Birding in Alicante Province (1 Viewer)

lazza · Mar 31, 2014

Mark Etheridge said:
Hi lazza, I will be there myself from the 5th April if you need a guide round the Clot

Now that sounds a good idea! I'm arriving on the 12th.... But it can be a little tricky to make arrangements for such frivolity as birding, as - strictly speaking - it's a family holiday with my wife and kids!! Usually I fit in cycling+birding around the family plans....

I'll send you a PM

Mark Etheridge · Apr 17, 2014

I've just completed my first visit of the year, a week to get our holiday home back into condition for the summer, so I had limited time for birding. For those who know it, the Clot de Galvany reserve is in a much better condition than it has been for the last 3 years, with good water levels and improved management leading to an increased number of bird species. New sightings to the reserve (for me) included Purple Heron, Night Heron, Avocet, Red-crested Pochard, as well as the welcome return of White-headed Duck and Marbled Teal after a few years absence.

There were enormous numbers of hirundines including Red-rumped Swallow, and the nearby reserve of El Pinet also has good numbers of Common Tern and Little Tern getting ready for breeding, along with plenty of Slender-billed Gulls.

Attached are a couple of photographic highlights including some rather unexpected visitors to my urbanisation who have taken up residence in the communal pool area - someone somewhere has an empty cage! I'll be taking a longer trip there next month with some more birding time hopefully!

lazza · Apr 18, 2014

First trip for me too, and thanks to your advice, Mark, I managed to make it out to El Clot! Not quite as fortunate with the species seen, but it was heaving with several (school?) groups of loud children. Nice to see them getting introduced to the local wildlife, but they perhaps need more guidance in appropriate volume levels!

Nevertheless, a single white-headed duck made an appearance on the first pool, and I added my only lifer of the trip, with good views of a melodious warbler picking insects off one of the trees further into the reserve. As suggested by Mark, my cycle there took me along the cliffs north of Santa Pola. No wheatears, unfortunately, but two magnificent ravens soared above the cliffs, and I had my first ever sightings in Spain of two warblers - common whitethroat and willow warbler.

Other highlights have included a short-toed eagle passing over Santa Pola salinas, three marsh harrier and a close encounter with a cuckoo along Vistabella road, and good views of a woodchat shrike and a pair of stone curlew in farmland near Dolores. The El Hondo hides along Vistabella road were also well worth a visit, with a few hundred flamingos at the westernmost hide, together with the largest number of white-headed duck I've seen (25+), and a single squacco heron. Mediterranean gull and red-rumped swallow also seem much more numerous than previous years, with sightings in several places.

lazza · Apr 18, 2014

lazza said:
....., and I added my only lifer of the trip, with good views of a melodious warbler picking insects off one of the trees further into the reserve.

Spoke too soon.... A final outing on my bike this afternoon added a second lifer, with a nightingale belting out its song from bushes along the Rio Segura across the river from Guardamar's highrises. :t:

lazza · Jul 11, 2014

Four weeks today and I'll be touching down in Alicante again. Looking forward to my fix of interesting herons and rollers!

Mark Etheridge · Jul 11, 2014

Let me know what date you're arriving lazza, I will be there myself from around the 30th July for a couple of weeks, there is a new reliable Roller site quite close to La Marina. Last month was very good for Little Bitterns and Squaccos, Hondo is in good condition - the only downside is that this year has been a bit poor for Bee-eaters, there are some around but not in the usual numbers.

lazza · Jul 11, 2014

Great! Thanks Mark. I arrive on 8th August, so a bit more overlap, hopefully (although as always, logistics might not be too easy, as my family apparently aren't too pleased when I disappear off with my bins every day!)

As for rollers, I've always found the windy road between the dogleg in the CV-853 and the CV-855/860 roundabout to be good, but that's the only place I've seen them regularly, so would be good to know other locations.

Will no doubt have a few trips to El Hondo and Sta Pola, and hoping to get over "the hill" to the lagoons at Torrevieja, and if my legs can manage it, maybe even another ride up to Crevillente. And might try and get up to El Clot again if I can. What might I see there (and along the coastal cliffs) in the summer?

Mark Etheridge · Jul 12, 2014

Ah. I think that windy road is the one where I've seen the new (to me) Roller! Did you also know about the ones on the North Boundary road to El Hondo, in the palm plantations by the (now ploughed-up) football field?

