January 2007

Monday 1st January :- Today I managed to get out this afternoon for a visit to the beach and a quick scan of the rocks revealed Sandwich Tern, Cormorant, Black headed Gull, Yellow legged Gull, and nice winter plumage Mediterranean Gull (8). Then on the sea I found a huge raft of 1000+ Balearic Shearwaters and a Gannet drifted by. Finally a more careful look on the beach revealed a Lesser Black backed Gull amongst the Yellow legged Gulls, a good bird in this area. I then drove to Pego Marsh, which produced Little & Cattle Egrets, Grey Heron, Lapwing, male & 2 female Marsh Harriers, Skylarks, Reed Buntings, Chaffinches, Greenfinches, Serins, single Water & Meadow Pipits, Robin & Crag Martins. At the model aircraft field 3 Hoopoes fed with Stonechats and Zitting Cisticolas in the reeds. Around the allotments I then saw a few Blackcaps, Chiffchaffs, Sardinian Warbler, Great Tit and a Kestrel. Then back at the paddy fields I found 5 Green Sandpipers, a male Bluethroat performed beautifully for 20 minutes, a Common Buzzard was sat on a pylon and a Southern Grey Shrike sat on the wires. A single Raven then flew over, and a final late flurry produced Jackdaws, a Grey Wagtail, and Eurasian Starlings. Not a bad start to the local patch year list.

Tuesday 2nd January :- This morning I had agreed to take Rob & Jill to the hills above Alicante and an early start saw us at Maigmo as the sun was warming the ground. Initially it was quiet but soon we had found a small party of Crested Tits, along with Cirl Buntings, Black Redstarts, Mistle Thrush and Thekla Larks. A walk amongst the olive groves produced a few Rock Buntings but unfortunately distant, Chaffinches, Woodpigeons, Great Tits, Red legged Partridges, Sardinian Warblers, Serins, Song Thrush & Blackbirds. Then we made our way up into the pine forest were we saw more Crested Tits as well as Long tailed & Coal Tits, Crossbill, and a Firecrest. Finally as we left this site we had a Woodlark fly up from the roadside and show well in a tree. Our next stop were the hills above Alcoy for the Griffon Vultures and as we arrived we found lots circling on the thermals. Over the next hour Rob managed to get some good photos of these huge birds as well as seeing Crested Larks, Long tailed & Crested Tits, Magpie, and Crag Martins.

Wednesday 10th January :- Today I planned to do an all-day birdwatch so at dawn I was at El Clotal beach, from where the race began. It was pretty quiet here but still managed to kick-start the day with 2 Kentish Plovers. Grey Heron, Black headed Gulls, Little Egret, Sardinian Warbler, House Sparrow, Blackbird, Robin, Moorhen, Collared Dove, White Wagtail, and a Chaffinch. En-route to Oliva Marina I added Spotless Starling and Feral Pigeon, and then at my second beach local I scored a Great Crested Grebe off-shore. Also here I added Audouin's & Yellow legged Gull, Sandwich Terns, Cormorants, a Kingfisher, several Balearic Shearwaters, Gannet, Sanderlings and 2 Ring necked Parakeets. Next up was Pego Marsh where I found Cattle Egrets, a few Marsh Harriers, Great Tits, Reed Buntings, Stonechat, Meadow & Water Pipits, 3 Penduline Tits, a Booted Eagle and a Common Buzzard were sat on pylons, Chiffchaffs, Crag Martins, European Starlings, male Bluethroat, Blackcap, Lapwings, Green Sandpipers, 25 Common Snipe, Hoopoe, Skylarks, Goldfinches, Greenfinches, Serins, Cirl Buntings, Black Redstart, Southern Grey Shrike, and a surprising Magpie. The drive up the Vall de Gallinera wasn't too productive but I still found a Blue Rock Thrush, Song Thrushes, Jackdaws, and a Kestrel. Driving past Alcoy I stopped for five minutes to watch the Griffon Vultures soaring over the ridge at the back of the town. Lunch was taken at Maigmo while watching the drinking pools where i saw plenty of Crossbills, Coal & Crested Tit, Firecrest, Woodpigeon and a Mistle Thrush, and driving back off the hill an Iberian Green Woodpecker flew across my path. At the Clot de Galvany a flying visit proved very fruitful with the addition of 3 Little Owls, Wryneck, another Green Woodpecker, Crested Larks, Little Grebes, White headed Ducks, Mallard, Coot, Shoveler, Common Pochard, Teal, Purple Gallinules and a Cetti's Warbler. Then along santa Pola beach there were 10+ Turnstones and a few Ringed Plovers before getting to the Santa Pola Salinas. The salinas as usual paid dividends with Avocets, Black winged Stilts, Greater Flamingos, 2 Whiskered Terns, 2 Ospreys, Common Sandpiper, Lesser Black backed & Slender billed Gulls, Shelduck, a Spoonbill, Little Stint, Greenshank, Spotted Redshank, Dunlin and Black tailed Godwits. A quick drive around El Hondo provided a Grey Wagtail, Red Crested Pochards and Corn Buntings, plus a lovely Iberian Hedgehog. My final stop was up in the Crevillente Hills were I finished with a pair of adult Bonelli's Eagles, a Black Wheatear and Thekla Lark. I completed the day seeing 97 species with two others that were heard only Short toed Treecreeper and Dartford Warbler. I really enjoyed the day although it was incredibly tiring, which prevented me from trying for the Eagle Owls, maybe next year.

Saturday 13th January :- Went out to Oliva Marina this morning for the annual seabird census, which entails looking at the Med. for two hours. This wasn't a classic year but José & I counted up to 200+ Balearic Shearwaters, these were difficult to count as they were just feeding off-shore and moving around a lot. In addition to this we also logged 3 Common Scoter, 3 Shelducks, 5 Razorbills, 5 Gannets, 11 Cormorants, 60+ Sandwich Terns, 11 Audouin's Gulls, 2 Lesser Black backed Gulls, and plenty of Yellow legged & Black headed Gulls, with a flock of 14 Sanderling on the beach.

Wednesday 17th January :- The opening trip of the year was bathed in sunshine and consequently visited by no less than 19 participants. We met at the now famous 'blue railings' and while waiting for everyone we logged plenty of Little & Cattle Egrets, Grey Herons, Cormorants and Marsh Harriers, with a few early birds seeing a small flock of Lapwings on the other side of the road. Bryan and his car load had also hit the jackpot seeing a Black Stork flying inland on their journey north. I had just arrived from Oliva Marina where I had been watching a flock of 200+ Balearic Shearwaters amongst other things, so we decided to make the short journey back there in the hope of seeing these rare seabirds. As we left Peter found a Bluethroat and all got good views of these charismatic birds. At the marina we gathered on the seawatching platform but alas the flock had moved, however over the next hour we did see 2 Razorbills, plenty of gulls including Audouin's, Yellow legged & Black headed, Sandwich Terns, Cormorants and a couple of Kentish Plovers. A lucky few of us did manage to see a single shearwater as it flew south but proved very difficult to find against the dark sea.  Back at Pego Marsh we opted for a long walk around a section of paddy fields, incorporating the north side hills. As we checked the partially flooded paddys we saw more egrets & herons, several more Bluethroats, Water & Meadow Pipits, Reed Buntings, Chiffchaffs, White Wagtails, Cormorants, Black headed Gulls. Over the reeds a large flock of Shoveler with some Mallard kept their distance from the patrolling Marsh Harriers. As we approached the hillside it was apparent the fine sunshine was attracting raptors above the ridge with a total of 2 Booted Eagles, 6 Common Buzzards and a Kestrel. One particular pale-phase Booted Eagle stole the show as soared above us to within 50m showing all it's salient plumage features, and with Common Buzzard for comparison we engaged in an identification masterclass. We continued around the circuit adding Southern Grey Shrike, Hoopoe, Black Redstart, Zitting Cisticolas, Great Tits, Blackcap, Cetti's Warbler, Robin, Skylarks, Greenfinches, Goldfinches and a few Serins. It was now time for lunch so we said our goodbyes to Don & Malcolm + Ralph & Katy, and the rest of us enjoyed a fine 'menu del dia' at a local restaurant. After lunch Malcolm Palmer & Jan gave everyone left an update on the latest happenings to do with the club and it's progress then said our goodbyes to Barrie & Janet. The rest of us had one final look at Pego Marsh where I showed them the latest work carried out there, the walkway to the observation tower and hide, everyone agreeing it was good to see some positive investment taking place on this fragile reserve.

Wednesday 29th January :- The weather over the past few days has been a little inclement and colder so I managed to get out this morning for a few hours at Oliva Marina and Pego Marsh. The marina was fairly quiet with the usual suspects of Black headed, Yellow legged & Audouin's Gulls, plus a single Lesser Black backed Gull. A few Balearic Shearwaters flew passed out to sea and on the beach there were a couple of Kentish Plovers and a small flock of Sanderlings. So I drove out to Pego Marsh stopping en-route to watch a Kestrel mob a Common Buzzard sat on an overhead cable. On the marsh i drove and walked around the paddy fields and it was clear there were lots of birds around. In one particular field I counted 15 Water Pipits, 6 Bluethroats, 4 Hoopoes, 20+ Skylarks, lots of Chaffinches, Goldfinches, Reed Buntings, House Sparrows and a couple of Tree Sparrows mixed in. As I continued I found plenty of Black headed & Audouin's Gulls, Cormorants, Mallard, Coot, Green Sandpipers, Common Snipe, Marsh Harriers, 50+ Lapwings, Southern Grey Shrike, Chiffchaffs, Cetti's Warblers and White Wagtails. However the stars of the morning was finding a flock of 15 Golden Plover in with the Lapwing, and a Purple Gallinule striding around in the open water.

February 2007

Sunday 4th February :- Went out this morning but the onset of rain curtailed any extensive birdwatching and a gymkhana at the beach meant I had to find a new viewing point. However I did see 673 Balearic Shearwaters (south) 27 Razorbills, a Shelduck, a few Gannets, Audouin's, Yellow legged, & Black headed Gulls, Sandwich Terns, and Cormorants. On the beach were the usual small flock of Sanderling and a few Kentish Plovers.

Monday 5th February :- Better weather today so went back to the beach seeing a lot of the same species, but the highlight was the first Barn Swallow of the year flying north.

Wednesday 7th February :- Today I was out all day with my friend and local birder Terry Strong whose targets were Balearic Shearwater & Golden Eagle. So we started at the beach were we immediately found several Audouin's, Yellow legged & Black headed Gulls, Sandwich Terns, Razorbills and Cormorants. Unfortunately no shearwaters, but a few Gannets kept the interest until I picked up our first Balearic Shearwaters flying with the strong wind. Shortly after a group of 120+ headed south just off-shore giving fantastic telescope views as they flew in unison. We continued to watch seeing a few more and also adding a Great Crested Grebe offshore, 20+ Sanderling and a couple of Kentish Plovers running along the beach. After a coffee we drove the short journey to Pego Marsh and started along the eastern edge. A lovely male Marsh Harrier caused us to stop and while watching this we noticed the 100's of Crag Martins over the reeds, an amazing sight. Along here we found a Common Snipe, Little Egrets, Grey Herons, Cormorants, a  few Tree Sparrows, Meadow Pipits, Reed Buntings, Hoopoe, Stonechats, Chiffchaffs, Serins, Goldfinches, Greenfinches and Chaffinches. At the north side paddy fields we continued to find Common Buzzard, more Marsh Harriers, a male Peregrine overhead, Southern Grey Shrike, a lone House Martin, several Bluethroats, Water Pipits, a Grey Wagtail, Green Sandpipers, 40+ Lapwings, Shovelers and Mallards. It was now nearing lunchtime so we headed into the hills above Pego where at the entrance to the Val de Gallinera I found an adult Golden Eagle flying across the valley. Unfortunately Terry only got brief views so we hoped this wasn't going to be our last sighting as it disappeared over the ridge. Although this stop did also produce a pair of Ravens, Robin, Blackcaps, and Sardinian Warblers. Near Alpatro we sat having our lunch on the terracing outside, which was a very good move as while we were there I spied another adult Golden Eagle (male) over the ridge. As we watched it started to display and for the next five minutes we were treated to this wonderful spectacle, it was then joined by another adult (female) and drifted off up the valley together. After lunch we drove back down the valley seeing a couple of Kestrels, and back to Pego Marsh but this time the other side. Our final couple of hours were spent searching the reeds and paddy fields where we found a Gadwall & Shoveler in with the Mallards, Common Snipe, Green Sandpiper, Kingfisher, a single Swallow, Zitting Cistcolas, Jackdaws, plus 13 Water Pipits, 2 Bluethroats, with lots of Reed Buntings, Meadow Pipits and White Wagtails in one field.

