Spanish Birding 2 - El Pinillo

Now Fuengirola is not as bad for birding as it looks but that did not stop me using the excellent local train service to go on several away days. One of my two expeditions was to the mountains to the north of Benalmadena which I reach from the station at El Pinillo. A rather taxing stroll took me up through the dry pinewoods which line the hills north of the motorway and then on into the mountains themselves.

Black Wheatear and Blue Rock Thrush.

Although these pine woods can seem sterile at first glance I have over the years built up a fair list but it has to be said that they were a little on the dull side this time around. Chaffinches were the commonest species with a few Crossbills also seen. A couple of Short-toed Treecreepers were feeding in their usual unobtrusive fashion while a party of Jays were anything but. One Wood Pigeon, in stark contrast to the legions thronging UK skies was flushed and flew low into more cover. They're always a little on the nervous side here as many are shot as game so it's not difficult to work out why.

Stonechat.

Reaching the old quarry I found the hoped for Black Wheatears, a pair always breed in this area and at least three were seen. A Song Thrush was my first at this site and was possibly a wintering bird. Loads of Black Reds and Stonechats joined it and a Blue Rock Thrush but the wind was blowing a gale and birding was proving difficult.

A slightly duff picture of a Thekla Lark.

Thekla Larks take over from their Crested cousins up here and I found several but was not so lucky with either Dartford Warblers or Rock Buntings which are both fairly regular on less windy days. I could only add Raven to the list and seeing that even assured flyers such as Crag Martins were struggling I bid a retreat back to the bars and restaurants of Fuengirola.

Seen just about everywhere, Serin.

Spanish BIrding 1 - Fuengirola

I've just returned from a holiday in Spain, not a nature watching expedition but more of a relaxing sunny break kind of affair. Despite that I managed to get out and about every day even if it was just for a couple of hours in the morning. Fuengirola, our base, is not the most promising prospect for nature spotting particularly if you're arriving for the first time. The large number of high rises and other developments can look all but nature free but I'm happy to say that their are some worthwhile sights to catch up with.

Familiar rooftop sights, Spotless Starling and Yellow-legged Gulls.

We stay in the western part of the resort and from here it's a short walk to both the castle park and the Rio Fuengirola. Following the river can take you out in to the countryside and on into a walk through hilly and scrubby country between the town and the Hippodrome.

New arrivals, Monk Parakeets and Common Waxbill.

I'm not going to give a day by day of account of stuff, rather I'll mention the highlights in case it's of use to anyone else taking a family holiday here. You won't fail to notice both Yellow-legged Gulls and Spotless Starlings on the rooftops while House Sparrows are common. At this time of year the flocks of swifts have gone but there were groups of Crag Martins feeding between the buildings. They roost on both the castle and particularly on sea front buildings where the first rays of the rising sun hit. The tick tick of Robins and the alarms of Blackbirds could be heard, a few are resident but numbers are swelled by migrants from the north.

Female Sardinian Warbler and immature male Black Redstart.

It's these northern migrants that provided interest around the castle park where species such as Meadow Pipits, Grey Wagtails and Black Redstarts joined a small number of wintering Hoopoes and various finches which included Crossbill. On my visit numbers remained low as many are still making their way south though I did notice an increase in both Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps. Most of the Summer migrants had gone but there was still a trickle of passage birds moving through. Pied and Spotted Flycatchers were found and a Yellow Wagtail graced one morning's stroll. Kestrels showed well both here and in the general area, I didn't find a Lesser but they could be around.

Crested lovelies, Crested Lark and Hoopoe.

The Rio Fuengirola was dry for most of its length and that despite a series of thunderstorms that caused damaging floods on other parts of the Costa. The small stretch of water had attracted numbers of Mallards and a few Moorhens while waders included Common and Green Sandpipers. Little Egrets were regular and I saw one Cattle Egret, these are commoner in the horse breeding countryside nearby. Kingfishers were seen on each visit and so too Common Waxbills. Despite having visited this area for many years I had never seen this noisy little species before but on this trip they seemed to be everywhere. I can only imagine that this naturalised species has only just arrived in the area but they may well be here to stay. Another facet of this trip was the large number of Mediterranean Gulls making their way inland from the beach to feed on flying ants with Black-headeds and Spotless Starlings.

Little and Cattle Egrets.

