THE GARDEN BIRDTABLE

Today I was off school sick so I passed the time knocking up a makeshift birdtable to photograph my garden friends. Here are some of the results.

                         c                                          Blue Tit

Great Tit

Great tit

MORNING TRIP TO ROSARITO RESERVOIR

This morning we paid a visit to the tail end of Rosarito Reservoir and a nearby pool. Despite braving temperatures of -4º and a nagging wind we saw precious little, "only" a few Cranes, Cormorants, Storks and a charming little squirrel whom we caught "red handed" with his breakfast

 Breakfasting Red Squirrel

 Squirrel caught "red handed" with his breakfast

 White Storks

Typical Extremadura scene

Cormorant flying overhead

The Usual Crew Are Worth a Look Too

In our garden here in Villanueva de la Vera we put out food for the birds, especially in winter when the times are hardest. The ones who come are the usual crew but Siskins, Dunnocks and Sardinian Warblers have also dropped in from time to time. But the "usual crew" are worth a look too and we love to watch the titmice feeding so acrobatically from the hanging coconuts. Robins often glean the ground below them to pick up the coconut shrapnel. The photos show a Great Tit hanging from the coconut and a nearby Blue Tit waiting its turn on our pear tree.

                                    Great Tit

Great Tit

Blue Tit

CRANE ROOST IN ROSARITO RESERVOIR

Here in Villanueva de la Vera we’re lucky enough to live only 9 km from a Crane roost, in Rosarito Reservoir. They’re here from October to February though the roost size each night is very variable. On the best nights up to 6000 or more come in. When the flocks fly honking and trumpeting overhead, against the backdrop of the snow-capped peaks of Gredos, it’s a stunning spectacle of light and sound, which we try to enjoy as many times as possible each winter. Trouble is, despite being declared as a SPA, the roost is given no protection whatsoever and the birds are often pestered by quads, motorbikes, 4X4’s or fishermen who insist on driving their cars right to the water’s edge. We visited the roost last night and only about a thousand birds came in. Let’s hope it’s just a one-off dip and not because of all the nuisance they suffer.

Crane flying above my head

VARANGER TRIP

We spent last July on the Varanger Peninsula in northern Norway. It's a wonderland for birds, especially waders and seabirds. Our favourites were: the four Diver species, three Eider species (Common, Steller's and King), the three sawbills (Smew, R.B. Merg and Goosander, all breeding), Whoopers with young, Snow and Lapland Buntings, Shore Larks, Hawk Owl, Long Tailed Ducks, Temminck's Stint, hundreds of Red Necked Phalarope, Long Tailed Skua, Rough Legged Buzzard, Sea Eagle and countless other goodies. We saw a total of 143 species. An unforgettable trip.
Have a decko at these photos.

 Bar Tailed Godwit

 Golden Plover

 Hawk Owl

 Hawk Owl

 Razorbill

 Puffin

 Puffin

 Shag

 Razorbill

 Arctic Tern

 Kittiwake

 Lapland Bunting

  Red Necked Falarope


                                    

THE LOVELIEST WINTER VISITOR

Every autumn the lovely Bullfinch turns up here in Villanueva de la Vera to spend winter with us. It’s always a smashing bird to see because it’s plumage, especially the males, is just as beautiful in winter as when it’s breeding further north in summer.

The number that arrive every year is variable. Up to now this winter seems pretty slack. But the most incredible thing about their behaviour is their faithfulness to the same sites year after year. A couple of winters ago they were present on 35 out of the 37 visits we made to a tiny clump of willows near our house!!

No one really knows for sure where they come from. We’ve just spent last Christmas in Asturias where the Bullfinches were just as abundant as in summer, so it doesn’t seem, prima facie, that they come from there. Maybe from further north in Europe?

I’m dead keen to photograph one but up to now I’ve not been lucky enough to get a decent shot. Maybe this evening, because as soon as I’ve posted this entry I’m off to the clump of willows to see if I can hear their piiuuu call and if they are good enough to perch close by.

DAY TRIP TO ARROCAMPO

On the 9th Jan we spent the morning at Arrocampo reservoir. The water here is 2 or 3 degrees warmer than normal so it attracts species that usually exist only further south. Bitterns also sometimes winter there but we didn’t luck into one. In all we saw about 7 Purple Swamphens, 2 Squacco Herons, Little and Great White Egrets, Marsh Harriers, Shovelers, Teals and 10 Curlews.

 White Stork

 Purple Swamphen

 Purple Swamphen

 Purple Swamphen getting into the water.

 Hoopoe

The same Hoopoe

PURPLE SANDS AT GIJÓN (SPAIN)

This Christmas holiday we also visited various sites in Asturias. One of them was Gijón, where we were surprised to find a group of Purple Sandpipers on the seafront. We thought they’d be hard to find but they were easy to see and very confiding. In all we saw seven and very close up.

 Purple Sand and Turnstone

 Purple Sand

 Turnstone

 Little Egret

Turnstone

Purple Sand following a Turnstone

SANTOÑA, CANTABRIA (SPAIN)

MARISMAS DE SANTOÑA

This Christmas holidays I’ve been staying in Asturias. Twice we also popped along the coast to the marshes and mudflats of Santoña. In all we saw the following birds:

Peregrine Falcon: 2
Ring-Tailed Harrier: 1
Marsh Harrier: 1
Osprey: 1
Merlin: 1
Curlew: 200
Whimbrel: 150
Redshank: 100
Greenshank: 20
Spotted Redshank: 1
Dunlin: 1000
Sanderling: 2
Ringed Plover: 500
Snipe: 5
Golden Plover: 5
Grey Plover: 300
Spoonbill: 30
Turnstone: 100
Purple Sandpiper: 5 ( photo, Gijón)
Black-Tailed Godwit: 200
Bar-Tailed Godwit: 200
Little Grebe: 2
Black-Necked Grebe: about 50 between both visits (photo )
Slavonian Grebe: 3
Great Northern Diver: 7 in all  (phot)
Many ducks, Wigeon, Pintail, Shoveler, etc.
Bullfinches as common as in summer. Many Redwings and a sprinkling of Fieldfares.

But the best bird of all we saw in a place called Escalante near Santoña, a good spot for geese. After twenty minutes of scoping through a 200-odd flock of Greylags we at last spotted the Pint Footed Goose we’d been told was there. A beautiful bird and thrilling life tick (testimonial photo attached)

 Turnestone, Whimbrel, Dunlin and redshank.

 Flock of Dunlins

 Black tailed godwits

 Black necked grebe

 Black necked grebes

 Black necked grebes

 Pink footed goose

 Black necked grebe