RARE BIRDS IN EXTREMADURA 2010

The last volume of the Ardeola journal (vol. 59-2, December 2012) contains the report of the Spanish Rarities Committee for the year 2010. Of the approved 360 citations, only ten records were in Extremadura. Because in May 2010 this blog begun, most of them have more or less detailed posts. As a reminder they are presented below.

Pied-billed Grebe (Podylimbus podiceps). An indeterminate age male was seen in the Pond at Huerta de la Magdalena, Trujillo, Caceres, on 13, 14 and 15 May 2010 (Nigel Milbourne, John Barnet, Jack Willmott, Sid Massey, Jesus Porras and Pieter Vantieghem). This is the first sighting in the southern half of the peninsula and the only one in Extremadura. [See post and photography]

Marabou Stork (Leptotilos crumeniferus). A new record of a bird seen in October and November 2008 at Acehúche and Plasencia (Cáceres). The same individual was seen on February 28, 2009 by Manuel Perez Gonzalez at Portaje Reservoir (Cáceres). [See post and photography]

Rüppell's Vulture (Gyps rueppellii). Two observations have been approved, both in Monfragüe (Cáceres). One is for the year 2008: in Tietar Portilla an immature was observed on May 24, 2008 (Alfonso López and Ángela Molina). [See post and photography]. The second was in 2010: a second-year bird seen in the Salto del Gitano on 5 and 6 June 2010 (Sergio Mayordomo, Jesus Porras, Ernest Garcia, Manuel Garcia del Rey and others). [See post and photography].

Allen's Gallinule (Porphyrio alleni). This record has never been reported in this blog. An adult was picked up exhausted in the industrial area at Plasencia (Cáceres) on January 25, 2010 (Nuria Carrasco -author of photography, provided by Antonio Castellanos-). It was then transferred to the Centro de Recuperación de Los Hornos (Sierra de Fuentes, Cáceres), where it died the next day. This is the only report for Extremadura and the tenth in mainland Spain.

Pectoral Sandpiper (Calidris melanotos). Two juveniles were seen in the lagoon of Galisteo (Cáceres) on 17 to 19 September 2010 (Ricardo Montero, Sergio Mayordomo, Javier Prieta, Cesar Clemente, Eva Palacios, Miguel Ángel Muñoz and José Ramón Martín). This is the sixth sighting approved in Extremadura [View post and photographs]

Buff-breasted Sandpiper (Tryngites subruficollis). A juvenile was observed at Valdecañas Reservoir, El Gordo (Cáceres), on 15 October 2010 (Angel Sanchez). First record approved for Extremadura [View post and photographs]

Red-necked Phalarope (Phalaropus lobatus). A first winter bird was seen at Los Canchales Reservoir (Badajoz) on September 8, 2010 (Fernando Yuste and others). Possibly the same bird was seen again in Esparragalejo (Badajoz) on September 14, 2010 (José María Benítez). This record was treated only briefly in a monthly summary in this blog (September 2010). Photographs taken by José María Benítez can be seen in the following links: here and here.

Cackling Goose (Branta hutchinsii). An individual was seen on January 2, 2010 at Pela Navalvillar paddies, Badajoz (Antonio Ceballos), and Casas de Hitos and localities, Navalvillar Pela (Badajoz)-Madrigalejo (Cáceres), on 24 and 28 January 28 and February 1, 2010 (Local Group SEO-Cáceres). It is the only known record in mainland Spain. However, this species is currently included in the D (origin uncertain) in the list of birds of Spain, but in Europe there are known cases of natural arrivals. [See post and photography]

Saker Falcon (Falco cherrug). A record of a bird seen in La Serena, Badajoz, on April 22, 2007 (Jorgen Ballegaard and Alex Kirk Sand) has been approved. It is certainly of this species but had leashes so had escaped from captivity or falconry. So it goes to swell the list of Class E and is not considered a natural vagrant.

