Day 1 10.04.2017
In January I applied for a field position with Yoav Perlman
in Spain and Portugal working with Bustards on the steppes. I was thrilled to
receive the phone call that informed me that I had got the position and that I
would be spending an amazing 6 weeks in an extremely good birding area.
Our first day in Spain was pretty straight forward. We
arrived in Lisbon mid-afternoon and once we had picked up the car we began our
journey south. This took all afternoon, but I gained a number of new birds on
the trip south. Spotless Starling was the first new lifer I got, and they were
extremely common throughout the region. The same can be said for Red-rumped
Swallow, Zitting Cisticola and Lesser Kestrel. A single Sardinian Warbler was
the only one we saw, but was a lifer.
There was an abundance of cool birds. White Storks were
common, and at roadside pools there were plenty of Black-winged Stilts and
Greater Flamingos. As soon as we arrived at the field station we added Stone
Curlew to our growing list. I also heard my first ever Quail, a pretty cool
sound, and probably something I should have heard before at some point. Crested
Larks were obviously common, but their warbling calls brought back memories of
Oman.
Species List:
Driving to Castro
Verde: Sardinian Warbler, Zitting Cisticola, Red-rumped Swallow, Spotless
Starling, Lesser Kestrel, Bee-eater, Stone-curlew, Montagu’s Harrier, Robin,
Greater Flamingo, Common Buzzard, Spoonbill, Little Egret, Knot, Woodpigeon,
White Stork, Feral Pigeon, Cattle Egret, Crested Lark,
Day 2 11.04.2017
Today was mainly spent around the field centre in Castro
Verde park, practicing the methods we were going to use in the field. It was a
lovely morning and I added a number of species to my life list. I got both
Great and Little Bustards not far from the field centre, although Great
Bustards were only in flight. Little Bustards could be heard all across the
steppes. It must be said that their calls are probably the most unflattering
bird calls I have ever heard.
We had a small flock of Black-bellied Sandgrouse fly over us
at one point, which was pretty exciting. It made for a change of sandgrouse
experience after those in Oman, which we only saw at water. I finally felt
justified at ticking Short-toed Lark when we had a couple of singing birds,
after I had avoided ticking the flyovers in Oman. Our walk also took us past a
stunning Roller. It was distant and flushed as soon as we saw it. However it
did perch again some distance away, a cracking looking bird. The final lifer of
the day was a Serin which I had to track down in the supermarket car park. Hopefully
better views of the latter will be afforded before we finish.
The novelty of Zitting Cisticolas had pretty much worn off
by the end of the morning. Their calls filled the air all around us. As did the
calls of Quails, Corn Buntings and another new bird for me; Calandra Lark,
whose mimicry was causing all kinds of problems for my limited lark
identification skills. Lesser Kestrels were still common, with two nest sites
within 1km of the field centre. Woodchat Shrike, Bee-eater, Hoopoe, Great
Spotted Cuckoo and Black-winged Stilt were all also present. So many awesome
birds it would take for too long to elaborate on. A Spotted Redshank was a nice
addition to the trip list, something worth making an added note for.
-Iberian Water Frog
Species List:
Castro Verde: Little
Bustard, Great Bustard, Calandra Lark, Lesser Kestrel, Black-bellied
Sandgrouse, Short-toed Lark, Red-rumped Swallow, Serin, Hoopoe, European
Bee-eater, Woodchat Shrike, Crested Lark, Corn Bunting, Montagu’s Harrier, Great-spotted Cuckoo, Coot, Great-crested
Grebe, Little Ringed Plover, Gadwall, Black-winged Stilt, Spotted Redshank,
Greenshank, Raven, Stone Curlew, House Sparrow, Zitting Cisticola, Skylark,
Sand Martin, House Martin, Barn Swallow, Booted Eagle, Spotless Starling,
Red-legged Partridge, Cattle Egret, Grey Heron, Goldfinch, White Stork,
Stonechat, Carrion Crow, Magpie, Jackdaw, Rook, Greenfinch, Little Owl, Roller,
Swallowtail, Small Copper, Painted Lady,
Clouded Yellow, Small Heath, Common Blue, Green-striped White.
Day 3 12.04.2017
All the days follow a pretty similar format from here
onwards. Survey across farmland in the morning, siesta, then an afternoon
survey too. Today was the first day of surveying, and we will continue to work
across Castro Verde for the next week and a half. I’ll just run through
highlights and lifers to prevent the sightings from becoming tedious.
Survey work today was immediately from the centre. Much the
same as the previous day, but with much better views of Little Bustards, some
getting up from extremely close to my transect. Calandra Larks were still
common, as were Zitting Cisticolas, the novelty of the latter is beginning to
wear thing already. Today I encountered 2 Rollers on the fence, but they
remained wary. A Pale-phase Booted Eagle was nice, as was a pair of Great Spotted
Cuckoo. The real highlight though was a stunning male Black-eared Wheatear. A
little distant but a superb looking bird to be sure!
