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Birding on the Costa del Sol (Malaga) (1 Viewer)

2014.03.16 Birding at El Chorro with my kids

My kids wanted to feel the same experiences I told them about my trip with Kathy so I came back to the cliffs on Sunday...

I have to admit there were not many changes as compared to the day before: the ibex, the tits, the vultures...

We missed the Peregrine and the Short-toed Eagle but they were replaced by one Goshawk flying very high above the gorge, a couple of Sparrowhawks chasing the Crag Martins and also another Goshawk invading their territory, and the wonderful views of the Bonelli’s Eagle flying above us.

Nice birdaytrip!!!

P.D.: the pictures show the Bonelli's Eagle. In one of them, an Alpine Swift flies near the Eagle.
 

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2014.03.18 Birding at Rio Grande with Jean & Peter

We have been able to spot all the possible ardeids present at the moment.

A visit to El Chorro was planned as the end of the trilogy for Jean and Peter but we did so well at El Torcal with raptors that we decided to finish the birding tour around Malaga at Rio Grande.

We first visited the Junta de los Ríos, were Rio Grande and Guadalhorce joint together. We could spot several Willow Warblers even though some Chiffchaffs have not abandoned the place yet and are engaged in honouring their name.

There were also plenty of finches in the area: Goldfinches, Greenfinches, Chaffinches, Serins and very beautiful Linnets with males showing much red in their chests.

We went upstream to find a few Common Sandpipers and lots of Green ones. We found the first Cattle Egrets, some in very nice yellow summer plumage, Little Egrets showing their two long summer feathers at the back of their head, and several Grey Herons.

There are plenty of Little Ringed Plovers displaying. They call, run and fly over the pebbly banks of the river. The big amount of White Wagtails along the banks also attracted our attention.

We could find the well camouflaged Squacco Heron but there was no trace of the Great Egrets so we moved to the other side of the road, to the Guadalhorce. After scrutinizing the banks of the river we finally spotted the Great Egret. I was near a Grey Heron and we could compare them to confirm that the size of the Great Egrets notably exceed that of the Grey Herons.

There were also Black-winged Stilts, Greenshanks and even a pair of Little Grebes in that part of the river.

At the end, we were lucky enough to find a Night Heron hiding just below a bunch of canes falling into the water, and watching us with its gorgeous red eyes.

List of birds:

RESIDENTS: Mallard, Red-legged Partridge, Little Grebe, Night Heron, Cattle Egret, Little Egret, Grey Heron, Kestrel, Moorhen, Black-winged Stilt, Little Ringed Plover, Common Sandpiper, Yellow-legged Gull, Green Woodpecker, Crested Lark, White Wagtail, Grey Wagtail, Blackbird, Blackcap, Cetti’s Warbler, Jay, Raven, Spotless Starling, House Sparrow, Chaffinch, Linnet, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Serin.

BREEDING: Squacco Heron.

WINTERING: Cormorant, Great Egret, Green Sandpiper, Greenshank, Chiffchaff.

MIGRATING: Willow Warbler.

36 species in total.

Nice birdaytrip!!!
 
Really enjoying these reports Luis.
Finding them useful for areas we missed on our first visit a couple of years ago.
El Torcal is a great place to visit, we were fortunate enough to see Chough, Black Wheatear, Rock Bunting, Griffon Vulture and Ibex on our first visit and will certainly visit again when we return to Malaga in November.
 
2014.03.22 Birding at Rio Velez and around the airport

It has been quite a long time ago since I visited the mouth of the Rio Velez for the last time. It is always an interesting place in migration time.

I did not spot any rare bird except, at least for me, a Water Pipit pecking the banks very close to the beach and I enjoyed the presence of many other species including Mediterranean Gulls, Hoopoes and Grey Herons in wonderful summer plumage.

My walk along the reeds around the airport gave me the opportunity to photograph and even picture (sorry, the video is not very well focused...) the Purple Swamphen and confirm that the Spanish Sparrows are still present in the area.

Follow this link for the short video on the Purple Swamphen:

http://youtu.be/rB1nS0-6Zrg

Enjoy birdwatching Malaga!!!
 

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2014.03.25 Purple Herons and a Ring-billed Gull at river Guadalhorce

Antonio Miguel Perez (a wellknown ornithologist in Malaga) told me about a Ringed-billed Gull that had been seen at the mouth of the Guadalhorce in the last days and I decided to pay a short visit to the Guadalhorce.

I did not see anything unusual but two wonderful Purple Herons (one from the Rio Viejo hide and the other from the Laguna de la Casilla hide), but no trace of the gull. And, luckily enough, when I was leaving home, I found it alone, on a rock in the east branch of the river. One more rarity to the list!

Enjoy birding on the Costa del Sol!!!

For a video on the Avocets:

http://youtu.be/ZYy3IuO-rUA
 

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2014.03.29 Birding at Rio Grande

When it rains, Rio Grande gives you the chance to watch the birds from the car...