Apart from sightings approved, there have been others rejected. Specifically two Long-legged Buzzard (Buteo rufinus): the first in Belen, Trujillo (Cáceres), on 11 June 2010 and the second in Los Cerralbos, Trujillo (Cáceres), on 22 June 2010. This does not mean that they can not be of that species, especially as it is so difficult to identify this species safely. Here you can read a review of this species, including photographs of one of the rejected specimens. It also rejects a Common pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus) seen in the Alqueva reservoir (Badajoz) on January 8, 2009. In this case, the description is considered insufficient, however, it is known that this birds corresponds to this species according to other accounts from the Spanish and Portuguese sides of this reservoir.

SOME NOTES ON RARE BIRDS: PECTORAL SANDPIPER, RÜPPELL’S VULTURE, SANDHILL CRANE AND CACKLING GOOSE

Posts of this blog habitually deal with the vagrants that turn up in Extremadura. On this occasion we are going to look at several at once, each one of which had its own blog post or mention in the past.

Pectoral sandpiper (Calidris melanotos). The July 2012 summary reported the sighting of one bird at Charca de Esparragalejo (Badajoz) on 13 July (Ángel Luis Sánchez and Ángel Sánchez, top photo) and 14 July 2012 (Sergio Mayordomo, Eva Palacios -bottom photo- and César Clemente). This was the ninth record for Extremadura, the previous birds turning up in 2002, 2006, 2008 (3 birds), 2010 (2 birds) and 2011. As it happens the last bird also turned up in the same pond, Charca de Esparragalejo. The eight previous records were juveniles on post-breeding passage in September and October. The 2012 bird was an exception to this rule, an adult that turned up in July; it was also one of the four birds reported in Spain that month (according to Reservoir Birds) [Posts on pectoral sandpiper in Extremadura].

The pectoral sandpiper is in fact one of the most frequently reported rarities in Spain, with over 250 records up to 2009. There has also been an upward trend of observations in recent years, with at least 50-60 birds reported each year in 2008, 2010 and 2011. Oddly enough, in 2009 not one bird was seen in Spain; the last time this happened was back in 1989 (CR-SEO, 2011).

Rüppell's Vulture (Gyps rueppellii). In an earlier post we commented on a bird photographed in San Vicente de Alcántara (Badajoz) on 10 January 2009 (José Gordillo); this bird has now been accepted by the rarities committee (CR-SEO, 2011); according to the committee it was an adult with plumage features typical of the west African population. But the nature magazine Quercus of July 2012 has surprised us with an article signed by one of the photographers of the bird in question (Gordillo, 2012) suggesting that the bird shows traits typical of both Rüppell's Vulture and Griffon Vulture (Gyps fulvus). It is therefore quite possible that the bird is a hybrid, an opinion backed up by raptor experts like Dick Forsman, William Clark and Javier Elorriaga. The case doesn't yet seem to be closed, therefore. Sierra de San Pedro in Extremadura was the first site in Spain to record Rüppell's Vulure back in 1990; in the Portuguese stretch of the River Tagus a bird was seen shortly afterwards sitting on a nest (incubating?) and since then to date there have been regular sightings of adults in this area, especially over the border in Portugal. [Other posts on Rüppell's Vulture]

To wind up this small compilation of rarities, we are pleased to report that two Extremadura records of the utmost interest have now been officially accepted:
- Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis), seen in November 2011 and January 2012 in Don Benito (Badajoz). First record for Spain.
- Cackling Goose (Branta hutchinsii), seen in January and February 2010 in Casas de Hitos, Navalvillar de Pela (Badajoz)-Madrigalejo (Cáceres). Second record for Spain.

Sources: 

- CR-SEO (Rarities Committee of SEO). 2011. Observaciones de aves raras en España, 2009. Ardeola 58(2). 

- Gordillo, J. 2012. Posible híbrido entre buitre leonado y buitre moteado. Quercus 217:43.