Friday 15th - 19th February :- This is a short account of my recent trip to Lithuania with a small group of birders. We were very lucky to have the help of Vilnius-based Brit Jos Stratford who has bought a few tracks of land and now as a fantastic assortment of species coming to his garden feeders, making for a photographers dream. In sparkling blue skies and a pleasantly fresh bite to the air, the coast did the honours - in amongst the hordes of Long tailed Ducks, Goldeneye and Goosanders, male and female Steller's Eiders was our first target to fall, with Smew, Common Scoter, Common Eider and a White-tailed Eagle to follow. Then, with no less than a dozen Foxes en route, we shot inland for a couple of days near to the capital Vilnius. Here we saw plenty of Great, Lesser and Middle Spotted Woodpeckers along with three Grey-headed Woodpeckers. One classic moment occurred over coffee - all squabbling over the best feeder, the male and female Grey-headed Woodpecker appeared together, five Great Spotted Woodpeckers chased each other and a Middle Spotted Woodpecker flitted in  decided it was all too hectic and flew off to return a little later, finally a Great Grey Shrike flew behind the feeders. However apparently the star of these days was a female House Sparrow joining the sizeable Tree Sparrow flock, making Jos take careful note. Other birds of note were seven species of tit including the gorgeous Northern Long tailed Tits, Waxwings adorned the main entrance of our special local hotel. During our time we found plenty of bright Bullfinches and on a final foray before leaving for the airport, we found four White-tailed Eagles sat about on a river, a Bean Goose and rafts of Goldeneye and other wildfowl. Photo courtesy of J. Stratford

Tuesday 20th February :- Managed a quick visit to Pego Marsh were it was immediately obvious there had been an arrival of migrants with plenty of Swallows and House Martins in with the many Crag Martins. A few Savi's Warblers were heard from deep in reeds but most notable was the two Great White Egrets walking and feeding out in the open of the paddy fields. Another good find was a Jack Snipe that was flushed with 20+ Common Snipe by machinery doing work in preparation for planting the fields.

Friday 23rd February :- Today saw the arrival of a party of seven birdwatchers from England lead by Richard & Jane Palmer (Calandra Tours) for a Valencian Short Break. We returned to Oliva from Valencia airport settling everyone into their rooms, before going for a light lunch and an afternoon visit to Pego Marsh. A long walk around a set of paddy fields produced some excellent species and a good introduction to the commoner birds of Iberia such as Cormorants, 2 Great White, Little & Cattle Egrets, Grey Herons, Mallard, a few Marsh Harriers, a Sparrowhawk, Kestrel, Moorhen, a single Lapwing, 10 newly arrived Little Ringed Plovers, Green Sandpipers, 2 Audouin's with the Yellow legged & Black headed Gulls, a Kingfisher, Hoopoe, lots of Crag Martins, with several Swallows, House & Sand Martins, a Grey Wagtail showed well, and Wendy found 3 Yellow Wagtails amongst the White Wagtails. We heard plenty of Moustached & Cetti's Warblers, along with Zitting Cisticolas, Blackcaps, Chiffchaffs, Black Redstarts, Stonechats,  couple of Water Pipit & Meadow Pipits, a Magpie, Jackdaws, Chaffinch, Goldfinches, Serins, and Reed Buntings. However the bird of the day went to the 10+ Bluethroats we watched along the edges of the flooded fields giving wonderful views.

Saturday 24th February :- Our first full day was going to be spent on the Albacete Plains and arrived to find a strong cold wind was blowing and making things difficult for birdwatching. Along the Higueruela road we made a couple of stops before finding a sizable flock of Calandra Larks, and as we drove a track to get a better look of the larks we flushed a pair of Black bellied Sandgrouse, which showed extremely well in flight. As we returned towards Bonete I checked another field and found some sandgrouse-like shapes with some medium sized plover-like waders (Golden Plover?) close by. I was decided we would brave the cold wind and walk out to a large mound of earth for camoflage and protection from the wind. We got to the mound and sure enough there were 40+ Pin tailed Sandgrouse dotted around the field in small groups showing fantastically. While enjoying these I thought about the plovers and scanned to where they were, and couldn't believe my eyes as 38 Dotterel were looking back at me. What a start. Eventually we pulled ourselves away, after photos had been obtained, and headed for Corral Rubio, true to form we found our first of 53 Great Bustards in this area. It was time for lunch so we drove through to Petrola having added Common Buzzard, Red legged Partridges, Crested Larks, Linnets, Hoopoe and Southern Grey Shrike. After lunch we visited Petrola Lagoon and found 23 Common Cranes, with the Common Shelducks, Teal, Mallard, Shoveler, Marsh Harriers, an Avocet and Common Snipe. We made our way back to Corral Rubio along te farm tracks finding more Great Bustards and Calandra Larks before going to Higuela Lagoon, which held 20+ Red Crested Pochard, Avocets, Coot, a Raven amongst birds we had seen previously. Finally as we were heading back into Bonete I saw a six passerines sat on overhead wires that turned out to be 5 Rock Sparrows and a single Corn Bunting. A great finish to a great day despite the difficult windy conditions.

Sunday 25th February :- Today we were heading south to the Alicante Region and in a very optimistic mood after the previous day's successes. I had booked us onto El Hondo reserve and it was here we met up with Malcolm Palmer (Richard's brother) and his wife Juani who were also joining us for the day. At the first hide we found various duck species plus Black necked Grebes, Greater Flamingos, Grey Herons and Little Egrets. The hide was a little crowded so I stood outside scanning the air for raptors and soon enough I had found our first (of 15+ seen) Booted Eagles being harassed by a couple of Marsh Harriers. While watching I noticed there were lots of Pallid Swifts moving through, plus the odd few Alpine Swifts, a very early date for this species. We quickly made our way to the viewing platform and eventually got great view of the migrating swifts and also White headed Ducks, more Black necked & Great Crested Grebes. However the major highlight for me was finding one bird mobbing another only to realise the bird mobbing the other was a Booted Eagle. The other much larger raptor had to be the Greater Spotted Eagle, which had been in this area since Christmas, I made sure of the identification before getting the rest of the party on to the bird and then continued to enjoy it for the next 3 or 4 minutes as it slowly made it's way across the horizon. When it disappeared we had to leave but continued to search around the reserve's edge finding Lesser Short toed & Crested Larks, Sparrowhawk, Common Buzzards, Grey Wagtail and a Woodpigeon. Next we visited the Santa Pola Salinas briefly but managing to add an Osprey, Black winged Stilts, Avocets, Common Redshank, Common Sandpiper, Ruff, an Audouin's, Slender billed, Mediterranean, Lesser Black backed, Yellow legged & Black headed Gulls, and Sandwich Terns. At the Clot de Galvany we had a short walk around the reserve, with more White headed Ducks at the Charco de Contacto and 2 Black Wheatears, Little Owl, Black Redstarts, Chaffinches, Greenfinches, single Dartford & Sardinian Warblers. It was now time to head up into the hills above Crevillente for our evening meal at Colin & Jane's Finca, which as usual superb. Not only was the food excellent but we were aso treated to awesome flight views of the female Bonelli's Eagle a it soared around the canyon, aong with a few Thekla Larks, Linnets, and Blackbirds. Just before dusk we headed for the Elche Hills but the clouds were building and looking fairly threatening. We waited and then clearly heard an adult Eagle Owl sat on the near hillside, but by the third call the heaven's opened and it started to pour with rain, much to our major disappointment. We couldn't complain it had been another great day.

Monday 26th February :- Our last full day was a gentle affair compared to the previous couple of days and we started with a pre-breakfast visit to Oliva Beach. The off-shore rocks held quite a few Cormorants, Sandwich Terns, Audouin's, Yellow legged & Black headed Gulls, and on the beach we found a few Sanderling. Passing out to sea we soon saw our first of several Balearic Shearwaters, along with 2 Razorbills, 10+ Gannets, and a steady stream of Crag Martins moving north. After a leisurely cooked breakfast we made our way to Pego Marsh and a walk along the bottom track proved to be a good move, as it gave us a chance to watch the migrating hirundines. The sky was full of Crag Martins and a comment of " there's thousands!" was probably not that far off, and checking through them we found Barn Swallows, House & Sand Martins. Swift species were also seen in small numbers with definitely a few Pallid Swifts and at least 2 Common Swifts but most amazing was finding my earliest ever Red rumped Swallow (by a long way) amongst the throng. Other birds seen in this area included a Yellow Wagtail, Common Snipe, Green Sandpiper, Greenfinches, Goldfinches, Serins, Robin, Hoopoes, 2 Tree Sparrows, heard only Water Rail, Savi's & Moustached Warblers, plus fantastic views of 4 Penduline Tits feeding on pussy willow. A quick drive round the paddies produced the usual Bluethroat, Meadow Pipits, Jackdaws, Common Buzzard, Kestrel, Black Redstart, Cetti's Warbler and Stonechats. Lunchtime was due so we made our way through the impressive Vall de Gallinera and en-route I spied a few birds above the ridge line, which turned out to be a few Red billed Chough. As we were watching these an adult Golden Eagle came into view, which was soon joined by the second adult bird. Over the next five minutes we were treated to these two magnificent aquilas, soaring above us and also sat on the rock face. During lunch we enjoyed better views of about 50+ Chough, along with Blackcaps, Sardinian Warblers, Serins, Goldfinches and Song Thrush. After lunch we drove up to Alcoy and the Griffon Vulture colony, of which we saw 20+ in the air together. Crossbills sang from the power lines and in the pines we found Crested, Long Tailed, & Coal Tits, Short toed Treecreeper, with a Raven, Magpies and a Sparrowhawk around the feeding area.

Tuesday 27th February :- We had a few hours before needing to be at Valencia Airport so we decided to make the short journey to the Denia Headland. En-route we found 4 Monk Parakeets nest building in the palm trees, and at Cabo de San Antoni we found 3 Mediterranean Shags, Sandwich Tern, male Blue Rock Thrush, Black Wheatear, Black Redstarts, Serins, and 2 Ravens. Finally we had a short walk along the Sierra de Montgo which was quiet but we did see 2 Firecrests, Coal & Long tailed Tits, Sardinian Warbler, Chiffchaff, Southern Grey Shrike, and Stonechats. We got back to the airport in good time and said our fond farewells. I had been a great few days and many thanks to Richard & Jane, Albert & Hazel, Michael & Wendy, and John for their great company.

Luckily I was meeting Dublin birdwatcher David Dillon at the same time as I was leaving the others at Valencia, so after a short wait, Dave & I were heading north to Moro Marsh. We stopped on the edge of the reserve and spent a couple of hours looking around from the various observation points and boardwalks. During this time we saw one Little & Great Crested Grebes, Grey Heron, Little & Cattle Egret, (collar-ringed) Crested Coot, 6 Pintail, Teal, Common Pochard, Shoveler, Marsh Harriers, Booted Eagle, Purple Gallinule, heard Water Rail, Audouin's, Yellow legged & Black headed Gulls, Sandwich Tern, Crested Lark, White Wagtail, Meadow Pipits, Zitting Cisticola, Cetti's Warbler, Chiffchaff, Southern Grey Shrike, Magpie, Goldfinch, Serin and Reed Bunting.

Wednesday 28th February :- Today was the second Costa Blanca Bird Club field trip in the south of the region. The trip wasn't starting until 2pm but myself, Dave, locals Bernie, Peter & Joyce set off for Santa Pola n the morning. We first went to the Clot de Galvany where we saw Little Grebes, 6 White headed Ducks, Shovelers, Teal, Common Pochard, Purple Gallinules, Marsh Harrier, Black Wheatear, Iberian Green Woodpecker, 2 Little Owls, Hoopoes, Carrion Crow, Crested Larks, Sardinian Warblers, Blackcap, Chiffchaffs, Black Redstarts, Greenfinches, Serins and Crag Martins. Passing through the Santa Pola Salinas we added Greater Flamingos, Avocets, Shelducks, and Yellow legged Gulls, before arriving on the outer edge of El Hondo reserve. At the football pitch we saw a few Lesser Short toed & Crested Larks, 3 Booted Eagles, Common Buzzards, Marsh Harriers, Southern Grey Shrike, and Stonechats. It was now time to meet the others so we drove up into the Crevillente Hills to Finca Bonelli's Eagle where Colin & Jane were feeding our 20+ members all organised superbly by Brian Conduit. It was again a lovely meal and great to see so many club members in attendance and not to be out-done an adult Bonelli's Eagle showed very well, as did a few Thekla Larks. After lunch we left and returned to El Hondo and a walk near the visitor centre, which produced Shelducks, 20+ Avocets, 3 Greenshanks, Booted Eagle, Common Buzzard, Marsh Harrier, Sand Martin, and Zitting Cisticolas. Our final destination was a visit to the hills above Elche where we watched the immense Spotless & European Starling roost that was 'visited to' by a fantastic male Peregrine. At the owl canyon we waited patiently for dusk finding a Blue Rock Thrush, and a Little Owl. Then a low hoot rung out and quick a a flash Dave found the adult Eagle Owl sat on a rock. Everyone got fabulous views of the bird as it flew from crag to rock before heading out of sight over the ridge. A brilliant end to another bird club outing.

