A LOT OF CRANES ¡¡¡

TRANSLATED BY MARTIN KELSEY

After the successful experience of last winter 2012/2013 (see link) the Extremaduran crane enthusiasts have started a new census programme for the 2013/2014 season. Indeed, this time round, they have succeeded in promoting a national crane census, which took place in December 2013, the results of which have not yet been fully compiled. As a starter, we can provide briefly the figures for Extremadura. The second regional census results from 23-27 January are still pending, which will give us an overall more complete picture. Once the data are ready, we will publish a more detailed posting about the wintering crane population in Extremadura in 2013/2014.

Each cenus brings new record figures for this species. The final result for December 2013 was 128, 820 cranes counted, 29,515 in the provincia de Cáceres-Tajo basin, 82,532 in the Central Zone (see link) and 16,773 in the rest of Badajoz province. It is worth noting that within the Cáceres province census figures there are three roosts with about 7,500 birds that lie inside the territory of Toledo. In the national survey results, they will be treated as such, but given that these counts are undertaken in a coordinated way by observers from Cáceres, at the regional scale they are considered as part of the Extremadura total (as has been the case previously). Indeed, cranes have no borders. Compared with the previous census of December 2012, using the same methodology and similar effort, the result is 29,000 more cranes. In the Tajo basin of Cáceres the population has risen by 8,000 birds, despite the Brozas sector (with 1,500 more cranes) only getting partially surveyed, in the Central Zone there were some 20,000 more, and in Badajoz province about a thousand more cranes.

“FERNANDO” THE FLAMINGO AND OTHER LONG-LIVED BIRDS

Fernando, a Greater Flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus) of French origin seen at Santa Amalia (Badajoz) in March 2013 was over 33 years old, the oldest wild bird ever recorded Extremadura, according to the SEO-Cáceres/GOCE database. Photo by Fernando Yuste

This post has been ready for publication for several weeks. However, just by chance new information about longevity in birds has been arriving, meaning that we have incorporated this to make a post a little longer than usual, and hopefully even more interesting. It is likely that our information is incomplete, representing as it does recently available information gathered by a small group of enthusiasts. If someone has sightings in Extremadura of older birds and would like to share their news, we would be delighted to publish it here. None of this information would have been available at all without the work of bird ringers and those birders who patiently read the codes on rings and send the information through. To all of those, a big thank you.

Ringing does not only help the study of the movements of birds, but also provides information of great value about various aspects of biology. How long a bird can live, in other words its longevity, is one of these. For this we have searched the modest but growing ringing database of GOCE in order to determine the oldest birds that we have seen in Extremadura, and then comparing this with data published at both a European and global scale, some of which may not be wholly reliable (Euring, HAGR).

The Greater Flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus). Ring Y[HIF]. Named "Fernando". A male ringed in the Camargue (France) on 3rd August 1979 and seen on the rice fields of Santa Amalia (Badajoz) by Fernando Yuste and Isaac Outón on 17th March 2013, in its 35th calendar year and  33 years, 7 months and 14 days since being ringed. It is, by far, the oldest bird that has been seen in Extremadura, as far as we know. During its lifetime, it has been seen many times, so many observations in fact that it could fill four pages of notes. We know that it has bred in its place of origin in the Camargue (1987, 1991, 1992 and 2009) as well as in the colony near Malaga of Fuente de Piedra (1988, 1990, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2006). It has also been seen in the Ebro Delta, Doñana and the Villacañas lagoon (Toledo). It has only been seen once in Extremadura, as recorded above [see video]. Our data also include a record of a female Greater Flamingo seen at La Albuera in September 2013 in its 18th calendar year (José A. Román). Ringing of flamingos started in France in 1977 and there are still birds alive today from that period, with 35 years of age, although the maximum age given in Euring is 27 years. Flamingos are long-lived birds, with birds in captivity easily exceeding 60 years and the author once saw in Almeria a group of five ringed flamingos with ages of 18, 18, 18, 22 and 23 years.

