FEBRUARY 2011: Notable Bird Sightings in Extremadura

Dartford Warbler (Sylvia undata). Male. Óscar J. González.

A list of the most notable records sent to the GOCE forum in February 2011 (compiled by Sergio Mayordomo). (Click here for backdated months).

- White-Fronted Goose: the young bird seen in January at Portaje Reservoir (Cáceres) was still there on 1/02 and 12/02 (Sergio Mayordomo). One bird at Moheda Alta, Navalvillar de Pela (Badajoz) on 7/02 (Martin Kelsey) and 2 adults and 2 juveniles on 11/02 (Godfried Schreur, M. Kelsey, Tim Appleton).
- Egyptian Goose: 2 birds at Casas de Hitos, Navalvillar de Pela (Badajoz) on 4/02 (Steve Fletcher), 9 on 6/02 (Colin Jewitt and Merilyn Jewitt) and 8 on 12/02 (Alicia Ortega, Andrés Maestre, Jesús Solana and Raúl Urquiaga). Two at Dehesa Boyal de Navalmoral de la Mata (Cáceres) on 8/02 (Pedro Gómez). One at Huélaga (Cáceres) on 19/02 (César Clemente).
- Shelduck: 22 at Moheda Alta, Navalvillar de Pela (Badajoz on 11/02 (G. Schreur, M. Kelsey et al) and 23 on 12/02 (J. Solana). Eight at Sierra Brava Reservoir (Cáceres) on 12/02 (J. Solana) and 6 on 26/02 (Rafael Porrino).
- Red-Crested Pochard: one drake seen on 6/02 at Charca de Brozas (Cáceres) (Florencio Carrero, Paco Be Water and Rafael Parra) and one pair at Cubilar Reservoir (Cáceres) (C. Jewitt and M. Jewitt). One pair at Sierra Brava Reservoir (Cáceres) on 11/02 (G. Schreur, M. Kelsey et al).
- Tufted Duck: 65 at Charca de Brozas (Cáceres) on 6/02 (F. Carrero, P. Be Water and R. Parra).
- Goosander: the two young females seen in January were still around in February: at La Torrecilla, Plasencia (Cáceres) it was seen for the last time on 5/02 (Jus Pérez) and at Torrejón-Tiétar Reservoir, Monfragüe (Cáceres) it was seen on 10/02 (S. Mayordomo), 13/02 (Dave Langlois and Sammy Langlois), 24/02 (Natalia Moral), 25/02 (Ángel González, Cristina Sánchez and Unai Fuentes) and 26/02 (John Muddeman and Raúl Guzmán).
- Greater Flamingo: 11 at La Albuera (Badajoz) on 9/02 (José Mª Álvarez) and 4 on 11/02 (Antonio Núñez and Luis Sanabria).
- Bittern: one at Arrocampo Reservoir(Cáceres) on 27/02 (G. Schreur and M. Kelsey).
- Night Heron: 18 at River Guadiana, Badajoz, on 6/02 (G. Schreur and Juan Carlos Salgado).
- Squacco Heron: 2 at Arrocampo Reservoir(Cáceres) on 3/02 (J. Muddeman) and 1 on 27/02 (G. Schreur and M. Kelsey). One at Casas de Hitos (Cáceres/Badajoz) on 4/02 (S. Fletcher).
- Osprey: one at Gabriel and Galán Reservoir(Cáceres) on 8, 9, 11, 12, 14 and 15/02 (Alberto Pacheco).
- Goshawk: one at Puebla del Maestre (Badajoz) on 18/02 (A. Pacheco).
- Purple Swamphen: new site: one at Morantes Reservoir, La Roca de la Sierra (Badajoz), on 7/02 (Ángel Luis Sánchez).
- Avocet: 14 at Casas de Hitos, Navalvillar de Pela (Badajoz) on 4/02 (S. Fletcher) and 1 on 13/02 (E. Palacios and S. Mayordomo). One at Laguna de Galisteo (Cáceres)on 12/02 and 15/02 and two on 24, 25 and 26/02 (Javier Gayo, Javier Prieta and S. Mayordomo).
- Kentish Plover: 15 at Casas de Hitos (Cáceres/Badajoz) on 4/02 (S. Fletcher) and 2 on 13/02 (E. Palacios and S. Mayordomo). Two at Puebla de Alcollarín (Cáceres) on 13/02 (Juan Pablo Prieto).
- Curlew: 34 observed at Laguna de Galisteo (Cáceres) on 4/02 and 1 on 20/02 (S. Mayordomo). Seven at Casas de Hitos (Cáceres/Badajoz) on 4/02 (S. Fletcher). Twenty one on Riolobos ricefields on 12/02 and 3 on 22/02 (S. Mayordomo).
- Yellow-Legged Gull: one at Mirabel landfill site on 2/02 (S. Mayordomo) and 16 at Mérida landfill site on 5/02 (Á. Sánchez).
- Whiskered Tern: one winter-plumage bird at Los Canchales Reservoir (Badajoz) on 5/02 (Juan Carlos Paniagua, S. Mayordomo and Toribio Álvarez).
- Spotted Redshank: one at Laguna de Galisteo (Cáceres) on 20/02 (S. Mayordomo).
- Stock Dove: 100 at Galisteo (Cáceres) on 20/02 (S. Mayordomo).
- Wryneck: 2 at Casas de Hitos (Cáceres/Badajoz) on 4/02 (S. Fletcher). One at Monfragüe (Cáceres) on 10/02 (S. Mayordomo). One at Saucedilla (Cáceres) on 13/02 (Javier Briz).
- Alpine Accentor: 15 at Puerto de Esperabán, Pinofranqueado (Cáceres) on 12/02 (A. Pacheco).
- Brambling: several at Monfragüe (Cáceres) on 3/02 (Jaime Collado) and 8 at Riolobos (Cáceres) on 15/02 (J. Prieta). Two to four birds seen in a pinewood at Piornal on 4, 11 and 18/02 (J. Prieta).