March 2007

Friday 2nd March :- This was my last day with Dave Dillon and again we were heading south to the Alicante Region as Dave had two difficult targets. So we started at Monegros but failed to locate any Trumpeter Finches however we did see 2 Black Wheatears, male Blue Rock Thrush, several Thekla Larks, Serins, and Goldfinches in this Middle Atlas-like landscape. Next we drove through to El Hondo and spent a few hours searching the skies and fields for the Greater Spotted Eagle, but again our luck was out, however we did see Great Crested & Little Grebes, Little & Cattle Egrets, Grey Herons, Green Sandpiper, Little Ringed Plovers, Greater Flamingos, Red Crested & Common Pochards, a male White headed Duck, Shelducks, single Osprey, 10+ Marsh Harriers, 4 Booted Eagles, 10+ Common Buzzards, Kestrels, 4 Bearded Tits, Moustached, Cetti's & Sardinian Warblers, Blackcaps, Chiffchaffs, Lesser Short toed & Crested Larks, Hoopoes, Southern Grey Shrike, a Woodpigeon, Barn Swallows, Crag Martins and Reed Buntings. Our final site was a good look at Santa Pola Salinas and while we were here we saw lots of egrets and flamingos, a male Pintail, two more Ospreys, Booted Eagle, 100+ Black tailed Godwits, 120+ Dunlin, 25+ Little Stints, Black winged Stilts, Greenshanks, Common Redshanks, Avocets, Kentish Plovers, Sanderlings, 30+ Audouin's, Slender billed, 10+ Mediterranean, Lesser Black backed, Yellow legged & Black headed Gulls, Sandwich Terns, Cormorants and 2 Water Pipits.

Friday 9th - 17th March :- I was away this week to Castilla la Mancha & Extremadura on the first of my all-inclusive holidays of the year and it was a great success. During the week we saw many fantastic birds including :- Black Stork, Garganey, Spotted Crake, 21 species of raptor, Great & Little Bustard, Pin tailed & Black bellied Sandgrouse, Great Spotted Cuckoo, Eagle Owl, Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Bluethroat, Moustached & Savi's Warblers, Penduline & Bearded Tits, plus much more. A full trip report will be posted in the near future.

Thursday 22nd March :- After a busy week I managed a couple of hours at Pego Marsh with my good friend Pete Powney over for a few days from England. We met at the paddy fields which were dry being made ready for planting the rice, but we did find an Osprey sat on a pylon, plus the usual Cattle & Little Egrets. We decide on a long walk along the the south eastern track where we knew there was some pools of water and proved quite productive seeing - Cormorants, Grey & Purple Herons, a single Garganey, Mallard, Red Crested Pochards, Marsh Harriers, Kestrel, a Spotted Crake right out in the open, Black winged Stilts, Little Ringed Plovers, a load of Common Snipe, Common Redshank, Wood & Green Sandpipers, Ruff, Black headed Gulls, Kingfisher, Hoopoes, Crested Larks, Sand, Crag & House Martins, Barn Swallows, Alpine & Pallid Swifts, White & Yellow Wagtails, Meadow & Water Pipits, Blackbird, Zitting Cisticolas, Cetti's, Savi's, Moustached, & Sardinian Warblers, Chiffchaffs, Jackdaws, Spotless Starlings, Goldfinches, Serins, and Reed Buntings.

Friday 23rd - 31st March :- I was away this week to Pyrenees & N/E Spain on the first of my all-inclusive holidays of the year to this excellent region and again it was a fantastic week. During our eight days we saw many excellent birds including :- Great White Egret, Glossy Ibis, Ferruginous Duck, Garganey, Lammergeyer, Egyptian Vulture, Golden, Bonelli's, Short toed & Booted Eagles, Dotterel, Audouin's & Slender billed Gulls, Caspian Tern, Little Bustard, Black bellied Sandgrouse, Black Woodpecker, Dupont's Lark, Ring Ouzel, Penduline Tit, Wallcreeper, Alpine Chough, Alpine Accentor, Citril & Snowfinches plus much more. A full trip report will be posted in the future. The photo of the male Wallcreeper was digi-scoped by me at Riglos where we saw 2 possibly 3 individuals extremely well.

April 2007

Sunday 1st April :- Today was my first day with Geoff & Yvonne who had been staying at the guesthouse already for a couple of days. With maps provided by me they had spent this time around Oliva Beach & Pego Marsh seeing :- Balearic Shearwaters, Gannets, Purple Herons, White Storks, Red Crested Pochards, Marsh Harriers, Black Kite, Booted Eagles, Little Ringed & Kentish Plovers, Green & Wood Sandpipers, Redshank, Greenshank, Ruff, Black winged Stilts, Audouin's Gulls, Whiskered & Gull billed Terns, Alpine & Pallid Swifts, Crag Martins, Hoopoes, Yellow Wagtails, Meadow & Water Pipits, Kingfishers and a Bluethroat. However today we were heading south to Alicante where we first returned their car to the airport and then continued to the Clot de Galvany. Here we quickly found the first two of our target species a single Marbled Duck and several White headed Ducks, plus Wryneck (briefly), Little Grebes, Common Pochards, Southern Grey Shrike, Hoopoes, Little Owl, Sardinian Warbler, Pallid Swifts, Red rumped Swallow, Marsh Harrier, and Black Redstarts. We then drove through to the Santa Pola Salinas and found an interesting Little Egret x Western Reef Heron hybrid, along with Shelducks, a Curlew Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper, Common & Spotted Redshanks, Greenshanks, Dunlin, Little Stints, Ringed & Kentish Plovers, Black tailed Godwits, Avocets, Black winged Stilts, Common Snipe, Slender billed, Lesser Black backed, & Yellow legged Gulls, Yellow Wagtail, and Zitting Cisticola. At the now excellent El Pinet we walked along te new boardwalk seeing a Caspian Tern, Common & Sandwich Terns, more Slender billed, plus Audouin's, Mediterranean, & Black headed Gulls, Sanderlings, Little Stints, Dunlin, and Avocets. Although the highlight was finding two pairs of Black eared Wheatears and a pair of Northern Wheatears looking gorgeous in the afternoon sun. Next was a stop en-route to the Crevillente Hills at the Rio Viñalopo where we found again our target species 3 Temminck's Stints with a Green Sandpiper. At Colin & Jane's Finca we soon found an adult Bonelli's Eagle on the eyrie feeding it's young, and then it flew out to meet it's mate and gave us another fantastic aerial display that also involved seeing off  migrating male Montagu's Harrier. Other birds seen here during our stay included Thekla Larks, male Dartford Warbler, Blue Rock Thrush, Little Owls, Alpine Swifts, and Crag Martins. Finally it was time to leave for the Elche Hills and our final target and we were not disappointed as the male Eagle Owl flew and sat for several minutes silhouetted calling against the evening sky giving excellent scoped views.

Monday 2nd April :- After breakfast we set off for Cap de San Antoni stopping en-route for the breeding Monk Parakeets just outside Denia. At the headland we went for a short walk finding lots of good birds including several Balearic Shearwaters, a Mediterranean Shag, adult Peregrine Falcon, Audouin's & Yellow legged Gulls, Sandwich Terns, several Pallid Swifts, Blue Rock Thrush, 2 male Sub-alpine & Sardinian Warblers, Black & Northern Wheatears, Black Redstarts, a male Woodchat Shrike, Serins, Greenfinches, and a Raven. We had spent a lot of time here in the morning sunshine and it was now time to head up into the hills of the Vall de Gallinera for our lunch. On the way up we stopped a couple of times looking for the eagle but to no avail, and during lunch we watched 20+ Red billed Choughs and a Kestrel above our heads. Then as we were about to leave Yvonne said "here's a big raptor!", and sure enough there was an adult Golden Eagle making it's way down the valley. We watched as it landed on a crag only to be displaced by some irate choughs after a few minutes, before continuing out of sight. As we watched a Wryneck called close by but unfortunately we couldn't locate it. Extremely satisfied we drove further up the valley and parked by the river bridge, spending some time looking around the area, finding several Rock Sparrows, a pair of Grey Wagtails, Blackcap, Long tailed & Great Tits, Serins, Goldfinches, Crag Martins and a Cetti's Warbler. We made our way back to Pego Marsh but the high winds made viewing difficult but we did see - Cormorants, Purple & Grey Herons, Red Crested Pochards, a Booted Eagle, Marsh Harriers, Black winged Stilts, Little Ringed Plovers, Redshanks, Green & Wood Sandpipers, Whiskered Tern, Alpine & Common Swifts, Kingfisher, Sand & House Martins, Swallows, Yellow & White Wagtails, Water Pipits, Zitting Cisticolas, Savi's Warbler, and a local rarity Magpie.

Tuesday 3rd April :- Today we were heading south again but first we wanted to go to Pego Marsh to try and find a target species. The high winds had continued so our hopes were not high but we persevered, and eventually we got good views of 2 Moustached Warblers plus Savi's & Cetti's Warblers, Geoff saw a Squacco Heron pitch into the reeds, Purple Herons, Cattle Egrets, 2 Purple Gallinules, Audouin's Gulls and Geoff & Yvonne's only Reed Bunting. We now made our way south to El Hondo where at the football field we found ourselves watching a single Great Short toed Lark alongside 6 Lesser Short toed Larks making for an excellent direct comparison. Also here we found 2 male Black eared Wheatears, Crested Larks, a Common Buzzard, Kestrels, Southern Grey Shrike, but the spectacle of 1000's of swifts & hirundines over El Hondo lagoon was simply awesome. We made our way around the edge of the reserve and a raptor above the reeds made me stop quickly, allowing for good views of  2 male Montagu's Harriers, our luck was in. At the Santa Pola Salinas the good fortune continued as we got good views of a Spoonbill, plus Greater Flamingos, Shelducks, Little Stint, Slender billed, Yellow legged & Lesser Black backed Gulls, Sandwich Tern and Yellow Wagtails. It was now time to meet our other guests Bob & Geoff who were starting their short break, Bob owns a house at Gran Alicant so we met there and enjoyed a lunch together before more birdwatching. We next went up into the pine woods of Maigmo where a walk up to the 'interpretation centre' produced 2 Mistle Thrushes, Crossbill, Wren, Coal & Crested Tits, Short toed Treecreepers, Chaffinches and Rock Buntings. Finally w drove through to Monnegre looking for Trumpeter Finch but without success, but we did find a Black Wheatear, Blue Rock Thrushes, Thekla Larks, Linnets, and Serins.

Wednesday 4th April :- This was the day Geoff & Yvonne had been waiting for, as Great Bustard was their main target species, Bob & Geoff had been to Spain before but was still excited about re-aquainting themselves with the steppe species. We set off in sunshine but as soon as we entered La Mancha the skies greyed and the wind blew, making for cold uncomfortable birdwatching. However on the road to Higueruela our first stop produced 100+ Rock Sparrows, Corn Bunting, Linnets, Carrion Crows, Red legged Partridges and a Raven. Whilst watching the Rock Sparrows I made a scan of the nearby fields and there were 6 Great Bustards in the tall grass. Yvonne was very pleased as she got scoped views of these magnificent birds but secretly yearned for a better showing. The road to Higueruela was fairly quiet but we did find plenty of Calandra & Crested Larks, a few Northern Wheatears and a Mistle Thrush. Then on one of the tracks we flushed a male Black bellied Sandgrouse and it flew right past the vehicle showing it's tremendous plumage, we later saw two more but not as well as this one. Back to Bonete we drove along the road to Corral Rubio and at the view-point we found our first pair of Stone Curlews, and a little further 7 more Great Bustards but again distant. The rain was now pouring so it was time for an early lunch, we drove straight through to Petrola and enjoyed very large Bacon & Cheese Bocadillos at the local hostelry. After lunch we visited Petrola Lagoon watching from the car, which produced a male Garganey, Mallard, 20+ Greater Flamingos, Shelducks, Avocets, and Kentish Plovers. As we left Petrola a large raptor appeared over the hill which was a Short toed Eagle, and then a little further a female Marsh Harrier flushed a large flock of 100+ Pin tailed Sandgrouse from beside the road. We watched them as they wheeled around calling next to the car and eventually they settled back into the same field giving us all magnificent views from the vehicle. Eventually we left and checked another nearby pool that held 2 Gadwall but not a lot else, however it had been a great detour. Back on the tracks through to Higuela we found some more distant Great Bustards, two pairs of Stone Curlew, more Calandra Larks, Black Redstart and a Peregrine. Then as we turned a corner we flushed a single Great Bustard that flew a short distance and joined another small group of nine birds all quite close to us and showing very well despite the poor weather conditions, Yvonne & Geoff were elated seeing them in all their glory. Finally we drove to Higuela Lagoon where we added some more wetland species not seen yet that day such as - Little Grebes, Eurasian Teal, Shovelers, Red Crested & Common Pochards, Common Coot, Snipe, Redshanks, Common Sandpiper, and Ruff. Due to the weather we decided to head home and found the rain had also moved to the coast but not long after returning it stopped allowing Bob & Geoff to watch from their room window finding an early Hobby, Short toed Eagle and Red rumped Swallows with the large number of hirundines moving north.

Thursday 5th April :- Today we were saying goodbye to Geoff & Yvonne but before they left for the airport we all visited Pego Marsh where we saw an Osprey, Purple Herons, Moustached, Cetti's & Savi's Warblers, Red Crested Pochards, Marsh Harriers, Audouin's Gulls, Kingfisher, a female Reed Bunting, and 16 Penduline Tits migrating north. After breakfast and saying our fond farewells to Geoff & Yvonne we returned to Pego Marsh this time doing the south east corner and found 3 Squacco Herons, another Osprey, Booted Eagle, 3 Garganey, Northern Shovelers, Black winged Stilts, Common Snipe, Redshank. Green & Wood Sandpipers, Ruff, Alpine Swifts, Red rumped Swallows, Sand Martins, Hoopoes, Yellow Wagtails (inc. a flava type), Water Pipits, and Tree Sparrows. Next we drove up through the Vall de Gallinera stopping for lunch and seeing 10+ Red billed Chough, Peregrine Falcon, a few Rock Sparrows, Grey Wagtail, Wren, Blackcaps, Sardinian Warbler and a heard-only Wryneck, but not the 'hoped for' Golden Eagle. We arrived at the Alcoy Hills having already seen several Griffon Vultures from the town, and the walk up the hill produced a Raven, Woodpigeons, Linnets, Stonechat, Long tailed & Crested Tits, with more vultures from the feeding station. The return journey was more productive with the same species plus a Rock Bunting, several Crossbills and a Woodlark sat on overhead wires. We returned back down the Vall de Gallinera and stopped to find an adult Golden Eagle sat on top of the crag in full view, along with a Blue Rock Thrush and several more Red billed Choughs.