Eurasian Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia). Rings W[D] / W[S]a. This bird was marked as a nestling in Holland on 11th June 1988 and seen at Portaje Reservoir (Cáceres) by Sergio Mayordomo on 25 September 2012 in its 25th calendar year having passed 24 years and 3.5 months since being ringed. It is a male that had lost one of its rings, as can be seen in the photo, and thus could not be identified between 1994 and 2002. During its first two years there were sightings in the United Kingdom (from 12-10 to 18-11-08 and from 26-06 to 20-09-89), Algarve, Portugal (15 and 19-10-89) and Doñana (8 to 15-03-90), and in Holland on 16-07-90. Afterwards it was seen during several years in Huelva on autumn migration, once in December and in Holland during the breeding season. The only sighting in Extremadura is the Portaje Reservoir record. In our region, Spoonbills of 18 and 19 years old have been seen. We have not found information about the oldest wild Spoonbill in Europe, but in captivity one reached 30 years and in America other species of spoonbills have reached 28 years in the wild. 

Lesser Black-backed Gull (Larus fuscus). Ring B[PC]. Ringed as a nestling in Bristol (UK) on 4th  July 1989. There were no further records until October 2013 when Marc Gálvez and José Guerra saw it on Mérida refuse tip [read more]. Therefore it is a bird in its 25th calendar year, having passed 24 years and three months since being ringed. As can be seen from the photo, the ring is now in poor condition. The maximum age known for this species in the world was one of 34 years and 10 months, also from the UK.

Common Crane (Grus grus). Ring a/NYB. A bird ringed as a juvenile on passage at Gallocanta (Aragón) in 1988 and seen by Manolo Gómez Calzado in Vegas Altas del Guadiana (Extremadura) on several occasions since 2003. In January 2009 and October 2011 it was accompanied by its mate, but without young. It is therefore a bird of its 24th  calendar year  and with more than 22 years of age [read more]. This bird exceeds the record of the oldest according to Euring for Europe, which cites a Swedish bird of 20 years and three months of age, although both are far from the record achieved by a bird of the eastern race (lilfordi) which reached 41 years old in the wild. In Extremadura we have another record of a crane in its 20^th calendar year, hatched in Germany and seen in Oliva de Plasencia (Javier Prieta).

Osprey (Pandion haliaetus). Ring G[J]. Female called Gabriela hatched in Scotland in 1991 (photo: Roy Dennis), where it has bred since1996, and has wintered, at least since 2000, at the Gabriel y Galán Reservoir (Cáceres), where it is currently present (November 2013; Jesús Montero. César Clemente, S. Mayordomo, J. Prieta). It is therefore a bird in its 23th calendar year and more than 22 years old. This bird perhaps merits its own post, since it has been tracked for three seasons by satellite, as have one of its mates and some of its young (all have wintered in Africa). One of its descendents is also part of an introduction project that has started in Urdaibai (Vizcaya). The oldest Osprey known is one of 32 years old in North America and in Europe one of 26 years and 11 months in Finland.

White Stork (Ciconia ciconia). Ring W[F|FS]. Hatched in a nest in Trujillo (Cáceres), where it was ringed on 6th June 1989, and has been seen twice nesting in a clump of pines at  Monroy (Cáceres), with records almost twenty years apart: on 12th April 1992 (I. Ludwichowst) and on 1st April 2010 (Juan Manuel Domínguez –photo-). Who knows if it is still there (if anyone is encouraged to look for it, the colony is beside the Cáceres -Torrejón el Rubio-Monfragüe road). It was in its 22nd calendar year and 21 years and 10 months since being ringed. It was also seen in January 2002 at a refuse tip at Cádiz and in January 2003 en the rubbish tip at Dos Hermanas (Seville). The oldest ages published for this species are: 39 years for a wild bird in Switzerland and 48 years in captivity. In Extremadura we have two records of birds in their 18th and 16th calendar years.

Black Stork (Ciconia nigra). Ring W[C|HN]. Here we are talking about the dearly loved Choni, subject of one of the most popular posts in this blog [readmore]. Hatched in Oliva de Plasencia (Cáceres) in 1990, it occupied one of the most visible nests in Monfragüe for 18 years, successfully raising 46 young. It was seen for the last time in the summer of 2011, in its 22nd calendar year and with more 21 years and 3 months since being ringed, it could be the longest lived Black Stork in the world. There is a published record of a bird of 18 years and 7 months from Poland and one of 31 years in captivity.  In Extremadura we have records of a 15-year old bird and one in its 11th calendar year.

The seven cases above are the only ones citing birds of more than 20 years old in Extremadura.  Examples of birds of great age, but less than 20 years old we have the following:

- Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo). A 17 year old bird in Badajoz (Ismael Galván). The oldest wild bird recorded in the world is 27 years old.

