200 UP!

A  I have now reached a quick update on the yearlist as I have reached another milestone - 200+ species with a fabulous drake Garganey at Petrola Lagoon.

  

So a quarter of the way through the year and I'm two-thirds towards my target however the pressure a little on now as I'm not in Spaon much for the bulk of the migration period! Our Valencia Short Break and Aragon - Plains and Pyrenees in May will be key to adding quite a few more species followed by Plains and Picos de Europa in early June - all very important for certain tough species.

 

Finally like to say a huge "Happy 16th Birthday" to my oldest son Stan (on right, Harry's on the left). It doesn't seem like two minutes since I was holding him in two hands!!! Take care buddy.

 

 

Three very different trips in February and March

Thought it was time for an update on what's been happening over the past couple of months as its been pretty manic.

 

First up was India - Tigers & Taj Mahal starting in late Feb and what an awesome holiday it was with lots of 'highs' and an odd low - the major one being that we missed Sloth Bear by literally two minutes!

The beginning of the trip was the back end of some inclement weather in fact our first few hours sleep was interupted by a massive electrical and thunder storm. However as we headed for Sultanpur (a fabulous wetland on the edge of the city) the rains eased , then stopped and we had contineous good weather!

Thanks must go to Jo Thomas for her seemless organisation of this holiday ( and previous ones) in this sometimes disorganised country.

The major highlights were many and a few of the stand-out ones are mentioned here - 

• Incredible views of Munna - the male Bengal Tiger, who proudly resides in Kanha NP.
• Gangetic River Dolphin leaping out of the water right in front of the boat
• Another Kanha speciality Leopard, seen scattering the Chittal (Spotted Deer)
• Male Siberian Rubythroat within a few metres 
• Gharial, Mugger Crocodile, Indian Skimmer, Black-bellied Tern on the Chambal River 
• Great to see the famous Keoladeo NP (Bharatpur), back to it's glorious wetland best 
• Almost 250 bird species seen

Next up was Southern Morocco and despite some slightly indifferent weather we did again see some amazing things and definitely the best reptile trip I've ever done. Many thanks to good friend and Moroccan guide Mohamed for again his hard work and talent, it's always a great pleasure.

Our hit-rate for the endemic and specialty birds was again incredibly high although not seeing Cream Coloured Courser was an absolute shocker! It was though the amazing sight of two roosting Egyptian Nightjars, which arguably stole the plaudits, although these ran them close.

- Another brilliant desert adventure with stunning views of Desert Sparrow, Crowned & Spotted Sandgrouse, Desert Warbler, Pharoah Eagle Owl, Magreb Wheatear - not to mention the fabulous backdrop of Erg Chebbi, the stunning orange dunes of the Sahara

 

- The stone desert with numerous larks and wheatears including the difficult Thick-billed Lark plus Temminck's Horned & Bar-tailed Larks, Red-rumped & Desert Wheatears and Black-bellied Sandgrouse.

 

- The scenically fabulous High Atlas, with snow-capped peaks, rugged valleys, fast-flowing streams and Crimson-winged Finch, Levaillant's Woodpecker and Tristram's Warbler.

 

- Bibron's Agama, Common Rock Gecko, Moroccan Desert Agama, Spiny-footed Lizard.

 

- Atlantic coast with one of the world's rarest species - Northern Bald Ibis

 

- Great places, great people, great wildlife, great country!!! 

 

The trio of holidays finished with one of my favourite and most popular Extremadura and Castilla La Mancha  . This was sadly affected by the weather being inclement on nearly every day, but our happy group endeavoured and got our just rewards.

 

This year there was 3 times the average rainfall and the worst for more than 20 years!!! Consequently the National Park of Los Cabaneros, also known as the 'Serengeti of Spain' which is normally fairly dry was verdant and spectacular. As they say every dark cloud has a silver lining!

Highlights included -

• Scores of Black & Griffon Vultures on a carcass at the wonderful Los Cabaneros NP
 
• 100's of Greater Flamingos, White-headed Ducks, Black-necked Grebes and waders on the La Manchan wetlands
 
• Lesser Kestrels nesting in the historic Trujillo bull ring
 
• Displaying Great & Little Bustards - an awesome sight, which always amazes anyone who witnesses it
 
• Amazing views of a pair of Spanish Imperial Eagles at Monfrague NP
 
• Black-shouldered Kite hunting right next to the minibus
 
• Surprise of finding the first Bee-eaters and Collared Pratincoles of the season
 
• Penduline Tits nest building
 
• Great looks at Scop's & Barn Owls in the grounds of the accommodation

It was a fabulous few weeks and 'thank you so much' to everyone who was there, we hope to see you again on future holidays. Below is a mixture of some of my favourite images from these holidays - hope you like them.

