Friday, 20th April 2012

Cabo de Palos lighthouse garden

Weather: Sky no cloud, wind N F1, temp.15ºC.  08:00 – 09:30.

As often happens with clear overnight skies and no wind, there was obviously a clear-out of birds last night, leaving much fewer birds today.  New today were 3 Black-eared Wheatears (2 males and a female), and there were still 5 Pied Flycatchers, but no sign at all of Nightingales or Ortolans.

Black-eared Wheatear - new today

 Showing its tail pattern - if only they'd all do this!

Species seen/heard (and numbers)

Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) - 1

Shag (Phalacrocorax aristotelis) - 3

Yellow Legged Gull (Larus michahellis) – 15

Collared Dove (Streptopelia decaocto) - 9

Swift/Pallid Swift (Apus apus/pallidus) - 25

Crested Lark (Galerida cristata) - 1

Blackbird (Turdus merula) - 7

Northern Wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe) - 3

Black-eared Wheatear (Oenanthe hispanica) – 3

Common Redstart (Phoenicurus phoenicurus) – 6

Common Whitethroat (Sylvia communis) – 8

Subalpine Warbler (Sylvia cantillans) – 6

Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla) - 3

Sardinian Warbler (Sylvia melanocephala) - 6

Willow Warbler (Phylloscopus trochilus) 6

Pied Flycatcher – (Ficedula hypoleuca) - 5

Woodchat Shrike (Lanius senator) - 2

Spotless Starling (Sturnus unicolor) - 12

House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) - 15

Serin (Serinus serinus) – 1

 

Marchamalo Salinas (La Manga)

Weather: Sky no cloud,  wind SW F2, temp. 18ºC.  09:40 – 10:15.

On the way back from Cabo de Palos, as I had time I make a quick call into the Marchamalo Salinas, just looking over the first lagoon which can be viewed from the car.  There seemed to be more waders than of late, with a group of 35 Little Stints, some in breeding plumage, 14 Redshank also in their (almost a purple appearance) breeding plumage. 15 Curlew Sandpipers were also new.  Apart from that the only other bird of note was a 1^st summer Mediterranean Gull.

Species seen

Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna)

Little Egret (Egretta garzetta)

Kentish Plover  (Charadrius alexandrinus)

Black Winged Stilt (Himantopus Himantopus)

Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta)

Greenshank (Tringa nebularia)

Redshank (Tringa tetanus)

Little Stint (Calidris minuta)

Curlew Sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea)

Slender-billed Gull (Larus genei)

Black-headed Gull (Larus ridibundus)

Mediterranean Gull (Larus melanocephalus)

Yellow-legged Gull (Larus michahellis)

Mar Menor, Lo Poyo, Los Urrutias

Weather: Sky 3/8 cloud,  wind SW F3, temp. 21ºC.  18:40 – 18:50.

In the afternoon I thought I’d have a quick look at a couple of places around the Mar Menor, starting with Los Urrutias, and a place where I know that some of the more ‘estuarine’ waders and terns get.  In particular I was looking for Whimbrel and Little and Gull-billed Terns.  Well, no sign of the terns, but I did see 4 Whimbrel, the first I’ve seen this year (surprising considering at least 1 overwintered at the end of ‘La Manga strip’, but I never got to grips with it).

I then had a quick look around the sailing club at Los Urrutias, but only found a single Redshank and the (now almost resident) Great White Egret.

Species seen

Great White Egret  (Egretta alba)

Redshank (Tringa tetanus)

Greenshank (Tringa nebularia)

Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola)

Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus)

Slender-billed Gull (Larus genei)

Yellow-legged Gull (Larus michahellis)

Lesser Black-backed Gull (Larus fuscus)

 Marchamalo Salinas (La Manga)

Weather: Sky 3/8 cloud,  wind SW F2, temp. 20ºC.  19:15 – 20:20.

My final visit of the day was back at the Salinas at Marchamalo.  As I’d noticed an increase of Redshank there this morning, I thought I’d have another more thorough look in the hope that there might be Marsh Sandpiper around, as these often associate with the Redshank.  I had no luck with this, but on going round the mimosa bushes nearby, did come across 7 Pied Flycatcher, 5 Spotteds and a Bonelli’s Warbler.  Whilst in that area I had a Peregrine zoom over about a metre above my head, and it then went on to hunt over the Salinas putting everything up.

Spotted Flycatcher - one of five seen

Also, I  almost tripped over an Iberian Hare

Species seen

Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna)

Peregrine (Falco peregrinus)

Kentish Plover  (Charadrius alexandrinus)

Black Winged Stilt (Himantopus Himantopus)

Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta)

Greenshank (Tringa nebularia)

Redshank (Tringa tetanus)

Little Stint (Calidris minuta)

Slender-billed Gull (Larus genei)

Woodpigeon (Columba palumbus)

Hoopoe (Upupa epops)

Willow Warbler (Phylloscopus trochilus)

Bonelli’s Warbler (Phylloscopus bonelli)

Spotted Flycatcher (Muscicapa striata)

Pied Flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca)

Corn Bunting (Miliaria calandra)

And to finish the day off, I was just walking from my house to see a friend in a bar at 10:55pm, when I heard at least 2 Common Cranes calling overhead.  The strange thing is that they were flying in the direction of Cartagena, which is southwest.