- Gull-billed Tern (Gelochelidon nilotica). In the GOCE database we only have records of four birds, with ages of 11, 11, 13 and 16 calendar years (the last has 14 years and 10 months since ringing; see the blog of Atanasio Fernández). This is a high average, given that the oldest of this species ever recorded is one of 15 years and 9 months from Denmark.

- Greylag Goose (Anser anser). Birds of more than 11 and 13 calendar years (marked as adults) have been seen on the Portaje Reservoir (S. Mayordomo) and Valdesalor Reservoir (Carlos Fernández). The oldest in captivity in the world was 31 years old, although a wild Pink-footed Goose has reached 41 years old.

 A few days ago news came out about a House Martin (Delichon urbicum) ringed in Badajoz city in 2005 and found dead in a pellet of a Tawny Owl, collected just 400 metres from the site of ringing, eight years later. The site could not have been any other since Badajoz is where House Martins have been more closely studied than almost anywhere and it is where more House Martins have been ringed and controlled than anywhere else in Spain (Florentino de Lope’s team/UEX; photo by Carlos de la Cruz). This becomes the longest-lived of this species in Spain (there are two cases of seven-year old birds); although in Sweden there is a record of 15 years. These are all extraordinary results for a species which on average will live for just two or three years.

And since we have embarked on this saga, let’s continue: what are the longest living birds in the wild? At the global level, there is a female Laysan Albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis), called Wisdom, which is still alive and is breeding in Midway (Hawaii, USA), where in 2013 she succeeded to raise a young, despite being 62 years old.  She was marked in 1953 when five years old.  It is said that other albatrosses have lived longer, but that this has not been confirmed with marked birds. Thus there is a female Northern Royal Albatross (Diomedea sanfordi) called Grandma also believed to be 62 years old, with an estimated age of ten years when ringed in 1937, and seen for the last time in 1989, 52 years later.

In Europe, the longest-lived bird we have come across is a Manx Shearwater (Puffinus puffinus) of more than 50 years and 11 months old (trapped as an adult). The following is a Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula) of more than 45 years and three months, a Fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis) of more than 43 years and 11 months and an Oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus) of 43 years and 4 months. As one can see, seabirds, waterfowl and waders can reach great age, but also raptors (Golden Eagle 32 years, Eagle Owl 27 years) and even smaller birds like Alpine Swift (26 years) and passerines (Raven 23 years, Common Starling 23 years).

In captivity, it is difficult to find out about  the oldest bird. We have found a scientific publication on longevity in parrots that cites a Salmon-crested Cockatoo  (Cacatua moluccensis) of no less than 92 years old. There is a Greater Flamingo in a zoo in Adelaide (Australia) which is more than 80 years old, having lived there since 1933, when it arrived as an adult. In a zoo in Chicago there is a cockatoo (Lophochroa leadbeateri) 80 years old, called Cookie, which hatched in 1933. These figures are a long way short of the 255 years calculated by radiocarbon dating of a male Aldabran Tortoise (Geochelone gigantea), called Adwaita, captured in the Seychelles and kept in a zoo in India from 1875 to its death in 2006 (a life spanning three centuries!!). The longest-lived mammal appears to be a Bowhead Whale (Balaena mysticetus). In some specimens remains of antique harpoons have been found which date back to the end of the 19th century suggesting ages of between 115-130 years. Additional studies based on the eye structure affirm the possibility that the species could reach 150-200 years old.

MORE THAN 100,000 CRANES IN EXTREMADURA (December 2012)

In December 2012 was carried on a common crane (Grus grus) census in Extremadura. As result, 95,282 cranes was counted. The coverage was almost complete, except for the region of La Serena and some roosts of Badajoz province. Estimating 6,000 cranes for no census areas, the final figure reached 101,000 cranes. The breakdown by areas is as follows: Zona Centro 63,207 individuals (62%), 22,292 Tagus basin (22%) and Guadiana basin 15,783 cranes (16%). Since a census of this scope is necessarily incomplete, it is possible that 120,000 cranes were present in Extremadura during winter 2012-2013. If we also consider that in February 2013 200,000 cranes have stopped at Gallocanta lagoon (Aragón), the figure of 120,000 cranes in Extremadura makes sense.

