BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER IN LOS CANCHALES

On 25 September 2012 a juv Buff-Breasted Sandpiper (Tryngites subruficollis) was spotted at Los Canchales reservoir (Badajoz) by Jesús Solana, Antonio Núñez Ossorio and Joaquín Vázquez. This is the fourth Extremadura record and the first in the province of Badajoz.

As for the other Buff-Breasted Sandpiper found at Portaje reservoir (Cáceres) on 13 September [link], the bird was seen again on 20 and 22 but then wasn't found on a visit on 25 September. On the 22nd it was seen and photographed by Antonio and Julio Ceballos (bottom photo). As it happens, curiously enough, the Buff-Breasted Sandpiper's generic name has just been changed in the British List drawn up by BOURC. Its new name is Calidris subruficollis, so it is now included in the same genus as the Ruff (Calidris pugnax). More grist to the mill of nomenclature controversies...

Other posts on Buff-Breasted Sandpiper in Extremadura.

Buff-Breasted Sandpiper (Tryngites subruficollis). Portaje Reservoir, Cáceres. 22.09.2012. By Antonio Ceballos

AUGUST 2012: NOTABLE SIGHTINGS IN EXTREMADURA

Great Bustard (Otis tarda). Two females at Guijo de Coria, Cáceres, on 08.12.2012 (Javier Prieta). 

A list of the most notable August 2012 records sent to the GOCE birdwatching forum. Compiled by Sergio Mayordomo. 

- Egyptian Goose: Four birds at Los Canchales reservoir (Badajoz) on 19/08 (Emilio Costillo). Two birds at Cubilar reservoir, Logrosán (Cáceres), on 26/08 (Sergio Mayordomo and César Clemente).
- Ruddy Shelduck: Three birds at Valuengo reservoir (Badajoz) on 17/08 (Sergio Pérez Gil).
- Garganey: Two birds at Moheda Alta, Navalvillar de Pela (Badajoz), on 14/08 (Martin Kelsey). One drake in eclipse at Laguna de Galisteo (Cáceres) from 16/08 to 22/08 (S. Mayordomo and J. Prieta). Seven birds at Cubilar reservoir (Cáceres) on 26/08 (S. Mayordomo and C. Clemente).
- Red Crested Pochard: Several birds at Portaje reservoir (Cáceres) from 04/08 to 23/08, peaking at 5 birds on 04/08 (S. Mayordomo). Two birds at El Manantío, Aldea del Cano (Cáceres), on 19/08 (Jesús Solana).
- Rosy Billed Pochard (Netta peposaca): One drake at Portaje reservoir (Cáceres) from 04/08 to 23/08 (S. Mayordomo).

- Pochard x Ferruginous Duck: One hybrid bird at Brovales reservoir, Jerez de los Caballeros (Badajoz), on 20/08 (Joaquín Vázquez and Francisco Montaño -photo-).
- Ferruginous Duck: At Moheda Alta, Navalvillar de Pela (Badajoz), two birds on 14/08 (M. Kelsey) and four on 26/08 (S. Mayordomo, Eva Palacios and C. Clemente). One drake at El Manantío, Aldea del Cano (Cáceres), on 19/08 (J. Solana).
- Great Crested Grebe: Flocks: 630 birds at Alange reservoir (Badajoz) on 05/08 (Lorenzo Alcántara). 700 birds at Sierra Brava reservoir, Zorita (Cáceres), on 26/08 (S. Mayordomo, E. Palacios and C. Clemente).