-Little Bustard
-Great Bustard
-White Stork
Species List:
Castro Verde: Little
Bustard, Great Bustard, Red Kite, Little Grebe, Coot, Montagu’s Harrier,
Calandra Lark, Crested Lark, Zitting Cisticola, Corn Bunting, Red-legged
Partridge, Jackdaw, Lesser Kestrel, Roller, Grey Heron, Cattle Egret, Hoopoe,
Spotless Starling, House Sparrow, Barn Swallow, Red-rumped Swallow, European
Bee-eater, Carrion Crow, Stonechat, Booted Eagle, White Stork, Spoonbill,
Great-spotted Cuckoo, Black-eared Wheatear, Mallard, Gadwall, Black-bellied
Sandgrouse, Swallowtail, Green-striped
White, Small Copper,
Day 4 13.04.2017
Today started with thick fog and felt unpleasantly cold. It
warmed up mid-morning and as a result the birds started to appear. I actually
saw my first two Quail of the trip when I almost trod on them in the fog. I
lifered Spanish Sparrow as a large flock was nesting in a Eucalyptus tree,
directly in a White Stork nest. Iberian Grey Shrike was the first of our trip, although
it is the same species as the Southern Grey Shrike I saw in Oman. I had a great
encounter with a pair of Black-eared Wheatear and a nearby Tawny Pipit. The
Pipit was fairly photogenic but sadly the same could not be said for the
Wheatears. The only other different birds were the first Black Kite of our
trip. After only seeing distant birds in Oman it was nice to finally appreciate
these birds.
-Tawny Pipit
-Lesser Kestrel
-Calandra Lark
Species List:
Castro Verde: Little
Bustard, Great Bustard, Quail, Iberian Grey Shrike, Marsh Harrier, Montagu’s Harrier,
Tawny Pipit, Calandra Lark, Crested Lark, Short-toed Lark, Spanish Sparrow,
House Sparrow, Grey Heron, White Stork, Spoonbill, Cattle Egret, Mallard,
Gadwall, Lesser Kestrel, Black Kite, Common Buzzard, Black-eared Wheatear, Corn
Bunting, Stonechat, Red-legged Partridge, Zitting Cisticola, Spotless Starling,
Feral Pigeon, Collard Dove, Swift, House Martin, Barn Swallow, Magpie, Carrion
Crow, Hoopoe, European Bee-eater, Black-winged Stilt, Blackbird, Linnet,
Goldfinch, Coot, Little Owl, Iberian
Water Frog, Iberian Marbled White, Painted Lady, Green-striped White,
Friday 14.04.2017
We headed a little further west today, out of the far side
of Castro Verde town. The road to my transect seemed great, until I had to pass
through a farmyard with about 10 dogs. Their barking brought out the farmer,
who didn’t speak a word of English. Given my extremely limited Spanish though
we had a broken conversation and I was allowed past. I even got a friendly pat on
the shoulder for my efforts.
Insane numbers of Great Bustards were the highlight today.
At one point I had 30 all in one field of view, albeit distant. I also had my
first vultures of the trip; Griffons made up the majority but a couple of Black
Vultures could be picked out from the soaring flock. I got good flight views of
Black-bellied Sandgrouse, my best yet, as well as more Roller and Quail. A
Pale-phase Booted Eagle was also nice. The highlight beyond doubt was finally
an approachable male Black-eared Wheatear. Still not ideal but much improved
views on the last two birds! In our afternoon transect I saw my first
Azure-winged Magpies, plus my first Bonelli’s Eagle of the trip. Iberian Grey
and Woodchat Shrike were both more common during the afternoon transect.
-Griffon Vulture
-Black-bellied Sandgrouse
-Great Bustard
-Black-eared Wheatear
-Eurasian Black Vulture
-Cattle Egret
-Spotless Starling
-Spanish Sparrow
Species List:
Castro Verde:
Roller, Lesser Kestrel, Black Kite, Booted Eagle, Griffon Vulture,
Red Kite, Montagu’s Harrier, White Stork, Grey Heron, Cattle Egret, Quail,
Gadwall, Mallard, Coot, Great Bustard, Little Bustard, Hoopoe, European Bee-eater,
Swift, Feral Pigeon, Black-bellied Sandgrouse, Zitting Cisticola, Calandra Lark,
Crested Lark, Short-toed Lark, Stonechat, Corn Bunting, Black-eared Wheatear,
House Martin, Barn Swallow, Carrion Crow, Azure-winged Magpie, Spanish Sparrow,
House Sparrow, Raven, Peregrine, Red-legged Partridge, Little Owl, Bonelli’s
Eagle, Spotless Starling, Red-rumped Swallow, Spoonbill, Collard Dove, Iberian
Hare, European Rabbit, Painted Lady,
Small Copper, Common Blue, Clouded Yellow, Green-striped White,
No comments:
Post a Comment