FIRST SUMMER VISITORS
- Garganey: 2 drakes and 1 female at Moheda Alta, Navalvillar de Pela (Badajoz), on 11/02 (G. Schreur, M. Kelsey et al).
- Quail: one bird heard at La Serena on 27/02 and several on 28/02 (R. Porrino).
- Black Stork: one bird in breeding territory at Salto del Gitano, Monfragüe (Cáceres), on 6/02 (Eva Palacios and Miguel Ángel Muñoz).
- Short-Toed Eagle: one at Cabañas del Castillo (Cáceres) on 26/02 (G. Schreur and M. Kelsey). On 27/02 two at Monfragüe (C. Clemente, F. Carrero, Javier Caballero, J. Caballero). On 28/02 two at La Serena (Badajoz) (R. Porrino), one at Mérida (Badajoz) (Ángel Sánchez) and another between Trujillo and Cáceres (J. Caballero).
- Black Kite: one at Plasencia (Cáceres) on 10/02 (M. Á. Muñoz). One at Cáceres on 16/02 (F. Carrero). One at Santa Marta de Magasca (Cáceres) on 23/02 (M. Kelsey). One at Galisteo on 24/02 (S. Mayordomo).
- Egyptian Vulture: one at Casas de Hitos (Cáceres/Badajoz) on 4/02 (S. Fletcher). One at Canchos de Ramiro (Cáceres) on 20/02 (Fernando Yuste). Two at Monfragüe (Cáceres) on 21/02 (C. Jewitt and Ricardo Montero).
- Booted Eagle: one at Mérida (Badajoz) on 6/02 (Á. Sánchez). One at Casas de Hitos (Cáceres/Badajoz) on 12/02 (A. Ortega and R. Urquiaga). One at Monfragüe (Cáceres) on 25/02 (G. Schreur and M. Kelsey). A few birds do overwinter so it is hard to ascertain whether or not these records represent the first summer arrivals.
- Redshank: one at Laguna de Galisteo (Cáceres) on 24/02 (S. Mayordomo).
- Scops Owl: one singing at Trujillo (Cáceres) on 26/02 (J. Muddeman) and another at Plasencia (Cáceres) on 27/02 (J. Prieta).
- Pallid Swift: 8 at Cáceres on 14/02 (F. Carrero). 2 at Alburquerque (Badajoz) on 22/02 (G. Schreur). 3 at Plasencia (Cáceres) on 24/02 (J. Prieta). 4 at Montehermoso (Cáceres) on 28/02 (C. Clemente).
- Alpine Swift: 20 at Alange dam (Badajoz) on 26/02 (R. Porrino).
- Red-Rumped Swallow: 2 at Trujillo (Cáceres) on 4/02 (Roberto Cabo). One at Monfragüe (Cáceres) on 7/02 (G. Schreur and R. Montero).
- Sand Martin: 3 at Los Canchales Reservoir (Badajoz) on 6/02 (S. Mayordomo and T. Álvarez).
- Subalpine Warbler: one male at Monfragüe (Cáceres) on 26/02 (Rafael Vicente).
- Wheatear: One male at La Serena (Badajoz) on 28/02 (R. Porrino).