- Glossy Ibis: At Montijo reservoir, Mérida (Badajoz), birds seen coming into roost: eleven on 02/08 (S. Pérez Gil), one on 17/08 (J. Solana and Ángel Sánchez) and 26 on 19/08 (J. Solana). Seven birds, including 2 juvs 2 km from Azud del Guadiana, Badajoz, on 17/08 and 21 birds on the ricefields between Gévora and Valdebótoa, Badajoz, on 18/08 (Atanasio Fernández). At Montijo (Badajoz), 19 birds on 19/08 on mown alfalfa fields (Pablo Herrador and Á. Sánchez -photograph-). On the same day 19/08 five birds were seen at Los Canchales reservoir (Badajoz) (E. Costillo).
- Sacred Ibis: One bird seen in July still there on 02/08 (S. Pérez Gil) and 19/08 (J. Solana).
- Spoonbill: Flocks: 30 birds at Charco Salado, Casatejada (Cáceres), on 08/08 (S. Mayordomo). At Los Canchales reservoir (Badajoz), 88 birds on 12/08 (S. Mayordomo, E. Palacios and C. Clemente), 76 on 15/08 (Francisco Lopo) and 87 on 19/08 (E. Costillo). 23 birds at Valuengo reservoir (Badajoz) on 17/08 (S. Pérez Gil). 24 birds at Portaje reservoir (Cáceres) on 23/08 (S. Mayordomo).
- Squacco Heron: One juvenile at Azud del Guadiana, Badajoz, on 05/08 (P. Herrador and José Luis Bautista). Two birds at Montijo reservoir, Mérida (Badajoz), on 12/08 (Vanessa de Alba, F. Montaño and Antonio Núñez). One bird at Brovales reservoir (Badajoz) on 17/08 (F. Montaño and A. Núñez).
- Cattle Egret: Roost in Valdefuentes gravel pit, Galisteo (Cáceres), with over 2000 birds throughout August and an estimated peak of 2700 on 23/08 (J. Prieta, S. Mayordomo).
- Osprey: One bird at Portaje reservoir (Cáceres) on 15/08 and 23/08 (S. Mayordomo). One bird at Los Canchales reservoir (Badajoz) on 19/08 (E. Costillo). One bird at on del Cubilar reservoir (Cáceres) on 26/08 (S. Mayordomo and C. Clemente).
- Goshawk: One attacking a kite at Portilla del Tiétar, Monfragüe (Cáceres), on 13/08 (M. García del Rey).

- Montagu's Harrier: Dark morph birds: One at Madrigalejo ricefields (Cáceres) on 23/08 (Ángel Luis Sánchez -photograph). Another at Piornal (Cáceres) on 24/08 (J. Prieta).
- Hobby: One bird successfully hunting swallows at Valdefuentes gravel pit, Galisteo (Cáceres), on 23/08 (J. Prieta).
 - Lesser Kestrel: At a summer roost on power line pylons in la Vera (Cáceres) 529 birds counted on 09/08 (J. Prieta -bottom photograph). At feeding areas: present all month at Piornal (Cáceres) peaking at 20 birds on 30/08 (J. Prieta) and at Guijo de Coria (Cáceres) peaking at 30 on 08/08 (J. Prieta, C. Clemente, J. Mahíllo and H. Sánchez). In the high mountains, 20 birds at Collado de las Yeguas, Jerte (Cáceres), on 21/08 (B. Molina) Pitolero, Cabezabellosa (Cáceres), on 18/08 (H. Sánchez).

- Little Bustard: Two birds at Laguna de Galisteo (Cáceres) on 28/08 (S. Mayordomo).
- Avocet: One bird at Alange reservoir (Badajoz) on 05/08 (L. Alcántara). 16 birds at Portaje reservoir (Cáceres) on 23/08 (S. Mayordomo).
- Kentish Plover: One bird at Alange reservoir (Badajoz) on 04/08 (L. Alcántara).
- Curlew: Two birds at Gabriel y Galán reservoir (Cáceres) on 14/08 (Jesús Montero).
- Spotted Redshank: At Charco Salado, Casatejada (Cáceres), seven birds on 02/08 (S. Mayordomo and J. Prieta) one on 08/08 and 16/08 (S. Mayordomo). One bird at La Anguila reservoir, Serrejón (Cáceres), on 08/08 (S. Mayordomo).
- Wood Sandpiper: Present at Laguna de Galisteo all month with a maximum of five birds on 16/08 (S. Mayordomo and J. Prieta). At Portaje reservoir, one bird on 04/08, 09/08 and 15/08 (S. Mayordomo). Two birds at Moheda Alta, Navalvillar de Pela (Badajoz) on 14/08 (M. Kelsey). One bird at Cordel reservoir, Casar de Cáceres (Cáceres), on 16/08 (P. Herrador). Two birds at ricefields between Gévora and Valdebótoa, Badajoz, on 18/08 (A. Fernández).
- Turnstone: One bird at Charca de Esparragalejo (Badajoz) on 12/08 (V. de Alba, S. Mayordomo, F. Montaño, E. Palacios, C. Clemente and A. Núñez).
- Curlew Sandpiper: Three birds at Charca de la Haba (Badajoz) on 04/08 (Juan Pablo Prieto). Four at Charca de Medina, Medina de las Torres (Badajoz), on 05/08 (V. de Alba, F. Montaño and A. Núñez).On 08/08 six seen at Talaván reservoir (Cáceres) (M. Kelsey) and one at Valuengo reservoir (Badajoz) (J. Vázquez, F. Montaño and Benjamín Muñoz). On 12/08 six seen at Charca de Esparragalejo (Badajoz) (V. de Alba, S. Mayordomo, F. Montaño, E. Palacios, C. Clemente and A. Núñez) and one at Los Canchales reservoir (Badajoz) (S. Mayordomo, E. Palacios and C. Clemente). On 15/08 eight seen at Portaje reservoir (Cáceres) (S. Mayordomo) and two at Brovales reservoir (Badajoz), (F. Montaño and A. Núñez). On 16/08 one bird seen at Laguna de Galisteo (Cáceres) (S. Mayordomo), another at Cordel reservoir, Casar de Cáceres (Cáceres), (P. Herrador ) and five at Alange reservoir (Badajoz) (L. Alcántara). On 17/08 one bird seen at Brovales reservoir (Badajoz) (F. Montaño and A. Núñez) and another at La Pantana, Calzadilla (Cáceres), (Hugo Sánchez). One bird at Charca de Morantes (Badajoz) on 18/08 (P. Herrador). One bird at Portaje reservoir (Cáceres) on 23/08 (S. Mayordomo).

