas holidays in Madrid, included New Year’s Eve. But due to familiar duties that had me “locked in”, I’ve not seen my first bird until today!!! :eek!: (How could I stand it??? o)

Today I travelled from Madrid to my town (Oviedo) by car and here it starts my Year List.

6 January 2008, motorway Madrid-Oviedo:

1 – House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)
2 – Magpie (Pica pica)
3 – Spotless Starling (Sturnus unicolor)
4 – Carrion Crow (Corvus corone)
5 – Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo)
6 – Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo)
7 – Red Kite (Milvus milvus)
8 – Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus)
9 – Wood Pigeon (Columba palumbus)
10 – Western Jackdaw (Corvus monedula)
11 – White Stork (Ciconia ciconia)
12 – Collared Dove (Streptopelia decaocto)
13 – Rook (Corvus frugilegus)

I saw several more (particularly small birds) but I didn’t added as I wasn’t 100% sure of the ID.

 

[madamcoolpix]

Today I took a break after my lectures at the University Campus of Viesques, near Gijón (the area where I'm taking my pictures lately). Having a walk among the trees and fields is a delightful way to relax, and here some of the common birds seen during the winter in the area showed up. New for the Year List are:

8 January 2008, Viesques University Campus

14 - Common Blackbird (Turdus merula)
15 - White Wagtail (Motacilla alba alba)
16 - Meadow Pipit (Anthus pratensis)
17 - Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)
18 - European Robin (Erithacus rubecula)
19 - Song Thrush (Turdus philomelos)
20 - Black-headed Gull (Larus ridibundus)
21 - Lesser Black-backed Gull (Larus fuscus)
22 - Great Tit (Parus major)
23 - Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla)
24 - Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes)
25 - Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea)

It was a very short walk, had no time for more, but it was quite good. I only regret I couldn't find the Redwings. Where are they??? :-C It was plenty of them before Christmas holiday!

 

[madamcoolpix]

The weather spoilt a nice walk around the trees after my lectures. I tried to go out with the camera but the gale made me go back home. Frustrating. :storm: Still, I saw a very small bunch of new birds for the Year List:

11 January 2008, Viesques University Campus:

26 - Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)
27 - Mediterranean Gull (Larus melanocephalus)
28 - Black Redstart (Phoenicurus ochruros)
29 - European Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis)
30 - Yellow-legged Gull (Larus cachinnans)

The weather forecast for the weekend and next week is depressing! I wonder when I'll be able to take pictures and do some birdwatching again... :h?:

 

[madamcoolpix]

Happily, the weather forecast was wrong and we had a sunny (but windy) Sunday morning. I went out early for a walk in the outskirts of Oviedo and had a very pleasant birding time, with almost 30 different birds and some more new for the Year List:

13 January 2008, Oviedo outskirts:

31 - Blue Tit (Parus caeruleus)
32 - Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius)
33 - Firecrest (Regulus ignicapillus)
34 - Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus)
35 - Short-toed Treecreeper (Certhia brachydactyla)
36 - Common Stonechat (Saxicola rubicola)
37 - Eurasian Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula)
38 - Crag Martin (Ptyonoprogne rupestris)
39 - Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus collybita)
40 - Common Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs)
41 - Eurasian Siskin (Carduelis spinus)

 

[madamcoolpix]

After having taken a look at my pictures of last weekend, I've decided to upload some record shots to this thread... to see some images of lovely birds will be more interesting than just names and more names! o

Here you have:

1. A convention of Carrion Crows among the twigs.
2. A female Stonechat
3. A Bullfinch... quite shameful but it is my first shot of a Bullfinch, and in the first encounter of the year.
4. A House Sparrow.

From now I'll try to post pictures of the year birds, so I will see how many different I reach at the end!

 

[madamcoolpix]

On Monday I managed to do some proper birdwatching after my lectures. I had a walk from the University Campus along the canal leading to the beach where the local River ends. It is a different habitat and there I added a few more new birds for the Year List:

14 January 2008: River Piles Canal

42 - Linnet (Acanthis cannabina)
43 - Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus)
44 - Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres)
45 - Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis)
46 - Little Egret (Egretta garzetta)
47 - Ringed Plover (Charadrius hiaticula)

Later I’ll add a few pics taken during this walk.

 

[madamcoolpix]

Here are the pics taken during the walk:

1 - Spotless and Common Starlings foraging together (crappy, but shows the differences!)
2 - Meadow Pipit
3 - Common Kestrel

In a moment more new birds seen that same day.

 

[madamcoolpix]

After the walk along the Canal, I visited the local Park to look for some wintering birds to add to the list, but only got:

14 January 2008: Parque de Isabel la Católica

48 - Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra)
49 - Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula)
50 - European Pochard (Aythya ferina)
51 - Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea)

But took quite a number of pics, that I'm posting in a moment.

 

[madamcoolpix]

Some of the birds wintering in the local Park:

1 - Mediterranean Gull (giving a bow, )
2 - Yellow-legged Gull
3 - Eurasian Pochard
4 - Great Cormorant (very relaxed resting by the lake)
5 - Grey Wagatil (not relaxed at all, giving the photographer a tough time!)

