Thursday 11 July 2013, Gaucin, mostly sunny, light E-NE wind, 30C.
Back in Spain after a week in the UK (Berks/Wilts/Somerset) where it was sunny and temperatures reached 29C. Other than enjoying the many Red Kite and scanning the Swifts for a stray Pallid or Alpine I didn't do much birding; it was great, though, to have breakfast outside listening to a Skylark. Here in Gaucin the only change I've noted so far is the presence of European Bee-eater nearer the village, presumably beginning to disperse away from their breeding sites.
Wednesday 03 July 2013, Gaucin, mostly sunny, calm air-light SE wind, 28C
Strictly a sighting for Thursday....at 0530hrs there were two Eagle Owl around Calle Convento/Calle del Pino. The male was 'singing' somewhere in the gardens just below Calle del Pino and the female was flying around and calling above our house and the gardens in Calle Convento.
Tuesday 02 July 2013, Gaucin, mostly sunny, light E-SE wind, 27C
Whilst carrying out dog-walking duties this morning at 0930hrs I added Euasian Jay and Red-rumped Swallow to my recent Rio Genal list. There was also a notable movement of Wood Pigeon with two groups totalling about 50 birds heading North up the valley in front of Sierra Crestellina. European Bee-eater numbers were up to 20+ and the Golden Oriole were very vocal, if difficult to see, with just a fleeting glimpse of a brightly-coloured male to show for my efforts. In the village the Swift numbers are building up towards their maximum with impressive early evening 'screaming party' displays.
Sunday 30 June 2013, Gaucin, sunny, light-fresh E-SE wind, 27C
A visit to the Rio Genal from 0800-0930hrs produced the following sightings....Griffon Vulture, pale morph Booted Eagle, Short-toed Eagle (a sleepy-looking individual hiding in a tree), Little-ringed Plover, Turtle Dove, Collared Dove, European Bee-eater, Great-spotted Woodpecker, Short-toed Treecreeper, Golden Oriole, Common Swift, Spotless Starling, Blackbird, Great Tit, Blue Tit, White Wagtail, Grey Wagtail, Bonelli's Warbler, Blackcap, Sardinian Warbler, Serin, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Chaffinch, a party of 5 Hawfinch, and Cirl Bunting. Despite the relatively early hour it was already almost 20C and there were quite a few butterflies about, including several Wall Brown.
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| Cirl Bunting |
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| Little-ringed Plover |
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| Wall Brown |
Saturday 29 June, Gaucin, sunny, fresh E wind gusting to strong, 26C: On an afternoon visit to Setenil de las Bodegas, NE of Ronda, sightings along the route included Griffon Vulture, Booted Eagle, Short-toed Eagle, Raven, European Bee-eater, Woodchat Shrike and Red-billed Chough. In the village itself it was strange to see Alpine Swift passing a couple of metres overhead as they entered their nest sites in the rock crevices just below which the cave-houses are.
Wednesday 26 June, Gaucin, sunny, light-fresh E wind, 23C: Another evening trip to the Rio Genal but with more time for birding...from 1930-2100hrs our sightings included Griffon Vulture, Bonelli's Eagle (a juvenile, presumably the recently-fledged bird from the Sierra Crestellina nest), Booted Eagle, Little-ringed Plover, Turtle Dove, Green Woodpecker, European Bee-eater, Golden Oriole, Common Swift, Alpine Swift, Grey Wagtail, White Wagtail, Spotted Flycatcher, Melodious Warbler and Hawfinch.
Some of the many European Bee-eater that were present at the river this evening:
Some of the many European Bee-eater that were present at the river this evening:
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