Tuesday 30 August 2016

Back garden.....and Spain

I was hanging out the washing this morning....I lead a very exciting life....and I could hear a high pitched screeching, definitely a raptor.....despite searching the skies I couldn't find anything...

...this afternoon I was getting the recycling together in the back garden....I told you I lead an exciting life....and heard the same screeching....this time I located two birds of prey...one large, Buzzard like...the other smaller...and obviously harrying the bigger one...inside for the bins...

...the Buzzard like one turned out to be....a Buzzard....inside for the scope as the smaller one had meandered off....yes, definitely a Buzzard and the smaller bird....a Peregrine....so I watched for a minute...and the Peregrine turned in to 2 Peregrines....nice...!

Meanwhile back in Spain....I thought I would stick a list up of the birds seen....lifers I have highlighted in blue...but they are in order of seeing them day by day....its not an extensive list...it was a family holiday so birding was limited....however...I did manage to get one of my target Wheatears...

Bee-eater....these would fly over every morning and evening....I saw about 100 one evening when I went to stay with my brother at his villa...
Blackbird
Orphean Warbler....outside the house regularly
Sardinian Warbler...loads and loads everywhere outside the house...
Golden Oriole...a family were present locally, the male singing by the house now and then...
Red-rump Swallow...another morning event...100-200 would come up the valley and pass by..
House Martin
Spotless Starling...a small flock would go over most mornings....
Whitethroat
Stonechat
Goldfinch
Feral Pigeon
Collared Dove
Turtle Dove...the only one I have seen this year anywhere....
House Sparrow
Griffon Vulture
Black Redstart
Blue Rock Thrush
Egyptian Vulture
Grey Wagtail
Short-toed Eagle
Crag Martin
Barn Swallow
Swift
Wren
Great Tit
Rose-ringed Parakeet
Yellow-legged Gull
Black Wheatear
Kestrel
Little Owl
Chaffinch
Coal Tit
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Nuthatch
Long Tail Tit
Bonellis Eagle
Spotted Flycatcher
Chough
Red-legged Partridge
Coot
Grey Heron
Black-winged Stilt
Cettis Warbler
Crested Tit
Greater Black-backed Gull
Common Redstart
Bonellis Warbler

Best book I found was Garcia and Patersons Birds of Southern and Western Spain....

Most disappointing bit about the trip...I had read in a different book, an orange covered 25 pages of a thing, about how great Ronda was for Lesser Kestrel, hundreds of Swifts (several species), Peregrine activity and more....lets just say...Ronda has a nice bridge, a flock of 50 Chough and I counted at least 300 Feral Pigeon....nothing else in sight....very....very disappointing....and obviously old information...

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