 

[madamcoolpix]

Next day (15 January) I only had time to bird during an hour after my duties. I didn't see any new bird for the list in the University Campus, but took a few pics. Here there are a couple of new birds photographed this year:

1 - White Wagtail
2 - Common Buzzard

 

[madamcoolpix]

On Sunday, I had a nice walk through the Botanical Gardens of Gijón and added a few new birds to the Year List. There I found the first Woodpeckers of the year… and found out what had happened to the missing Redwings! They are there, probably because it is plenty of berries and they feel safer too, as there are hunters in the fields.

These are the new birds:

16 January 2008: Gijón Botanical Gardens

52 – Redwing (Turdus iliacus)
53 - Green Woodpecker (Picus viridis)
54 - Coal Tit (Parus ater)
55 - Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major)

And here they go a few birds snapped at the Botanical Gardens. I’m particularly happy on getting my first decent Coal Tit and Firecrest, and in a nice setting, as the spruce!

1. Redwing
2. Song Thrush
3. Robin
4. Coal Tit
5. Firecrest

 

[madamcoolpix]

A few more birds snapped on January the 16th at the Botanical Gardens of Gijón:

1 - Blue Tit
2 - Eurasian Jay
3 - Short-toed Treecreeper

 

[madamcoolpix]

And a couple of pics taken on January the 22nd at Viesques University Campus: a Blackbird and a pair of Mallards.

 

[madamcoolpix]

Well, Folks, I’ve been doing proper birding last weekend… finally the results sound a bit exotic! |=)|

On Saturday I visited one of my favourite area for birding around Madrid because of the varied habitats present and the variety of birds found there. It is usually great in spring-summer. But this time, it was excellent even in winter. We saw 40 different species in 3 hours. These are the new birds for the year list:

26 January 2008: Rivas-Vaciamadrid (Madrid outskirts)

56 – Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus)
57 – European Serin (Serinus serinus)
58 – European Greenfinch (Carduelis chloris)
59 – Zitting Cisticola (Cisticola juncidis)
60 – Sardinian Warbler (Sylvia melanocephala)
61 – Blue Rock Thrush (Monticola solitarius)
62 – Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata)
63 – Dartford Warbler (Sylvia undata)
64 – Purple Swamp-hen (Porphyrio porphyrio)
65 – Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis)
66 – Cetti’s Warbler (Cettia cetti)
67 – Eurasian Penduline Tit (Remiz pendulinus)
68 – Common Teal (Anas crecca)
69 – Monk Parakeet (Myiopsitta monachus)

As soon as I process my shots I’ll add some pics…

 

[madamcoolpix]

Well, here they go a few birds from Rivas-Vaciamadrid. Not all pics are as good as I'd like but I doubt I'll have better opportunities for a shot. Still, the birds are perfectly recognizable. Here you have:

1 - White Stork
2 - Spotless Starling
3 - Sardinian Warbler
4 - Blue Rock Thrush

Tomorrow I'll post more... now i'ts late for me and I'm falling asleep on the keyboard!

 

[madamcoolpix]

And here it goes another set of birds from Rivas-Vaciamadrid:

1 - Penduline Tit
2 - Northern Shoveler
3 - Little Grebe
4 - Eurasian Coot

I have a few more pics, for later...

 

[madamcoolpix]

And my last set of pictures taken in Rivas-Vaciamadrid:

1 - Long-tailed Tit
2 - Black Redstart
3 - Serin (a lady)

Now I'm going to prepare the stuff of my last birding Sunday!

 

[madamcoolpix]

On Sunday (January the 27th) we visited another favourite place of ours in the outskirts of Madrid: El Pardo. This is a quite good place for Spanish Imperial Eagle… but it failed this day! Well, next time… (|=)|) Still, the day was quite good and provided for the list:

27 January 2008: El Pardo (Madrid)

70 – Corn Bunting (Miliaria calandra)
71 – Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus)
72 – Eurasian Griffon Vulture (Gyps fulvus)
73 – Dunnock (Prunella modularis)
74 – Eurasian Black Vulture (Aegypius monachus)

And here they go a few birds photographed for the first time this year in El Pardo:

1 – Jackdaw (early in the morning)
2 – Monk Parakeet
3 – Eurasian Griffon Vulture
4 – Eurasian Black Vulture

 

[madamcoolpix]

Today, as it was sunny and quite warm at lunch time, I took a brief break with my camera to see if I could find some Butterflies. I did find the Butterflies (if anybody is interested, please click this link for details) and surprisingly I added two birds to the Year List:

5 February 2008: Oviedo outskirts (N Spain)

75 – European Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus)
76 – Cirl Bunting (Emberiza cirlus)

And I took a few pictures, with two birds snapped for the first time this year, Magpie and Cirl Bunting (a lady in the shade).

 

[madamcoolpix]

A rarity!

Last Friday I took a break for lunch and went out with my camera to the coast. There I had an excellent birding and snapping afternoon, I saw about 30 different birds, added two more to the Year List and took pictures of both!

8 February 2008: San Lorenzo Beach, Gijón (N Spain)

77 – Purple Sandpiper (Calidris maritima)
78 – Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)

Purple Sandpiper is a scarce winter visitor to the area and Ring-billed Gull is a rarity, but this adult seemed to like the area this winter. He comes and disappears and comes back again. I only managed to spot him twice, first time last Christmas (but I couldn’t take pictures) but now I got it! :-O Exceptionally, I’m adding two pictures of this bird, in the second one in flight and in the company of Turnstone, Black-headed Gull and second-winter Mediterranean Gull.

Later I’ll post more pictures taken this day.