And this entertaining birding site rewards your loyalty with nice surprises, as it is the case with our pair of Glossy Ibis today.

Click these links for some videos:

Glossy Ibis
Moorhen

Enjoy birdwatching in Malaga!
 

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Thanks Luis
Let me know if you come across one. I will be in the area in another two weeks.

Niels
 
More breeding birds arriving to Malaga!

We are receiving some more breeding birds at Montes de Málaga.

Booted Eagles have slowed down their displays though there are still four individuals in the area. We have welcomed the first Western Bonelli’s Warblers and caught and ringed the first couple of Subalpine Warblers. There was an active passage of Bee-eaters and Short-toed Eagles over the Montes, with two 5 and 6 individuals flocks of these raptors.

The picture of the Subalpine Warbler was taken during the scientific ringing process.
 

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2014.04.12 Birding at Osuna: Andalucia Bird Society April field meeting (PART ONE)

Great variety of waders in Fuente Piedra, including Wood Sandpipers and one Temminck’s Stint.

I stopped at dawn by the Laguna de Fuente Piedra on my way to Osuna, where the meeting was at 10:00. I was first a little disappointed as the mist was so thick that I could hardly see anything in the ponds around the wooden bridge. But you do not need your eyes to feel the amount of life and activity going on there!

The first Nightingale I have heard this year was singing around the holm oak at Cerro del Palo. Gull-billed Terns, Whiskered Terns and Black Terns flew from the main lake to the Laguneto. When daylight started to kill the fog, I saw amazing flocks of waders including: Avocets, Black-winged Stilts, Ruffs, Dunlins, Snipes, Curlew Sandpipers, Little Stints, Sanderlings, Wood Sandpipers, Redshanks, Greenshanks, Kentish Plovers, Ringed Plovers and Temminck’s Stints.

Having to leave Fuente Piedra to Osuna in the middle of this frenzy was kind of a “watching interruptus”.

To be continued...

Video on waders: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAD9Ixyxjk0

Video on Temminck's Stint & Wood Sandpiper: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3NacqRSXU8
 

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Birding at Osuna: Andalucia Bird Society April field meeting (PART TWO)

Mission accomplished! Bustards, Little Bustards, Stone Curlews, Collared Pratincoles, Lesser Kestrels, Black-winged Kites, Montagu’s Harriers, Rollers...

What a nice group of birdwatchers I met once again in Osuna! The number of attendants is growing so rapidly that we had to split the group in two convoys. I shared car and good experiences with Pete and Satori, and we all followed the great Peter Jones around the area.

In one of our first stops in front of a nice green wheat field, we could admire some Bee-eaters and the flight of a pair of Montagu’s Harriers and could spot, not without difficulty due to the distance and haze, one Bustard and some Little Bustards.

Driving through the tracks among Lesser Kestrels and Red-legged Partridges everywhere, we stopped at a big flock of Collared Pratincoles that landed in front of us for our full enjoyment.

We then arrived at one of the old ruined farmhouses sheltering Lesser Kestrels and Rollers. We could only find a couple of Rollers; surely they have not all arrived yet. A pair of Black-winged Kites flew above the group at that moment.

We moved to the Laguna Ballestera for lunch. There were Flamingos, Black-headed and Lesser Black-backed Gulls, Gull-billed Terns, Coots, Mallards, Gadwalls, Shovelers, Shelducks, Black-winged Stilts, Avocets, Sanderlings, Kentish and Little Ringed Plovers and the starring visit of a mimetic Stone Curlew.

Another call to the Laguna de Consuegra, whose level of water looks pretty low by this time of the year, giving us not many species and no traces of the Whiskered Terns. But... let’s hope it rains before summer for our reason to come back!

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1GlZBxzv4k
(the Great Bustard appears between 0:03 and 0:10 below the dark green line)
 

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Possible Semipalmated Sandpiper at river Guadalhorce

Why do I think it is a Semipalmated Sandpiper (Calidris pusilla)?

Size: it is in the range (around three quarters) as compared to the Dunlin.
Movements: it is not as fast as a Little Stint and its steps are “sticky”, probably due to the webbed toes.
Colour of the legs: dark, as opposed to those of Temminck’s.
General appearance: there is a significant difference between the darker crown and the paler throat; bill is shorter than Western’s.

See video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVfcTkSaVb4

Any other opinions would be very much welcomed!!
 

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2014.04.19 Birding at Fuente Piedra with Frank

Big amount of Flamingos grouping at the lake; bustling flocks of waders around the wooden bridge; nice sight of a male Little Bustard in display...

The weather forecast was cloudy for the day but it was even rainy before dawn in the surroundings of the lake. That is why we started by visiting the Laguneto after a “mollete con aceite” typical breakfast at the village.

