The Birdman of Alcossebre (Spain)

Hoopoes a Hooping, Serins a Serenading and more surprise birds

Weather
March was a month of two contrasting halves for weather
From the 1st to the 18th the average daily temperature was 12C or 53F making it colder than January!
However, the next 13 days improved to a feel-good average of 21C or 72F.
One of the main features was the amount of early morning mist (14 days), some days it was mid day before the sun burned through. This did affect the birds and brought in quite a few migrants.
It was also a dry month with only light showers on 3 days.
Most days were mixed with sunny/cloudy spells, only 2 or 3 days being overcast all day.
The wind and the direction of the wind play an important part in migration.
With only strong adverse winds blowing on 4 or 5 days from the North West or North East it meant that most birds could be wind assisted with winds coming from the East the predominant direction for most of the month.

Farming Scene.
With the better weather conditions producing a good crop of Artichokes most of the labour intensive work went into picking them.
The ploughing and tilling of the fields continued unabated, giving the birds plenty to pick over.
One of the other labour intensive jobs was the cutting down of the Giant Reed for use as Tomato Canes.

Birds
This month turned out to be the best I’ve had since started bird watching here some two and a halve years ago! With 85 species seen.
Some of the highlights include the following firsts for the area: -
Stone Curlew, Eagle Owl and Hawfinch and all seen on the one day.
With the weather improving the wintering birds moved on and the Spring migrants started to arrive.
Although a notable feature this year was that most Spring migrants were up to a fortnight late in arriving – was it the same in your area?
There were some birds that passed through in large numbers, see Cormorant, Night Heron and Flamingo.

Seawatching/Seabirds
Great Grested Grebes peaked at 21 birds on 21st March.
Mediterranean Shearwaters came quite close inshore after the shoals of fish. Maximum numbers – 75 birds on 15th March.
Gannets mainly followed the fishing boats, up to 7 birds seen.
Only single Shags were seen.
Cormorants came through in large numbers. The total for the month was a staggering 2,594 birds. With the largest flock counted, 580 on 9th March.
Red Breasted Merganser only single noted.
Razorbill up to 10 birds seen throughout the month.

Herons and Egrets
Night Herons surprised me, with the earliest Spring record on 24th March and the number, a flock of 54 birds!

Grey Heron – a light passage of one to six birds. The first this year.
Greater Flamingo – again my earliest Spring record and a good number. 75 birds heading East on 30 March.
Cattle Egrets reached flocks of 20 birds on the ploughed fields.
Little Egrets kept to the shore line, with only 1 to 2 birds seen.

Birds of Prey.
Not big numbers coming through, but a nice variety.
Black Kite first Spring record on 22nd March, a single bird.
Marsh Harrier first Spring record on 22nd March, 2 birds.
Sparrowhawk a single seen on 26th March – passage or local?
Common Buzzard our wintering bird was last seen on 2nd March. There after. One or two birds seen flying East.
Merlin one seen on 30th March – a scarce raptor here.

Red-Legged Partridge two singles seen, glad to see they survived the hunting season!

Moorhen a maximum of 20 birds counted at the sewage ponds.

Waders.
Like the birds of prey, not big numbers but a nice variety.
Stone Curlew 1 to 2 birds passed through from 15th to 18th March.

Golden Plover 12 birds flying East on 10th March.
Lapwing a maximum of 15 birds noted this month.
Common Snipe a single bird at the sewage ponds from 2nd to 10th.
Common Redshank 1 to 2 birds seen 6th to 16th March at Capicorp Lagoon.
Green Sandpiper a single passed through on the 19th March.

Gulls and Terns.
Both species beginning to move through in numbers.
Mediterranean Gull a maximum of 12 birds seen.
Black Headed Gull up to 380 birds seen heading East.
Audoiun´s Gull up to 116 birds heading East.
Yellow Legged Gull and Lesser Black Back Gull hundreds of both passing through heading East.
Caspian Tern 4 birds flying East on 23rd March were my earliest Spring record.
Sandwich Tern the biggest flock of the month was 24 birds.