- Collared Pratincole: 200-strong roost between Montijo and Guadiana del Caudillo (Badajoz) in the first fortnight of August (J. L. Bautista -photograph).
- Lesser Crested Tern: First record for Extremadura: Two birds at Arroyoconejos reservoir, Llerena (Badajoz), on 07/08 and 08/08 (J. Vázquez, F. Montaño and B. Muñoz).
- Black Tern: One bird at Brovales reservoir (Badajoz) on 09/08 (J. Vázquez, F. Montaño and B. Muñoz). Three birds at Portaje reservoir (Cáceres) on 15/08 (S. Mayordomo). Two birds at Alange reservoir (Badajoz) on 16/08 (L. Alcántara). Two birds at Charca de La Torrecilla, Plasencia (Cáceres), on 21/08 (S. Mayordomo).
- Black Bellied Sandgrouse: One leucistic bird at Campo Lugar (Cáceres) on 23/08 (Antonio Calvo).
- Pin Tailed Sandgrouse. One bird seen in July at Guijo de Coria (Cáceres) still there at least until 21/08 (J. Prieta, C. Clemente, J. Mahíllo and H. Sánchez).
- Nightjar: One bird at Casas del Monte (Cáceres) on 21/08 (S. Mayordomo).
- Red Backed Shrike: Three territories at Puerto de Tornavacas (AV-Cáceres) on 02/08. One territory with two young on the Cáceres side, where there might be a nest. Two territories on the Ávila side, with two young and a pair of adults respectively (J. Prieta).

- Spotless Starling: one leucistic bird at Membrío (Cáceres) on 21/08 (Antonio Galán -photograph-).
- Carrion Crow: First record for Las Villuercas; one bird at La Raña, Alía (Cáceres), on 17/08. (Noelia Baeza, Jorge Ángel Herrera and Jaime Cerezo). Several birds at Guijo de Coria (Cáceres) on 17/08 (H. Sánchez). One bird at Casas del Monte (Cáceres) on 21/08 (S. Mayordomo).
- Iberian Chiffchaff: One bird at Alange reservoir (Badajoz) on 16/08 (L. Alcántara). One bird at Monfragüe (Cáceres) on 18/08 (S. Mayordomo). In both cases Chiffchaff cannot be completely ruled out.
- Grasshopper Warbler: One bird caught for ringing at River Gargáligas, Rena (Badajoz), on 26/08 (GIA Extremadura).
- Sedge Warbler: At Valdefuentes gravel pit, Galisteo (Cáceres), two birds on 03/08 and one on 27/08 (S. Mayordomo). Three birds caught for ringing at Arroyo Budión, Rena (Badajoz), on 12/08 (GIA Extremadura). One bird at Laguna de Galisteo (Cáceres) on 21/08 and 28/08 (S. Mayordomo).