The coast road below the cliffs is pretty good at the moment but you have to choose your day carefully or all you will see is bl**dy tourists. There are Red-necked Nightjars in the woods between the tiny chapel and the cliffs which you can see during the day if you are lucky, and the Rufous Bushchat is in its usual place - possibly two pairs now - and are easy to see, although you have to watch out for the dubious gentlemen who frequent the woods in search of male company......

The Clot is fairly quiet compared to spring, when Little Bittern, Night Heron and Purple Heron all appeared. Red-crested Pochard have bred, there were a couple of non-breeding male White-headed Ducks last week, Stone Curlews are dropping in occasionally and Audouin's Gulls are arriving around 5 p.m. every day for an afternoon drink, wash and brush-up; you can almost set your watch by them. At least two pairs of Great Reed Warbler have nested this year, first time I've seen them in the Clot in 7 years of birdwatching there.

Phil Andrews · Jul 12, 2014

Mark Etheridge said:
Did you also know about the ones on the North Boundary road to El Hondo, in the palm plantations by the (now ploughed-up) football field?

Had them every time in this location in my three visits to El Hondo last June :t:

The proverbial record shot attached on top of one of the said palms

Hotspur · Jul 12, 2014

Phil Andrews said:
Had them every time in this location in my three visits to El Hondo last June :t:

The proverbial record shot attached on top of one of the said palms

That's where I have always seen them...except when the drunk farm workers were playing football on a bank holiday.

rollingthunder · Jul 13, 2014

They would probably still have beaten Brazil

Laurie:t:

lazza · Jul 14, 2014

Mark Etheridge said:
Ah. I think that windy road is the one where I've seen the new (to me) Roller! Did you also know about the ones on the North Boundary road to El Hondo, in the palm plantations by the (now ploughed-up) football field?

The coast road below the cliffs is pretty good at the moment but you have to choose your day carefully or all you will see is bl**dy tourists. There are Red-necked Nightjars in the woods between the tiny chapel and the cliffs which you can see during the day if you are lucky, and the Rufous Bushchat is in its usual place - possibly two pairs now - and are easy to see, although you have to watch out for the dubious gentlemen who frequent the woods in search of male company......

The Clot is fairly quiet compared to spring, when Little Bittern, Night Heron and Purple Heron all appeared. Red-crested Pochard have bred, there were a couple of non-breeding male White-headed Ducks last week, Stone Curlews are dropping in occasionally and Audouin's Gulls are arriving around 5 p.m. every day for an afternoon drink, wash and brush-up; you can almost set your watch by them. At least two pairs of Great Reed Warbler have nested this year, first time I've seen them in the Clot in 7 years of birdwatching there.

Thanks Mark.

No, I've not seen roller north of El Hondo. I don't get up to that side of the reserve so often (is this the "palm farm road" I've read about?). The only other place I've seen roller more than a couple of times is from the N-332 heading over the hill between Santa Pola and Gran Alacant.

Interesting about Great Reed warbler. They seemed more widespread to me, this spring, as I heard/saw them in several places I hadn't had them before.

Rufous bush chat and red-necked nightjar would both be lifers for me, so might have to make the effort to haul myself up that way, by the looks of it!

Mark Etheridge · Jul 14, 2014

The "football field" site is reached by going north on the CV855 towards Elche, turning left at the roundabout on to the CV851 (signposted El Fondo) then left again after about 1 mile on a road again signposted El Fondo. The football field is on the left after a short distance (the Rollers often perch on the goalposts) and they nest in the palm plantation on the right. There are at least two breeding pairs in this area.

I can guarantee (I hope!) Rufous Bushchat, the Nightjars are down to luck, persistence and good eyesight during the day, if you can get there at dusk again they are almost guaranteed.
Edited to add - the road from the N332 to Santa Pola lighthouse is another Nightjar hotspot where you can see both Common and Red-necked at dusk.

The Palm Tree Farm road is a track south of Hondo, you've probably been along it if you've explored the area off the main roads, there is a large building where they prepare palm trees and olive trees for sale. The track can be productive on occasion but is hit and miss.

lazza · Jul 15, 2014

Excellent. Will give it a try. I've cycled the road around the north end of El Hondo a couple of times, but usually when I'm heading somewhere else, so not really stopped. I think there's possibly a landfill around there too, as I remember seeing lots of passing jackdaws, gulls and egrets....?