Friday 6th April :- As it was raining heavily first thing I opted for a seawatch from the vehicle at Oliva Beach, which proved very productive. As we set up it was obvious Gannets were heading south and over the next hour and a half we logged over 800 birds, along with 4 Balearic Shearwaters, 2 Mediterranean Shags, a Grey Heron, 8 Shelduck, 4 Arctic Skuas, an Oystercatcher, Dunlin, Sanderlings, Kentish Plovers, Sandwich Terns, Audouin's & Yellow legged Gulls. After a quick coffee we headed north (seeing a male Cirl Bunting en-route) to a small reserve on the north side of Valencia, Moro Marsh and quickly found our major target species 2 Crested Coots. The walk between the beach and the reedbed kept us busy with a Balearic Shearwater, 2 Little, Common & Sandwich Terns over the sea, and pools held Northern Shovelers, Red Crested & Common Pochards, Marsh Harriers, 2 Avocets, 10+ Collared Pratincoles, Whiskered Terns, a few Pallid & Alpine Swifts with the100's of Common Swifts, several Red rumped Swallows, a single Reed Warbler, with Cetti's & Savi's Warblers, and a Southern Grey Shrike. We had lunch before going to the next part of the reserve, which was even better than the first since we found a Great Crested Grebe, Purple & Squacco Heron, 8 Great White Egrets, 22 Glossy Ibis, Eurasian Teal, 10+ Garganey, 20+ Purple Gallinules, 4 more Red knobbed Coots, Redshanks, Common Sandpipers, 30+ Whiskered Terns, 2 Willow Warblers, Yellow Wagtails (inc. flavissima & thunbergi types) and a Woodchat Shrike. Back in Oliva we spent the last hour again at Pego Marsh around the allotment area, which produced a Common Redstart, 4 Woodchat Shrikes, a few Tree Sparrows, Cattle Egrets, Osprey, a single Avocet, Redshanks, Green Sandpiper, Common Snipe, Audouin's Gulls, Water & Meadow Pipits, rounding off another excellent day.

Saturday 7th April :- This morning Bob & Geoff were leaving for Alicante but I had promised them a few sights before I dropped them at Bob's home in Gran Alicant. First was on the road to Denia and found our target Monk Parakeets within seconds of arriving in their palm tree nests. We then made the journey down to Elche and on to the north side of El Hondo where again within seconds of arrival we found a White Stork, a Little Owl and a gorgeous male Montagu's Harrier. After this initial excitement we settled down and scanned a nearby field where a familiar buzzing call alerted me to four birds flying in, which consisted of 3 Lesser Short toed Larks and a Greater Short toed Lark, and over the next half hour we managed to get scoped views of these small larks, along with Crested Larks, a Booted Eagle, Marsh Harriers, Meadow Pipits and Southern Grey Shrikes. We moved on and visited the Vistabella Road where we managed to see a Great Reed Warbler, Bearded Tit, Common Buzzard, Green Sandpipers, Red Crested Pochards, Red rumped Swallow, Purple & Squacco Herons. Finally we drove the short distance to El Pinet salinas and added birds here such as Kentish Plovers, Black tailed Godwits, Avocets, Common Redshanks, 2 Greenshanks, Little Stints, Dunlin, Slender billed & Mediterranean Gulls, a great end to another excellent Valencian Short Break

Tuesday 10th - 17th April :- Ken Shaw & I were away this week together in Latvia on our first guided birdwatching holiday to this fantastic and underwatched corner of Europe. During our week away we saw many excellent birds including :- Great White Egret, Smew, Taiga & Tundra Bean Geese, Lesser Spotted & White tailed Eagles, Rough legged Buzzard, displaying Merlin, Pygmy Owl, Three toed, White backed, Grey headed, Black, Great, Middle & Lesser spotted Woodpeckers, Hawfinch, and much more. A full trip report is being written by group member and very good friend Anthea Skiffington, which will be posted in the near future. The photo of the Pygmy Owl was digi-scoped by me at Kemeri NP, arguably Latvia's premier birdwatching site. See the full report - HERE

Wednesday 18th April :- This afternoon I was back locally guiding Nick Green and with limited information we drove up to the Vall de Gallinera. Initial stops produced singing Nightingale and Cuckoo, before reaching the road bridge where we added a male Cirl Bunting, Sardinian Warblers, Blackcaps, Great & Long tailed Tits, Grey & White Wagtail, Little Owl calling, Serin, Greenfinches, Goldfinches, Spotless Starlings, Red rumped & Barn Swallows, Crag Martins, and Common Swifts. Back down the valley we stopped for refreshments and while watching the Red billed Choughs an adult Golden Eagle flew in and sat on the crag in full view. Time was moving on so we headed for Pego Marsh and started near the allotments finding lots of Whinchat plus Crested Larks, Yellow Wagtails, Marsh Harrier, Zitting Cistcolas, a Great Reed Warbler, and Little Ringed Plovers. In a wet paddy field we saw 2 Collared Pratincoles, a Curlew Sandpiper, along with plenty of Wood Sandpipers, Black winged Stilts, Squacco, Purple & Grey Herons, Little & Cattle Egrets. A drive along the eastern edge produced excellent views of a 'reeling' Savi's Warbler plus more Wood Sandpipers, Redshank, a Night Heron, Red Crested Pochards, Whiskered Terns, and Hoopoe. Finally as dusk was falling we found ou final target with a singing Moustached Warbler, but a Great White Egret completed the set of regular herons & egrets in less than two hours.

Friday 20th April :- Today was the first day of  Peter & Jenny's Valencian Short Break having arrived the evening before. We started at Oliva Beach but it was very quiet with just a few Sandwich Terns and a couple of Gannets so we quickly moved on to Pego Marsh. The still conditions were ideal for reedbed warblers and within an hour we had scoped views of Moustached, Savi's, Great Reed and Eurasian Reed Warblers, plus Zitting Cisticolas, Iberian Yellow Wagtails, Mallard, Marsh Harriers, Little & Cattle Egrets, Grey & Purple Herons, Black winged Stilts, Little Ringed Plovers, a Kingfisher, and a Whinchat. However the personal highlight was my first Stone Curlew for this excellent site. After breakfast we returned to the marsh checking out a couple more areas finding more of the same plus several Squacco Herons, Red Crested Pochards, 2 Marbled Ducks, Coots, Common Snipe, Redshank, several Wood, Green & Common Sandpipers, 30+ Whiskered Terns, Crested Larks, Barn Swallows, House Martins, Common Swifts, White Wagtails, Blackbirds, Sardinian & Cetti's Warblers, Great Tits, 2 male Woodchat Shrikes, Goldfinches, Greenfinches and Serins. One disappointing thing was finding a dead Eagle Owl that looked like it had flown into overhead power lines. We then drove up to the Vall de Gallinera firstly for our lunch which we ate whilst watching 30+ Red billed Choughs. After lunch we drove up and down the valley making several stops where we found 2 adult Bonelli's Eagles, a Sparrowhawk, Kestrels, Common Cuckoos, heard a Wryneck, Crag Martins, Red rumped Swallows, Sardinian Warblers, Nightingales, Stonechats, Long tailed & Great Tits, and a Cirl Bunting.

Saturday 21st April :- We all (including Nick Green) set off for the Albacete Plains in good time and arrived in near perfect conditions and our first stops along the Higueruela Road produced Rock Sparrows, several Stone Curlew, Northern Wheatear, Stock Doves, Woodpigeons, Mistle Thrush, Spotless Starlings, Corn Buntings, Crested & Calandra Larks, Red legged Partridges, Kestrels, Magpies and Carrion Crows. Then at one stop we had a fantastic half hour firstly flushing 3 Little Bustards, then finding 3 Great Bustards (one foam-bath displaying), and while watching these we had 10 Black bellied & 12 Pin tailed Sandgrouse both flying and on the fields, a male Montagu's Harrier floated past, plus a Short toed Lark, Hoopoes, Common Buzzard, Common Swifts and Swallows moving north. After this we made our way quickly to Petrola stopping en-route at Corral Rubio ponds for Rock Sparrows, a Greenshank, Redshank, 2 Avocets, Lapwings, Black winged Stilts, a Sparrowhawk, Mallards, and Linnets. In Petrola we had an excellent lunch and afterwards headed for the lagoon for an hour watching 6 adult summer Black Terns with a Common & Whiskered Terns, Ruff, Common & Wood Sandpipers, Kentish, Ringed & Little Ringed Plovers, Sanderling, Redshank, more Avocets and Black winged Stilts, 5 Greater Flamingos, Black headed Gulls, Red Crested Pochards, and Shelducks. Yet the major highlight for me was finding a moulting adult Little Gull amongst the marsh terns, my first ever in Spain. Next we drove along the tracks back to Corral Rubio getting excellent views of another 20 Great Bustards with some in flight, plus more Stone Curlew, Marsh Harrier, Northern Wheatears, Lapwings, Red legged Partridges, Short toed, Crested & Calandra Larks. The road to Higuela Lagoon produced a gorgeous male Black eared Wheatear and on the ponds there was a Little Grebe, 2 Gadwall, Common & Red Crested Pochards, Coots, Common Sandpiper and Kentish Plover. Finally as we returned towards Bonete we had a Black Kite fly over us, ending yet another great day in this underwatched area.

Sunday 22nd April :- The Alicante Region was today's itinerary and as normal we (Howard Eccles, Peter & Jenny) started at the Clot de Galvany in the rain!. We made our way quickly to the hide and sat there until it abated enjoying very close views of 3 Marbled & several White headed Ducks, Red Crested & Common Pochards, Mallard, Little Grebes, Coot, Moorhen, and Black winged Stilts. A walk around the reserve was very productive with Shelduck, 2 Wood Sandpipers, Kentish Plover and 20+ Little Stints on the other pool along with 20+ Turtle Doves, Woodpigeons, 4 Little Owls, Hoopoes, Iberian Green Woodpecker, a Melodious, Willow & several Sardinian Warblers, a late Chiffchaff, Serins, Greenfinches and Goldfinches. After an early lunch we then dove down to the Santa Pola salinas, which was stacked with waders, and estimates being 4 Grey Plovers, 10+ Ringed Plovers, Kentish Plovers, 10+ Black tailed Godwits, 2 Greenshank, 6 Spotted Redshank (one full summer plumage), 30+ Common Redshank, 100+ Dunlin, 200+ Curlew Sandpipers, Common Sandpiper 100+ Little Stints, loads of Avocets and Black winged Stilts. Also here we found Great Crested Grebes, Grey Herons, Greater Flamingos, Little Egrets, Shelducks, Mallard, Red Crested Pochards, Yellow legged Gulls, 20+ Little Terns, Yellow Wagtails and Zitting Cisticolas. At El Pinet we saw more of the same including 100+ Curlew Sandpipers, 10+ Sanderlings, Dunlin, Little Stints, a Greenshank, several Redshank, a (1st winter) Mediterranean Gull, 100+ Slender billed Gulls, 5 Audouin's Gulls, 20+ Sandwich, Little & Whiskered Terns, an Alpine Swift, 6 Bee-eaters, Willow Warbler and a Southern Grey Shrike. Several stops around the perimeter of El Hondo produced Cattle Egrets, a male Montagu's Harrier, Kestrels, 2 Collared Pratincoles, Little Owl, Common Cuckoo, 3 Whinchat, and another Green Woodpecker. We now drove up through the hills to Finca Bonelli's Eagle and we were soon greeted by scoped views of one of the eaglets on the nest over the next couple of hours we were treated to superb views of both adult Bonelli's Eagles and the two young being fed. As well as this we also saw Black Wheatears, Blue Rock Thrushes, Thekla Larks, Alpine Swifts, Jackdaws, Kestrel and a Dartford Warbler. Finally we made our way to the Elche Hills and as dusk was falling I eventually found a shape against the rock face, which was a young Eagle Owl, we then saw an adult sat out, and then the owlet was joined by a second bird, 3 Eagle Owls in 15 minutes a very rare treat. To round off the day we then had a European Nightjar fly right past us while it was still light enough to see some plumage, a fantastic day.

