JANUARY FIELD TRIP - Mar Menor area - By Barry Chambers

The venue for the Costa Blanca Bird Club monthly meeting for January was the Mar Menor. Unfortunately before we started birding the lunchtime plan for our menu del dia had to be quickly rearranged due to the restaurant at Los Nietos being closed, however, Fran and Tony soon found an alternative at Restaurant Gallego in Lo Pagan and what a great choice it proved to be with an excellent meal. Back to birding; 34 members met in the car park at San Pedro on a glorious warm sunny day. Birds were a bit sparse but several Pintails and Mallards were the first ducks seen, along with Slender billed Gulls and a number of Greater Flamingo who were doing their own style of disco dancing!! Grey Plover and Avocet were soon added to the list along with Shelduck. We then walked to the beach which was fairly barren of birds except for two Black Redstarts and several Crested Larks.

On returning to the car park we drove back along the road stopping to do a circular walk, to a hide and through the sand dunes. Here we added Black necked Grebe, Little Stint, Sanderling, Redshank and Black winged Stilt, before four Stone Curlews flew past and a further two were spotted in the dunes along with two Dartford Warblers, a number of Red legged Partridge and several Stonechats. We then travelled back towards San Pedro for our final stop before lunch, seeing more Greater Flamingoes and Avocets along with a group of Black tailed Godwit and a Spotted Redshank.

After a wonderful lunch, which everyone said they enjoyed we drove to the Rambla del Albujon area where several Kestrels were spotted, one being mobbed by a passing Marsh Harrier. On the sea we saw several Great Crested Grebe feeding, along with a Sandwich Tern and a passing Audouin's Gull. Finally four Curlews were seen by Bryan on the beach, before they flew by us to end our days birding around the Mar Menor. Thankyou to everyone who helped to make it such an enjoyable day.

List of Birds seen by members:- Avocet, Blackbird, Chiffchaff, Coot, Cormorant, Curlew, Collared Dove, Dunlin, Little Egret, Greater Flamingo, Black tailed Godwit, Black necked Grebe, Great Crested Grebe, Little Grebe, Audouin's Gull, Black headed Gull, Slender billed Gull, Yellow legged Gull, Marsh Harrier, Grey Heron, Hoopoe, Kestrel, Crested Lark, Linnet, Mallard, Crag Martin, Red legged Partridge, Feral Pigeon, Pintail, Meadow Pipit, Grey Plover, Kentish Plover, Redshank, Spotted Redshank, Black Redstart, Sanderling, Common Sandpiper, Serin, Shelduck, Southern Grey Shrike, Snipe, House Sparrow, Spotless Starling, Black winged Stilt, Little Stint, Stonechat, Stone Curlew, Sandwich Tern, White Wagtail, Dartford Warbler, Fan tailed Warbler, Sardinian Warbler and Woodpigeon. Species total 53.

Black necked Grebe by Dave Eddy©. Kestrel by Michael Smith©

DECEMBER FIELD TRIP - El Clot, La Gola beach, Santa Pola Salinas, El Pinet and Vista Bella - By Malcolm Palmer

The December field trip of the Costa Blanca Bird Club was designed to accommodate the AGM, held at El Pinet’s ‘Gallego 2’ restaurant. We were pleased to welcome our first Dutch members and Els and Stefan enjoyed their day out with us, I think. The weather certainly smiled upon us – 23º in December being something of a treat. Starting off at the Clot de Galvany, people were soon peeling off layers of clothing, as a young Sparrowhawk obliged us by circling typically nearly overhead. There were Black Redstarts, Robins and Linnets everywhere, and the ‘Charco de Contacto’ was home to Black necked and Little Grebes, a Purple Swamphen, a great many Teal and a solitary female White headed Duck. Some members watched a small group of Snipe, and a Grey Wagtail dropped in.

We then made our way to the Playa la Gola, near Santa Pola, where Whimbrel, Bar tailed Godwit and Sanderling seemed undisturbed by the many visitors. Pete’s energy was rewarded when he flushed two Richard’s Pipits, one of which came in to give us some decent views. Our walk also yielded a Water Pipit, many Meadow Pipits and Crested Lark. The Salinas were next to receive our attention, and a good variety of waders included a Curlew and a Curlew Sandpiper. Two Great White Egrets and at least two Spoonbill fed in the shallow water, and ‘the’ Mute Swan preened on a far bank, where it was joined by more Bar tailed Godwits and some Dunlin. Slender billed Gulls fed in their individual fashion nearby.

Lunch at El Pinet was a convivial affair, and the AGM a brief formality, indicating that the club is in good health. After lunch, most of us visited the Vistabella area, seeing Buzzard, Osprey, Marsh Harrier and Booted Eagle to crown an excellent day out.

