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This section of the website contains other information provided by members, such as, garden birding experiences.
Snow in Andalucia - February 2010
Mel and Wendy Sykes have sent me a photo of the snowy mountains near their home in Los Teatinos. Anyone who has been to Mel and Wendy's B and B will know how beautiful the area is in any season. They also tell me that they saw a Lammergeier flying near their home recently, part of a reintroduction scheme in the area. If a small group of birders wanted to visit the area Mel may be able to arrange a visit to see the reintroduction site. If you haven't been to stay at Mel and Wendy's yet I can certainly recommend a visit. Cortijo Rosa Blanca Bed and Breakfast
Bird in a Traffic Light! - January 2010
Linda Lawrence has been out with her camera again catching birds in unusual locations. This bird was seen in England over Christmas. I thought it might be a thrush of some sort but can anyone properly identify this bird for us?
Photos by Lin Lawrence.
Razorbills in Santa Pola Harbour and Cranes near Casa VistaBella - November 2009
Razorbills have recently been spotted close to the fishing boats in Santa Pola harbour. I'm informed these are young birds which is why they don't yet have the distinctive bill of the adult bird.
Bryan Thomas has also provided a photo of cranes in the fields close to Casa Vista Bella near the back gate of El Hondo.
Photos by Bryan Thomas.
Black Redstart Unusual Roosting site - November 2009
A Black Redstart has chosen to roost every night on top of a bamboo blind. The blind hangs in the porch of CBBC Members, Dave and Lin's house in Gran Alacant. Dave and Lin say he is welcome to stay as long as he doesn't mind them passing by now and again!
Photo by Lin Lawrence.
Griffon Vulture in Benissa - A report from Rosemary Read - October 2009
A Griffon Vulture has recently turned up in a residential area in Benissa, in the Northern Costa Blanca. Rosemary says "It was very exciting to see this fabulous bird just sitting on the balustrade of the home of a German lady I know. She lives on one of the highest hills around Benissa which is probably why 'Hugo' (the name she has given him) feels at home on his perch. She has been feeding him for a couple of days and both he and her two cats are used to each other now! I actually got to hand him some food, with the aid of a kebab stick. It was a very special moment! I do hope the Griffon will find its way and leave soon. Otherwise there may be a problem with it."
My Birds in Spain - By Joyce Wright, Moixent - Added April 2009
I can’t remember when I first became interested in the birds in the garden. It seems as if I have been putting food out for them forever. Over the years we have seen some interesting ‘garden feeders’ depending on where we lived of course. Our last home before coming to Spain was in Cornwall. We had a pleasant garden that backed on to a wooded slope. This provided a lot of cover for the many birds that visited my bird feeders. The usual garden birds came on a regular basis, then one year we had a male Pheasant who used to strut his stuff under the feeders. But best (?) of all was the grey squirrel who discovered us fairly early on. When he was around the birds were not!
I had seen in a magazine an advert for a squirrel feeder. Very smart. A box with a clear front, a ledge for sitting on and a hinged lid for instant access to the peanuts. It was also quite expensive so I asked Peter, who is a dab hand at woodwork, if he would make me one. Sure enough a couple of days later there was my new feeder. We filled it with peanuts and situated it on the tree where one of the feeders had been. Now I guess you have all seen that wonderful film of the grey squirrel who performs a cross garden assault course to get to a supply of peanuts? Good eh? Trust me, our squirrel did not share the same gene pool. He duly arrived, looked the box over, sat on the ledge and proceeded to gnaw a large hole in the side of the box until the peanuts fell on the floor!
The other character was one of the starlings who thought he was a cross between a kestrel and a humming bird. While his fellow flock were busy squabbling on the floor and bird table, he would do his impression of said birds by attempting to hover and get a peanut from the feeder. I often thought he used more energy in his attempts to get the peanut, than the actual peanut would provide.
However to Spain …
When we left Cornwall I made sure all my bird feeders were packed for later use, which was just as well as bird feeders here are pretty thin on the ground! Anyway, we settled into our pine tree wooded mountain top casa nearly five years ago. Plenty of birds flying around, but would they know what a peanut feeder was? I doubted it, however, after putting the pole up and hanging just one feeder I was delighted four days later to see a Great Tit happily pecking away. Would he tell his friends? Well yes, in no time at all we had several Great Tits and a pair of Crested Tits (last seen in Scotland). We quickly installed the other pole with seed feeder, coconut halves etc.