 



3-striped Ground Squirrel

Fulvous Forest Skimmer

Munna - Royal Bengal Tiger

Indian Roller

Spotted Owlet

Little Green Bee-eater

Indian Gaur (Bison)

Siberian Rubythroat

 

Magreb (Mourning) Wheatear

Spiny-footed Lizard

Dades Gorge

Bibron's Agama

Coke and a smile

Boulmaine Dades

Desert Sparrow

Crowned Sandgrouse

 

 

Great Day Out in Alicante

Adult Bonelli's Eagle

Thanks to Ian & Sylvia Wilson, Rob & Kathy Dowsett for joining me in a day's birding around the Alicante Region, culminating in a successful search for Greater Spotted Eagle.

The day started well at Santa Pola Salinas where we found 10+ Spoonbills, Great White Egret, 1000+ Greater Flamingos, 200+ Black-tailed Godwits, 3 Curlew, Avocets, Black-winged Stilts, Slender-billed Gulls and Great Crested Grebes. This was followed by a visit to the coastal salinas of El Pinet where we added a fabulous dark-phase Booted Eagle right overhead, Redshank, 100+ Dunlin and a Gannet over the Med.

After a coffee we continued the short distance to El Hondo another excellent wetland and along the Vistabella Road we initially saw lots of Marsh Harriers, Common Buzzard and a pale-phase Booted Eagle. We walked to a small reedbed hide and found 50+ White-headed Duck, 6 Tufted Duck, Red Crested & Common Pochard, Shelduck, Purple Gallinule, Black-necked & Little Grebes. The walk back to the car was very productive as we got views of a Greater Spotted Eagle - my main target for the day and the tear list. Following this we had a walk into the reeds where we got brilliant views of a Moustached Warbler along with Southern Grey Shrike, Green Sandpiper and Kestrel. It was now getting towards lunchtime but we still had time to check the agricultural fields, which produced the 'hoped for' Common Cranes - brilliant.

Bonelli's Eagle

We drove into the Crevillente Hills to the excellent 'Finca Bonelli's Eagle' owned by my good friends Colin & Jane. This lovely villa sits beneath a fabulous site for Bonelli's Eagles and shortly after arriving I found one on the adjacent rock face. A little later we had two adult birds flying round together, which was stunning. Also during our time here we saw 3 Hoopoes sat in a dead treee, Blue Rock Thrush, Crag Martins, Sardinian Warblers and a smart Little Owl. The day ended here and was thoroughly enjoyed by all.

Many thanks to Colin & Jane for their hospitality and sadly they are wanting to sell their wonderful property, in anyone is interested in seeing more of this property please visit this website - HERE

1 Target, 2 Days, 3 Lynx, 4 Sightings - High 5's....

An incredible couple of weeks in the Sierra de Andujar with multiple sightings of this gorgeous mammal along with lots of Mouflon, Wild Boar, Spanish Ibex, Greater Mouse-eared & Daubenton's Bats, Iberian Hare and of course Rabbit.

Added to this there's Spanish Imperial, Golden and Booted Eagles, displaying Goshawk, Black and Red Kites, Marsh and Hen Harriers, White-headed Duck, Night Heron, Common Crane, 30+ Little Bustards, Azure-winged Magpie, Hawfinch and Rock Bunting, plus a superb Horseshoe Whip Snake!!!ings

The bird list is now slowing up considerably although now at 161 and with the back end of February and most of March in India and Morocco things won't progress for a wee while now - looking forward to Castilla La Mancha & Extremadura, at the end of March. 

 

However bring on India - Tigers and Taj Mahal at the end of this month.

One down, eleven to go!

Red Crossbill (Cranes, Plains & Pyrenees 2012)

The ultimate day of January 2013 brought my final species of the month and a grand total of 151. Bizarrely it was while taking a snow-boarding break (not literally, that's just bruises!) at Valdelinares, Teruel Province, just 2.5 hours drive from the house. Snow sports in the morning and swimming in the Med in the afternoon as it is currently 20+ degrees - can't be bad for January. While I was struggling down the piste Crossbills kept flying over but got to see a stonking male eye-level on top of a pine as we sat on the chair lift going back to the top.

 

The next day it was February and a check of the Valencia Birding wetland revealed there had been an American Green-winged Teal at a small reserve near the Albufera d'Valencia about 40 minutes north of where I live. Despite having to get ready for my next two Iberian Lynx trips I got up early and headed off but sadly dipped the prize, although did manage to find a Ferruginous Duck amongst the scores of Common & Red Crested Pochards, plus there were lots of Pintail, both of which were new for the year - so not a wasted journey at all.

 

So the list edges on to 153, with only another 20 days left until I head for the Indian Sub-continent in search of much larger cats! That is then quickly followed by a Southern Morocco tour but after that it's back with a vengance as I take a group to Castilla La Mancha & Extremadura, which will boost the list considerably. Then it's April and migration in full flow......