- Yellow Crowned Bishop: At ricefields between Gévora and Valdebótoa (Badajoz) two males seen on 18/08 and one male and two females on 23/08 (A. Fernández -photograph-). One male at Montijo (Badajoz) on 19/08 (Á. Sánchez).
- Waxbill: Five birds at Arrocampo reservoir (Cáceres) on 05/08 (M. García del Rey and J. Briz).
- Tree Pipit: Six birds at Jerte reservoir, Casas del Castañar (Cáceres), on 29/08 and two at Piornal (Cáceres) on 30/08 (J. Prieta).
- Tawny Pipit: One bird on the shores of Gabriel y Galán reservoir (Cáceres) on 27/08 (A. Pacheco).
- Swallow. Pre-migration roost at Valdefuentes gravel pit, Galisteo (Cáceres), with thousands of birds throughout August and an estimated peak of 25,000 on 23/08 (J. Prieta, S. Mayordomo).

FIRST POST-BREEDING RECORDS
- Shoveler: At Charco Salado, Casatejada (Cáceres), three females on 02/08 (S. Mayordomo and Javier Prieta) and two birds on 05/08 (Manuel García del Rey and Javier Briz). One female at Anguila reservoir, Serrejón (Cáceres), on 08/08 (S. Mayordomo).
- Willow Warbler: On 02/08 one bird seen at Puerto de Tornavacas (Cáceres) (J. Prieta) and another at Arrocampo reservoir (Cáceres) (S. Mayordomo and J. Prieta). One young bird seen and two birds heard at Piornal (Cáceres) on 03/08 (J. Prieta).
- Garden Warbler: One bird caught for ringing at Mérida (Badajoz) on 17/08 (DGMA). Two birds caught for ringing at River Gargáligas, Rena (Badajoz), on 26/08 (GIA Extremadura). Several birds at Mirandilla (Badajoz) on 29/08 (José Ledo and Á. Sánchez).
- Whitethroat: At Galisteo (Cáceres) one bird seen on 01/08 and two on 11/08 (S. Mayordomo). Two birds at Arrocampo reservoir (Cáceres) on 16/08 (S. Mayordomo).
- Spotted Flycatcher: Birds on passage: on 20/08 one seen at Casas del Castañar (Cáceres) (J. Prieta) and another at Valcorchero, Plasencia (Cáceres), (S. Mayordomo).
- Pied Flycatcher: One bird at Piornal (Cáceres) on 03/08 (J. Prieta). One bird at Pinofranqueado (Cáceres) on 05/08 (A. Pacheco). Several at Pago de San Clemente (Cáceres) on 12/08 (M. Kelsey).
- Redstart: At Piornal (Cáceres) one female seen on 24/08 and two males and three females on 30/08 (J. Prieta). One female at Valcorchero, Plasencia (Cáceres), on 29/08 (S. Mayordomo).
- Whinchat: One bird at Piornal (Cáceres) on 27/08 (J. Prieta). Three birds at Galisteo (Cáceres) on 28/08 (S. Mayordomo).
- Wheatear: Three birds at Guijo de Coria (Cáceres) on 21/08 (C. Clemente). Several at Gabriel y Galán reservoir (Cáceres) on 27/08 (A. Pacheco).

Orphean Warbler (Sylvia hortensis). By Ángel Sánchez.

LINGERING SUMMER VISITORS
- Little Tern: Eight birds at Montijo reservoir, Mérida (Badajoz), on 15/08 (J. Solana). Six birds at Alange reservoir (Badajoz) on 16/08 (L. Alcántara).
- Gull Billed Tern: Three birds at Los Canchales reservoir (Badajoz) on 12/08 (S. Mayordomo, E. Palacios and C. Clemente). Two birds at Moheda Alta, Navalvillar de Pela (Badajoz), on 14/08 (M. Kelsey).
- Great Spotted Cuckoo: One young bird at Guijo de Coria (Cáceres) on 21/08 (Juan Sánchez).
- Roller: At Arroyoconejos-Llerena reservoir (Badajoz), two birds on 07/08 (J. Vázquez, F. Montaño and B. Muñoz) and one bird on 11/08 (V. de Alba, F. Montaño and A. Núñez). One bird on irrigated fields at Santa Amalia (Badajoz) on 15/08 (Fernando Yuste).
- Rufous Tailed Bush Robin: Three birds at Montehermoso (Cáceres) on 17/08 (H. Sánchez and C. Clemente).

BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER: THREE AND COUNTING

 A juvenile Buff-Breasted Sandpiper (Tryngites subruficollis) was spotted on the morning of 13 September 2012 by Sergio Mayordomo at Portaje Reservoir in Cáceres (top photo). It was feeding on one of the reservoir banks on newly sprouted grass in the company of migrant Yellow Wagtails. At midday it was seen again by Eva Palacios and Miguel Ángel Muñoz (bottom photo).

