The return of Spring

The New Year started with some great birdwatching. We were staying at a friend’s house and had some great views across the valley to the village with the mountain as a backdrop.

A familiar cronking noise first alerted us, and as we looked up we saw about 50ft above us the lovely black sheen of a couple of Ravens closely followed by two Bonellis eagles. They were flying so low that even without binoculars we could see their speckled chests. Brown speckles on a white chest with darker wings make them easier to identify than other birds of prey, especially with their full “fingers” on the wings. Not a bad start to the New Year.

Smaller birds were also in abundance with groups of Linnets. There were thirty plus all occupying the same tree. They all flew off together when disturbed and returned later when the coast was clear. Also in evidence were Serins and Chiff chaffs, with the Serins beginning to sing their jangling call. A Cettis warbler could also be heard down by the stream with that unmistakable burst of song.

Black caps were seen flitting between the olive trees grabbing the odd insect along the way. A Black redstart provided some great views among the almond tree, sitting for long periods whilst I observed him through the telescope.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Later in the day Ibex, wild goats, came down into the garden munching on the olives. They were only 30ft away and seemed unmoved by my presence. I observed them for a good 10 minutes before they moved on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

However, the piece de resistance of our stay was an Eagle owl. In the last remnants of the light of day an eagle owl perched itself on an electricity pylon as I looked through the scope. Quite clearly I could see its ear tufts and the wonderful colours of its feathers. These are truly wonderful birds. She began calling with that unmistakable boom of a call. How do I know it was a female, well out of no-where a male appeared and as I was still looking through the scope it flew behind her and mated with her. It was all over fairly quickly but I had a fantastic view. I presume not many people have witnessed this in the wild and I feel so privileged to have seen it.

Spring is here ! House martins have started to appear in the village, returning to their old nests. A friend of ours actually spotted some on the 7^th February a full 10 days before I spotted any. Another sign of spring is the replacement of Pied Wagtails by Larks on the road leading out of the village. The wagtails have been defying the traffic over the winter by running out of the way of cars. The Larks have now arrived back and are playing with the traffic instead.

The Barn swallows are also back from their winter sojourn, arriving about a week earlier than the Swifts that have now returned. Does this mean summer is just around the corner, surprising really as we still have snow on the mountains behind the village.

Return of the Black redstarts

Apologies for not updating the blog recently, however, the birdlife around Casarabonela has been active throughout the summer, incidentally one of the hottest on records. Honey buzzards ( Abejero europeo), Short-toed eagles (Culebrera europea) and Booted eagles (Aguililla calzada ) have been seen in abundance and flocks of Griffon vultures (Buitre leonardo ) have also been seen over the village.

Now the weather has turned, most of the migrants have departed back to Africa. A few northern European species have descended on us. Resident species have come down from the mountains to lower levels and we can view Crag martins (Avion roquero ), Blue rockthrush ( Roquero solitario ) and Black redstarts ( Colirrojo tizon). The Black redstarts with their characteristic bobbing up and down are fun to watch outside the house window. We saw two males at first scrapping over territory. They also appear at regular times in the morning and afternoon marking their appearance with a distinctive clacking noise. They also appear unphased by the hordes of house sparrows that dive down onto the ground to eat the dried rice put out by our neighbour.

During the summer we were at our friend’s house and witnessed Red-rumped swallows (Golondrina daurica ) trying to build a nest under the alcove of their house. Occasionally they flew into the house causing a bit of panic as the cats looked on with mischief in their eyes. We managed to shepherd them out again unharmed. They finally finished their unique shaped structure before flying back to Africa along with the Barn swallows ( Golondrina comun ) which had a nest of their own at the other end of the house.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This time of year the larger birds of prey are starting to pair up and we have already heard the calling of the Eagle owl ( Buho real ) behind us on the castle, his magnificent boom alerting the countryside of his presence. Maybe it is the same owl that was released from a bird hospital last year on the Dia de las Aves ( Day of the Birds) when we held the Casarabonela Birdfair to promote the birdlife to be found in and around the village.

April -The Bee-eaters are back !