Halfway there!!!



1st Winter Golden Eagle (Sierra de Andujar)

With still five days left of January yesterday I reached the landmark total of 150 species with a Calandra Lark on the way back to Malaga after yet another very successful Lynx-watching short break (see details HERE). Despite the inclement weather the last couple of weeks have been excellent for boosting the list in the corner of Andalucia, by adding Golden Eagle, Golden Plover, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Skylark and a brilliant displaying male Goshawk - one of my favourite raptor species. Not only did we have these classic birds and lots more but also a Greater Mouse-eared Bat with a young one attached to its body, a brilliant flock of 30+ Mouflon, Wild Boar at point blank range, loads of Red and Fallow Deer and some more great Iberian Lynx sightings. This link HERE is to some of Wayne Atkinson's footage from the first morning - we had just left the hotel 15 minutes earlier!

 

Now for the next 150, which I guess will be a tad tougher!!!

 

SUPER SWAROVSKI - the last few weeks I have been without my trusted 15 year old Swarovski ELs, which had to be sent back to the manufactures in Austria as I had broken them when fell on an Argyle moorland last November. This fabulous company not only make (arguably) the best optics in the business but their after sales service is also second to none.

My battered bins came back like a brand-new pair, which was absolutely incredible. They had not just repaired the damage and re-ground the scratched lens' but also completely recovered the casing, provided a new neck-strap, eyecups and rainguard all for just £200. Here's to the next 15 years with my fabulous binoculars and having many more memorable experiences - THANK YOU. 



Chameleon Karma

For a long time I have been promising myself a serious search for the elusive Mediterranean Chameleon, and when Iberian Lynx in Andalucia guest Wayne Atkinson wanted an addition to this short break, it all possible!

So with just one day we set off from Malaga early Sunday morning and got to the town mid-morning with plenty of time to find our target - or so we thought!

The botanical garden is only small but these gorgeous creatures are canny elusive and it took the lovely Andrea who worked there to point them out, much to our shame!!! In all we saw four individuals including one sizable male, which was fabulous and "thank you so much" to Andrea and the rest of the staff for all their help in finding them.

After this we returned slowly to Malaga and the weather prevented us from finding any Spanish Ibex at El Torcal (hopefully next week), but the last hour at the Rio Guadalhorce NR and beach was superb with Arctic & Great Skuas, Turnstone plus lots of Common Scoter, Gannets etc. However it was Wayne who caused the greatest excitement by finding the first of four Short-eared Owls hunting over the open areas at dusk and my 141st bird of the year!

Not so missing Lynx!

Great start to the Iberian Lynx watching year with multiple sightings on all the full days we were on the Sierra de Andujar. Another personal highlight was watching some interaction between this young male Lynx and a Red Fox as they seemed to travel together for a while before they peeled off in their respective directions - very interesting!

 

Added to that I also moved ny year list forward somewhat with several new birds including Spanish Imperial Eagle, Black Vulture, Black Wheatear, Iberian Green Woodpecker, Common Crane and a surprise Alpine Accentor at Cabo de Gata - I will take them all this year...

 

...So the list stands in the mid-130's and my target for 140+ by the end of the month looks acheivable - fingers crossed. Please keep those pladges rolling in, it is simply awesome.

Money pouring in!

Today I am down in Malaga getting ready to start my first of several visits to the Sierra de Andujar. Not only am I hoping for continued excellent Iberian Lynx sightings but to continue adding to the year list and hopefully achieve 140+ species by the end of the month.

Last Sunday, a couple of events coincided to push forward the sponsorship money for 'Life Lince', which were the counting of the 'Money Pig' and I hosted a quiz in the local bar. Both of these fundraising exercises were great successes with 230 euros being counted out of the Pig and 180 euros from the quiz and raffle.

 

Thank you very much to the few who participated in the free competition and the winner will be notified very soon - apparently their guess was 231, which is amazing. Very well done and £50 will be deducted from your next JSW holiday or short break. Also I would like to very much thank Jane for her  invaluable assistance on the quiz night,  Lucy (and Tara) of Bar Amigos for letting me utilise their establishment and to everyone who contributed on the night either with participation or with some of the generous raffle prizes - it is greatly appreciated.

 

So as it stands at the moment with the money I have been pledged for the annual bird race, we are currently in excess of 2000 euros, which is absolutely phenomenal!!!

Ton Up!!!

On the evening of January 7th I drove down to my friends Rob & Kathy Dowsett's home in Murcia, seeing a Stone Curlew fly across the road. We had a plan to do a full day's birdwatching in Alicante Province which proved most fruitful. 