Pigeons and Doves
Wood Pigeon the first birds since last October were seen from the 20th – 1 to 2 birds.
Collared Dove a maximum of 25 birds counted.

Great Spotted Cuckoo
Up to 4 birds were seen harassing the local Magpies.

Owls.
My first Eagle Owl for the area was flushed out of some coastal Pine trees by my Boxer dog! Guess what? I didn’t have my camera with me!
Little Owl 1 to 3 birds were heard and seen throughout the month.

Kingfisher one bird passed through on the 8th March.

Hoopoe now even more visible as the engaged in courtship rituals – up to 9 birds counted.

Swifts, Swallows and Martins.
Common Swift the first Spring record was on the 26th March.
Sand Martin the first Spring record was on 11th March.
Still out numbered by the next species.
Crag Martin maximum of 12 birds seen throughout.
Swallow the first Spring record was on 8th March. Maximum numbers passing through on the 22nd were 126 birds per hour.
Red Rumped Swallow a single on 22nd March was the first of Spring.
House Martin the first Spring record was on the 13th March. Maximum passage was 50 birds per hour on 22nd.

Larks, Pipits and Wagtails
Crested Larks were nearing there breeding numbers at 14 birds.
Skylark numbers decreased from the 15th (60 birds) to only 4 on the 26th.
Meadow Pipit numbers were low with only a maximum of 8 birds.
Grey Wagtail 1 to 2 birds seen throughout.
White Wagtail seen throughout – maximum of 45 birds on 15th March.

Wren a rare bird here – singles seen on 17th and 19th.

Robin, Wheatears and Chats.
Robins peaked at 15 birds – not seen after the 26th March.
Black Redstart peaked at 15 birds – not seen after 26th March.
Northern Wheatear a single on the 25th March was the first of Spring.
Stonechat peaked at 6 birds – not seen after 20th March.

Thrushes.
Blue Rock Thrush our star wintering bird was last seen on 22nd March.
Blackbird 1 to 2 birds seen throughout.
Song Thrush seen throughout – maximum of 9 birds.

Warblers.
Change over time as our winter warblers begin to be replaced.
Cetti´s Warbler singles heard and seen – last seen 20th March.
Fan Tailed Warbler 1 to 2 birds seen throughout – still scarce.
Dartford Warbler 1 to 2 birds seen throughout – last seen 23rd March.
Sardinian Warbler now in full display mode – up to 13 seen.
Blackcap still plenty berries to keep them going – maximum of 8 birds.

Chiffchaff seen throughout – maximum of 13 birds.
Willow Warbler the first Spring record was on 16th March.

Great Tit like the other resident species here in full song and display mode. 8 birds maximum.

Shrikes.
One species goes one comes.
Great Grey Shrike single birds - not seen after the 3rd March.
Woodchat Shrike first Spring record was 24th March. Then 1 to 2 birds.

Magpie in full nesting mode much to the interest of the Great Spotted Cuckoos. Maximum of 17 birds seen.
Common Starling still good sized flocks in the area.
Spotless Starling in full nesting mode and split up into pairs now.
House and Tree Sparrows trying to outdo each other in the amount of nesting materiel they can carry!

Finches and Buntings
Chaffinch the wintering flocks decreasing from 35 birds to singles by end of month.
Greenfinches on the other hand are preparing to nest - maximum 20 birds.
Goldfinch still a mix of resident and wintering birds – maximum 50 birds.
Linnet another winter visitor, maximum of 7 birds had gone by the 20th.
Serin in full nesting and singing mode with a maximum of 40 birds.
Hawfinch a single feeding on Almond Blossom was my first record here.

Cirl Bunting single resident males were seen singing this month.

Reed Bunting a maximum of 19 birds – not seen after 25th March.
Corn Bunting wintering birds reached 45 birds in one flock – by the end of the month about 8 resident birds were left.