The sun has finally poked its head from behind the rain clouds and spring has eventually emerged. With the wettest winter for many years, so much so, Andalucia now has enough water in its reservoirs for the next two years, a green carpet covers the countryside speckled with wonderful wild flowers.

The birds of course have wasted no time in making their presence known with the dawn chorus; a wonderful mixture of Cetti’s warbler (Ruiseñor bastardo), Nightingales (Ruiseñor), Chaffinches (Pinzon vulgar)and Golden Orioles (Oropendola).

The Great spotted woodpecker (Pico picapinos) can be heard drumming away to mark out his territory and also the yaffle call of the Green woodpecker (Pito real), in the woods behind the village.

The unmistakable call of the Bee-eater (Abejaruco)is a great sound. These fantastically exotic coloured birds are returning from their wintering grounds in Africa. Often hard to see at first because they fly so high but they eventually settle on lower grounds as they prepare their nests in colonies in the soft earth banks,sometimes in the most unlikely of places next to busy roads. The males normally return first and prepare the nest, a long tunnel, sometimes 2 metres long, in the soft earth and then keep and eye-out for a female mate to join them.

The House martins (Avion comun) of course generally return to the same spot,adding a bit of extra mud here and there to their abode. One lucky house-martin pair in the village have had their nest painted in their absence by the owner of the house where it clings to the wall.

The Swallows (Golondrina )are performing their amazing skills of aerodynamics, flying inches off the ground, scooping up their food of insects and flying off at right angles as you approach them. I am sure they are playing dare as they fly in front of the car as you drive along with total disregard for their own safety.

Finally the Swifts (Vencejo comun) ; these amazing creatures are now back in droves. Generally Common swifts around the village but Alpine (Vencejo real) can be seen in the mountains behind us.  Each morning and evening their screams can be heard and in their ever increasing numbers they fly around the church and main plaza until they disappear in August.

Sitting on the terrace, just a few feet above our heads, the juvenile swifts chase each other in sheer exuberance screaming as they go past. Sometimes a swish of air is all you feel as they rocket past.

We popped around a friend’s house who explained that a Swift had landed on her patio and was unable to move. She thought that it had damaged a wing as it was unable to take off. We explained that due to their wing shape and that their legs are positioned for clinging onto edges, they are unable to take off once they land on the ground. As soon as they leave the nest they fly continuously for at least two years until they reach maturity and then build their own nests under the eaves of roofs, normally churches, and come to rest for a short while.

The Swift that laid on the patio was not injured after its overnight ordeal,s so we took it upstairs to the roof and threw it up into the air where it flew up and up and rejoined its mates flying around like a loony once more. A truly remarkable bird.

March update

Well, after the amount of rain we have had, we decided on one of the few dry days this year to check on the Bonellis eagles (Aguila azor perdicera) to see if they survived the downpours. We waited for about an hour and there was no movement in the area. We were getting a bit anxious until we spotted movement in the sky. The male settled and we were able to observe him through the telescope. The female then took to the sky and we could see the difference in size between her and the male. Both were in good health and it seems that they were using the same nest area as last year. Let’s hope they are successful in raising young this year. We will be keeping an eye on them and will report on their progress as time goes by.

Last week I spotted the first of this year’s swift as I sat writing last week’s blog. Looking out of the window I spotted an Alpine swift (Vencejo real) closely followed by Common swifts (Vencejo comun). As the week has gone by the numbers have swelled and are a regular feature in the evening with their distinctive screams as they fly overhead.  They will be around now until August and their numbers can reach into the hundreds as they fly around the main church in the village.

On Saturday, we travelled to Malaga to the Rio Guadalhorce estuary and nature reserve with members of the Andalucian Bird Society. The weather was overcast and warm but with rain forcast. However, this didn’t deter us from a good day out with like minded birdwatchers. With so many pairs of eyes it would be hard to miss anything and we spotted at least 45 species with some of the others seeing 50 plus. It is generally a good place to visit but this time the water level was so high some of the waders were absent. However, what we spotted made up for their non-appearance. Our first “lifer” was the Ruddy Shelduck (Tarro canelo) that flew in and landed on the river as we walked along the bankside. Even if it possibly was an escapee it was good to see nonetheless.

