7 Garganey San Felipe

 Just a quick up date

7 Garganey at San Felipe including 2 females

Cheers Bryan

Birding Mars

SKIES around the Costa Blanca turned yellow on Monday afternoon due to Saharan dust being brought in by Storm Celia. Dramatic weather conditions are expected to stay in the area until Thursday. Gusts have reached over 80 kilometres an hour with dust particles covering a large part of Alicante Province skies.

A WEEK TO GO….BUT MARCH ALREADY WETTEST FOR 72 YEARS IN SPAIN’S COSTA BLANCA AND VALENCIA AREAS

Storm Celia smashes records just weeks after major drought fears With a week still remaining, ( see my earlier post about water levels at petrola )

 it has been the wettest March in the region since 1950, according to the State Meteorological Agency (AEMET).

It's been crazy not see the sun these last ten days.  The weather phenomenon that's lasted the last few day's around Alicante's and the Costs Blanca area and much further afield,  has made the BBC'S UK national news on more than one occasion

  micro particles of Sub Sahara dust, whip up by the strong winds which has turned the sky an yellow/orangey colour, it looks like you're wearing tinted sunglasses and everything is looking  cool and dreamy, its thick and affecting people with breathing difficulty's and they are advising people to stay indoors.

Mars Finca

And so with that in mind my birding buddy Trevor Ashley decided to visit and go birding, its been odd weather, theses last few weeks but undeterred we've carried on?

Great spotted Cuckoo

 Birding Mar's is not without it's problems the light levels are very low and almost impossible for photography. But the weather has dropped a few migrants in,  namely Barn Swallow, Pallid Swift,  House Martin, Red-rumped Swallow,  Yellow Wagtails, and the arrival of hundreds of Sandwich Terns, unusual high numbers of lesser Black back Gull, Great white Egrets also Black-tailed Godwit, and a few Northern Wheatears passing through, Corn Buntings, Meadow Pipit, scattered around. Great spotted Cuckoo's, Green Sandpipers, Ruff,  Red and Green shanks, Dunlin, Sanderling, Kentish Plover, little Stint, Avocet, Black winged Stilt.

Great spotted Cuckoo

Gull's

Mediterranean Gull,  Audouin's Gull,  Slender billed Gull,  Black headed Gull, all in full summer plumage and looking very smart, also Booted Eagle, Marsh Harriers.

Bar tailed Godwit on Mars,

So more rain forecast for tomorrow and the rest of the week

I'll let you know how we get on and where we end up?

Great spotted Cuckoo's

Today  20th March

More rain over night and cloudy start to the day, we decided not to go far and head straight to San Felipe,  we arrived before anyone else, so it was undisturbed. 

Water Rail

Water Rail showed briefly also there Woods Sandpiper, Ruff, European Snipe, good numbers of Black tailed Godwit, and high numbers of Glossy Ibis around the area.

Black tailed Godwit. 

Ruff.

 Marbled Duck, Teal, Garganey, Shoveler, Red crested Pochard, Common Pochard, Red knobbed Coot, Black necked Grebes, Purple Swamp Hen, and lots of  hirundines, 20 + Alpine Swift's which put a proper show as they were only just above head, and higher up probably three times that number.

Alpine Swift.

Garganey.

 A fly past of 2 Stone Curlew at very close range was a bonus.

Red knobbed Coot.

I've not mentioned every bird seen

Let see what Monday brings?

Rain again this morning its not stopped since the 2nd of March, so we had plan B and went Sea Watching along the Carabassi Beach road it was surprisingly good with an stiff on shore breeze, waves about 2 meter high

Great Skua.

Trevor picked out an Oystercatcher, a Whimbrel flew past, several Audouin's Gull sat around the rocky shore, and Turnstones fed along the tidal sea weed.  Mega bird of the day was a Great Skua fly past at close range probably bird of the week,

We call it a day around 11 o'clock and planned to go out later this afternoon weather permitting

El Clot

Water levels high

Black necked Grebe.

So we chanced it, it was spitting with rain very cloudy and very grey. On the big pool a few White headed Duck, Black necked Grebe's  Red crested Pochard, absolutely hundreds of House Martin's,  good numbers of Red-rumped Swallow feeding over the pool, but the common small bird we're keeping there heads down.

White headed Duck.

Red crested Pochard.

We head off to the Carabassi Beach one more time not as good as this morning visit but we did find 2 Whimbrel sat around the rock's and added Gannet to the list.

Whimbrel.

Hoping the weather improves for the tomorrow morning

Well the forecast was for an improving day, well just how wrong can it get, we decide to go Benejúzar and bird along the river, well heaven's open and after an hour or so we'd had enough and cut our losses and went across country to San Felipe heavy rain showers followed us and put an end to our day.

But at San Felipe there are now 7 Garganey including 2 female, nice way to end the day, and Trevor is stuck on 99  species for the trip.

Have a great day.

Cheers Bryan

Corral Rubio Bonete, Petrola

Thursday 10th March

The forecast was good for the visit to the plains of Corral Rubio Bonete, Petrola,

We've only missed Great Bustard once in all the years that we've been coming up here since 2002 and that was in the high heat of August, when they spend a lot of time hidden away under the olive trees groves, but today we came close to drawing a Blank and with only one Great Bustard seen during the day, I have no idea where the rest are hiding, as we covered all the know favourite areas and we did the miles.

Little ringed Plover

We did cock up twice in quick succession,  we had 2 encounters at close range with Black bellied Sandgrouse a group of 6 and the an 8 which took flight after a few moments and no chance for a photo, also a single Pin tailed Sandgrouse seen, 

Marsh Harrier

5 Greylag Geese showed distantly on lagoon of Corral Rubio which was a good find as we don't get to see Geese very often on the eastern side of Spain, other bird seen Black necked and little Grebe, White headed Duck, Gadwall, Pochard, Shoveler, Teal, Shell Duck, shed loads of Marsh Harriers, Buzzard's and Kestrel. Calandra lark and Sky Lark and the odd Black Redstart.

 Greylag Geese

Corn Bunting, everywhere and sounding off.  Waders seen LRP, Wood Sandpipers, Green Sandpipers, Snipe,Avocet, lots of Lapwing, Black tailed Godwit, 21 Ruff including 6 Revee the odd mounting Water Pipit and Black headed Gull.

 Black Restart

Lagunas de Petrola.

On the great lake?  was completely devoid of any birds normally there are good numbers of Greater Flamingo there, and other Waders, Grebes and Duck,  But not a single bird? mind blowing?

Green Sandpiper

Of interest

 after our resent soaking around the Costa's we were expecting the water levels in the seasonal lakes to be high around Corral Ruibo, Bonete, and the tracks across the plains to be muddy but not so, it already looks like these lakes will dry out well before the summer. As it look like they've not had the heavy rain the coastal areas received. 

Marsh Harrier

So with the exception of the Ruff and displaying Calandra Lark (some male ruff in breading plumage) there was little sign of bird migration, the only sign of spring was lots of speckled White butterfly and Clouded Yellow, compared to the coast areas where Barn Swallow are back, and Black Restarts are move through

have a great day

Cheers Bryan