Two different methods have been used, on the one hand the traditional counting roosting, when cranes meet in wetlands to spend the night, and day counts at foraging areas. The latter has been used in the Zona Centro (Vegas Altas), one open agricultural region, with good visibility and extensive road network.

The comparison by sectors over the previous census of December 2007 (Prieta and del Moral, 2008) is shown in the table. For the whole of the region is estimated an increase of 20%. The Zona Centro grows very substantially (+65%), being the sole responsibility of the total increase. The Tagus basin remains very stable (+0'1%), offsetting rising sectors (Alagón and Almonte) those that decrease (Navalmoral and Cáceres). By contrast, the rest of the Guadiana basin, excluding La Serena, shows a drop of nearly 6,000 birds (-23%), mainly in the southern sectors of Alange and Azuaga. However, a census is a still image on a certain date and in the case of the crane wintering numbers can vary greatly between weeks in one place. Thus, after the census presented here, some sectors decreased (the Zona Centro declines slightly to 56,000 birds in January and February 2013), others areas were stable (Alagón) and other increased remarkably (Navalmoral rose by more than 4,000 cranes on February), to give some examples.

The evolution of the common crane population in Extremadura, as shown in the graph, remains positive with continued increases from the first data available in the 1980s. For the first time it has been found a figure of over 100,000 birds in the region, a value that duplicates the censuses conducted two decades ago (about 50,000 birds on average in 1989-1993 and 60,000 in 2001). All in accordance with the increase in Western Europe, where the current population is at least 300,000 cranes.

Sources: 

- Román, J. A. y Gómez Calzado, M. 2013. Invernada de la grulla común (Grus grus). Resultados del censo de diciembre de 2012 en Extremadura. Published on 26-03-2013, blog "Grullas Veo".

- Prieta, J. and Del Moral, J. C. 2008. The common crane wintering in Spain. Population in 2007 and census method. SEO / BirdLife. Madrid. [Download] 

Acknowledgements: This work would not have been possible without the invaluable participation of dozens of people who have dedicated time and effort as volunteers. 

Coordinators: Jose Antonio Roman, Manuel Gómez Calzado and Javier Prieta. Collaborators: Samuel Langlois, Dave Langlois, Manuel Flores, Marcelino Tirado, José María Guerrero, Jorge Pedro Durán, Sergio Méndez, César Clemente, Javier Mahíllo, Goyo Naharro, Agustín Iglesias, Vicente Sánchez, Javier Prieta, Sergio Mayordomo, Iván Hernández, Carlos Fernández Diaz, José Carlos López Fuentes, Marcelino Cardalliaguet, Andrés Maestre, Carlos Luengo, Marta Gómez, Javier Esteban, Martin Kelsey, Jesús Porras, Vicente Risco, Santiago Cáceres, Javier Caballero, José Luis Caballero, Estela Herguido, Antonio Galán, Helios Dalmau, Agustín Martín Ruano, José Antonio Pérez Burón, Daniel Pérez, Luis Venancio, Pedro Schreur, Justo Tarriño, Godfried Schreur, Jacobo Hernández, Jerónimo Milán, Jesús Solana, Francisco Lopo, Elvira del Viejo, Lucas J. Navareño, Carolina Climent, Iván Sánchez, Antonia Cangas, José Antonio Román, José Ángel Sánchez, Luis Salguero, Antonio Núñez, Gustavo Gahete, Francisco Montaño, Miguel Corvillo, Alfonso Pérez del Barco, Esther Gañán, Chema Traverso, Carmen Galán, Yasmina Annichiarico, Natalia Franco, Amparo Sánchez, Agustín Santana, Víctor Manuel Quintana, Manuel Calderón, Teresa Tena, Gerardo Pizarro, Fernando Pizarro, Manuel Gómez Calzado, Antonio Torrijo, Fernando Salas, José Luis Ciudad, Emilio Peña, Marc Gálvez, José Guerra, Fernando Yuste, Juan Pablo Prieto, Manuel Iglesias, Marisa García, Juan Carlos Núñez Crespo, Juan Manuel Rodríguez, Juan Miguel Segador, Gabriel Vidal, Manuel Azabal, Amalia Sánchez, Javier Monforte, José Leonardo Baena, Raúl Calle, Taimar Domínguez, Luis Bernardo Flores, Juan Pablo García, Pablo Hernández, Jorge Jara, Jaime Jiménez, Pablo Jorge Díaz, Alberto León, Mario Martín, Daniel Martín, José Antonio Mateos, David Morón, Antonio Moyano, Abel Murillo, Álvaro Rodríguez, Andrés Rodríguez, Juan Sánchez, Alberto Sánchez, Blas Serrano, Janette Valhondo, Antonio Ávila, Francisco Javier Alba, Juan Gabriel Díaz, Jorge Domínguez Patricio Liberal, Rubén Marcos, Álvaro Martín, David Neila, Valentín Pérez, Carlos Pinos, Juan Carlos Recio Borja Retamal, Ángel Rodríguez, Francis Rodríguez, Cristian Salguero, Juan Marcos Simón, Saúl Torrescusa, Juan Carlos Velarde, Jesús Sánchez, Pedro Muñoz, Jaime Rodríguez, Luis Alberto López, Juan Pablo Resino, Azucena Díaz.