The countryside away from the river  while interesting at other times of the year was rather dull, the commoner finches and Crested Larks making up most of the list with buzzing and rattling Sardinian Warblers and also Great Tits for company. No account of Fuengirola is complete without mention of the Monk Parakeets that abound on this coast. Large and noisy flocks roam throughout though truly impressive numbers can be found in the castle grounds, it doesn't take long to get bored of the things!

Morning glories, Med Gulls and Crag Martin.

Duff Start, Decent Finish.

 

A morning walk around Priors Hall was blighted somewhat by overcast skies and a light drizzle. While it was very mild, particularly for the time of year, there was little insect life on view.


You can see why the one on the left is a Lesser.

Grey Squirrel enjoying some haws.

The quarry lake held only the commonest birds which included a few Great Black-backed Gulls and there was a Kestrel hunting nearby. Birds provided most of the interest though examples of Brown Hare, Fallow Deer and Grey Squirrel were observed, are there any native mammals out there? A Chiffchaff was seen well as it fed in a hedgerow and there were rather a lot of Siskins on site. A single Redpoll was also picked out while numbers of both Meadow Pipit and Skylark were high. Three herons passed overhead, it's a little unusual to see little flocks in the UK, I tend to see them on migration in the Med. Two species of wader were recorded with a single each of Snipe and Lapwing showing. A Cormorant over the largest pond was noteworthy as they remain scarce at this site.

This Red Admiral looks like it's had a lucky escape.

His 'n' hers Common Darters.

By midday there were a few breaks in the clouds and both Red Admiral and Small Copper had been seen. The sun also brought a few Common Darters out with several posing nicely. As I had to do my packing for tomorrow's trip to Spain I couldn't hang around all day and so left heading over towards Weldon.

Survivors, male and female Banded Demoiselles.

Weldon was warm and sunny and these pleasant conditions must have worked their magic along the stream. Not one, not two but three Banded Demoiselles were seen, a female and two males which were rather obliging. I never thought for a minute that I would still be watching this species so late into the season though I suspect even these can't hang on for much later. A few Common Darters were also seen in the general area and several Siskins were found feeding in trees around the pond.

Another view of Banded.

A Short Stroll

A quick walk around the patch after work to enjoy a little of the mild conditions that are promised for the next few days. Only one butterfly glimpsed and no dragons but excellent if brief views of a Muntjac were obtained.

Grey Wagtail looking for dinner.

Some Redwings were moving through the site today, I'd also heard at least one on my walk into work this morning. There was almost a feeling of the passing of the baton as a female Blackcap was seen feeding on Dogwood berries, she's likely to be the last this year unless of course she intends wintering. Several tit flocks were checked as they made their noisy way through the area but I couldn't find anything unusual amongst them. A Grey Heron called loudly as it landed at the ponds and a distant Kestrel was watched hunting.

A bath followed by a preen...

Highlight for me was two Grey Wagtails feeding along the stream, one showed very well as it bathed and then preened before taking flight. Another landed a little later, a prominent white mark on the tail revealing it to be a different bird.

...and then back to business.

Doughty Dame Demoiselle's Demise Delayed

An after work visit to Weldon once again in order to check on whether any Banded Demoiselles were still active. I was successful but only just, a relatively brief glimpse of a female was the only sign. She fluttered rather weakly from one part of a nettle patch into another but must have went deep into cover as she effectively disappeared. I hung around for quite a while hoping that some warm spells of sunshine might tempt her out but my cunning plan did not quite pan out. Some warm weather is forecast for the weekend and this might offer one last throw of the Demoiselle dice.

Peacock.

On the pond a female Migrant Hawker was watched through reeds as she oviposited but was too obscured to photograph. A rather cold looking Peacock did hang around long enough for a snap and even opened its wings briefly at one point. Not much else to report though a tit flock moving around the area did contain a couple of Marsh Tits.

I'm Alright Jack

Back to the county and back down to earth with a bump... or so I thought. Things began with a bit of excitement as I enjoyed views of a Sparrowhawk chasing a Great Spotted Woodpecker over the rooftops of Upper Benefield, the woodie survived. A little further on a small group of Tree Sparrows were encountered in their usual spot on the road to Deenethorpe. A flock of twenty five or so Redwings were seen heading westwards, these are the first that I've seen this Autumn, I heard one on Friday morning whilst on my way to work. Continuing on my way I noted a flock of thirteen Golden Plovers in a tight V heading northwards, I was to hear Goldies twice more before the day's birding was over. Good numbers of Lapwings were seen too in much the same area as they were on my last visit.