Monday 23rd April :- Today I was returning Peter & Jenny back to the airport and since there flights weren't until late afternoon we had some time for additional birdwatching. So we drove through to Cabo de San Antoni stopping en-route for the Monk Parakeets just outside Denia. At the headland we made our way to the cliff edge and enjoyed fantastic views of a pair of adult Peregrines as they flew overhead, as well as several Pallid Swifts, a Black Wheatear, and a pair of Blue Rock Thrushes. Back on the road I noticed a large falcon coming in from the sea and quickly commented on it's large size, long wings & tail, and called "Eleanora's Falcon". We all watched as this 'pale phase adult' flew past, causing a Peregrine to react (giving a fantastic comparison), and disappear inland with it's very distinct flight action. Extremely pleased we continued our walk around the headland just seeing a few Sardinian Warblers and Serins, but as we returned to the car we got a repeat performance as another (probably) pale phase Eleanora's Falcon powered it's way inland giving fantastic views in the sunshine, what a day. We then drove down to Alicante and then after lunch into the hills to Maigmo where a walk through the pine forest produced a male Pied Flycatcher, Crested, Coal, Long tailed & Great Tits, Short toed Treecreepers, a Rock Bunting, Firecrest, Chaffinches, Serins and a Common Buzzard. I returned Peter & Jenny to the airport after a very enjoyable few days.

Tuesday 24th & 25th April :- These two days I was out with bird photographers Lesley Stubbs & Ray Goode so the emphasis was on finding areas and sitting and waiting for the birds. Initially picked them up from Altea and headed for the Clot de Galvany where we sat in the hide for a time seeing Marbled & White headed Ducks, Common & Red Crested Pochards, Little Grebes, Common Sandpiper, Purple Gallinule, Squacco Heron, Black winged Stilts, and Eurasian Reed Warbler. Around the rest of the reserve we saw Shelduck, 2 Wood Sandpipers, Kentish Plover, Little Stints, Turtle Doves, Woodpigeons, Little Owls, Hoopoes, Iberian Green Woodpecker, Willow & Sardinian Warblers, Serins, Greenfinches and Goldfinches. After lunch at Santa Pola Salinas we found again the waders I had seen previously which included Ringed Plovers, Kentish Plovers, Greenshank, Spotted Redshanks, Common Redshanks, Dunlin, Curlew Sandpipers, Little Stints, Avocets and Black winged Stilts. Along with the usual Greater Flamingos, Great Crested Grebes, Yellow legged Gulls, Little & Whiskered Terns, Grey Herons, Little Egrets and Yellow Wagtails. We the had a quick visit to El Pinet to photograph the Slender billed Gulls, Common & Sandwich Terns, Bee-eaters and a Southern Grey Shrike. Finally we drove up to the Crevillente Hills were time was spent on both adult Bonelli's Eagles and the two young on the nest. As well as this we also saw Black Wheatears, Blue Rock Thrushes, Thekla Larks, Alpine Swifts, Jackdaws, Kestrel and a Dartford Warbler. On Wednesday we were out on Pego Marsh before breakfast making full us of the good light, getting shots of Little & Cattle Egrets, Grey & Squacco Herons, Red Crested Pochards, Black winged Stilts, Wood Sandpiper, Little Ringed Plover, Audouin's Gull, Whiskered Tern, Yellow Wagtail, Savi's & Great Reed Warblers. After breakfast we headed inland up the Vall de Gallinera where our stops produced an adult Golden Eagle, several Red billed Chough, Kestrel, Cuckoo, Sardinian Warbler, Nightingale, Serins, and Goldfinches. In the Alcoy Hills we walked up to the Proyecto Canyet and settled into spending time with the 40+ Griffon Vultures and during this session I found a local rarity with an Egyptian Vulture amongst it's large cousins. During our time here and on the walk down we managed to see Crested, Coal, Great & Long tailed Tit, Short toed Treecreeper, Rock Bunting, Blue Rock Thrush, Black Redstart, Raven, and Magpies. Finally as we made our way back to Altea we found a Woodchat Shrike sat on an overead wire.

Thursday 26th April :- Today I was again in the Alicante Region with Mike & Karen Crutch who were staying in Calpe. After meeting at the motorway services we drove straight to the Clot de Galvany again in the rain!. We tried to make our way quickly to the hide but it was obvious migrants had been grounded with several (of many) Willow Warblers and 2 male Pied Flycatchers. Eventually at the hide we enjoyed very close views of 3 Marbled & several White headed Ducks, Red Crested & Common Pochards, Shoveler, Mallard, Little Grebes, Coot, Black winged Stilts, more Willow and a Eurasian Reed Warbler. A walk around the reserve was very productive with more Pied Flycatchers, a Spotted Flycatcher, Garden & Sardinian Warblers, Whitethroat,  Turtle Doves, Woodpigeons, Little Owls, Hoopoes, Iberian Green Woodpecker, Whinchats, Woodchat & Southern Grey Shrikes, Serins, Greenfinches and Goldfinches with Kentish Plover and Little Stints on the other pool. We then dove down to the Santa Pola salinas, but most of the waders had left but we still found, Ringed & Kentish Plovers, Common Redshank, Dunlin, Curlew Sandpipers, Little Stints, Avocets and Black winged Stilts. Also here we found Great Crested Grebes, Grey & Squacco Herons, Greater Flamingos, Little Egrets, Shelducks, Marbled Ducks, Red Crested Pochards, Yellow legged & Audouin's Gulls, Little, Common & Whiskered Terns, and Yellow Wagtail. At El Pinet we saw more Curlew Sandpipers, Little Stints, several Redshank, a Black tailed Godwit, 4 adult Mediterranean Gull, 100+ Slender billed Gulls, an Audouin's  Lesser Black backed Gull, Sandwich, Common, Little & Whiskered Terns, Bee-eaters, and a pair of Southern Grey Shrikes. Several stops around the perimeter of El Hondo produced my first Roller of the year, Kestrels, Cattle Egrets, Green Woodpecker, but the highlight was seeing 6 Montagu's Harriers (4 male 2 female) and 50+ Collared Pratincoles in the air together. We now drove up through the Crevillente Hills to our late lunch stop and we were soon greeted by scoped views of one of the eaglets on the nest over the next couple of hours we were treated to superb views of both adult Bonelli's Eagles and the two young being fed. As well as this we also saw Black Wheatears, Blue Rock Thrushes, Thekla Larks, Alpine Swifts, and Jackdaws. Finally we made our way to the Elche Hills in the hope of finding a young Eagle Owl but unfortunately not. However we did see an adult Golden Eagle, Black Wheatear, Blue Rock Thrush and  couple of Little Owls, completing another a fantastic day.

Friday 27th April and more :- All this week I have had the great pleasure of housing two bird artists from Tyneside, Martin Eccles (website) & John Steele. Martin's brother Howard had also come along and spent a few days out with me earlier in the week seeing more of  Communitat Valenciana, unlike the others who spent most of their time on Pego Marsh. Before they came they had a target of four works of art a day (a very tall order) and an 'end of week' exhibition revealed they almost made this, and with some real quality. Below are a few examples of their work, which is even better in real life. So today I had a free morning (an family committments in the afternoon) so headed out to Pego Marsh in the hope of finding yesterday's White winged Black Tern found by this trio. At the north end I immediately found a Moustached Warbler with two others in close proximity, also around here was a Water Pipit (late bird?), Savi's, Cetti's, Eurasian Reed & Great Reed Warblers, Whiskered Terns, Marsh Harrier, Black winged Stilts, Little Ringed Plovers, Purple & Grey Herons, Little & Cattle Egrets, Red Crested Pochard, Coot and Mallard. At the south end I walked around the flooded meadow finding a few waders including several Wood & Common Sandpipers, a Curlew Sandpiper, Greenshank, Redshanks, Ruff, and Common Snipe. A Marbled Duck loafed on the dwarf wall with the other wildfowl, Audouin's Gulls and herons, Squacco Herons fed in the shallow waters and a female Cuckoo flew past. Then over the reeds I spied a marsh tern with a brilliant white tail going away from me and I knew I had refound the adult summer White winged Black Tern. I lost it for a while before seeing it again over the reeds with Whiskered Terns for about 20 minutes and then it flew towards our local golf course probably to fish their ponds. After this a little time left to search around the allotments, where I found Woodchat Shrikes, Nightingale, Whinchat, Stonechat, Sardinian Warblers, Tree Sparrows, Goldfinches, Greenfinches, and Serins.

Sunday 29th April :- Gary & Gwen Smith were arriving today at lunchtime into Alicante and after meeting them we headed straight into the hills for our lunch. Truck stops are arguably the best value places to eat and this one is excellent with outside tables over-looking a large hillside, and while we tucked into our out-sized bocadillos Gary found a Peregrine Falcon carrying prey. After lunch we made the short journey to Maigmo and a stroll up the wooded hill provided Short toed Treecreepers, Crested, Long tailed, and Great Tits, Mistle Thrush, Blackbird, Woodchat Shrike, Chaffinches, Goldfinches and Serins. Next we headed for Monnegre and as we dropped down the valley Gwen first found a Short toed Eagle, then a Raven, as well as a male Dartford Warbler before we reached our destination. At the Barranco de Monnegre there were a lot of birds and initially we saw a Blue Rock Thrush, Thekla Larks, several Rock Sparrows, Barn Swallows, Serins, and Goldfinches. We walked into the barranco and waited finding Black eared & Black Wheatears, several parties of Bee-eaters were moving north and the skies were filled with migrating Common Swift. Then a pair of adult Bonelli's Eagles passed overhead, followed by a Sparrowhawk, but then we found our main target as a distinctive call revealed a pair of Trumpeter Finches on the opposite hillside. We enjoyed these birds for a good while before heading back to the vehicle and as we got there an unfamiliar song revealed a nest building male Spectacled Warbler, the first I had found here. Eventually we had to leave and as we made our way downwards we saw more Bee-eaters and Woodchat Shrikes plus a Kestrel, Nightingale, Willow Warbler, Crag Martins, and a Southern Grey Shrike. An excellent start to their short break.

Monday 30th April :- A pre-breakfast visit to Pego Marsh enabled us to find a few of Gary's target species, and starting at the north end we soon found Moustached, Savi's, Great Reed & Eurasian Reed Warblers, Zitting Cisticolas, Whiskered Terns, Black winged Stilts, Little Ringed Plovers, a single Curlew Sandpiper, Purple & Grey Herons, Little & Cattle Egrets and an Osprey sat on it's usual pylon. At the still dry paddy fields we saw Audouin's & Yellow legged Gulls, Gary found a Black Kite flying away, plus a male Little Bittern and a small flock of Yellow Wagtails revealed both the Blue headed (flava) & Grey headed (thunbergi) forms. After breakfast we headed to Cabo de San Antoni, hearing several Monk Parakeets en-route around Denia. At the headland we sat sea watching seeing lots of Pallid Swifts as they passed by below us, going into their nests in the cliffs. Also while we were here we saw a single Cory's and 20+ Balearic Shearwaters following the trawlers, Mediterranean Shag, a pair of Peregrine Falcons, several flocks of Bee-eaters, a Nightingale, Northern & Black Wheatears, Woodchat Shrikes, Thekla Larks, Blue Rock Thrushes, Blackbird, Sardinian & Willow Warblers in the scrub and dwarf pines. After lunch we returned to the south end of Pego Marsh having a leisurely stroll finding much the same species as the morning plus Collared Pratincoles, Common, Wood & Curlew Sandpipers, a Dunlin, Marbled Duck, Red Crested Pochards, Coot, a female Marsh Harrier, Kingfisher, and a Jackdaw. A drive along the allotments produced a Tree Sparrow amongst the House Sparrows, and then another walk behind the hillside we found a Short toed Eagle, Kestrel, Alpine Swifts with the Common Swifts, Whinchats, more Woodchat Shrikes, a Nightingale sat out on an overhead wire, Serins, Greenfinches & Goldfinches.

May 2007

Tuesday 1st May :- We all (Gary & Gwen plus Kevin & Andrew Waddison from Norfolk) set off for the Albacete Plains but the high winds made things fairly difficult. Our first stop along the Higueruela Road produced Black eared &, Northern Wheatears, Woodchat Shrike, Stock Doves, Woodpigeons, Mistle Thrush, Spotless Starlings, Corn Buntings, Crested & Calandra Larks, Red legged Partridges, Kestrels, Magpies and Carrion Crows. Then we found 8 Great Bustards  and a  female Montagu's Harrier floated past, plus a pair of Stone Curlews, Common Buzzard, Common Swifts and Swallows moving north. We made our way to Corral Rubio and near here we stopped and scanned the fields finding 3 Little Bustards, 4 Black bellied Sandgrouse, Linnets and another Woodchat Shrike. A little further recent rains had made some roadside pool and a careful check revealed a Temminck's Stint, 2 Little Stints, Wood & Common Sandpipers, Kentish Plover, Redshanks, Greenshanks, Lapwings, Avocets, Black winged Stilts and a (thunbergi) Yellow Wagtail. The ponds just outside Corral Rubio produced much he same species along with another Montagu's Harrier and our first Black Kite of the day. En-route to Petrola we added a female Marsh Harrier and after another excellent lunch we headed for the lagoon but it was fairly quite seeing  Whiskered Terns, Kentish & Little Ringed Plovers, Common Sandpipers, Redshank, Avocets, Black winged Stilts, Black headed Gulls, Red Crested Pochards, Gadwall, Shelducks, Montagu's & Marsh Harriers and a Raven. Next we drove along the tracks back to Corral Rubio finding a Short toed Lark with the Calandra Larks, plus a single Great Bustard, Stone Curlew, 10+ Bee-eaters, 2 more Black Kites, Montagu's & Marsh Harriers. At Higuela Lagoon there were Black necked & Little Grebes, Gadwalls, Common & Red Crested Pochards, Coots, 9 Greenshanks, 71 Redshanks and a lovely male Marsh Harrier.. Finally as we returned towards Bonete we had a Southern Grey Shrike and the final 'icing on the cake' was a very close Lesser Kestrel from the main road.

