News from the SEO
MUCH, but not all, of the following is gleaned from the bulletin of the Spanish ornithological society (SEO).
A record number of flamingoes were counted wintering on the Ebro Delta in January 2022 – 21,146 birds.
Some 50 examples of Bonelli’s eagles have been found dead by electrocution in Murcia alone, in the last 10 years – and this is a species classed as ‘in danger of extinction’ and is represented in the region by no more than 22 pairs.
AHSA reveals that a pair of roseate terns tried to nest on Torrevieja Salinas in 2021, but abandoned the nest after a period of heavy rainfall.
The first record of a lammergeier crossing the Straits of Gibraltar was recorded in 2021, when a bird fitted with a radio transmitter in Andalucía made the journey.
My personal interest is piqued when I read that middle spotted woodpeckers (a ’bogey bird’ of mine) are spreading their range, and have been found nesting in Huesca and Lleida provinces.
Another bird with northerly tendencies which is spreading is the bullfinch, which has been located in Madrid province.
A winter census of the population of marsh harriers in the Valencia region in 2022 reveals a total of 796 birds, of which 443 were found roosting on the Albufera and 195 on El Hondo.
Following my recent article about phalaropes, news comes of a remarkable inland passage of grey phalaropes (normally a bird that avoids going far from the sea) in the lagoons of Castilla y Leon. In November 2022, no less than 32 records of this very aquatic little bird were recorded from the region, including a staggering 10 observations on the Lagunas de Villafafila.
Alarms are sounded for the future of great bustards – Spain houses a high percentage of the European population. The latest concern is centred on the new efforts to seek solar energy, often infringing upon the great birds’ habitat, and criss-crossing their flight-lines with lethal cables, which claim many lives. Conservation bodies are studying projects keenly.