Post Script - by Mary Brazier - A small breakaway group of five members missed out on the Vistabella Osprey but went instead to look at the El Pinet lagoons where we were rewarded with good views of a Water Rail skulking around the edge of one of the lagoons. We also found Black tailed Godwit, Redshank, Greenshank, Black winged Stilt and several Avocets.

Below is Malcolm’s own bird list, and while we may not all have seen and heard every bird, and Malcolm didn't see the Water Rail or the Black tailed Godwit, it serves to illustrate what a very good day’s birding we enjoyed.

Little Grebe, Great Crested Grebe, Black necked Grebe, Cormorant, Grey Heron, Great White Egret, Little Egret, Cattle Egret, Eurasian Spoonbill, Greater Flamingo, Mute Swan, Common Shelduck, Eurasian Teal, Mallard, Shoveler, White headed Duck, Osprey, Marsh Harrier, Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Eurasian Buzzard, Booted Eagle, Eurasian Kestrel, Purple Swamphen, Common Moorhen, Eurasian Coot, Black winged Stilt, Pied Avocet, Northern Lapwing, Grey Plover, Kentish Plover, Common Snipe, Bar tailed Godwit, Whimbrel, Eurasian Curlew, Spotted Redshank, Common Redshank, Common Greenshank, Sanderling, Little Stint, Dunlin, Yellow legged Gull, Black headed Gull, Slender billed Gull, Sandwich Tern, Eurasian Collared Dove, Little Owl, Common Kingfisher, Eurasian Hoopoe, Iberian Green Woodpecker, Crested Lark, Eurasian Crag Martin, White Wagtail, Grey Wagtail, Richard's Pipit, Meadow Pipit, Water Pipit, Eurasian Blackbird, Song Thrush, Zitting Cisticola, Cetti's Warbler, Common Chiffchaff, Sardinian Warbler, Dartford Warbler, European Robin, Black Redstart, Common Stonechat, Great Tit, Southern Grey Shrike, Eurasian Jackdaw, European Starling, Spotless Starling, House Sparrow, Chaffinch, European Greenfinch, European Goldfinch, Eurasian Linnet.

Water Rail, Whimbrel (with Turnstone) and Purple Swamphen photos by Bryan Thomas©

NOVEMBER FIELD TRIP - Embalse de Pedrera and Sierra de Escallona - By Malcolm Palmer

Nil Return?

Scientists will tell you that ‘nil returns’ are valuable. If this is the case, the Costa Blanca Bird Club’s November outing to the Sierra de Escalona was a smash hit! Fortunately Barry decided we should stop beside the Embalse de Pedrera on the way. Despite a nasty damp morning, sharp eyes soon latched onto a Black Wheatear, a Blue Rock Thrush, and several Black Redstarts, as well as Chiffchaffs, Robins and passing Crag Martins. A few Great Crested Grebes and a solitary Lesser Black-backed Gull sat on the very full reservoir.

We made our way to the Sierra, not far from Torremendo, which has the reputation of being the post-breeding dispersal area for Golden and Bonelli’s Eagles, which feed on the abundant rabbit population. Judging by the number of cartridge cases littering the ground, they have a fair bit of competition! We took a long walk through the trees, rain hampering our progress a little. It was quite close to being birdless! Coal and Crested Tits were heard, then Barbara and Brian spotted a family of Long tailed Tits – they were to prove the highlight of the morning, except that Mike actually managed to see a Golden Eagle very briefly whilst everyone else was looking the other way!

We repaired to Torremendo for an excellent lunch, to which 31 sat down, then we sallied forth for a last attempt, as the weather cleared. A Bonelli’s Eagle gave no more than a glimpse, but slightly better views of two Buzzards were gained. Pablo, an Elche University student, gave us some insight into this fascinating wooded ridge, speaking of the imminent threats posed by urbanisation, but also showing us a ‘dead cert’ song-post for Eagle Owl, and telling us about some recent sightings. Apparently a young Spanish Imperial Eagle had been frequenting the area all that week. Virtually unknown in the Valencian Community, this is a species recovering from perilous levels close to extinction – there were no more than 130 pairs in the whole world, all in Spain, in the early nineties – and is now tending to expand very slowly into new areas.Not quite a ‘nil return’ then, but we have come to expect lots of birds on our outings. Better luck next time?