Wednesday 2nd May :- Before breakfast Kevin, Andrew & I went out to Pego Marsh and the still conditions were perfect for finding reedbed species. Starting at the north end we easily found Moustached, Savi's, Cetti's, Great Reed & Eurasian Reed Warblers, Zitting Cisticolas, Whiskered Terns, Black winged Stilts, Little Ringed Plovers, Purple & Grey Herons, Little & Cattle Egrets. Andrew found a male Little Bittern sat in the reeds and we also saw a Marbled Duck, a male Peregrine Falcon, Audouin's & Yellow legged Gulls, 3 Turtle Doves, and 2 Whinchats. After breakfast we all set off or the Val de Gallinera with the initial stops producing 2 Golden Eagles, 10+ Red billed Chough, 20+ Bee-eaters, Common Cuckoo, Red rumped & Barn Swallows, Nightingales, Sardinian Warblers, Woodchat Shrike, a Cirl Bunting, 30+ Rock Sparrows sat on wires, and brief flight views of a Golden Oriole and a Firecrest. However an hour stood at the 'puente' was simply fantastic with scoped views of a male Golden Oriole out in the open, as well as Hoopoes, a Wryneck, Iberian Green Woodpecker, Crag Martins, Grey & White Wagtails, Bee-eaters, Nightingale, a few more Rock Sparrows, Goldfinches, Greenfinches, Serins and another male Cirl Bunting. We then drove up to Vulture feeding station at Alcoy and found yet more species including 40+ Griffon Vultures, female Sparrowhawk, Kestrel, Woodpigeons, a Thekla & Wood Lark, male Blue Rock Thrush, Blackbirds, Mistle Thrush, Sardinian Warblers, Black Redstart, Crested, Coal, Long tailed, & Great Tits, Short toed Treecreepers, Magpies, Raven, Serins, Chaffinches and a Crossbill. Finally as we made our way home we saw a couple of Southern Grey Shrikes and a Little Owl. Tonight we ventured back out for the first time this Spring looking for nightjars and we were rewarded with excellent views of 2 Red necked Nightjars.

Thursday 3rd May :- This was Gary & Gwen's final day and Kevin & Andrew's penultimate day, which was being spent in the Alicante Region. We made our usual itinerary starting at the Cot de Galvany seeing Marbled & White headed Ducks, Red Crested & Common Pochards, Shoveler, Mallard, Little Grebes, Coot, Black winged Stilts, Willow & Eurasian Reed Warbler. A walk around the reserve was very productive with Spotted Flycatcher, Turtle Doves, Woodpigeons, Little Owls, Hoopoes, Iberian Green Woodpecker, Woodchat & Southern Grey Shrikes, Serins, Greenfinches and Goldfinches. We then went to the Santa Pola Salinas finding a late (pale phase) Booted Eagle, Ringed & Kentish Plovers, Common Redshank, Curlew Sandpipers, Little Stints, Avocets and Black winged Stilts, plus Great Crested Grebes, Grey & Purple Heron, Greater Flamingos, Little Egrets, Shelducks, more Marbled Duck, Yellow legged & Audouin's Gulls, Little & Common Terns, and Yellow Wagtails. At El Pinet we saw a few more Curlew Sandpipers, Little Stints, 30+ Slender billed and an Audouin's Gull,  Sandwich, Common, Little & Whiskered Terns, Bee-eaters, and a pair of Southern Grey Shrikes. Several stops around the perimeter of El Hondo produced a couple of Rollers, Kestrels, Cattle Egrets, Green Woodpecker, Montagu's Harriers, Lesser Short toed & Crested Larks. We then made our way up to the Crevillente Hills for our evening meal and excellent views of both adult Bonelli's Eagles and the two Eaglets. As well as this we also saw 7 Honey Buzzards migrating north, Black Wheatear, Blue Rock Thrushes, Thekla Larks, Alpine & Common Swifts. Finally we made our way to the Elche Hills initially finding Black Wheatear, Blue Rock Thrush and Little Owls, but we waited for the Eagle Owls. Then as it was getting dark Kevin found both the owlets on top of the cliff-face, and as we watched a adult flew in and started to feed them. We returned to our accommodation and sat outside listening to Red necked Nightjars, Scop's & Little Owls while having a well earned beer.

Friday 4th May :- This was change over day as I was saying goodbye to Kevin & Andrew and meeting Richard Piner who was coming with me to Castilla la Mancha & Extremadura. As this was happening in the afternoon Kevin, Andrew & I had some birdwatching to do before they left and after a leisurely start we drove up to Maigmo and a walk in the woods. Over the next couple of hours we found Firecrests, Short toed Treecreepers, Crested, Long tailed, and Great Tits, Mistle Thrush, Blackbird, Rock Buntings, Chaffinches, Goldfinches and Serins. After a light lunch we then drove the short distance to Monnegre where we had another excellent couple of hours finding 5 Short toed Eagles, and at the barranco we saw a male Trumpeter Finch, Black eared & Black Wheatears, Blue Rock Thrush, Thekla Larks, several Rock Sparrows, Serins, and Goldfinches. We also enjoyed a male Spectacled Warbler, as it called and sang from nearby bushes and occasionally wires. Eventually we had to leave for the airport and as we made our way downwards we saw more Bee-eaters, Woodchat Shrikes, Nightingale, Cetti's Warbler and a Southern Grey Shrike. An excellent end to their short break.

Friday 4th - 12th May :- I was away this week to Castilla la Mancha & Extremadura on the first of my all-inclusive holidays of the year and it was a great success. During the week we saw (& heard) 190+ species including :- Black Stork, Great White Egret, White headed Duck, Black winged Kite, Honey Buzzard, Spanish Imperial & Bonelli's Eagles, Hobby, Great & Little Bustard, Pin tailed & Black bellied Sandgrouse, Great Spotted Cuckoo, Eagle Owl, Roller, Rock Thrush, Bluethroat, Western Orphean, Spectacled, Moustached & Savi's Warblers, Bearded Tit, Citril Finch, Ortolan Bunting plus much more. A full trip report will be posted in the near future. The photos of the adult Eagle Owl & Pin tailed Sandgrouse were digi-scoped in Monfrague (Extremadura) & Quero (Castilla la Mancha).

Monday 14th May :- This morning I was guiding Kevin Lane around the Alicante area with some specific targets in mind. After meeting at the airport we immediately went to the Santa Pola Headland searching for Rufous Bushchat and after a short search we found our first one of a least 3 birds, plus Spotted Flycatchers, Long tailed Tits, Serins, and Blackbirds. Next we drove up to Monnegre and driving down through the valley we saw Woodchat Shrike, Blue Rock Thrush and a pair of Black eared Wheatears. At the barranco we searched the area and found a pair of  Trumpeter Finches, Black Wheatears, Rock Sparrows, Bee-eaters and a very obliging male Spectacled Warbler. As we left the valley w added a Magpie, Northern Wheatear, and Southern Grey Shrike, before heading up into the hills above Crevillente. During a drink an a sandwich we watched the adult & young Bonelli's Eagles, 3 Honey Buzzards, 2 Black Wheatears, Thekla Larks, Woodchat Shrike, Alpine & Common Swifts, Jackdaws, and 2 Red billed Chough. Having met up with my good friend Brian Conduit we left the canyon and dropped down to the edge of El Hondo Reserve where we found a White Stork flying over, as well as 2 Rollers, several Lesser Short toed & Crested Larks, Bee-eaters, Yellow legged & Black headed Gulls. It was now time to return Kevin to the airport and on the way through Santa Pola Salinas we added Greater Flamingos, Slender billed Gulls, Avocets, and Black winged Stilts. In the afternoon I had to meet bird photographer Rob Wilson at Pego Marsh and over a few hours he saw and photographed many birds including :- Grey, Purple & Squacco Herons, Little & Cattle Egrets, Red Crested Pochards, Coots, Marsh Harrier, a fly-through Hobby, Black winged Stilts, Collared Pratincoles, a single Lapwing, Redshank, Greenshank, Little Ringed Plover, Wood & Common Sandpipers, Audouin's & Yellow legged Gulls, Whiskered Terns, a Kingfisher, Yellow Wagtails, Moustached, Savi's, Cetti's, Great Reed & Eurasian Reed Warblers, Zitting Cisticolas, and a male Reed Bunting.

Friday 22nd - 30th May :- I was away this week to Pyrenees & N/E Spain on the first of concurrent visits to this excellent region and as always it was a fantastic & wildlife-filled week. During our eight days we saw many excellent birds including :- Great White Egret, Glossy Ibis, Squacco & Purple Heron, Little Bittern, Marbled & White headed Ducks, Lammergeyer, Egyptian Vulture, Short toed & Booted Eagles, Audouin's & Slender billed Gulls, Caspian & Black Terns, Black bellied Sandgrouse, Black Woodpecker, Great Spotted Cuckoo, Dupont's Lark, Ring Ouzel, Rock Thrush, Penduline Tit, Wallcreeper, Alpine Chough, Citril Finch, Alpine Accentor, & Ortolan Bunting plus much more.

June 2007

Friday 1st - 9th June :- This was my second week away to the Pyrenees & N/E Spain and was ever bit as fantastic and bird-filled as the week before, with most of the species being seen again with one or two additions or exceptions. During our eight days we saw many excellent birds including :- Great White Egret, Glossy Ibis, Squacco & Purple Heron, Little Bittern, Marbled Duck, Crested Coot, Lammergeyer, Egyptian Vulture, Golden, Short toed & Booted Eagles, Audouin's & Slender billed Gulls, Caspian Tern, Black bellied Sandgrouse, Black Woodpecker, Dupont's Lark, Ring Ouzel, Western Orphean Warbler, Penduline Tit, Wallcreeper, Alpine Chough, Citril Finch, Alpine Accentor, & Ortolan Bunting plus much more.                                                                                                                           

Saturday 16th - 23rd June :- This was my first ever trip to the Picos de Europa & Northern Madrid and I was lucky enough to be accompanied by one of my very good friends. During our seven days we saw many excellent birds including :- Purple Heron, Spoonbill, Black & Egyptian Vulture, Golden, Short toed & Booted Eagles, Hobby, Great Bustard, Gull billed Tern, Black bellied Sandgrouse, Black Woodpecker, Dupont's Lark, Red tailed Rock Thrush, Western Orphean Warbler, Penduline Tit, Wallcreeper, Alpine Chough, Citril & Snowfinch, Alpine Accentor, & Iberian Chiffchaff plus much more.

Thursday 28th June :- Back on the horse of local birding and what a pleasure it was to meet and guide Kathi Ellsworth in the Albacete Region. Since the day temperatures in this area can easily reach the mid-30's (oC) we met at her hotel in Alicante very early in the morning. We quickly made our way to the plains of Albacete and after a welcome coffee & breakfast we were finding our first Corn Buntings, Magpies, Carrion Crows, Little Owl, Crested & Thekla Larks. At this time of year the wheat is quite high, which can be problamatical in finding birds but not today. Our first stop was just outside Bonete and a short walk produced our first Great Bustard, a couple of Stone Curlews, a male Montagu's Harrier, Common Buzzard, a small flock of Rock Sparrows, Red legged Partridges, Woodpigeons, and Spotless Starlings. A little further we got better views of a few more Great Bustards and another pair of Stone Curlews, a calling Quail unfortunately didn't show it's self, but we did get good views of several Calandra Larks and a few Bee-eaters flying over. The journey between Corral Rubio and Petrola made Kathi's day as I first found a lovely male Pin tailed Sandgrouse feeding in an adjacent field allowing for excellent views through the telescope, also here we found a couple of Greater Short toed Larks. Next stop and our luck's in as I manage to find a pair of Black bellied Sandgrouse feeding fairly close from the track and again allowing for good views through the telescope. It was now nearing lunchtime and starting to get quite hot but I had on more stop before in mind, and as we pulled off the road a quick scan produced our target species - a male Lesser Kestrel. Over the next half an hour we watched at least two pairs of these lovely falcons coming back and forth to their nest holes. Lunch was taken in the cool of the hostal, which was now a welcome relief from the heat. After lunch we visited Petrola Lagoon, which was fairly quite with a few Greater Flamingos, 2 Marsh Harriers, Shelducks, Black winged Stilts, Avocets, Kentish & Ringed Plovers. We made our way slowly back towards Bonete taking in Higueruela finding a flock of strutting male Great Bustards, 2 more Black bellied Sandgrouse in flight, Stone Curlews, Mistle Thrush, Northern Wheatears, Calandra, Thekla & Crested Larks. I drove Kathi back to her hotel at Alicante port area and before I left for home we walked along the pier finding another of her target species a couple of Audouin's Gulls.