The background birdsong was a mixture of Serins (Verdecillo), Zitting Cisticolas or Fan tailed warblers (Buitron) and Monk Parakeets (Cortorra monje) accompanied by Goldfinches (Jilguero) and Cettis Warbler (Ruisenor bastardo –great name!).

The overwintering Osprey (Aguila pescadora) was still there and was joined on one of the dead trees by two Booted eagles (Aguililla calzada) and a Peregrine falcon (Halcon peregrino).

Walking down to the Sea view lookout point there were many gulls sitting on the sea, mostly Lesser Black backed (Gaviota sombria), however, we had a couple of seabird experts with us and they pointed out a Slender billed gull (Gaviota picofino) and a Great Skua (Pagalo grande), both a first for Sarah and I.

We also spotted a few Mediteranean gull (Gaviota cabecinegra) and a couple of Razorbills (Alca comun). We missed out on the Gannet (Alcatraz atlantico) though which would have been nice.

All in all a very pleasant day before the rain started about lunchtime. Always a good place to visit as it is the first stop-off point for many birds returning from Africa and it always throws up a few rarities.

Tuesday 16th March 2010

Tempus fugit- time flies as they say. March already and spring is here. Although the rain is still with us and its effect is still having an impact on the countryside with landslides and tracks being washed away.

When the sun does come out it is warm, so warm in fact that sitting on the roof-terrace resulted in a burnt head. Well, who puts sun cream on in February !

The last Thursday in February saw us at the Fuente de Piedra, the largest inland lake in Andalucia, 6.5km long and 2.5km wide. Salt was extracted here until the 1950’s and this has resulted in the water taking on a saline nature. Perfect for Flamingos (Flamencos) which arrive in their thousands to breed on this inland lake. However, they are fussy and the water level is critical to their breeding. Too low and it poses a danger of predators getting to the nests. Too high and the nests will be covered by the water. The latter is the problem at the moment. The water level is incredible. The flamingos are actually swimming in the lake which had waves on it resembling more the sea than a lake.

However, we were there with members of the Axarquira birding group to see the Cranes (Grulla comun), wintering here before their return north back to their breeding grounds. A couple of Cranes were spotted on the way to the newly opened visitors centre.

Around the centre there are smaller ponds which attract other birdlife and on the entrance to the car park, Swallows  (Golondrina comun) as well as Red rumped swallows (Golondrina daurica) plus House Martins (Avion comun) were seen as well as Black winged stilts ( Ciguenuela comun) and Coots (Focha comun) and Moorhens (Gallinena comun). Black headed gulls ((Gaviota Reidora) could be seen some with the breading colours already.

The hides around the back of the centre produced some good results, Common Snipe (Agachadiza comun), Common Sandpiper (Andarrios chico), Pochards (Porron comun), Gadwall (Anade fresco), Shovellers (Cuchara comun), Moorhen and Avocets (Avoceta comun).

After leaving the centre we headed around the lake where we parked up at the observation area, Mirador de Cantarranas, on the west side and spotted 50 plus Cranes as well as plenty of Flamingos and Lapwings (Avefria europeo).

We then moved onto Laguna Dulce off the main road just outside Campillos. For the last few years this lake has been bone dry and Little Bustards (Sison) have been spotted here as well as Marsh Harriers (Aguilucho lagunero). This time it is a lake once more and housed plenty of ducks, including the White headed duck (Malvasia cabeciblanca), Pintails (Anade rabudo) and Pochard, although not the Red Crested Pochard (Pato colorado) as we had hoped. A Great Crested Grebe (Somormujo lavanco) was spotted as well as more Avocets. By now the time was 2pm and the rain started once more, so time for Sarah and I to head home whilst the others went back to Fuente de Piedra for lunch.

A good day out with the added bonus of seeing the cranes just before they dissapear back to their northern breeding grounds.