Weather
March was a month of two contrasting halves for weather March was a month of two contrasting halves for weather
From the 1st to the 18th the average daily temperature was 12C or 53F making it colder than January!
However, the next 13 days improved to a feel-good average of 21C or 72F.
One of the main features was the amount of early morning mist (14 days), some days it was mid day before the sun burned through. This did affect the birds and brought in quite a few migrants.
It was also a dry month with only light showers on 3 days.
Most days were mixed with sunny/cloudy spells, only 2 or 3 days being overcast all day.
The wind and the direction of the wind play an important part in migration.
With only strong adverse winds blowing on 4 or 5 days from the North West or North East it meant that most birds could be wind assisted with winds coming from the East the predominant direction for most of the month.
Farming Scene.
With the better weather conditions producing a good crop of Artichokes most of the labour intensive work went into picking them.
The ploughing and tilling of the fields continued unabated, giving the birds plenty to pick over.
One of the other labour intensive jobs was the cutting down of the Giant Reed for use as Tomato Canes.

Photo of Cane cutting

Birds This month turned out to be the best I’ve had since started bird watching here some two and a halve years ago! With 85 species seen.
Some of the highlights include the following firsts for the area: -
Stone Curlew, Eagle Owl and Hawfinch and all seen on the one day.
With the weather improving the wintering birds moved on and the Spring migrants started to arrive.
Although a notable feature this year was that most Spring migrants were up to a fortnight late in arriving – was it the same in your area?
There were some birds that passed through in large numbers, see Cormorant, Night Heron and Flamingo.
Seawatching/Seabirds
Great Grested Grebes peaked at 21 birds on 21st March.
Mediterranean Shearwaters came quite close inshore after the shoals of fish. Maximum numbers – 75 birds on 15th March.
Gannets mainly followed the fishing boats, up to 7 birds seen.
Only single Shags were seen.
Cormorants came through in large numbers. The total for the month was a staggering 2,594 birds. With the largest flock counted, 580 on 9th March.
Red Breasted Merganser only single noted.
Razorbill up to 10 birds seen throughout the month.
Herons and Egrets
Night Herons surprised me, with the earliest Spring record on 24th March and the number, a flock of 54 birds!
Photo of Night herons
Grey Heron – a light passage of one to six birds. The first this year.
Greater Flamingo – again my earliest Spring record and a good number. 75 birds heading East on 30 March.
Cattle Egrets reached flocks of 20 birds on the ploughed fields.
Little Egrets kept to the shore line, with only 1 to 2 birds seen.
Birds of Prey.
Not big numbers coming through, but a nice variety.
Black Kite first Spring record on 22nd March, a single bird.
Marsh Harrier first Spring record on 22nd March, 2 birds.
Sparrowhawk a single seen on 26th March – passage or local?
Common Buzzard our wintering bird was last seen on 2nd March. There after. One or two birds seen flying East.
Merlin one seen on 30th March – a scarce raptor here.

Red-Legged Partridge two singles seen, glad to see they survived the hunting season!
Photo of Red Legged Partridge.
Moorhen a maximum of 20 birds counted at the sewage ponds.
Waders.
Like the birds of prey, not big numbers but a nice variety.
Stone Curlew 1 to 2 birds passed through from 15th to 18th March.
Photo of Stone Curlew
Golden Plover 12 birds flying East on 10th March.
Lapwing a maximum of 15 birds noted this month.
Common Snipe a single bird at the sewage ponds from 2nd to 10th.
Common Redshank 1 to 2 birds seen 6th to 16th March at Capicorp Lagoon.
Green Sandpiper a single passed through on the 19th March.
Gulls and Terns.
Both species beginning to move through in numbers.
Mediterranean Gull a maximum of 12 birds seen.
Black Headed Gull up to 380 birds seen heading East.
Audoiun´s Gull up to 116 birds heading East.
Yellow Legged Gull and Lesser Black Back Gull hundreds of both passing through heading East.
Caspian Tern 4 birds flying East on 23rd March were my earliest Spring record.
Sandwich Tern the biggest flock of the month was 24 birds.
Pigeons and Doves
Wood Pigeon the first birds since last October were seen from the 20th – 1 to 2 birds.
Collared Dove a maximum of 25 birds counted.
Great Spotted Cuckoo
Up to 4 birds were seen harassing the local Magpies.
Photo of Great Spotted Cuckoo
Owls.
My first Eagle Owl for the area was flushed out of some coastal Pine trees by my Boxer dog! Guess what? I didn’t have my camera with me!
Little Owl 1 to 3 birds were heard and seen throughout the month.
Photo of Little Owl.
Kingfisher one bird passed through on the 8th March.
Hoopoe now even more visible as the engaged in courtship rituals – up to 9 birds counted.
Photo of the two Hoopoes

