Facebook Raptor Silhouettes Quiz – the answers

Raptor Silhouettes

Click on the link to see the original raptors silhouettes poster on Facebook and the subsequent thread:

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1804478012259&set=a.1102006330906.13706.1849165005&type=1&theater

By popular request we have to give the answers – already! So if you want to have a go yourself first of all, don’t look at the following.

Raptor Silhouettes – the Answers:

1. Egyptian Vulture

2. Honey Buzzard

3. Booted Eagle

4. Black Vulture

5. Eleonora’s Falcon

6. Marsh Harrier

7. Hen Harrier

8. Short-toed Eagle

9. Black-winged Kite

10. Hobby

11. Montagu’s Harrier

12. Bonelli’s Eagle

13. Common Kestrel

14. Goshawk

15. Osprey

16. Black Kite

17. Peregrine

18. Red-footed Falcon

19. Griffon Vulture

20. Golden Eagle

21.  Merlin

22. Common Buzzard

Oops! I got one wrong accidentally on purpose! Can anyone tell me which one?

Watching Migrants Leaving Spain

Tarifa, September 2011

From the 4th to 10th September I was leading the Ornitholidays tour “Tarifa at Leisure” . That meant staying in just one hotel, the lovely Palomar de la Breña, for the whole week and making sorties to watch the migrants crossing the straits and to look for other local avian goodies.In some 5 sessions of raptor watching we spotted Rüppell’s Vulture (1 juvenile, with a possible second that had to remain just “possible”), 2 Goshawks, 1 Bonelli’s Eagle, dozens of Egyptian Vultures and Griffon Vultures, More than 20 Black Storks, dozens of Short-toed Eagles, more than 200 Booted Eagles, hundreds of Honey Buzzards, a dozen Montagu’s Harriers, Sparrowhawks, Lesser Kestrels and flocks of hirundines and Bee-eaters.

Juvenile Rüppell’s Vulture, Gyps ruppellii

A Western Olivaceous Warbler, 3 Black-winged Kites, almost 20 Collared Pratincoles, Iberian Chiffchaff, White-headed Ducks and a Monarch Butterfly were some of the other highlights of an interesting week spent at the other end of this country called Spain.

Watching raptor migration at Tarifa

It wasn’t always easy to keep our eyes on the raptors…. 

Mammal and bird track identification – help required!

Last autumn I took a series of photos of animal tracks while out scouting around my favourite drylands to the south of Lleida. I found a really productive dusty track, and it got me wanting to be an expert tracker, which I doubt I will ever be! Nevertheless, I would like to identify the authors of these tracks with some degree of certainty.

Drylands of Lleida

Track 10. Mammal and bird tracks.

Can anyone help?

Check out the album by following the link below, and if you do know the answers then please tell me in one way or another – comment on FB, this blog or an e-mail.

The link:

Photos of mammal and bird tracks

Thank you so much for your help!

Hoopoes and worms in the fridge

In May we discovered a Hoopoe nest site, just at the right time for us to set up a hide for our bird photographer guests.

A photo of one of “our” Hoopoes by Eric McCabe

Lovely, striking birds, which performed wonderfully for the photographers, perching on a branch with fat grubs in their bills before entering a hole in a stone wall where their nest was located. The perch was also much in demand by a local Corn Bunting and a singing Thekla Lark.

Hoopoe, Upupa epops. from the Hoopoe hide.

Hoopoe from the Hoopoe hide. Photo by Jordi Bas. 

After a few weeks on a recce visit it seemed to me that the Hoopoes had left the nest. But surely the young ones would be somewhere in the vicinity for a while yet? I had to check that idea, so I decided to get hold of some worms to tempt them back to the hide.

Decathlon

A day or so later I tried on the offchance at our local Decathlon store. I was amazed! In the fishing section they had a fridge with several types of worms or maggots that looked ideal for the purpose! Happy with my purchase I duly transfered them to our own fridge and waited for the right moment to act…

Hoopoe, Upupa epops, from the Montagu’s Harrier hide.

Hoopoe, but from the wrong hide (the Montagu’s Harrier hide). 

