June 1, 2008
Dispite the Weather some cracking birds.
I saw a total of 73 species during May in the Alcossebre area.
Two new species were added to the Alcossebre list - Spoonbill and Red-footed Falcon.
Other highlights of the month were :- A pair of Little Grebes produced young at the Sewage Pond for only the second time in six years.
There were more Balearic Shearwaters than normal for May.
I recorded the highest number of Honey Buzzards for this month.
Moorhen numbers continue to rise.
It was a very poor month for wading birds with only Black-winged Stilt and Common Sandpiper seen, with high water levels at the Sewage Pond and Torre de Capycorp pond. See Weather report.
I got my second record for Roller in six years.
Resident Hoopoe numbers continue to rise.
There were higher than usual numbers of House Martin, Whinchat and Northern Wheatears passing through.
Whilst Fan-tail Warbler numbers continue to rise, Reed Warbler numbers decline.
I had my second May record for Great Reed Warbler.
While resident Greenfinch and Serin numbers rise, Goldfinch numbers decline.
A summary of the months birds was as follows:-
The 1st May started off with 20 Balearic Shearwaters and a Grey Heron flying East.
Overnight arrivals were 4 Northern Wheatears, 5 Woodchat Shrikes, a male Subalpine Warbler, a female Pied Flycatcher and the first Reed Warbler of Spring at the Sewage Pond.
Two Cirl Buntings turned out to be the only sighting in May, breeding birds or passage birds? Time will tell.
The 2nd May brought in 5 Turtle Doves, 3 new Melodious Warblers and a new Golden Oriole.
Passage birds on the 3rd May were scarce - 2 Sand Martins and 5 Barn Swallows, but overnight arrivals included 7 Northern Wheatears, one female Whinchat and only my second record here for Roller.
The 4th May was fairly quiet. Passage birds were 6 Black-headed Gulls and a couple of Northern Gannets. Overnight arrivals included 8 Bee eaters, 3 more Melodious Warblers and one Willow Warbler.
10 Night Herons flew East on the 5th May followed by a Grey Heron.
Inland one Turtle Dove and 3 Whinchats were new arrivals.
Capycorp Lagoon was the Hotspot on the 6th May, with a nice collection of birds. In a company of 19 Sandwich Terns, 2 Black-headed Gulls, 30 Audouin´s Gulls and 3 Black-winged Stilts were 2 Common Terns, the first seen this Spring.
Although there was no visible passage of birds on the 7th May, there were a few overnight arrivals. A new Golden Oriole, Melodious Warbler, Reed Warbler, Woodchat Shrike and 2 Whinchats.
With a Low depression weather system with rain over the next four days bird watching was put on hold.
When I got out again on the 11th May there was a few new birds to greet me.
A Short -toed Eagle was slowly making it's way North-east giving me good views, but too distant to photograph. Overnight arrivals included 2 firsts for Spring, a Grasshopper Warbler giving it's reeling song at Capycorp lagoon and a Spotted Flycatcher at the Sewage Works. Also at the Sewage Pond were 2 Night Herons and a Pied Flycatcher. Else where, 2 Whinchats were new arrivals.
A Spoonbill flying East on the 12th May was an unexpected first for my Alcossebre list! Next up was a Common Sandpiper at Capycorp Lagoon - the only one of the month.
Then a bird I always look forward to seeing - an Eleonora´s Falcon, Flying in from the sea and heading North. Could it have come from the Columbrete´s or the Balearics?
Inland I got my first Garden Warbler of Spring, 4 Spotted Flycatchers,
1 Pied Flycatcher, 1 Reed Warbler and 4 Whinchats.
A total of 274 House Martins flew East this morning easily the highest total this year.
The star bird of the 13th May was a singing Great Reed Warbler at Capycorp Lagoon, only my third record here. Other overnight arrivals included 3 Spotted Flycatchers, 2 Pied Flycatchers, 1 Northern Wheatear, 1 Whinchat and 1
The next couple of days quietened down bird wise with only a Whinchat and 3 Turtle Doves arriving.
The first Honey Buzzard of the year put in an appearance on the 16th May as it soared North East. 10 Bee-eaters then headed South? Pardon me should they not be heading North at this time of the year? The mysteries of bird migration indeed!
The only other new birds were 2 Woodchat Shrikes.The next four days produced more iffy weather with yet more rain - and I thought I had escaped that from Glasgow!
I did get out on the 21st May, but to my surprise no new birds?
The 22nd May more than made up for that. It started off well with a new Woodchat Shrike sunning itself in the coastal scrub. Then 6 Common Terns were fishing off Capycorp beach, only my second Spring record.
However, when I got into the rural farmland I saw a falcon sitting on a tall cane in a newly planted Almond grove. I thought at first it was an Eleonora´s Falcon dark phase ´cos it had it's back to me, so I started taking photos.
Then it turned it's head around - hold on I thought, Eleonora´s Falcon hasn't got a red eye ring or yellow cere(bill)?? It's a Red-footed Falcon!!
I couldn't believe my luck. Nearest breeding place? Hungary - wow.
Boy was my happy bubble burst when I sent in my record to Rare Birds in Spain - there was an invasion of the birds with over a hundred birds recorded so far!!
Not only that, but a flock of 60 birds had been seen together in Switzerland!
Sods law - but never the less a cracking Falcon to see in the field.
To cap the day off 13 Honey Buzzards soared over heading East, the highest May count here.
I knew after that it would be hard/impossible to match the previous day when I went out on the 23rd May. However, I didn't do too badly. I got 2 Spring firsts -
2 Great White Egrets flying East and a Hobby (Falcon) flying North east.
Overnight arrivals included 5 Woodchat Shrikes and 1 Melodious Warbler.
The 24th and 25th May were lost out to yet more rain!
The 26th May was fairly quiet, but I did add two new species to the months list. Two Blue-headed Wagtails and a Lesser Black-back Gull, the latter gull stood out from it's companions, 90 Audouin´s Gulls.
Another day of rain on the 27th May, meant another lost day.
When I got out for my last daily bird count census walk on the 28th May
I managed to add another first bird for the month - 2 Whiskered Terns heading East.
Alcossebre Weather for May 2008.
I suppose it was enviable that after one of the driest Aprils on record we should get what I can only describe as a Monsoon May!
We had a total rainfall for this May of 13.4 inches of rain, with five days registering over an inch of rain. This compared to last May when we only had 0.8 inches of rain all month.
The heaviest rainfall was on the 9th through to the 10th May when 5.5 inches of rain fell!The rain didn't adversely affect the temperature which averaged 24.5C, with the hottest day on the 30th May at 30C.
The average night temperature was 15C, with the coldest nights on the 2nd and 4th May at 11C.Both day and night temperatures compare well with previous May's.
So fine sunny weather was at a premium, with only six and a half days giving us these conditions.
Most days were either a mixture of sunny/cloudy spells at best, or dull and overcast at worst.
Unlike the unusual wind patterns of April, May returned to more normal wind conditions. North to North Westerly winds most mornings and East or South/East winds in the afternoons.
Wind strengths were generally light and gentle with only a few days having moderate or strong winds.