FESTIVAL OF THE CRANES IN EXTREMADURA 2012

The IV Festival of the Cranes will be held this year on Saturday December 1, again at Moheda Alta,Navalvillar de Pela, Badajoz. You can enjoy a day observing nature, with your family or friends, watching the cranes that come from northern Europe and remain here until spring. The final program has no been published yet, but will consist of guided ornithological walks, presentations, folklore and popular food tasting.. For interested parties there are free buses from Cáceres, Badajoz and Meridal to Moheda Alta, returning in the evening.

On Sunday December 2 ADENEX also has, in the same place, the 21st edition of the "Day of the Cranes in Extremadura", starting at 16 h.

More information can be found on the Birding in Extremadura website where the program of activities is published.

HOW MANY CRANES WERE WINTERING IN SPAIN AND EXTREMADURA IN JANUARY 2011?

Quite honestly, we can't really answer this question because we have no formal counts to go on. We can, however, draw on figures from elsewhere to gain some sort of an idea. First of all we should remember that that the last Spanish Crane count (Grus grus) was held in December 2007, thanks to the effort of hundreds of collaborators. The results showed a significant increase in Spain's wintering population, with about 150,000 birds in the whole country and 80,000 in Extremadura. It also showed a tendency for the species to winter further north: Extremadura's share of the national total thus fell from 87% in 1980 to 53% in 2007. Nonetheless, due to the huge overall growth, Extremadura's population grew tenfold in this period (Prieta and Del Moral, 2008).

Coming back to today's situation, we have three main sources of information to gauge the current trend of the western European population. First of all there are the many counts of autumn migration carried out in the region of Central Hesse, Germany. In autumn 2010 no fewer than 210,000 cranes were counted up to 13 December (Kraft, 2010). Yet another all-time high, showing that the population has not yet peaked. Four autumns ago, in 2006, the figure for Hesse was 190,000 birds, with an estimate of 230,000 for the total European population. Simple extrapolation gives a current estimate of about 250,000 birds, one quarter of a million, which is not to be sniffed at. The second source of information comes from the equally numerous winter counts conducted in France (Deschartes, 2011). In January 2011 France clocked up another record figure: 108,000 cranes, topping the 103,000 figure for January 2010 and the 81,600 for January 2009. In 2011 the region of Aquitaine in southwest France accounted for the lion's share, with 66,000 cranes, followed by Champagne-Ardenne (20,200) and central France (15,000). The third source of information comes from Gallocanta Lake in Aragón, Spain, where regular counts are conducted. This year's January count of 18,500 cranes was slightly down on the mean figure of previous years (Heraldo.es).

These three sources of information are pretty much all we have to go on. Bearing in mind, however, that cranes also winter in Portugal, Morocco and Germany, about 130,000 cranes are likely to have wintered in Spain in 2010-2011, somewhat below the figure for 2007-2008 (the French estimate a figure of 124,000 cranes in Spain during the previous winter, January 2010). The dearth of information from Spain, except for Gallocanta and a roost or two elsewhere, rules out any estimate of the population in Extremadura. Nonetheless, everything seems to suggest that it was also down on the 80,000 figure for 2007. Who knows if for the first time in many centuries Extremadura has lost its status as Europe's biggest crane wintering area, losing out to Aquitaine in France? Food for thought: how much have we changed Europe in only two decades for a bird to change its winter range so radically?

