Hotspur
James Spencer
8 nights with an elderly relative may sound like purgatory but this came with the release of warm weather birding and habo on the doorstep. 22 lifers out of 84 species was a good haul. A very happy chappy.
We arrived to La Siesta, Torrevieja after a quick 2 hour 20 minute flight from Leeds/Bradford to Alicante airport. My wife's elderly aunt picked us up and we were at the apartment. It was pitch dark unfortunatly but I drifted into a fitfull sleep full of Hoopoes and Flamingos.
At 6.45 I was scouring the scrub alongside the apartment. This was part of a nature reserve called La Salinas del la Mata, a large lake which was formerly a salt pan.First bird was a House Sparrow followed by my first lifer in the form of Spotless Starling. These pretty little birds were ever present around the apartment and around any built up areas. As I got stuck into the scrub I heard the evocative trisylabic Hoop-hoop-hoop of a Hoopoe. I quickly saw a pair displaying to each other oblivious to me. I have never seen one before around the med - how I have avoided them im not sure! A lark rose from the bushes next to me, Crested Lark. A common bird on the continent and one I had seen on most european trips pereviously. 4 Greater Flamingos flew above the horizon and I couldn't yet see the lake side. Another lifer - 3 already. There were infact several hundred Flamingos around the lake. A pair of Shelduck were flying over the lake shore.
As I reached the lake shore another triumvirate of lifers awaited. First up a displaying pair of Slender-billed Gulls were hding in the margins. These were flushed by an incoming pair of Black-winged Stilts. Zitting above my head was a small and vocal bird whcih I soon twigged was the first of many Fan-tailed Warblers I would see.
Barn Swallows were hawking over the vegetation as were some higher flying birds. A group of Pallid Swifts moved slowly west over the streets. Under close scrutiny these subtle birds showed a few differences to their common relatives such as an obvious white throat, paler colouring (only obvious in good light and scaling to the body. Im not sure how useful the blunt wing tips are as it wasn't an obvious difference to me (bearing in mind I hadn't seen a Common Swift in 8 months).
Looking back at the lake it was obvious there were thousands of 'ducks' out at some distance. As I scoped these it became patent that these were infact a massive grouping of Black-necked Grebes. Perhaps 5,000 individuals were present, maybe more. Also sat on the water were many Black-headed Gulls and Yellow-legged Gulls. A Grey Heron flew overhead. A constant accompanyment was the scolding of many Sardinian Warblers followed by brief glimpses of flying birds or furtive glimpses in the pine scrub. Along the shore yet more stilts were mating and small groups of Avocets sat and loafed. I soon noticed that the majority of the flying passerines were very showy Serins.
I mooched back in for breakfast a smiling and sweaty fella.
We arrived to La Siesta, Torrevieja after a quick 2 hour 20 minute flight from Leeds/Bradford to Alicante airport. My wife's elderly aunt picked us up and we were at the apartment. It was pitch dark unfortunatly but I drifted into a fitfull sleep full of Hoopoes and Flamingos.
At 6.45 I was scouring the scrub alongside the apartment. This was part of a nature reserve called La Salinas del la Mata, a large lake which was formerly a salt pan.First bird was a House Sparrow followed by my first lifer in the form of Spotless Starling. These pretty little birds were ever present around the apartment and around any built up areas. As I got stuck into the scrub I heard the evocative trisylabic Hoop-hoop-hoop of a Hoopoe. I quickly saw a pair displaying to each other oblivious to me. I have never seen one before around the med - how I have avoided them im not sure! A lark rose from the bushes next to me, Crested Lark. A common bird on the continent and one I had seen on most european trips pereviously. 4 Greater Flamingos flew above the horizon and I couldn't yet see the lake side. Another lifer - 3 already. There were infact several hundred Flamingos around the lake. A pair of Shelduck were flying over the lake shore.
As I reached the lake shore another triumvirate of lifers awaited. First up a displaying pair of Slender-billed Gulls were hding in the margins. These were flushed by an incoming pair of Black-winged Stilts. Zitting above my head was a small and vocal bird whcih I soon twigged was the first of many Fan-tailed Warblers I would see.
Barn Swallows were hawking over the vegetation as were some higher flying birds. A group of Pallid Swifts moved slowly west over the streets. Under close scrutiny these subtle birds showed a few differences to their common relatives such as an obvious white throat, paler colouring (only obvious in good light and scaling to the body. Im not sure how useful the blunt wing tips are as it wasn't an obvious difference to me (bearing in mind I hadn't seen a Common Swift in 8 months).
Looking back at the lake it was obvious there were thousands of 'ducks' out at some distance. As I scoped these it became patent that these were infact a massive grouping of Black-necked Grebes. Perhaps 5,000 individuals were present, maybe more. Also sat on the water were many Black-headed Gulls and Yellow-legged Gulls. A Grey Heron flew overhead. A constant accompanyment was the scolding of many Sardinian Warblers followed by brief glimpses of flying birds or furtive glimpses in the pine scrub. Along the shore yet more stilts were mating and small groups of Avocets sat and loafed. I soon noticed that the majority of the flying passerines were very showy Serins.
I mooched back in for breakfast a smiling and sweaty fella.