Doñana/Costa Del Sol Trip Report Febuary 2007 (1 Viewer)

sfswhite said:

Among the best birds were:
Azure Winged Magpies-Unique to the area,
Hoopoe- A bird I have longed to see,
Red Necked Grebes- Pairing off for breeding

Is this a typo for BLACK-necked Grebe? These certainly breed in the area, but Red-necked Grebe are rather rare birds in Spain.

John

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John Cantelo said:

sfswhite said:

Is this a typo for BLACK-necked Grebe? These certainly breed in the area, but Red-necked Grebe are rather rare birds in Spain.

John

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Absolutely right John. They were Black-necked Grebes. Lots of them in full breeding plumage and performing mating rituals.

I think the confusion may be because I had mentioned that I had seen a Red-throated Diver at the Rio Piedras just a few days earlier and that is even rarer here than a Red-necked Grebe.

Did you get the Mourning Done at Algaida, by the way?


SF.
It was a pleasure to meet you and your grandparents last Monday. I´m pleased to hear that the book came in useful.

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John Butler said:

Absolutely right John. They were Black-necked Grebes. Lots of them in full breeding plumage and performing mating rituals.

I think the confusion may be because I had mentioned that I had seen a Red-throated Diver at the Rio Piedras just a few days earlier and that is even rarer here than a Red-necked Grebe.

Did you get the Mourning Done at Algaida, by the way?
SF.

Thanks for the clarification, John. I thought it had to be a slip. As for the Laughing (Palm) Dove I'm afraid I missed it - pity as it would have been a new bird. However, I did see what was almost a Lanner Falcon when we went to look!
TWM - I suppose 'rather rare' was a bit of an understatement particularly given that we're talking Andalucia - had it been off Cantabria it might have been excusable! John

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John Cantelo said:

John Butler said:

However, I did see what was almost a Lanner Falcon when we went to look! John

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Hi John.

Thanks for the trip report you sent me. I am very interested in your sighting of a Lanner on the 16th, as two clients and I also spotted what we thought was a Lanner at the Caño de Guadiamar (Doñana) on the 18th.
The bird flew over the vehicle at about 5 metres height and sped across the marsh, being visible for about only 15 seconds before disappearing.
My first thought was "Peregrine", but it was soon obvious that it was not a Peregrine. Like you, the size, colour, shape and flight outline indicated "Lanner".
There were no signs to indicate that it may have been an escaped bird.

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John Butler said:

Hi John.

Thanks for the trip report you sent me. I am very interested in your sighting of a Lanner on the 16th, as two clients and I also spotted what we thought was a Lanner at the Caño de Guadiamar (Doñana) on the 18th.
The bird flew over the vehicle at about 5 metres height and sped across the marsh, being visible for about only 15 seconds before disappearing.
My first thought was "Peregrine", but it was soon obvious that it was not a Peregrine. Like you, the size, colour, shape and flight outline indicated "Lanner".
There were no signs to indicate that it may have been an escaped bird.

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sfswhite said:

I was lucky enough to visit the Doñana area last week. We contacted Doñana Bird Tours (www.donanabirdtours.com) which is led by John Butler. It was very well organised and all we had to to was contact John and he booked a Bungalow for us. We saw 63 birds and about half of those were firsts. I would recomend Doñana Bird Tours to any one!!!

Among the best birds were:
Azure Winged Magpies-Unique to the area,
Hoopoe- A bird I have longed to see,
Red Necked Grebes- Pairing off for breeding

John has written a book on Birding in the area (check out the section on John´s website) which was very useful when we went to Ronda helping us to identify Red Billed Choughs and Crag Martins.

Sfswhite

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Colin Key said:

Azure-winged Magpies are not unique to Doñana - they are very common in southern Portugal and also in parts of China.Colin

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sfswhite said:

Hi All,
I have made a mess of this one and am sorry. I hope this does not deter you all!
Sfswhite
:stuck:

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sfswhite said:

Hi All,
I have made a mess of this one and am sorry. I hope this does not deter you all!
Sfswhite
:stuck:

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sfswhite said:

Hi all,
Thanks for the support.
Good birding
Sfswhite
:eat:

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