Swifts, Swallows and Martins.
Common Swift the first Spring record was on the 26th March.
Sand Martin the first Spring record was on 11th March.
Still out numbered by the next species.
Crag Martin maximum of 12 birds seen throughout.
Swallow the first Spring record was on 8th March. Maximum numbers passing through on the 22nd were 126 birds per hour.
Red Rumped Swallow a single on 22nd March was the first of Spring.
House Martin the first Spring record was on the 13th March. Maximum passage was 50 birds per hour on 22nd.
Larks, Pipits and Wagtails
Crested Larks were nearing there breeding numbers at 14 birds.
Skylark numbers decreased from the 15th (60 birds) to only 4 on the 26th.
Meadow Pipit numbers were low with only a maximum of 8 birds.
Grey Wagtail 1 to 2 birds seen throughout.
White Wagtail seen throughout – maximum of 45 birds on 15th March.
Wren a rare bird here – singles seen on 17th and 19th.
Robin, Wheatears and Chats.
Robins peaked at 15 birds – not seen after the 26th March.
Black Redstart peaked at 15 birds – not seen after 26th March.
Northern Wheatear a single on the 25th March was the first of Spring.
Stonechat peaked at 6 birds – not seen after 20th March.
Thrushes.
Blue Rock Thrush our star wintering bird was last seen on 22nd March.
Blackbird 1 to 2 birds seen throughout.
Song Thrush seen throughout – maximum of 9 birds.
Warblers.
Change over time as our winter warblers begin to be replaced.
Cetti´s Warbler singles heard and seen – last seen 20th March.
Fan Tailed Warbler 1 to 2 birds seen throughout – still scarce.
Dartford Warbler 1 to 2 birds seen throughout – last seen 23rd March.
Sardinian Warbler now in full display mode – up to 13 seen.
Blackcap still plenty berries to keep them going – maximum of 8 birds.
Photo of Blackcap female
Chiffchaff seen throughout – maximum of 13 birds.
Willow Warbler the first Spring record was on 16th March.

Great Tit like the other resident species here in full song and display mode. 8 birds maximum.

Shrikes.
One species goes one comes.
Great Grey Shrike single birds - not seen after the 3rd March.
Woodchat Shrike first Spring record was 24th March. Then 1 to 2 birds.
Photo of Woodchat Shrike.
Magpie in full nesting mode much to the interest of the Great Spotted Cuckoos. Maximum of 17 birds seen.
Common Starling still good sized flocks in the area.
Spotless Starling in full nesting mode and split up into pairs now.
House and Tree Sparrows trying to outdo each other in the amount of nesting materiel they can carry!
Finches and Buntings
Chaffinch the wintering flocks decreasing from 35 birds to singles by end of month.
Greenfinches on the other hand are preparing to nest - maximum 20 birds.
Goldfinch still a mix of resident and wintering birds – maximum 50 birds.
Linnet another winter visitor, maximum of 7 birds had gone by the 20th.
Serin in full nesting and singing mode with a maximum of 40 birds.
Hawfinch a single feeding on Almond Blossom was my first record here.
Photo of Hawfinch
Cirl Bunting single resident males were seen singing this month.
Photo of Cirl Bunting.
Reed Bunting a maximum of 19 birds – not seen after 25th March.
Corn Bunting wintering birds reached 45 birds in one flock – by the end of the month about 8 resident birds were left.

Posted by Flamingo at April 2, 2005 7:43 AM