The birds that now visit our garden on a regular basis are as follows:-
Great Tits, Coal tits, Crested Tits, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, House Sparrow, Blackcap, Sardinian Warbler, Robin, Dunnock, Siskin, Black Redstart. I have also regularly seen Blackbird, Pied Wagtail, Crossbill, Thrush, Long tailed Tit passing through, Starling, House Martin and last year we had a resident Spotted Flycatcher.The last of these not near the nuts of course. Beautiful to watch but no characters yet, although the Sparrows have learnt to feed upside down on the peanut feeders! No doubt there are other birds around and last summer we fleetingly had a Jay in the garden. Eagles can regularly be seen on a good day, I think they are Booted Eagles but I need ’expert’ eyes.
Spanish Garden Birds – Observations of Pete Alden - Added April 2009
As a UK ex-pat moving to Spain, I initially found it difficult to decide if the birds I saw in the garden were rare or common. As an example Black Redstarts were in abundance, but Rooks extremely rare. After living in Spain for five years, I thought it might be of interest to those who have recently moved here to list the garden birds I see. Aware of the huge differences in habitat along the Costa Blanca, I also think that some more experienced birders may wish to compare their typical garden birds.
I live between Moraira and Calpe, just over a kilometre from the sea, in an urbanisation with many mature pine trees. Our plot is around a 1000 square metres, and being a lazy bird-watcher I spend a lot of time watching the garden birds from the naya where I get a good view of the trees, the sky, the sea and Calpe Rock. The nearest I get to seeing “water birds” are the Yellow Legged Gulls, or an occasional sighting of Grey Heron or Cattle Egret – never having seen any duck, geese etc. House Sparrows are common, as are Blackbirds, but Dunnock and any type of Thrush are missing. Robins follow me when gardening, as do the similar Black Redstarts. Starlings are rarely seen. Also absent are Crows, Rooks, Jays, Jackdaws and Magpies, but Ravens regularly patrol their patch. White Wagtails (same species as Pied are often round the pool) and a Pipistrelle Bat once took up midday pool drinking!
There is plenty of noise from the Goldfinches and Serins, the latter flitting like bats around the trees, adding to the year round sound of the argumentative Sardinian Warblers. Chaffinch, Greenfinch and Siskin are often spied and the Short-toed Treecreeper is common. Great Tits and Coal Tits abound, with Long tailed and Crested Tits frequently putting in an appearance – but never the Blue Tit. Crossbills are noisy residents, already with young in February, sending pine seed debris spinning into the pool. Firecrests are common, but Goldcrest absent, the former nesting in our pines. Blackcaps are rare but seen all year. Spring brings plenty of Chiffchaff feeding on the tubs on the terrace, followed later by Spotted Flycatcher.
As summer approaches the numerous Crag Martins are outnumbered by the House Martins, Barn (UK) Swallow, Red Rumped Swallow, and Swifts but Sand Martins remain absent. Summer also brings the daily calls of the Bee-eaters and Hoopoe, but none as strident as the yearly appearance of the Wryneck. Of the bigger birds Woodpigeon and Collared Dove abound, joined by the Turtle Dove in summer. I have once seen a Peregrine following the flight path of the pigeons to nearby Calpe Rock, but Kestrel and Sparrow Hawk are the common raptors – Shrike have not been seen despite being reasonably local.
Tawny Owl which each year calls within metres of our bedroom window – although we never hear Little or Scops Owls.Other rareties seen only once have been Booted Eagle (circled above me for five minutes when I was pressure-washing the solarium), a lone Black Stork heading inland from the sea, and three Golden Orioles (heard before seen). We also have daily visits from several Peach faced Love Birds but these are known escapees – although they seem to be increasing in the wild.
Well that is it from the lazy birdwatcher, now a little wiser after five years of life here. I hope the above may help some new settlers to put things in proportion. I can recommend the book “Birdwatching in Eastern Spain” by Malcolm Palmer and Luis Fidel as a good introduction to local birdlife – it helped me considerably.