Monday 15th February 2010

The rain in Spain falls, mainly on the mountains not on the plains! Wet weather here at the moment and according to the State Meteorological Agency the period between March 2009 and January 2010, has been the warmest on record, since 1943. However, we decided to give the “warm” weather a miss and visit the cold UK instead. So this report is slighly different as we report on our UK sightings.

One bird we do not get here in Spain is the Smew,a beautiful duck, especially the male, which visits the UK in winter from the Artic tundra. It had been seen on the various lakes at the Lee Valley Regional Park in Essex but it was always once step ahead of us and in our visits there we always managed to miss it. However, we did manage to see a good variety which included the following; Gadwell, Wigeon, Goldeneye, Tufted duck, Pochard, Teal, Mallard, Garganey. The winter sunshine made the colours of the Goldfinches, Great tits and Blue tits and Chaffinches stand out and the Long tailed tits are always great to see. Although we did not see the elusive Smew we managed to spot a Bittern and a Water rail at Fishers Green hide in the Lee Valley park, not a bad consolation, I suppose.

Another birding day out saw us at Ladywell cemetary in South London and interesting place to see in its own right but pretty good for birdwatching too.

The usual small woodland birds were there as well as Collard Dove, Wood pigeon, Jays, Magpies and Green Woodpecker and we also heard a Greater Spotted Woodpecker drumming a tree to mark his territory. Looking up into the sky we spotted a female Sparrowhawk, easily gaining height on the thermals (even in winter) only to be chased by a Crow which didn’t seem to bother her.

Back in Spain now and not much to see as the rain and cloud seem to have reduced visibility in the village to only a few hundred metres. Although we can see at least about 30 plus House Sparrows (Gorrion comun) sitting on the telephone wires outside the house.

Is Spring on its way ? The House Martins (Avion comun) have returned and are busy trying to rebuild their nests onto the village houses and Sarah spotted a Swallow (Golondrina) just outside the village, plus the Crag martins (Avion roquero) are still around.

It doesn’t feel like spring at the moment but the blossom on the Almond trees is out and it makes a colourful sight, the pink and white leaves against the green fields in the countryside with a dash of yellow from the Bermuda buttercups growing in-between the olive and almond trees. We shouldn’t be suprised with the rain, as Andalucia actually has more rainfall than the UK, but it all appears at the same time !

Friday 22nd January 2010

Greetings everybody. As northern europe suffered it’s coldest winter for over 30 years, Andalucia suffered it’s wettest. Rain, rain and more rain. Christmas and the New year were a bit damp to say the least. We were just outside the village looking after our friends’ dogs & cats while they went off to northern europe to struggle in the snow.

However, in the dry periods we managed a few sightings in and around their finca of the following birds.

Robins(Petirrojo), Blackcaps(Curruca capirotada), Sardinian warbler (Curruca cabecinegra), Grey wagtail (Lavendera cascadena), Blackbirds (Mirlo), Chiffchaffs (Mosquitero comun), Crag martins ( Avion roquero), Black redstarts (Colirrojo tizon), Greenfinch (Verderon comun), Great tit (Carbonero comun), Blue tit (Herrerillo comun), Rock sparrow (Gorrion chillon) and Rock bunting ( Escribano montesino). These birds were out and about as soon as the rain stopped and the sun shone.

We heard Cettis warblers (Ruisenor bastardo-what a great name !)  and also saw  and heard the distinctive tinkle of  Serins (Verdecillo).  Normally a sign of spring approaching – do they know something we don’t, as it did not feel like spring when the sun wasn’t shining, especially when snow was covering the mountains behind the village, Sierra Prieta.

Flying over the fields we spotted a Cormorant (Cormoran) a Heron (Garza real) and Cattle egrets (Garcilla Bueyera).

Just behind the house there are resident Kestrels (Cernicalo) and these were  guarding their territory as a pair of Ravens (Cuervo) flew too close to their nest area. A distinctive kronking noise alerted us to the Ravens followed by the kestrels chiding them in their high pitch call.

