Some bird news
Nature Trail by Malcolm Palmer
To start with, a sad little obituary. Some readers may remember that my niece has kept, most remarkably, a Swift, since it fell out of the nest into her window box in Murcia almost ten years ago. After nine and a half years during which it slept on her pillow, and rode around the house on the dog's back, sharing his food (!) it has finally passed away! It is a story you could easily understand for almost any other species, but a Swift!
Recent Atlantic storms have brought a good few transatlantic vagrants to our shores. Green-winged and Blue-winged Teal, American Wigeon and Lesser Scaup, and Franklin's and Laughing Gulls have been found in Spanish territory, whilst Britain has been visited by several landbirds of American origin. Coming from the opposite direction, Spain's second ever Brown Shrike appeared in Tarragona, a female rather overshadowed by a male of the same species in Britain. More southerly origin accounts for the Desert Wheatear, again in Tarragona, and that area also played host to a Goosander, a scarce visitor from northern parts.
Birds which are apparently trying to obtain a 'foothold' in Spain as nesting species are Hooded Crow, which seem to be appearing with regularity in Cataluña, and tend to show up in other places, as recently in Cantabria. Also the African and Middle Eastern Laughing Dove seems to be trying out Andalucía,
a pair habituating an area around Sevilla.
Waders have been harder to find, a Sociable Lapwing in Badajoz being an exception, and a Spotted Sandpiper was found near Leon.
Some lucky observers in the Basque Country have twice seen the magnificent Whitetailed Eagle that has turned up there, whilst here in Alicante, we have to be content with our 'own' Greater Spotted Eagles, of which there may well be three or four flying around El Hondo as I write.
Also at the time of writing it is unseasonably warm, and certainly not the sort of weather in which one expects to find 'cold weather' birds - but hope springs eternal.
Should you have anything to report, or any queries, do contact me, at malcaves@yahoo.es