A couple of days later I was back at the Hoopoe scene, eager to see how effective the “worm ploy” would be. I placed the two classes of worms in strategic, visible places and waited. And waited…nothing. The Hoopoes had definitely moved on. And I still had two half-full tubs of worms. Some of them were left out for the Rollers, the rest went back into the family fridge.

And what did I see just as I was leaving the drylands? A family group of no fewer than 6 Hoopoes flying together over a small patch of pine trees. OUR Hoopoes, for sure, ungrateful lot!

I have to remember to take the rest of the worms out of the fridge and offer them to a local bird or two – there’s a shriek every time Florinda opens one of the pots thinking it contains paté!

15 years ago…

The first edition of the Anuari d’Ornitologia de Catalunya (Catalan Bird Report) was published in 1998, but covered observations for the year 1996. At the time it was edited by the Grup Català d’Anellament (Catalan Ringing Group), which later changed its name to the present-day Institut Català d’Ornitologia (ICO – Catalan Institute of Ornithology).

Catalan Bird Report 1996

The report compiled the observations of no fewer than 465 contributors, quite a remarkable landmark and a proud moment for ringing and birding in Catalonia. This was already a far call from the 129 observers involved in the making of the Breeding Bird Atlas of Catalonia and Andorra 1975-1983.

The Anuari compiled a total of more than 5,000 observations of rare and scarce birds, censuses, population estimates, migration dates, changes in distribution and the opportunity to publish observations from many areas around the country that would otherwise have gone unnoticed.

And 1996 was quite a good year as far as rarities are concerned: the Ebro Delta alone took account of Spain’s second Rough-Legged Buzzard, the country’s first ever overwintering Terek Sandpiper, Catalonia’s first Black-headed Bunting, Least Sandpiper and Greater Sandplover (together!), Citrine Wagtail, Lesser Yellowlegs….

Although Lleida is not in the same league, it certainly had its say: 2 White-headed Ducks that arrived in 1994 stayed until late winter, up to 1,000,000 starlings were observed at their roost at Utxesa (the site has never seen such numbers since), a winter Grey Phalarope, 21 of the 30 pairs of Montagu’s Harrier breeding in Catalonia were on the Lleida steppes, and a Ruddy Duck turned up at Utxesa at the end of the year.

With this first edition the figure of coordinador comarcal was also established, a position rather like a County Recorder, and a first compiler and filter of interesting records for his/her sphere of influence.

The report also included a summary of the ornithological year in English and in Catalan, as well as an annotated systematic list, with the most interesting or relevant observations of each species ordered by “comarca”. A complete bibliography could not be left out of course, and interest was maintained right to the end by the inclusion of detailed articles on identification problems (for example Yellow-legged Gulls and tristis Chiffchaff).

An excellent first edition, creating interest and cohesion and marking the way for additions and improvements in the following years. Long life!

Birding In Spain newsletter

We’re working hard to make sure you’re well informed before coming birding in Spain.

Birding In Spain

The summer edition of the Birding In Spain Birds and Birding Newsletter is available here.

Just click on the BIS logo or on this link to download the latest Birds and Birding Newsletter Summer 2011

The sections include:

Catalonia Bird Tour News – who, where and when?

Birders Like You – an engaging new section where visiting birders are the protagonists

 Birders like you

Bird News – from Catalonia. Red-footed Falcons, Little Bustards and more.

Birding In Spain Video Channel – we have almost 20 videos on our new You Tube channel. All birds, of course! Hoopoe, Montagu’s Harrier, a really entertaining pair of Little Owls and much more.

Bird fair auction – see what we are offering at the Bird Fair auction this year

Winter tours – explains the delights of winter birding in northeast Spain

Seawatching excursions – Balearic Shearwaters, Pomarine Skuas, and what else?

Best Accommodation for birders – don’t mess up your holiday by choosing the wrong place to stay. Take our informed advice. It’s free.

Accommodation for birders in Spain

 

Stone Curlew nest and chick

In the course of our plain birds photo trip season we set up a couple of hides for Bee-eaters. At one of these one of our guests told us that there was a Stone Curlew’s nest just a few metres behind the hide! He had watched and photographed the adult birds on and around the nest.

 

Stone Curlew, Burhinus oedicnemus.

We made careful note of the nest’s location, it was no easy task to locate without references, and made an additional hole in the back of the hide to allow our guests to photograph Stone Curlews and Bee-eaters in the same session. Entrance and exit from the hides was carried out with great care and efficiency to ensure minimum disturbance to the birds.