Saturday 30th June :- Another early start and I was again in Alicante picking up Kathi Ellsworth along with Lance Brenner & Derek Richardson who had just completed an astronomical conference. Today we were staying in the Alicante Region and our first destination was the Santa Pola coastline and a careful check of the area produced our first target species Rufous Bushchat along with Spotted Flycatchers, Sardinian Warblers, Serins, Goldfinches, Greenfinches, Blackbirds and House Sparrows. Next we drove the short distance to the Clot de Galvany and a short walk around the reserve produced several White headed Ducks, Little Grebes, Common & (a single juvenile) Red Crested Pochard, Mallards, Coot, Moorhen, Black winged Stilts, Little Owl, Iberian Green Woodpecker, Stonechat, Crested Larks, Hoopoe, and Southern Grey Shrike. After a excellent breakfast we took a short walk up through the pine forest at Maigmo, which produced several woodland species - Sparrowhawk, Common Crossbills, Short toed Treecreepers, Mistle Thrush, Alpine & Common Swifts, Chaffinches, Crested, Coal & Great Tits. Then we took the mountain down through to Monnegre producing a whole new set of species for my American colleagues and this special valley, which holds probably the most northerly pairs of breeding Trumpeter Finches in Europe, today held Black & Black eared Wheatears, Spectacled & Dartford Warblers, Red rumped Swallows, Crag Martins, Bee-eaters, Woodchat & Southern Grey Shrikes, Blue Rock Thrushes and Thekla Larks. Our next destination was lunch at Finca Bonelli's Eagle in the hills above Crevillente and a good look at an adult male Bonelli's Eagle sat on the crags above the finca. Also here we saw Little Owls, Sardinian Warbler, Thekla Larks, Blackbirds, Blue Rock Thrush, Crag Martins, Alpine Swifts, Eurasian Kestrel and Woodchat Shrike. After lunch we dropped down to the edge of El Hondo where almost immediately Lance found a Roller sat on a nearby overhead wire this was then quickly followed by a female Montagu's Harrier quartering the reedbed. In the heat of the day ground birds were quiet and failed to find any Lesser Short toed Larks but we did see 3 more Rollers,  male Montagu's Harrier, Cattle Egrets, Crested Larks, Stonechats and Zitting Cisticolas. We finally made our way around to El Pinet and the Santa Pola Salinas where we ended this part of the day finding Slender billed, Yellow legged & Black headed Gulls, Sandwich, Little & Common Terns, Collared Pratincoles, Water Rail, Greater Flamingos, Great Crested Grebes, Avocets & Black winged Stilts with young, Common Redshanks, Kentish Plovers, and a Yellow Wagtail. After this excellent day we drove north to Oliva and showed my guests to their rooms before going for an evening meal at a great local Spanish restaurant. The day wasn't finished and after our meal we headed out into the night for several close encounters with Red necked Nightjars and a singing Scop's Owl in the town's square. A long but very successful day.

July 2007

Sunday 1st July :- My second day with Kathi, Lance & Derek and a visit to Pego Marsh before breakfast was very productive. During the couple of hours spent there we had great views of my second only Stone Curlew for this site, as well as Squacco, Purple & Grey Herons, Little Bitterns, Little & Cattle Egrets, Mallard, Red Crested Pochard, Collared Pratincoles, Black winged Stilts, Little Ringed Plovers, Audouin's & Yellow legged Gulls, Whiskered Terns, Kingfisher, Hoopoe, Crested Lark, Yellow & White Wagtails, Stonechat, Zitting Cisticolas, Moustached, Savi's, Cetti's, Great Reed & Eurasian Reed Warblers. After breakfast we made our way up to the Vall de Gallinera and our first stop near Benissiva produced a singing Golden Oriole, Woodchat Shrike, Bee-eaters, Blackcap, Red rumped Swallow, Alpine Swifts, Blue Rock Thrush, Red billed Choughs, Kestrels and an adult Golden Eagle well-found by Lance and much to the delight of Derek who had never seen one of these magnificent raptors before. The next stop was at one of my favourite sites the bridge at te head of the valley where we found 3 Golden Orioles, Wryneck, Nightingale, Cirl & Corn Buntings, Rock Sparrows, Spotted Flycatcher, Grey & White Wagtails, Crag Martins, and a Turtle Dove. Lunch was taken back in Oliva before we set off north to Valencia and Moro Marsh targeting one of it's specialist species and almost immediately upon arrival we found two Red knobbed Coots. Over the next couple of hours wandering around this reserve we saw Purple Gallinules, Little Bitterns, Purple & Night Herons, Greater Flamingos, Common Pochards, Common Coots, Sandwich, Little, Common & Whiskered Terns, Audouin's & Black headed Gulls, Collared Pratincoles, Redshanks, Kentish Plover, Black winged Stilts, Avocets, Woodchat & Southern Grey Shrikes, Stonechats, Eurasian Reed Warblers, and Yellow Wagtails. We completed the day by dropping Derek at Valencia Train Station before heading back to Oliva.

August 2007

Saturday 25th - 29h August :- This was a short break to Southern Ireland with my good friends Ken Shaw and Jim Creamer of Dublin. Ken & I flew into Dublin and we were met by Jim who kindly drove us all the way across the country to Kilbaha in County Clare in readiness for some seawatching off the 'Bridges of Ross' at first light the next morning. The first day was our best by a long way with the morning session producing 4 Balearic Shearwaters, plus Sooty & Manx Shearwaters, Arctic Skua and a Bonxie. It was however the afternoon session that will always remain a great memory for me as we were fortunate enough to have a (presumed) Fea's Petrel wind it's way south past the headland. It was 'picked up' quite early by a visiting birdwatcher from The Wirrel (Allen Conlin) who was actually sat next to us so we got excellent directions immediately from him. This almost mythical pteradroma was in view for at least five minutes as it initially 'corkscrewed' it's way in towards us then headed south in a deep undulating flight, which could make it difficult to re-locate as it disappeared into a trough. Once it had gone out of view it was 'high fives' all round with plenty of congratulations for Allen on his superb find from the 50+ sea-watchers gathered that evening, and there was some 'craich' in the Lighthouse Inn that night also. Monday was fairly quiet with much the same species as the day before (but alas no Fea's Petrel) and also a couple of additional Pomerine Skuas, and a visit to Loop Head produced a Peregrine, a few Red billed Chough and a large pod of Common Dolphins & Sunfish. Tuesday and we had organised a day out as guests on a fishing boat, but the seas were like a mill-pond however we did get fantastic views of European Storm-petrels, a Bonxie, Manx Shearwaters, Kittiwakes, Gannets, auks, plus Common & Bottle nosed Dolphins. Our final day before returning to Dublin that evening was spent at Nimmo's Pier in Galway where we found an adult Ring billed & Mediterranean Gulls amongst the masses of other gulls in the river-mouth. My thanks to Jim for transporting Ken & I to County Clare and back to Dublin and to Carol (Jim's wife) for being such an excellent host on our last night.

September 2007

Tuesday 11th September :- I met Paul and Moira in Oliva and we made our way down to the beach. It was fairly quiet with a few Black Headed Gulls and Sandwich Terns off-shore. I then found a young Osprey sitting on a pylon so made our way to where it was sitting and got great views of this migrant raptor, along with a couple of Ring necked Parakeets, Spotless Starlings and a Robin. We then made our way to Pego Marsh and over the next few hours we found Grey & Squacco Heron, Cattle & Little Egret, Common Teal and Mallard, Marsh Harriers and Common Buzzard, a Short Toed Eagle, Little Ringed Plover, Green Sandpiper, White and Yellow Wagtails, Blackbirds, Eurasian Reed, Cetti’s, Sardinian & Willow Warblers, Zitting Cisticola, Jackdaws, Great & Long Tailed Tits, Southern Grey Shrikes, Stonechat, Whinchat, Hoopoes, female Golden Oriole, Cirl Buntings, Goldfinches, Greenfinches, Serins and Woodpigeons. We visited the Ringing Station and were lucky enough to witness the volunteers processing a Little Bittern, adult male and 1st winter Bluethroats and a House Sparrow. By now it was nearing lunchtime so we drove inland to the Vall de Gallinera and stopped at a roadside pull-in. Here we enjoyed our picnic and eventually got views of an adult Golden Eagle as it patrolled the hillside. After lunch we continued inland and a couple more stops produced a Bee-eater more Sardinian Warblers and a few Crag Martins. Finally we drove to Alcoy and enjoyed great views of 15+ Griffon Vultures, a Raven, Magpies and more Bee- eaters.

Wednesday12th September :- I met Richard & Soo at Gandia railway station a little later than hoped & returned to Oliva to start the day at Pego Marsh. It was fairly quiet at the ringing station but we did see a young Greenfinch being processed. Over the next couple of hours we saw Little & Cattle Egrets, Squacco & Grey Heron, Marsh Harrier, Mallard, Teal, Black Winged Stilt, Spotted Redshank, Wood, Green & Common Sandpipers, Little Ringed Plover, Barn Swallow, House Martin, White & Yellow Wagtail, Hoopoe, Whinchat, Stonechat, Spotless Starling, Jackdaws, Southern Grey Shrike, Goldfinches & Great Tit. Around lunchtime we left Pego Marsh & headed inland to Vall de Gallinera where we had our picnic lunch, keeping a keen eye on the hill-tops but couldn’t find the resident Golden Eagles. We did however, see a Hobby moving through, a Sparrowhawk and several Kestrels. We tried a few more stops in the valley without much success so we decided to return to Pego Marsh and try another good area. At the marsh we parked by the model aircraft field & I had a quick scan, looking for Hoopoes but instead I found a strange looking bird hidden in the grass. I quickly got out my telescope and to my surprise there was a (1st winter) Dotterel. We were all delighted and spent the next half hour getting fantastic views of this gorgeous bird. Eventually, we moved away and walked alongside the paddyfields. A Southern Grey Shrike made us stop then Soo said “ I have got a raptor” and there was a Short Toed Eagle hunting over the fields. The rest of the walk was equally as good with lot’s of Whinchats, Wheatears, Bee-Eaters, Marsh Harriers a Spotted Flycatcher, Sardinian Warblers, Hoopoes, White & Yellow Wagtails. After the magnificent England win over Russia we again headed out and this time to see the Red Necked Nightjar of which we saw at least 6 birds incredibly well. Then our final target was delivered as we returned to Oliva when we had great views of the Scops Owl as it sat out in the open.

Thursday 13th September :- An early start saw Richard, Soo and myself heading for the plains of Castilla la Mancha for a half days birdwatching in this fantastic area. Our first stop near Bonete produced an excellent record count of 45 Little Bustards in the agricultural fields, also here we added 6 Stone Curlews, Lesser & Eurasian Kestrels, a male Montagu's & 2 Marsh Harriers,  single male Black eared & Northern Wheatears, Whinchats, Crested Larks, Corn Buntings, Magpies & Carrion Crows. A little further along the road and another stop produced 12 Great Bustards much to everyone's delight. Still further along the road we stopped again & incredibly, this time, we found a flock of 22 Black-bellied Sandgrouse plus another 2 Lesser Kestrels, 2 Common Buzzards, a migrating Osprey, Southern Grey Shrike, Red legged Partridge and yet more Northern Wheatears. Our final stop was just outside Coral Rubio, where a freshly ploughed field contained good numbers of Calandra, Short toed & Crested Larks, House & Rock Sparrows, Whinchats, Woodpigeons & Corn Buntings rounding off the morning extremely well.

Friday 14th September :- First I met Harry & Val Cooper (there 3rd holiday with me this year!!!) at Alicante Airport in the morning, then drove round to the Santa Pola Salinas where we met up with Jan Beever & her husband Ken. This as the vanguard party for my Andalucian Adventure with Kim Blasco due to arrive later that day, unfortunately much later than amticipated.. With several hours to spare we started birdwatching the area, and at the salinas we soon found Grey Herons, Cattle & Little Egrets, Greater Flamingos, Great Crested Grebes, Turnstone, Black winged Stilt, Common Snipe, Caspian, Little, Whiskered & Sandwich Terns, Slender billed, Black headed & Yellow legged Gulls. Next we drove the short distance to the Playa de El Pinet & during lunch on the beach we had a Whimbrel & 4 Bar tailed Godwits fly south. At the El Pinet Reserve, we enjoyed views of 5 Knot, more Bar tailed Godwits, 2 Curlew Sandpipers, Avocets, 2 Ruff, Greenshank & Common Redshanks, Kentish Plovers, Sandwich Terns, Slender billed & Mediterranean Gulls. We returned to the Salinas & added Little Stint, Black tailed Godwits & Lesser Black backed Gulls to our already growing list of species. Our final destination before returning to the airport as the Clot de Galvany & this ensured another set of birds with Mallard, Common Pochard, Common Teal, Moorhen, Purple Gallinule, Coot, Turtle Doves, Green Woodpecker, Little Owl, Red rumped Swallow, Eurasian, Reed & Sardinian Warblers, Southern Grey Shrike, Greenfinch, Goldfinch & Linnet. Unfortunately the weather had taken a turn for the worse and Kim's flight was diverted to Almeria for an hours so by the time he got to Alicante we didn't have any chance of more birdwatching that day.

Saturday 15th - 22nd September :- This was my second visit this Autumn to Tarifa and this Andalucian Adventure was the best yet. Although we didn't have huge numbers of raptors moving across the Straits we did see a fantastic variety including three Spanish rarities - Lesser Crested Tern, Ruppell's Vulture & Steppe Buzzard, with many more excellent birds including :- Glossy Ibis, Spoonbill, Black & White Storks, Griffon & Egyptian Vulture, Golden & Bonelli's Eagles, Honey Buzzards, Montagu's Harrier, Black shouldered Kite, Hobby, Lesser Kestrel, Knot, Little Stint, Oystercatcher, Spotted Redshank, , Caspian, Whiskered, White winged Black & Black Terns, Audouin's & Slender billed Gulls, Eagle Owl, Short toed & Thekla Larks, Black Wheatear, Azure winged Magpies plus much more. Trip Report.