Blue Rock Thrush and Black Redstart Photos by Bryan Thomas©

OCTOBER FIELD TRIP - Pego Marshes - By Malcolm Palmer

Pego’s fascinating marsh was the venue for the Costa Blanca Bird Club’s monthly field trip, and a good choice it proved to be. Some sixteen enthusiasts showed up on a lovely, summery morning, and we set out to walk a circuit of the rice-paddies, immediately seeing the first of a great many Kingfishers, plus several migrant Northern Wheatears. Little Ringed Plover called as we walked along, admiring the big flocks (OK – so I know they should be called ‘charms’, but it sounds daft) of Goldfinches. An Osprey was parked on top of a pylon, but flew off, only to return with its lunch, in the form of a nice fish. Then things started to happen. We glimpsed a puzzling, white-rumped harrier with very orange underparts, but it was only a brief view, then our attention was drawn to a passing Booted Eagle, which was then joined by a Honey Buzzard. No sooner had that flown out of sight, than a second Osprey showed up, and a young Golden Eagle flew over, together with a featureless bird none of us could be sure of – large raptors can sometimes be tough!

Barry spotted a Sparrowhawk to add to the list, then we spent time over a solitary wader, which turned out to be a Ruff. A Squacco Heron was an unseasonal sighting, and a White Stork was away from its usual range. After hearing Moustached Warbler and seeing several Zitting Cisticolas, our mystery harrier at last rose to give us great views as it circled and flew off westwards. It was then that we could tell that it was a juvenile Pallid Harrier – a new bird for the whole group, and a reportable rarity. It turned out that the previous day one had been seen – in similar plumage – some way to the north, in Castellón. We repaired to the mountains, to enjoy an excellent lunch at the Nautilus restaurant, Forna, before returning to the marsh, where rain started to fall on cue! It soon cleared up, however, and Bluethroat and Snipe were some of the birds we saw when we took to a soggy path. It had been a thoroughly enjoyable day, and improved our record of rarities on club trips – three is our score for the year: Belted Kingfisher, Buff breasted Sandpiper and now a Pallid Harrier!

The complete species list for the trip is as follows:- Great Cormorant, Grey Heron, Great White Egret, Little Egret, Squacco Heron, Cattle Egret, White Stork, Mallard, Osprey, Honey Buzzard, Marsh Harrier, Pallid Harrier, Sparrowhawk, Golden Eagle, Booted Eagle, Kestrel, Water Rail, Purple Swamphen, Moorhen, Coot, Golden Plover, Little Ringed Plover, Common Snipe, Green Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper, Ruff, Yellow legged Gull, Black headed Gull, Wood Pigeon, Collared Dove, Kingfisher, Hoopoe, Crested Lark, Barn Swallow, White Wagtail, Winter Wren, Blackbird, Zitting Cisticola, Cetti's Warbler, Moustached Warbler, Reed Warbler, Chiffchaff, Sardinian Warbler, Bluethroat, Northern Wheatear, Long tailed Tit, Great Tit, Southern Grey Shrike, Magpie, Common Starling, Spotless Starling, House Sparrow, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Linnet.

Wheatear and White Stork photos by Rod Loveday

SEPTEMBER FIELD TRIP - Isla de Tabarca - By Malcolm Palmer

For the Costa Blanca Bird Club’s September field trip, the island of Tabarca was named as the venue, and eighteen souls congregated on Santa Pola quayside to catch the first boat. A swell was running as we made the pleasant crossing, and the previous day’s rain held hope for a busy island – migrants can be grounded by bad weather, and I have counted well over forty species on a good day. As we arrived, and walked off to the low east end of the long, thin island, a couple of Wheatears showed up, and the promise was there. It was a promise, however, that was never kept, and the prickly pear ‘forest’ – which can abound with birds – was about as exciting as a municipal car park. A single Willow Warbler flitted about, and we drew the attention of newcomers to the resident Thekla Larks – and their distinguishing characters, as well as the occasional view of another local bird, the Sardinian Warbler. A Kestrel gave a brief look, then we watched from the cemetery, where several Shag stood around on rocks. The best bird of the trip flew by, in the person of a dark phase Booted Eagle, passing out to sea. That was about it, the worst morning ever on my favourite isle, and we took a vote on an early return to the mainland, scoring a resounding win for ‘yes’ so we caught an early boat back to Santa Pola.

We dined as well as ever, at Rober’s, in Playa Llisa, before rashly proposing a trip to Vistabella, where the previous day I had seen two Buff breasted Sandpipers. It’s always dangerous to go looking for a rarity (‘twitching’) – especially with a big group, but lo and behold, the birds were still there, and in telescope range. Only Barry and myself, of the assembled party, had seen the birds previously, so the whole group enjoyed the sight of these delicate birds, as 26 people had seen the now-famous Belted Kingfisher at the Mar Menor on a previous Bird Club outing. We can’t, obviously, promise that you’ll see a rare bird if you come on one of our field excursions, but what we can be sure of is that you’ll have an enjoyable day out with like-minded folk – and you don’t have to be an expert.

Isla de Tabarca, Buff breasted Sandpiper, Shag, Thekla Lark