The Birdman of Alcossebre (Spain)

That brings the total seen in the Alcossebre area to 215 species.
In addition, Little Grebe,Water Rail, Common Snipe and Woodlark were first January records.
The full list with comments follows:-
A Great Northern Diver seen offshore on the 29th was the first record here. Unfortunately it was just outside camera range.
The Little Grebe continues to winter at the Sewage pond, now in it´s summer plummage.

Up to three Great Crested Grebes continue to winter on the sea.
Balearic Shearwaters were seen on four days this month 47 birds maximum.
Up to 11 Northern Gannets were seen following the fishing boats. The highest January numbers in eight years.
Up to 60 Great Cormorants were seen passing east during the month, slightly down on the last two years.
A single Grey Heron seen on the 12th was the norm for January.
A maximum of four Cattle Egrets and one Little Egret seen this month was well below the usual numbers.
An escaped Muscovey Duck on the Sewage pond on the 12th was a first for here!
Two Common Buzzards and three Common Kestrels continue to winter. Normal numbers for January.

The Water Rail first seen on the 4th December continues to winter at the Sewage pond.
First January record. Well out numbered by 20 Common Moorhens.
One or two Northern Lapwings seen this month were normal January numbers.
However, up to three Common Snipe wintering were a first for January. They were feeding in the Sewage pond and the dry river bed nearby.

A maximum of eight Black-headed Gulls and 22 Mediterranean Gulls were well below the usual January numbers.
There were still hundreds of Audouin´s, Yellow-legged and Lesser Black-backed Gulls roosting on the tourist beaches. On the 7th I counted 142 Audouin´s, 420 Lesser Black-backs and 536 Yellow-legged Gulls.
A maximum count of 25 Sandwich Terns was about half the normal numbers.
A count of 26 Wood Pigeons was the highest January number in eight years. They are surviving the Hunters bullets by roosting in the grounds of the Juvenile camp.
A maximum count of 33 Collared Doves is just below average nunbers.
One or two Little Owls and four Hoopoes were average January numbers.
I had my first January record of Woodlark, a single bird from the 10th to the 12th.
A maximum of seven Crested Larks and 42 Skylarks were below January numbers.
With only 14 Crag Martins counted, this was about 30 birds lower than normal.
A maximum of 26 Meadow Pipits was a high number for January.
Although one or two Grey Wagtails were normal January numbers, 16 White Wagtails was well short of the 90 birds in January 2007.
With only 11 Robins counted, this was well below the 19 birds last January.
The first and long awaited record of a Bluethroat , a female,turned up at the Capycorp lagoon on the 10th January. (White-spotted form)
Black Redstarts were in normal January numbers at 15 birds.
With only one female Blue Rock Thrush holding winter territory, this took us back to pre 2004 numbers.

11 Common Stonechats and two Common Blackbird were verage January numbers here.
Good news on the wintering Song Thrush numbers, with a max. of 30 birds counted this was one of the best January counts in eight years.

Up to three Cetti´s Warblers wintering was usual numbers. The bird wintering t the Sewage pond outsings the other two birds at Torre de Capycorp and Capycorp Lagoon.
´Fan-tailed Warblers or Zitting Cisticolas are on an eight year high with 9 birds max.
One or two Dartford Warbler´s seen daily are normal January numbers.
Sardinian Warbler´s, like the Fan-tailed are also on an eight year high at 23 birds max.
Other two Warbler´s are up - Blackcap at 24 max. and down - Common >Chiffchaff at 10 max.

Great Tit numbers are also on an eight year high at 10 birds max.
With only one Southern Great Grey Shrike wintering, compared to four birds in 2007, this makes it the poorest year since 2003. html','popup','width=457,height=377,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0'); return false">

13 Common Magies max. are slightly below January numbers.
Maximun counts of 109 Common Chaffinches and 33 Greenfinches were both higher than usual for January.
While 60 Linnets was above January numbers, 54 Goldfinch and 38 Serins were well below.
Last but not least the Buntings. Both Cirl Bunting and Rock Bunting were below numbers at two birds max. Reed Buntings well exceeded the norm. with 30 birds counted as did Corn Buntings at an eight year high of 66 birds!
Alcossebre Weather in January 2010.
A real mixture of weather this month.

The first week in January had only one and a half days of fine sunny weather. The rest was unsettled with three days of rain.
The second week in January was a real mixture. It started off on the 8th with two things we don’t normally see here – Frost and flurries of snow! The next two days were fine and sunny, but with strong to gale force winds it felt a lot colder. The next three days saw mainly cloudy and overcast conditions with rain.
The third week in January started off fine and sunny but with a strong North wind making it colder. However for the next six days the winds were either light or none at all, unusual here. Most days were cloudy and overcast, but mild.
The fourth week in January started off fine and sunny and ended fine and sunny, but the other five days were mainly cloudy or overcast. The moderate Northwest winds returned.
The last three days of January continued to be a mixture of sunny/cloudy spells with gentle to moderate winds.

The average daytime temperature was 14C (57F)
The highest temperature was on the 29th at 20C (68F).
The coolest day was on the 8th at 5C (41F).
The average night temperature was 7C (44F).
The coldest night was on the 8th at 0C (32F).
The warmest nights were on the 15th, 18th & 19th at 12C (53F).
Total rainfall for the month was only 3.6 inches (92 mm)
The heaviest rain fell on the 7th with 1.6 inches (41 mm).
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Wind strengths were predominately gentle to moderate most days, although on 7 days we had no wind at all – unusual.
Wind directions were mainly North or Northwesterly, on four days we had Southwesterly winds. No Easterly winds were recorded.
Compared to 2009 it was slightly cooler, slightly drier but a lot cloudier.