Friday 25th September - 3rd October :- This week I was leading another very successful trip to the Pyrenees & N/E Spain during this early Autumn period. Once again brilliant views were had of Crested Coot, Lammergeyer, Dupont's Lark, Great Bustard, Pin tailed & Black bellied Sandgrouse, Black Woodpecker, Wallcreeper and Citril Finch. Although one of the major highlights for the group was finding a Buff breasted Sandpiper on the steppes near Alfás Aerodrome, a real Spanish rarity. All this and the extra bonus of a few mammals, moths, butterflies & dragonflies, fantastic scenery, fine accommodation and meals, good weather (mostly), and great company. Trip Report

October 2007

Thursday 4th October :- I met John Fleet at his friends house in Alfas del Pi and carried on south towards Santa Pola, the weather forecast wasn't brilliant but were going to make the best it, and it wasn't raining!!!. However as we passed Alicante the rain started and my heart sank, so a quick change of venue saw arrive at the Santa Pola salinas in now heavy rain but from the car we still managed to see Little Egrets, Grey Herons, Greater Flamingos, Mallard, Coot, Moorhen, Black tailed Godwits, Black winged Stilts, Avocets, Dunlins, Curlew Sandpiper, Western Yellow legged, Black headed & Slender billed Gulls. Next we went to the hide at El Pinet and from there we added 4 Spotted & Common Redshanks, Greenshank, Kentish Plover, more Slender billed Gulls, and a few Sandwich Terns. Unfortunately it was now a complete deluge and even viewing from the car was impossible so a decision was taken to drive up into the hills above Alicante and have an early lunch. The journey was horrendous with flooding on the main motorway but as we climbed the road conditions became better, but the rain still continued to bounce down. We did get some fresh hope of saving the day as south of where we were the skies looked brighter and by the time we had completed our lunch the rain had eased a little. So we decided on a visit to Maigmo and various stops around the pine woods and olive groves we saw (and heard) Crested, Coal, Long tailed & Great Tits, Short toed Treecreeper (H), Firecrest (H), Woodlark (H), Collared Dove, Woodpigeon, Robin, White Wagtail, Mistle Thrush, Chaffinches, and Rock Bunting. The rain was now stopping so we drove the short journey down to Monnegre and stops along the produced Black & Northern Wheatears,  Blue Rock Thrush, Red legged Partridges, Dartford & Sardinian Warblers, Swallow, Crag, House & Sand Martins, Spotless Starlings, Magpie, and Common Kestrel. Since the sun was now shining we returned to Santa Pola Salinas and El Pinet adding quite a few more species that were not seen earlier such as Great Crested & Black necked Grebes, 4 Spoonbills, 2 Great White Egrets, a Glossy Ibis, 2 Marbled Ducks, Shelducks, Marsh Harrier, Coots, Collared Pratincole, Little Stint, Common Sandpipers, Sanderlings, Little Terns, Mediterranean & Audouin's Gulls. Our final stop of what was turning out to be an excellent day was the Clot de Galvany, John really wanted to see a Hoopoe and this was our last chance. Birds were everywhere and a walk to the Charco produced 2 Iberian Green Woodpeckers, Sub-alpine, Cetti's, Reed & Sardinian Warblers, Blackcaps, Southern Grey Shrike, Jackdaws, Goldfinches, Greenfinches, Serins, Common Swift, Blackbirds, Stonechats and Whinchat, with Eurasian Teal, Mallard and Little Grebe on the water. Unfortunately it was time to leave, but the return walk produced a magic few minutes for John with great views of Little Owl, Wryneck and his target bird a Hoopoe around the Carob Trees. We both agreed it had been an interesting day and very memorable for more than just the birds.

Friday 5th October :- Doug & Helen Milne had been staying at the guesthouse and wanted a half day's birdwatching on Pego Marsh, so this morning we headed out to the site and spent a few hours driving and walking around the reedbeds and paddyfields. Although the fields were flooded with the recent storms we still managed to find Little Grebe, Cormorants, Little & Cattle Egrets, Grey & Squacco Herons, Mallard, Osprey, Common Buzzards, Marsh Harriers, Booted Eagle, Sparrowhawk, Common Kestrel, and a Hobby, Water Rail, Purple Gallinules, Moorhens, Coots, Common Snipe, Curlew, Green & Wood Sandpipers, Ruff, Black headed Gulls, Whiskered Terns, Woodpigeon, Feral Pigeon, Collared Doves, Kingfishers, Hoopoe, Swallows, House & Sand Martins, White & Yellow Wagtails, Bluethroats, Whinchats, Stonechats, Northern Wheatears, female Blue Rock Thrush, Blackbirds, Zitting Cisticola, Cetti's, Moustached, Eurasian Reed, Sardinian Warblers, Blackcaps, Southern Grey Shrike, Spotless Starling, House Sparrow, Serin, Goldfinches, and Greenfinches.

Monday 8th October :- Today was the first meeting of the Costa Blanca Bird Club since the Summer break and 17 of us met at Pego Marsh before quickly transferring to Cabo de San Antoni near Denia. A casual stroll around this headland produced a few migrants and local birds including Cory's Shearwater, Peregrine, Common Kestrel, Yellow legged Gulls, Sandwich Terns, Woodpigeon, Collared Dove, Common Swift, Crested Lark, Swallow, Common & Black Redstart, Blackbird, Willow, Sub-alpine, Sardinian & Dartford Warblers, Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Spotted Flycatcher, Great Tit, Spotless & Common Starling, Serin, & Greenfinches. Then we went to Pego Marsh (seeing Booted Eagle en-route) taking a short walk before an exquisite lunch at a restaurant local to the marsh finding 2 Hobbys, Common Buzzard, Marsh Harriers, 2 Bluethroats, Little & Cattle Egrets, Grey Herons, Mallard, White & Yellow Wagtails. Then after lunch another part of the marsh we added 4 Glossy Ibis, Little Grebe, Eurasian Teal, Osprey,, Black headed Gulls, Common Snipe, Zitting Cisticola, Eurasian Reed & Cetti's Warblers, Skylarks, and Jackdaws. All in all not a bad day and great to see so many friends there after a few months off.

Sunday 14th October :- Today I was guiding Terry Wynn & Celia Pittaway who were staying at the guesthouse for a week and as they had never seen any bustards or sandgrouse before they were keen to go inland to the Albacete Plains within Castilla la Mancha. During the course of a fairly successful day driving around the agricultural fields of Bonete, Corral Rubio and Petrola we saw 76 Great & 11 Little Bustards, 18 Black bellied Sandgrouse, Calandra, Thekla, & Crested Larks, Skylarks, several Rock Sparrows, 8 Stone Curlews, female Hen & Marsh Harrier, Peregrine Falcon, Merlin, 2 (very surprising) Lesser Kestrels, lots of Eurasian Kestrels and Common Buzzards, Southern Grey Shrikes, Red legged Partridges, 2 Little Owls, a late Common Swift, Crag Martins, Swallows, Meadow Pipits, Black Redstart, several Northern Wheatears, Linnets, Magpies, Carrion Crows & Corn Buntings. Around the lagoons of Petrola & Higuela we also added Avocets, 5 Greater Flamingos, Lapwings, Ringed Plovers, Mallard, Eurasian Teal, Common & Red Crested Pochard, Shovelers and Coot. All in all, not a bad days birdwatching.

Monday 15th October :- This morning I had some spare time so I took Terry & Celia to the beach area and during the 2 hours we were there we saw 2 Mediterranean, several Audouins, Black headed & Yellow legged Gulls, Sandwich Terns, 2 Gannets, a Mediterranean Shag sat on the rocks, Cormorants, Sanderlings, a Dunlin, Kentish & Ringed Plovers, Black Redstart, Skylarks, Grey & White Wagtails plus two very late Red rumped Swallows.

Saturday 20th October :- Today I was birdwatching with Ray & Lynne Baker who were staying at the guesthouse for a few days and wanted a couple of days out around the region. Ray had visited Iberia on several occasions but had failed to connect with Pin tailed Sandgrouse and was keen to try for them and the other specialities on the plains of Albacete. During the course of yet another fairly successful day driving around the agricultural fields of Bonete, Corral Rubio and Petrola we saw 49 Great Bustards, 18 Black bellied Sandgrouse, 2 Stone Curlews, Calandra & Crested Larks, Skylarks, lots of Rock Sparrows (another target), female Marsh Harrier, a gorgeous male Merlin, lots of Eurasian Kestrels and Common Buzzards, Southern Grey Shrikes,  Little Owl, Crag Martins, Swallows, Meadow Pipits, Black Redstart, several Northern Wheatears, Linnets, Magpies, Carrion Crows & Corn Buntings. Then at a pool near Corral Rubio & Petrola Lagoon we added Avocets, 30+ Greater Flamingos, Lapwings, Kentish Plovers, Dunlin, Green Sandpipers, Mallard, 4 Pintail, Eurasian Teal, Shovelers and Black headed Gulls. However the major highlight for Ray was getting good views of 66 Pin tailed Sandgrouse both on the ground and in flight made up from two distinct flocks.

Tuesday 23rd October :- This was Ray & Lynne's final full day and I had agreed to take them to the Alicante area along with Dr. Paul Reed who was staying near Denia. As usual we started at the Clot de Galvany and we found birds everywhere, within ten minutes of being there we had seen a Wryneck, Iberian Green Woodpecker, Hoopoes, 2 Red rumped Swallows, Crested Larks, Black Redstarts, Southern Grey Shrike, Little Owl, Robins, Blackbirds, Song Thrushes, Chiffchaffs, Blackcaps, Sardinian Warblers, Stonechats, House Sparrows, Greenfinches, Goldfinches, Serins and Linnets. We had just got in the entrance but eventually we had to continue along the track to the Charco de Contacto and during this time we added Eurasian Kestrel, Woodpigeons, Collared Doves, Barn Swallows, Sand Martin, Meadow Pipits, White & Grey Wagtails, Common Redstart, a Bluethroat, a Mistle Thrush, Willow, Cetti's & Reed Warblers, Great & Long tailed Tits, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Spotless & European Starlings. Then at the pool we had superb views of a Water Rail just by the hide, plus Purple Gallinules, Little Grebes, Mallard, Coot, 40+ Common Teal, Shoveler, Grey Heron and Cattle Egret. Our return to the vehicle was punctuated with lots more of the same birds apart from a Whinchat found by Paul at the entrance to the reserve. We then made our way through to the Santa Pola Salinas stopping off at the beach rocks where we saw a Mediterranean Shag, a few Cormorants, 2 Whimbrel, Ringed & Kentish Plovers, Turnstones, Audouin's Gull, Sandwich Terns but a small party of Siskin coming in off the sea was interesting. It was nearly lunchtime so we made a quick stop at the salinas seeing Great Crested Grebes, Cormorants, Greater Flamingos, Little Egrets, Marsh Harrier, Black winged Stilts, Avocets, Black tailed Godwits, Yellow legged & Lesser Black backed Gulls. Our lunch was taken next to the beach and off-shore we found a few fishing Sandwich Terns and a small party of Sanderling flew past. After lunch we went to the newly developed El Pinet and surprisingly it was very quiet apart from a pair of Shelduck so we returned to the Santa Pola Salinas. Another fantastic hour or so produced 10+ Marsh Harriers, 3 Booted Eagles, 2 Ospreys, Kestrel, several Curlews, a Stone Curlew, single Bar tailed & 2 Black tailed Godwits, a Spotted & lots of Common Redshanks, Greenshank, Common Sandpiper, Dunlin, Little Stints, (Ray's main target) Slender billed & Black headed Gulls, Zitting Cisticolas, Chiffchaff and more Crested Larks, but best of all were 3 Griffon Vultures heading inland from the coast. Where had they come from?. Our final site was the southern edge of El Hondo reserve looking for Moustached Warbler but unfortunately without success, however we did find Cattle & Little Egrets, Grey Herons, Mallards, Booted Eagle, Marsh Harriers, Kestrels, 2 Green Sandpipers, Skylarks, 4 Bluethroats, Stonechats, Robin, Zitting Cisticolas, Sardinian, Eurasian Reed, Cetti's & Willow Warblers, Chiffchaffs, Chaffinches & Goldfinches. Our last new bird of the day was 2 Great White Egrets seen as we travelled back through the salinas making around 80 species for the day.

Wednesday 24th October :- This was our final morning and Jules was clearly not intending to leave any stone unturned as regards the Moustached Warbler, so before breakfast he took us to a new area within Pego Marsh where we could actually drive through to a point where a fair bit of reedbed was in view. Almost immediately, we started hearing Moustached Warbler singing but couldn’t see any until (not for the first time!) Lynne spotted one and got us all onto this great bird. Over the next hour or so, we managed to get quite a few glimpses of different birds, culminating in excellent views of a close bird that Jules enticed to show itself by imitating its contact call. From the same spot we also saw an Osprey, Booted Eagle, Marsh Harriers, lots of Reed & Cetti’s Warblers, Bluethroats, Reed Buntings, Grey & White Wagtails and the usual marsh-land species. A final tick for