Spring is that time of the year when we welcome back those birds who went south for the winter and conversely, say goodbye to those going north for the summer.
Fortunately for me, some stay for my year round enjoyment, like these beautiful & elegant Greater Flamingos.
We don't have them breeding up in Costa Blanca, unlike further south, where they make their little raised mud nests to bring up the chicks.
Most of the leg ring readings I send in for the histories, shows that the birds are from France or further south in Spain, no surprises there.
I have also started a #FlamingoFriday post on Bluesky. It does two things, forces me to keep taking pictures of them and shares the beauty & elegance of these wonderful creatures.
Back to migrants. Chiffchaffs usually leave before the arrival of the Reed Warblers, a slight overlap in a few weeks and I for one am always sorry to see them go. This winter, they seem to have been everywhere and in good numbers. This one below, hunting out tiny bugs on the reeds and leaves at El Hondo. They are replaced by Willow Warblers for the next 3 months, yippee!
As birds fly up from Africa, occasionally on the east coast here, we have sightings of Cranes, Egyptian Vultures and White Storks. They are only passing through and may stop for a few hours to feed. But in the last 3 months, off the harbour of Guardamar del Segura, we have had a vagrant visitor in the sea, a Surf Scoter! Extremely unusual and just adds to all the American birds blown East, as has been into Ireland & the UK over the winter.
It was a long way off and normally I wouldn't even try to get a shot that far away. (This is at effective 960mm with the Canon R7.) But the rarity demanded something to prove the sighting. Also seen Razorbills in the same location, what a bird!
The Scoter seems to be coping absolutely fine, occasionally having to fight off Yellow-legged Gulls but having no problem with the Ospreys, who are also leaving us. Been a poor winter for pictures of these beautiful raptors, I did see three at one location but again, too far away for photography.
Talking of Gulls, I enjoy a blustery day down at the sea to watch the Gulls coarse through the air, oblivious of the gale force winds.
This particular YLG was checking me out & wondering why I was out in that weather! In a short time I am fortunate to see, Audouin's, Mediterranean, Yellow-Legged, Slender-billed and Black-headed Gulls. What a pleasure, I am very much #TeamGull.
The Black-headed are all getting that solid brown head at the moment, with the Med Gulls (who are actually black headed) soon to follow suit. See below for a BHG.
Features of the Black-Headed Gulls include this dark red bill and legs which are only clear when close up.
Audouin's have that bright red bill which so distinctive & makes for an easy ID.
On the sandy beaches & wetlands, the Ruff have left & the Godwits will soon be leaving, some already turning into their summer plumage with those orangy brown chest and heads.
I have seen a good quantity of Curlew Sandpipers this winter, mingling with Turnstones and the white & grey coloured Sandpipers. These white birds along with Egrets manage to stay clean because of the oils that they preen onto their feathers. Some actually have a different smell in the winter & summer, to help avoid predators. Pity they can't avoid the waste from humans, plastics and fishing line being the most common. Too many of my pictures show feet missing and line caught on the bird.
I don't believe I have ever seen as many Little Grebes as we have this winter. Their bigger cousins have arrived back in the last two weeks, in all their summer colours; Great-crested and Black-necked Grebes. Both were doing the weed dance thing last week on the wetlands, a special sight to see. Soon we will have the chicks riding piggy back whilst the male fetches food for them. After that the game is on, as the parents try and avoid allowing the growing chicks onto their backs, forcing them to find their own food. It sure is fun and games to watch this battle of wills.
One of my favourite family of birds has started to return, the Terns. The Sandwich Tern is always the first to arrive and easily identified by the yellow tip on their bill. That is, if you can get close enough. Not normally a skittish bird and they all give great photography opportunities, showing those special shapes they make as they Tern and dive!
Again, we are spoilt with varieties, from the huge Caspian Terns who dwarf some Gulls down to the Little Terns. In between we also see Gull-billed, Whiskered, Common as well as the Sandwich Tern. Rarer to see are Lesser-crested, Elegant and Roseate Terns. Later on the Black Terns arrive and if you are extremely lucky, might see a White-winged Black Tern. Not me. Yet!
One of the common passerines that has already left my area are the Stonechats, the males are a delight to capture pictures of, as they perch high out the bushes.
Other to leave are; Pipits, Reed Buntings, Redstarts, Bluethroats, Crag Martins and the Snipe. Normal numbers of Snipe this year at El Hondo, didn't seem to be less or more, I saw no Jack Snipe though!
The speedster teams are back; House & Sand Martins, Red-rumped & Barn Swallows and the Common & Pallid Swifts. All need speeds of 1/5000 to capture sharp shots. Luckily we normally have good light!
Managed to spend some brilliant days with a pair of Common Kingfishers in the winter. Never had such close views of them fishing and preening. Another constant colourful bird I enjoy is the Swamphen (or Purple Gallinule to some). They have claws that would give most nightmares but use them dexterously to hold reeds whilst they eat them.
Other species I am looking forward to seeing soon are;
Great Spotted Cuckoo,
Pied & Spotted Flycatchers,
Yellow Wagtails,
Coal Tits,
Squacco Herons and one of my favourites, the Woodchat Shrike.
In April, the usual highly anticipated arrival will be for the Rollers and Bee-eaters, what a pair of birds! Then among these two also come the Turtle Doves but there are less and less every year. I don't recall seeing one at all in 2023. Shooting has a lot to answer for.
The organisation Committee against Bird Slaughter (CABS) is doing all it can to reduce shooting and trapping of birds in Europe but when the local governments continue to hand out shooting licenses, we know we have a long way to go. Please support them if you are able. I support a local group Friends of the Southern Alicante Wetlands (AHSA) who tirelessly appeal and fight against actions locally. Sadly, sitting back and wondering where all the birds have gone, is not an option any more. Please become active in your area in some way, even if it's to collect litter or protect beaches for nesting birds.
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