Stone Curlew nest with eggs.

There were two speckled eggs deposited in a tiny scoop in the soft earth. One day from the hide the occupant watched the eggs hatch, the next day there was no sign of adults or the nidifugous chicks.

A week or so later I was setting up a hide in a new location where there were largish gatherings of Stone Curlews. I had chosen a likely-looking spot and had already planted the hide when I noticed something at barely a metre from where I was standing. I looked closer, and saw a fluffy little Stone Curlew chick! It couldn’t have been more than a few days old, and was lying completely motionless, putting complete faith in its “invisibility”. After taking a couple of quick shots I made a hasty retreat to allow the adult birds to return and move their chick on to a safer spot.

Stone Curlew chick

Stone Curlews: the benefits and dangers of not being seen!

Aus Marines a Catalunya

Participants en el curset “Aus Marines a Catalunya” organitzada per l’UGT 

Els dies 7, 8 i 9 de juny vam estar amb L’UGT – Agents Rurals com a ponents d’un curset d’identificació d’aus marines de Catalunya.

De fet el primer curs d’aus marines es va fer l’any passat des de Salou, durant el mes de maig. Es veu que hi havia molta demada i així vam tindre la sort de poder repetir enguany.  

En total els 20 participants vam passar unes 20 hores aprenent sobre la biologia i l’identifació de les aus marines de Catalunya. Segurament, però, la part que ens va agradar més eren les 2 sortides que vam realitzar des del port de Tarragona. Vam tindre la sort de gaudir de bon temps, a pesar de les previsions més pessimistes, i vam acabar amb una llista d’espècies molt semblant a la de l’any passat: Ocell de Tempesta, Baldriga Mediterrània, Baldriga Balear, Baldriga Cendrosa, Paràsit Cuaample (és una cita força tardana o només ho sembla a mi?), Paràsit Gros, Paràsit Cuapunxegut, Mascarell, Xatrac Bec-llarg, Xatrac Comú, Corb Marí Gros, Corb Marí Emplomallat, Gavina Corsa, Gavina Riallera, Gavià Argentat de Potes Grogues, Gavià Fosc. I dues espècies noves: Fumarell Negre i Bec d’Alena!

Veure l’article original aquí

Wild Images comes to Lleida

FROM

the 8th to 15th May we received the first group of photographers from Wild Images. Wild Images, a daughter company of Birdquest, came with leader Mike Watson and 6 avid bird photographers from different parts of the UK. 

Little Owls, Athene noctua.

They followed the basic outline of our Great Photo Trip (see details here) with 3 days on the plains of Lleida and 2 in the Lammergeier hide in the Pre-Pyrenees.

Apart from Lammergeiers and the other 3 species of vulture they also managed to get excellent shots of a wide variety of birds on the steppes, in magnificent spring scenery. Jumping Little Bustards, Bee-eaters, Stone Curlews, Montagu’s Harriers, Iberian Grey Shrike, Corn Bunting and even a last minute Hoopoe! Still, in my opinion it was the Little Owls that really stole the show. 

Bee-eaters, Merops apiaster.

Did they leave with smiles on their faces and giving us the thumbs up? Well, yes. And if you want to see some of the great photos they took then you need do no more than click on these links to their own websites:

Mike Watson (Wild Images leader)

Eric McCabe (with wife Lesley hailing from Scotland)

David Mercer

Congratulations to all! We’re looking forward to next spring already.

Plain sailing

Quail

Quail, Coturnix coturnix.

A Quail sat in the track in my car headlights just before dawn

Bee-eater

Bee-eater, Merops apiaster.

The Bee-eaters in front of the hide were bright and good afternoon entertainment

Little Owl

Little Owls, Athene noctua.

The Little Owl antics usually steal the show.

Thekla Lark

Thekla Lark, Galerida theklae

Singing Thekla Lark was an added bonus from the Hoopoe hide. 

Monty’s Harrier

Montagu’s Harrier, Circus pygargus.

Poppy landscape

Poppy Landscape, Lleida.

Now that’s not bad for a (very early) morning or two out on the plains of Lleida.

Page 22 of 45
1 20 21 22 23 24 45