So as we set off the next morning I needed 20 new species to achieve my target of getting to 100 birds for the year. We started at the pine forest of Maigmo where an initail slow start resulted in adding Common Crossbill, Mistle Thrush, Jay, Red-legged Partridge and Short-toed Treecreeper. This was then followed by visit to the mountain village of Monnegre for Black Wheatear, but sadly not but we did see a cracking male Dartford Warbler and Thekla Lark.

Things were generally quite so we decided to head for the coast and the ever reliable Santa Pola Salinas. On the way we did stop off at the lagoon adjacent to the Museo de Sal, which added Black-necked Grebe and Water Rail to the list before arriving at the salinas. We started to find some new waders with Greenshank, Spotted Redshank, Black-tailed Godwit, Common Snipe, Ringed Plover, Grey Plover and Curlew. Kathy then did incredibly well finding a Purple Gallinule in the far reeds - species no. 195

It was now lunch time so we headed for the beach on this lovely warm day and sat watching the sea in the sunshine. There wasn't much happening but persistance paid as I found 3 female/1st winter Common Scoter loafing on the water - brilliant.

El Hondo natural reserve now beckoned so we first visited the Vista Bella Road and the first new bird here was a Green Sandpiper, followed by a Booted Eagle high over the reserve - 199!!! We then walked down to the hide and as we entered the first birds I saw was a flock of 21 White-headed Duck, my 100th bird of the year and also quite appropriate. However it didn't stop there as we continued to add wildfowl such as Shoveler, Gadwall, Wigeon, Common Pochard and a female Tufted Duck. In the reeds there was a Moustached Warbler singing and a Zitting Cisticola bounced around above. As we left the hide and made our way back to the car a couple of Penduline Tits called from the phragmites bed.

It was now getting towards late afternoon but we still had time for a quick detour to the visitor centre, which produced the biggest surprise of the day. We only had time to check the little pool behind the centre but what a decision by Rob as we found a pair of Red-knobbed Coots amongst their commoner cousins - only the second time ever I've seen this species here - brilliant.

Our final destination was our friends Jane and Colin at Finca Bonelli's Eagle for their eagles and a warm beverage after a long day. The sun was low in the sky when we got there and sadly there was no sign of the eagles. However they are very reliable and 20 minutes later a gorgeous pair of adult Bonelli's Eagles flew over the ridge and into the canyon, where they nest and roost. It was a brilliant end to the day watching them fly round and eventually land on the crag opposite where we were. However we had one last species of the day as it got dusk a pair of Eagle Owls started singing to each other - a great end to a fabulous day.

Thank you very much Rob & Kathy for all your sponsorship, help and driving - it's very appreciated and see you next month in India!  

January continues...

...the 2nd resulted in a failed attempt to see Eagle Owl locally bu I did manage to add Kestrel, Grey Wagtail and Wren.

However the following day I was meeting Jane at Alicante Airport so got there a couple of hours early and visited the nearby Santa Pola Salinas. This was superb in just a very short time I had added quite a few new species including an Osprey, Great White Egret, several Spoonbills, Little Stints and Dunlin plus lots of Greater Flamingos, Slender-billed & Lesser Black-backed Gulls, Avocets, Black-winged Stilts, Shelduck & Great Crested Grebes.

Today while playing backgammon on the roof terrace I added my 76th bird of year with an over-flying Common Buzzard - things seem to be going well! Please continue sending your pledges of sponsorship, my new target of 2000 euros is getting ever closer.

The best cure for a hangover!

Whenever you're doing any kind of bird race (any race for that matter) it's always useful to a good start, and today was no exception. After seeing in the New Year with friends and loved ones it was a bit of a miracle that I was out birding at 10:30am.

It wasn't the best of mornings, being overcast and with fresh winds but as I exited the front door a White Wagtail flew over calling - the list had started, and this was then quickly followed by several House Sparrows.

Oliva Beach produced the usual suspects with 50+ Balearic Shearwaters, Audouin's Gull, Gannets, Sanderling and Kentish Plovers being the highlights.

It was then on to Pego Marsh and sadly there was disturbance from the local hunters but added lots of new species, which included a cracking male Bluethroat, Kingfisher, Water Pipits, Tree Sparrows, Southern Grey Shrike (above), Marsh Harriers, Lapwings and lots of herons and egrets.

It was back home for lunch and as the weather had greatly improve I took a walk round Oliva Castle ruins, which surrounded by scrub and Black Pine. This was very productive with a couple of surprises - a small group of Siskin and a couple of Goldcrests. These were amongst the commoner Firecrests, Crested, Coal & Long-tailed Tits plus Little Owl, Sparrowhawk, Blue Rock Thrush, Black Redstart, Blacaps and Sardinian Warblers. I finished the day with a very creditable 53 species, 17% of my target!