Well it's not that long until Christmas.

No shortage of Greylags at Deene Lake.

The inflow at Deene Lake was once again nice and muddy and there were two Green Sandpipers feeding. These however where seen forgotten when I picked out a Jack Snipe which was my first  for quite a while. I managed a photo of sorts but the birds were flushed by some unseen menace and the Jack scarpered off into cover. The main body of the lake was covered in Greylag Geese and a selection of the commoner ducks. Now some people can be rather scathing about Cat C wildfowl and I'm not always impressed with a honking great mass of either Canadas or Greylags but other species add a dash of the exotic to what can otherwise be a dull day. Egyptian Geese seem to attract lots of negative comments but I like them, they're rather a striking bird and unless they've been causing harm to local species then I'm happy that they're here. If you don't like Cat C dross then don't read the next bit as Black Swans are not even tickable!  The lone swan that's been resident here for yonks has acquired a partner, I don't know where from though I'm ruling out mail order. Either way another has arrived and I hope for the swan's sake it's of the opposite sex. I've never seen Black Swan cygnets before but I'm more hopeful that may change in the future.

Jack Snipe.

A Peregrine, which was more than likely the cause of the earlier disturbance was seen from the churchyard where Mistle Thrushes were still feeding on Yew berries. I checked some kinglets here but they refused to turn into the hoped for Firecrests. Plenty of Meadow Pipits still around and a number of Skylarks appear to be on the move, Deenethorpe airfield was good for both species. Another notable sighting here was a female Stonechat, could it be the bird from last year returning? A male Kestrel took the days raptor total up to five.

You aint from around here are you?

Bears Lane was alive with birds, a huge tit flock was duly checked but I couldn't find anything rare. Eight Siskins were my first of the Autumn and I had views of a couple more Redwings. This wave of Autumnal goodies was interrupted by the sighting of a Chiffchaff which was my only warbler of the day.

Stonechat.

Not much other wildlife to report, a few Small Coppers, two Fallow Deer near Burn Coppice and also a Hornet lingering menacingly around some Ivy.

Fallow Deer.

A Norfolk Interlude

A bit of county treachery today as my brother and I headed off to Norfolk to meet up with an old birding chum from the days of the Northants YOC group. We arranged to meet at Kelling Water Meadows where a Red-necked Phalarope was putting people in a spin. After a short walk we reached the pool to find the target showing very well indeed. Having taken a few record shots and enjoyed watching the bird at close quarters we moved on.

A good day for Phalaropes, Red-necked and Grey.

Next on the agenda was another Phalarope, this one was of the Grey variety, that was showing from the east bank at Cley. Once again fortune favoured us and the bird showed well meaning a two Phalarope day, not a common occurrence and quite a treat. Both Water Rail and Bearded Tit were heard and several Marsh Harriers seen before we left.

Rubbish picture, good bird. A male Bearded Tit.

Titchwell was the next port of call, the siren call of bacon rolls proving difficult to resist. The car park was even more packed than usual and it took a while to get settled, I wonder how many non birders take up spaces? Having fortified ourselves with the required amount of pig we set off to explore the reserve. A Siskin was heard then seen, the first of the Autumn and then a group of six Bearded Tits were heard pinging and then flying over the path. Further examples showed well and I managed a duff photo which was my first of this species. Several Cetti's Warblers were heard singing and further Marsh Harriers seen.

From the top, Ruff, Curlew, Redshank and Little Stint.

From the first hide a selection of waders were on view, mainly the normal sort of characters but also including two Little Stints and there was also an impressively large flock of Golden Plovers. Continuing on to the beach we were treated to great views of a female Stonechat near the end of the path. The beach itself had good numbers of waders and Brent Geese, amongst the former were Grey Plovers, Bar-tailed Godwits and Turnstones. A look at the sea produced a trio of Common Scoters sharing their space with a Goldeneye and also a Red-throated Diver.

Black and Bar-tailed Godwits.

Returning to the car some news came through from Gypsy Lane, Titchwell village, that suggested a number of goodies had been discovered. We paused long enough to enjoy a look at a Little Owl which is apparently rather a rare event on the reserve before setting off. No sign of any of the reported stuff but excellent views of a Barn Owl more than repaid us for our efforts. With time moving on we bid our farewells and returned home, perhaps a bit of treachery is not so bad after all.

Stonechat.