This is the third record for the species in Extremadura, all made successively in the last three years (Valdecañas, October 2010; Galisteo, October 2011; and Portaje, September 2012). All were juveniles seen in the province of Cáceres. The sightings are too new to have been officially accepted by the rarities committee as yet, but in all three cases there are photographs that prove the identification beyond a shadow of a doubt.

This vagrant American wader is now turning up more regularly in Spain with 45 accepted records involving 49 birds up to 2009. This figures will no doubt rise in future reports because there were considerable influxes of this species in both 2010 and 2011, with 25-35 birds recorded each year. In 2012, so far, there have been at least two sightings in August and another on the same day of 13 September in Vilafáfila (Zamora). Paradoxically, this increase of records in Spain does not at all tally with the specie's trend as a whole, since its status has now been downgraded by the IUCN to "Near Threatened" (NT).

Other post on Buff-Breasted Sandpiper in Extremadura.

EXTREMADURA CORMORANT COUNT 2012

A Spain-wide Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) count was carried out in summer 2012. The provisional results for Extremadura, while awaiting publication of the overall data, are as follows.

Three colonies were found with a total of 651 occupied nests. The biggest colony, in La Serena reservoir, was visited twice. It comprises 619 nests in two clusters, the main one with 614 nests on half-sunken Holm Oaks and the other only 2 km away with 5 nests on Eucalyptus. The other two colonies found seem to be new, or at least unrecorded hitherto. One was at Alange reservoir, where a 23-nest Eucalyptus colony was found by chance on 12/07/12 (upper photograph; by Ángel Sánchez). The other new colony was at Alqueva reservoir, again on half-sunken Holm Oaks, with 9 nests counted on three visits from May to June. [Other post on Cormorant in Extremadura]

The Extremadura Cormorant trend is clearly upwards, with an exponential increase in only 10 years. Barring the one-off nest in Valuengo reservoir found in 1993 (Prieta and Mayordomo, 2012), the first Extremadura colony formed in La Serena reservoir in 2002. This colony grew from 10 pioneering pairs in 2002 to 102 in 2007 and 341 in 2011 (including 13 in Córdoba and one in Ciudad Real; Piñeiro, 2011) and 619 by 2012. Unless the final census results prove otherwise, this could well turn out to be Spain's biggest colony today. In 2007 there was a national breeding wildfowl count, including the Cormorant(Palomino and Molina, 2009). The published result included three Extremadura colonies, the abovementioned one in La Serena and another two at River Guadiana in Valdetorres and at Valuengo reservoir. There is however no trustworthy information on these two ostensible colonies, with no indications of actual or recent nesting in 2011 or 2012. The prudent option is therefore to rule them out. In 2012 two new colonies were found, once more on big reservoirs of the Badajoz basin, and regional figures have doubled in a single year. [Other blog entries on the Cormorant in Extremadura]

Collaborators. The La Serena and Alange colonies were found by the Junta de Extremadura: Ángel Sánchez, Domingo Rivera, Sergio Pérez, Miguel Ángel Sánchez, Fermín Sierra, Demetrio Vázquez, Irene Rodríguez, Sandra Blanco, José Manuel Rama and José María Castaño. The Alqueva colony was covered by Luis R. Hernández Díaz-Ambrona and Juan Carlos Panigua (SEO/BirdLife volunteers). 

Sources: 

- Piñeiro, X. 2011. Cormorán grande Phalacrocórax carbo (p. 487). In, Molina, B., Prieta, J., Lorenzo, J. A. and López-Jurado, C. Noticiario Ornitológico. Ardeola 58:481-516. 

- Palomino, D. and Molina, B. 2009. Aves acuáticas reproductoras en España. Población en 2007 y método de censo. SEO/BirdLife. Madrid. 

- Prieta, J. and Mayordomo, S. 2012. Aves de Extremadura, vol. 4. Años 2004-2008. Grupo Local SEO-Cáceres. Plasencia. [PDF]

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.

A WIND FARM THREATENS THE BIRDS OF MONFRAGÜE

Extremadura has up to now been free of wind farms. This could all change in 2013. The chosen site couldn't be worse: smack in the middle of Monfragüe's Important Bird Area (IBA), only 5 km from the Special Protection Area (SPA) and UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and 12 km to the north of the National Park of Monfragüe, the jewel in the birdwatching crown of Extremadura. Moreover, the town of Plasencia, only 3 km from the threshing wind vanes, is in the process itself of being declared a SPA in its own right on the strength of its Lesser Kestrel colony. To cap it all these Lesser Kestrels roost for several months in the SPA of Monfragüe, winging back and forth daily through the projected line of "wind mills".