-Incidently, did you know that the Norse god, Odin, kept a pair of Ravens, called Huginn & Muninn – Thought & Memory, and he would send them out in the morning amongst the living and the dead and they would return in the evening to tell him of all the news and secrets of men and spirits . That’s why you always see them in pairs,  although we did see four together one day! (Siblings or offspring maybe?)

We also spotted about 3 o’clock in the afternoon a bat. At first we though it was one of the Crag martins but it had a very different flying pattern. Possibly a horseshoe bat.

The dogs barking alerted us to the wild goats ( Ibex) on the rock face behind. Several Ibex were sauntering their way across the valley, making the journey across the shear rock face look easy.

Finally we heard the wonderful call of the Eagle owl (Buho real) just after dusk and again before dawn, unfortunately it was too dark to get a really clear view, only an outline of this magnificent bird.

That was a great ending to our house sitting . We are back in Casarabonela now and are watching the cheeky sparrows (Gorrion comun) trying to keep warm & dry.

Monday 14th December 2009

Well, what a week. Midweek we went on a day trip to Setenil near Ronda. The weather was lovely and sunny. We took the mountain route through the villages of Yunquera and El Burgo and on the way we spotted around 50 Red Billed Choughs ( Chova piquirroja ) and then just outside Setenil we witnessed an amazing sight, around 150 Griffon vultures ( Buitre leonado ) circling above us. Some were only 10m above our heads. They seem to be coming from all directions to grab the thermals and we watched them for nearly 20 minutes before they flew off. Fantastic.

This weekend our village, Casarabonela celebrated its Rondeles festival. Every 12th December the village celebrates a sort of harvest festival. The olive oil pressing mats are rolled up and placed on poles and then set alight. The torch bearers have traditional shepherd costumes and are accompanied by children in similar costumes singing traditional Andalucian Christmas carols. The procession carries the statue of the Virgin from the church Ermita de la Veracruz through the narrow streets up to the church of Santiago in the main plaza. As usual this is an amazing sight as the village street lights are turned off and the only light is from the flaming torches.

On the Sunday we where visited by the Classic car club of Andalucia. With cars ranging from Mustangs, Corvettes, E-type Jaguars and vintage Mercedes. Parked up in the main plaza they were an extrodinary sight. After their arrival it was time to sample the Ruta Gastonmica. Ten houses in the village opened their doors and gave the village and guests the opportunity to sample traditional Andalucian home cooking; Food normally not available in restuarants; all washed down with sweet malaga wine.

The weather has turned colder now after lasts weeks high temperatures and so the Crag Martins ( Avion roquero ) have come down to the village to feed and are flying just over the house.

Hello everyone

Hello everyone this is Ian & Sarah. This is our first forray into the world of Blog so please bear with us as we try to get the hang of it.

The reason for this blog is to share our observations of the birdlife in and around the village of Casarabonela and the surrounding area.

We will also try to keep you updated with the activities taking place in this typical Spanish mountain village.

We hope you enjoy.

We have used the English name for these birds and put the Spanish names in brackets.

Monday 7th December 2009

“This week we have mostly seen” dozens of white wagtails ( Lavandera Blanca). They risk their lives by eating the insects from the roads and running very quickly away from the passing cars. They arrive in winter and are a major feature at this time of year. They seem to replace the Crested larks (Cogujada comun) which are normally there in the summer.

A Hoopoe this morning took off in front of our car as we drove along a dirt track to our friend’s house. We also saw flocks of Goldfinches (Jilguero) in the fields as well as Serins (Verdecillo). The Serins are also calling as well, their tinkling call a distinctive sound of springtime.

Closer to the village we have outside the house a Blue Rock Thrush (Roquero solitario). His chirpy morning call can be heard and he can easily be seen sitting in next door’s guttering as well as their chimney. We also have a couple of male Black Redstarts (Colirrojo tizon )in the morning and evening with their clicking sounds and their distintive bobbing movements.

Last week Sarah saw over the village about midday our resident Bonellis eagles (Aguila azor perdicera) gathering nesting material from the tops of trees. What an amazing sight.  She thought she also spotted a Golden eagle (Aguila real) but she didn’t have her binoculars with her at the time to get a really good view. We have seen one in the area before so she could have been right.