Jackdaws and a Little Owl in the holes of the Visitor’s Centre in our way to the Laguneto. The birds seemed not to pay very much attention to a Fox carrying a couple victims home; maybe the lake had already paid its tribute to him. There was a significant amount of Red-crested Pochards in the water, along with Mallards, Gadwalls and the late Shovelers and Pochards at the site, some Little Grebes, young Lesser Black-backed Gulls, Gull-billed Terns and plenty of Black-headed Gulls.

Our walk towards the wooden bridge gave us several big groupings of Flamingos all around the lake once the mist cleared up, and the first encounters with what Frank calls the LBFs (“Little Brown Fellows”): Cetti’s Warblers and Reed Warblers singing, and Nightingales and Zitting Cisticolas singing and showing themselves too. Sardinian Warblers are inevitable too in the scrub.

Nice selection of waders in the ponds around the wooden bridge: Avocets, Black-winged stilts, Ruffs, Curlew Sandpipers, Little Stints, Dunlins, Redshanks, Wood Sandpipers, Ringed and Little-ringed Plovers and even a few Golden Plovers. Frank was very glad with watching and hearing the ditties of Corn Buntings as they are not present in Ireland.

We stood for some time around a reed in the path to the tower after hearing a strange call I had never heard before, but we were not lucky enough to defeat our friend’s shyness. There was a female Kestrel in one of the holes of the tower and a Glossy Ibis and a flock of Bee-eaters crossed the air above us to the main lake. Frank celebrated a Woodchat Shrike near the Visitor’s Centre when coming back to the car for a visit to La Vicaria before lunch in the village.

There was a flock of several Lesser Kestrels in the way out of the parking, some of them sitting in the wires over the railway. We could hear the songs of Red-legged Partridges from La Vicaria hide, spot a Lapwing and a Collared Pratincole in flight.

After lunch, we found most of our raptors at Cantarranas: Marsh Harriers (male and female) and Common Buzzard, Booted Eagle and Black Kites on passage. We could spot Grey Herons and Little Egrets from the sighting point, as well as Great-crested Grebes and some Shelducks in display. A little male Serin gave Frank another tick on his list, and Hoopoes were calling everywhere.

The hills in front of the parking at Cantarranas left one of the best moments of the day, with a male Little Bustard calling and displaying in the wheat field. I am pretty sure there had to be some females around him, but we were not able to spot them. While watching the Little Bustard, we could also admire the high flights and songs of the Calandra Larks, and saw the first Red-rumped Swallows of the day.

It was not definitely the day of ducks at Laguna Dulce in Campillos. As usual, huge flocks of Coots and a big number of Black-necked and Great-crested Grebes. We also found a couple of Kentish Plovers we did not see at Fuente Piedra, spotted another couple of Purple Swamphens at the bottom of the lake and Frank was very good at finding four Whiskered Terns in flight pretty far from the hide and the first Turtle Dove of the year.

A last stop near Bobadilla in our way back home gave us a nice flock of Cattle Egrets around a herd of goats and the meeting with my first Melodious Warbler this year, and maybe Frank’s ever.

With the addition of other common birds at these sites, we ticked 72 different species in total, which makes one of the best records I can remember.

No trace of the White-headed Ducks in Campillos, nor of the Black-winged Kite anywhere either... They are the reasons to come back!

Nice birdaytrip!!!

Video of Little Bustard: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEtLgXPbPfE

Video of grebes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xj7a729Qbzk
 

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2014.04.28 Birding with Bruce and Janet (Part I: Fuente Piedra)

Bruce found the needles in the haystack!!

Yes, Bruce spotted these extremely pink little flamingos whose black bills told, not without difficulty as they were the laziest birds in the lake, they were Lesser Flamingos (see the link to the video at the bottom of the report).

Wonderful sunny and windless day to watch Red-crested Pochards, White-headed Ducks, Little Bustards, Calandra Larks, Lesser Kestrels, Red-rumped Swallows, Great Reed Warblers, Whiskered Terns, Temminck’s Stints and Melodious Warblers among sixty species in total.

And first Mallard chicks of the year!

Nice birdaytrip!!!

Click here to see the video:

http://youtu.be/VmUGiDkNS-g
 

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2014.04.29 Birding with Bruce and Janet (Part II: Guadalhorce & Rio Grande)

Many more ticks for Bruce and Janet’s list of birds of the world!

Another wonderful sunny day at the mouth of river Guadalhorce and Rio Grande where Bruce and Janet could watch some of the birds they were looking for like Kentish Plovers, Yellow-legged Gulls, Blackcaps, Squacco Herons, Turtle Doves and Golden Orioles.

They could also enjoy many others like Night Herons, Hoopoes, Woodchat Shrikes, Purple Herons, Spoonbills, Western Bonelli’s Warblers, Pied Flycatchers and Wood Sandpipers.

Curiously enough, the same amount of total birds observed than yesterday: 60 species!

Nice birdaytrip!!!

Click here to see the video:

http://youtu.be/_fUNKnUB-6Y
 

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