The authorised wind turbines would be only 5 km from the nests of Egyptian Vulture and Black Stork and 8 km from the nests of Golden Eagle and 12 km from hundreds-strong colonies of Cinereous and Griffon Vulture and nests of Imperial and Bonelli's Eagle. Monfragüe needs no presentation here; it is considered to be one of the world's most important raptor reserves, with outstanding populations at world level of Cinereous Vulture (340 pairs and the world's largest density), Griffon Vulture (800 pairs), Egyptian Vulture (35 pairs), Imperial Eagle (12 pairs), Golden Eagle (6 pairs) and Bonelli's Eagle (6 pairs). The area is also home to the handsome Black Stork (30 pairs) and a long list of other birds. As already pointed out the wind farm would be very close to the Lesser Kestrel colonies of Plasencia (65 pairs) and Malpartida de Plasencia (10 pairs) and some nests of Black Stork, Egyptian Vulture and Peregrine Falcon in that neighbourhood. Furthermore the wind farm would also be situated in breeding territories, even directly affecting nests, of Short-Toed Eagle, Booted Eagle, Sparrow Hawk, Black Kite, Red Kite and Buzzard. It would directly occupy hunting grounds of Lesser Kestrel and many other raptors, including Imperial Eagle, recently observed flying over the planned wind turbine zone. Neither should we forget the impact on the local bat population and orchid colonies (for example Giant Orchid) as well as other plant species.

In any case this project is almost surreal, riding roughshod too over nearby human populations. In line with the wind turbines and only 300 metres from their base is a therapeutic community of "Proyecto Hombre" (Man Project); there are dwellings only 500 metres away and the project threatens the budding tourism of Plasencia, Extremadura's fourth most populous town. More information here.

LESSER CRESTED TERN. MORE BREAKING NEWS FROM EXTREMADURA

 

On 7 August 2012 two equivocal terns were seen and snapped at Llerena Reservoir, also called Arroyoconejos Reservoir, in Badajoz, by Francisco Montaño, Joaquín Vázquez and Benjamín Muñoz. The on-the-spot observers identified them originally as Royal Terns (Sterna maxima) but many pundits, after chewing over the photos, now plump for Lesser Crested Terns (Sterna bengalensis). Whichever, it's a first for Extremadura, since neither of the two species has ever been seen here before.

The support for Lesser Crested Tern are: size similar to neighbouring Black Headed Gulls (Larus ridibundus), the size of the terns and their wings in relation to the background Cattle Egrets and one of the birds has a completely back cap goes against the Royal Tern option. Apparently they tend to lose this feature very early in spring and very few birds hang onto the black cap up to June, never mind August when the photo was taken. Neither are the subtle colour differences between the two species sufficiently clear in the photograph.

It wouldn't be amiss now to fill in a few details about both species.

The Royal Tern is a tropical species that breeds in America (maxima subspecies) and Western Africa (albididorsalis subspecies), in the latter case in colonies in Mauritania, Senegal and Gambia. These birds tend to spread north as far as Morocco in post-breeding dispersal and it is thought to be this population that occasionally overshoots and turns up in Spain, where there have been 21 accepted records involving 26 birds up to 2009 (though there were none from 2007 to 2009). The bulk are seen in Andalusia, in provinces close to the Strait of Gibraltar, from July to November (although sightings range from April to December). In Europe, however, there have been at least two records of birds ringed in the US, one in the UK and another in Catalunya (in an unusual month: December).

For its part the Lesser Crested Tern breeds on the Red Sea, Indian Ocean and Oceania, plus a small Mediterranean population (Libya), which migrates through the Strait of Gibraltar. It turns up in Spain more regularly than the Royal Tern. Since it has been classed as a rarity only since 2006, the species has not been analysed by De Juana (2006). Furthermore it is a rarity only in mainland Spain. On the other side of the Strait in Ceuta it is considered to be habitual. Even so 15 records of 21 birds have been accepted in four years (2006-2009), mostly in Andalusia around the Strait. The actual number is likely to be much higher, especially in recent years when more people have been on the lookout for the species.

 

Sources: 

- De Juana, E. 2006. Aves raras de España. Lynx Edicions. Barcelona. 

- CR-SEO (Comité de Rarezas de SEO). 2011. Observaciones de aves raras en España, 2008. Ardeola 58(2).