May 16, 2006
A dip...and Sicily (finally)
Well yesterday i dipped on a Red rumped swallow at the old head of kinsale! (grrr arrgh). But thats not what this post is about..oh no.
This is about honey buzzards!...Are'nt honey buzzards just great alltogether!;)
Especially when ya get a few thousand going through above you!
On the 24th of april DB, DF and myself set off for 10 days in sicily, counting raptors at the Straits of messina Anti Poaching Raptor Camp.
Over the past 25 years this camp has managed to change the face of migration in sicily, all but erradicating raptor shooting. This is no small feat, considering the mentality of the area. Anna Giordano, the founder of the camp, had her car bombed out and her life threatened on many occasions.
It was once the case that 60% of all birds pasing through were shot.
Now the birds pass through unscathed...Essentially, Anna, and her efforts with the various consrvation organisations, have changed the mindset of an entire culture.
We arrived in the middle of a Scirocco...a south easterly wind originating from the sahara, and not very good for raptor passage. So we went first to the headland of Capo Peloro.
Here, despite bad passage, we connected with the first Booted Eagle of the trip and a stunning adult Egyptian Vulture, my first lifer on the trip.
These were quickly followed by Yelkouan and Scopolis Shearwaters.
Other good birds here were a single adult Gull Billed Tern, Tree pipits, Auduoins gulls, Marsh harrier, Montagus harrier, Bee-eater and...amazingly...purple glossy starling.
Apparently, according to a local member of the Italian rarities body, there has been an unprecedented influx of glossy starlings into north africa, involving several species, and this could represent a genuine record for the country.
If so it would be a great western palearctic tick!;)
Honey Buzzard
The next day saw our first true passage of birds, with numbers of Marsh harriers moving through, Our first Eleonoras Falcon, Our first Pallid harrier and of course...Honey Buzzards!
At last i had seen a Honey Buzzard!And i was dutifully impressed!Stunning looking creatures!
At this site, Santa Rosalea, we also had the endemic race of Rock Partridge. A very hard bird to catch up with!
Over the entire trip we got to grips with a great number of raptor species, Including Red Footed falcons(Tick), yet more Eleonoras Falcons(Tick), Pallid Harriers(Tick), Montagus Harriers, Common Buzzard, Steppe Buzzard(Tick), Long Legged Buzzard(Tick), Golden Eagle (Tick), Short Toed Eagles, Booted Eagles, Lesser Kestrels (Tick), Griffon Vulture, Egyptian Vulture (Tick), Common Kestrels, Peregrines of the races Calidus and Brookei, Hobby, Black kite (including one i believe to be of the race aegyptius), And of course Honey Buzzards (Tick).
Other good birds included Black Stork (Tick), Corn Bunting (Tick), Black eared Wheatear, Dartford Warbler, Red Throated pipit, Black Headed Wagtail (Tick), Great Reed Warbler, Sub alpine warbler, Icterine warbler, Tawny pipits, Cirl Bunting. And all the usual mediteranean stuff!
A very enjoyable trip, with good food, good company, good craic and great birds!
Many Thanks to Guido Bonnet for his superb shots!
Pariah
Honey Buzzard
Honey Buzzard
Honey Buzzard
Honey Buzzard
Griffon Vulture
Griffon Vulture
Black Kite
Worth while links
Irish County yearlists page 2006
Carmo Police
My (outdated) website