Figures apart, another small reflection as the cranes begin to wing north again for spring. The crane spawns all sorts of conferences, festivals and presentations, mainly with a tourism bent. Curiously enough, however, we know very little about the resource we are selling because we don't know exactly how many cranes come here each winter. We can't hope to complete with the industrious French and German and the instant data they are capable of coming up with at the drop of a hat. But it still wouldn't be amiss to conduct at least some sort of joint count in Spain every few years.... Some there are, even on specialist forums, who have asked if cranes still winter in Extremadura (no comment).

Graph. Wintering Common Crane (Grus grus) Trend in France (taken from Dechartes & Le Roy, 2010).

Sources:
- Deschatres, Aurelien. 2011 (Francia). Message in the Forum grus-grus.
- Deschartes, A. & Le Roy, E. 2010. La grue cendrée en France. Migrations et hivernage - Saison 2009-2010 (Migration and Wintering of the Common Crane in France, 2009-2010) [download].
- Kraft, Martin. 2010 (Germany). Message in the Forum grus-grus.
- Heraldo.es (Aragón). 4 Febuary 2011. [read]
- Prieta, J. and Del Moral, J. C. 2008. La grulla común invernante en España. Población en 2007 y método de censo. SEO/BirdLife. Madrid. [download]

THE CRANES ARE HERE

Common Crane (Grus grus). Oliva de Plasencia, Cáceres. 30-08-2010 (J. L. Rivero/Objetivo Verde)

Ever since the end of summer the first winter visitors have been trickling in to Extremadura. This invasion has picked up pace since early October and by now skylarks, meadow pipits, robins, lapwings and red kites are daily sightings just about everywhere. The real red-letter moment of winter arrivals, however, is always the first Common Crane (Grus grus), without doubt one of Extremadura's flagship winter visitors. The first recorded cranes were the 13 seen flying over Trujillo on 9 October (M. Kelsey). But the first real sign of a mass influx was the sudden appearance of 3000 cranes in the Aragón lake of Gallocanta on the 12th, many of which flew off southwards on the morning of the 13th with other groups moving in to replace them (J. Mañas).

They didn't take long to get to Extremadura. On the morning of this same day, the 13th, a flock of 18 was seen in Oliva de Plasencia (R. Montero) and 56 in the central zone (M. Gómez Calzado). On the following days they turned up in many places: 26 over Casas de Miravete (G. Naharro) and 21 in Navas del Madroño on the 14th (G. Schreur and J. Tarriño), 36 on passage over Plasencia (J. Prieta) and 30 in Gabriel y Galán (A. Pacheco) on the 15th, etc. The numbers are now going from strength to strength: by the 14th there were 1200 in the central zone (M. Gómez Calzado), 1000 in Santa Amalia on the 15th (Á. Sánchez) and thousands in Los Canchales on the 16th (A. Matador). In short, an appreciable arrival of birds spread throughout all their traditional wintering areas.

Manolo Gómez Calzado tells us in his blog, dealing almost exclusively with cranes, that their average arrival date in central Extremadura has moved forward about two weeks over the last 20 years. We've checked the Extremadura birdwatching yearbooks to see if the same thing has happened in the region as a whole but no arrival dates were recorded until 2000. From then on, however, the dates have changed little, with the main arrival around 15 October and a few forerunners in the last days of September. It is sad to note that until recently there was so little interest in recording and communicating such a striking event.

These checks of the yearbooks from 1998-2008 did have a serendipitous result, however. They served to confirm that there were no previous records of cranes oversummering in Extremadura, something that has in fact occurred in various sites in 2010. One example has already been mentioned on several occasions in this blog (sightings of June and August): a 2nd-year bird present in Oliva de Plasencia at least from 12 June to early October and seen by numerous birdwatchers (R. Montero, S. Mayordomo, J. Prieta, J. L. Rivero, E. Palacios, J. C. Paniagua, et al; top photo). Another was seen on 22 June in the reservoir of Los Canchales (T. Álvarez in Quercus 294:47), where it was still around on 18 September (Á. Sánchez). And apparently another two cranes oversummered around the reservoir of Orellana (M. Gómez Calzado) and three more in Gallocanta, Aragón (J. Mañas). In previous years there were records of cranes in Extremadura in spring and summer, at times until August, never in September. It was always mooted that these were sick birds unable to migrate. But we can confirm here that the first two abovementioned birds in summer 2010 seemed to be in perfect nick.