Still not sure where you mean about the Palm Tree Farm road.... there are so many tracks south of El Hondo but I don't remember one with palm trees for sale; I know plenty which have been used for fly-tipping

I sometimes take the track the runs east out of Dolores and joins a north/south track through farmland, which is usually great if the stray dogs aren't around! I've seen fields full of glossy ibis along there, and a big flock of tree sparrow too.

Mark Etheridge · Jul 16, 2014

Update on the Clot de Galvany reserve - a Purple Swamphen is now back in residence after having gone missing for the past year, news just in from the Costa Blanca bird club.

If past performances are anything to go by, this will become the best site in the area for close-up views! :t:

Simon Elliott · Jul 16, 2014

Calblanque

Hi, does anybody know if there are any Bonellis Eagles in the Calblanque park? I'm staying at La Manga in 2 weeks and have bought the book "where to watch birds in the southern costa blanca". Some of the trip reports suggest there are eagles there but the book doesnt mention them. Is it worth focusing on this area or going further afield?

Any suggestions greatfully received

Simon

lazza · Aug 12, 2014

A few very brief outings on my bike so far:

Water levels at the Vistabella hides were very low, with the easternmost hide isolated out in a parched, cracked empty void of wildlife, but the middle hide was thriving, with a couple of hundred glossy ibis and black-tailed godwit, lots of flamingo and avocet, and perhaps 2 or 3 thousand gulls. Plenty of good views of purple, squacco and grey herons along the canals, too.

El Pinet was the opposite - the highest water I've seen, so only flamingos to be seen as far as waders are concerned, although a single turnstone flew over, and several collared pratincole swooped among the common and little terns.

The scrub and bushes near the mouth of the Segura river were also quite productive, with my first Spanish sighting if spotted flycatcher, sharing a rusty fence with a woodchat shrike, plus dozens of pallid and common swift. Also had perplexing sightings of what looked just like a great reed warbler, but well out of its usual habitat, feeding on insects in a fig tree and then again over some discarded fishing nets....? Is this possible...? I know they breed in the reedbeds along the Segura, but not sure of their behaviour post-breeding.

lazza · Aug 13, 2014

Mark Etheridge said:
The "football field" site is reached by going north on the CV855 towards Elche, turning left at the roundabout on to the CV851 (signposted El Fondo) then left again after about 1 mile on a road again signposted El Fondo. The football field is on the left after a short distance (the Rollers often perch on the goalposts) and they nest in the palm plantation on the right. There are at least two breeding pairs in this area.

Success!

Had a late afternoon ride (in sweltering heat）through El Hondo from the Vistabella road, and out at San Felipe (only a Little Stint to speak of seen from the San Felipe hides). Then headed around to the North Gate picking up the first pair of rollers just past the beehives and another pair, as you predicted, on palms by the ploughed football pitch. Beautiful!!

lazza · Aug 15, 2014

Had a ride out to Santa Pola salinas today, and added a second new species to my Spain list for this trip, as a single whimbrel perched on a wooden raft by the tower along the N332. Also saw a small flock of curlew sandpiper with a single redshank on the mud approaching the first La Marina turn-off.

A second morning ride through El Hondo after fresh rain (making the dust tracks treacherous to cycle on, as I found to my cost!) added little bittern and purple swamphen to this trip's list, both on the pool right by the visitor centre.

And for the record, I'm rather pleased to be able watch an early morning routine established by a pair of hoopoe on the ever-maturing verde across the road from my in-laws' villa on the La Marina Urbanizacion, which has quite impressed our two girls! (I'll get them hooked, yet!)

lazza · Aug 16, 2014

First lifer of my trip this morning, at the end of a lazy cycle ride around some of the farm tracks. Heading back towards Urb Oasis, a magnificent pale booted eagle soared over, rising on thermals and heading west.

I also had some perplexing sightings at El Hondo from the middle Vistabella hide. As so often happens here, my wader identification skills failed me once again! The water levels had dropped even further, so all the large waders and herons had moved on, but there were a lot of smaller waders, including little ringed plover, Kentish plover, redshank and dunlin, but I'm pretty sure there were also a couple of sanderling and possibly a small group of 4 ruff. Anyone any thoughts on either of these being likely? I've seen sanderling locally at Pinet beach, but only in Spring, and can't say I know if ruff are a possibility round here or not.

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