WINTERING EURASIAN SPOONBILLS IN EXTREMADURA

The Eurasian Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia) was a very scarce bird in Extremadura until a couple of decades ago. Nowadays it breeds and regularly winters and turns up everywhere on migration, with records from over one hundred different sites. Its breeding in Extremadura has been monitored quite closely from the word go but few studies have been made of wintering Spoonbills; this is quite possibly the first article published.

Spoonbills began to winter in Extremadura fairly recently. Little is known about it because the peak of wintering birds in December falls outside the normal wildfowl count season in January. For this reason the Spanish Spoonbill Monitoring Group (GRUSEC) organise a December Spoonbill count every year. The following graph has been drawn up from these counts plus records from the Ornithological Yearbooks of Extremadura.

The apparent fluctuation is due mainly to varying observer effort from one count to another. Even so the graphs do show a clear upward trend. In fact a complete regional count has never been carried out. The normal procedure is to visit certain areas they are known to be fond of and then feed in other one-off observations. Spoonbills tend to move about widely during the day to feed and then come together in flocks to rest, normally at dusk. Different figures may therefore be obtained for the same site at different times of day. For this reason some counts almost certainly fall well short of the real number.

The most regular wintering site is Los Arenales (Cáceres), with records every winter from 2005 to 2010 and flocks of 5 to 21 birds. These birds also roam over nearby wetlands such as El Ancho (Arroyo de la Luz). The second most important site is Los Canchales reservoir, with records in five winters from 1998 to 2010 and a peak of 10 birds. There are also December records in another six sites: two in the River Alagón catchment area(Portaje reservoir and Guijo de Coria), two from Campo Arañuelo (Lugar Nuevo in Peraleda de la Mata and Arrocampo reservoir), two in Vegas Altas (Sierra Brava and Cubilar reservoirs) and one in Badajoz (Valdesequera). In the six first sites mentioned Spoonbill presence in December is patchy, with records of 1 to 6 birds on some days. December flocks of 18 have been recorded in Valdesequera, where the presence is more continuous and the birds tend to spread out in nearby wetlands during the day, as in Los Arenales. There is no information on previous years from Valdesequera, so wintering birds there might have gone unnoticed beforehand.
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Extremadura's importance on a national scale is very low: 1% in 2009 and 4% in 2010; it is notable, however, as the only inland wintering site. In December 2009 and 2010 856 and 861 Spoonbills were counted in Spain, Andalucía weighing in with 71% and Galicia with 18%. Wintering birds are also regular on the Cantabrian coast, Rías Baixas and Cádiz Bay, with occasional records from the Mediterranean coast. The most important sites are Doñana (peak of 595 birds), El Grove (A Coruña, peak of 157) and Santoña (Cantabria, peak of 62).
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Results of Extremadura's December Spoonbill counts *:
- 2007: 22 birds. Los Arenales (15), Peraleda de la Mata (6), Arrocampo (1).
- 2008: 26 birds. Los Arenales (21), Portaje reservoir(3), Guijo de Coria (1), Galisteo (1).
- 2009: 8 birds. Los Arenales (6), Los Canchales (2).
- 2010: 32 birds. Valdesequera (18), Los Arenales (13), Portaje (1).
* Collaborators: Carlos Fernández, Javier Caballero, Flore Carrero, Rafael Parra, Ángel Sánchez, Ángel Luis Sánchez, Emilio Costillo, Jesús Solana, Javier Briz, Sergio Mayordomo and Javier Prieta.
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Sources:
- GRUSEC. Censos invernales: 2009, 2009, 2010, 2010.
- Extremadura Birds Database. J. Prieta and S. Mayordomo.

RED KITE: A BEAUTIFUL RAPTOR IN DANGER OF EXTINCTION

Red Kite (Milvus milvus). Immature. 27.12.2010 (Ángel Sánchez)

The Red Kite (Milvus milvus) has just been officially listed as a species "In danger of extinction" in the new Spanish catalogue of threatened species. The reason for this sad milestone is the dramatic plunge in its population due to the illegal use of poisoned bait. Over 200 poisoned Red Kites have been found in Spain over the last five years, although SEO/BirdLife puts the real figure much higher at about 7000. More than a thousand a year! A staggering figure and a tragic toll on this and other raptors.

The Red Kite is endemic to Europe and is hence one of the best known birds of prey. The ample information to hand shows a drastic population change in recent decades, varying from region to region. Numbers have built up to unprecedented levels in Sweden, Switzerland and the UK, while the population has plummeted to an all-time low in the Iberian Peninsula, France and maybe Germany as well. This trend prompted an international symposium in France in 2009 to weigh up the global situation of the species. Although a couple of years have passed since then it is still worthwhile summing up the main findings of that meeting.

* The Red Kite breeds regularly in 20 countries, all in Europe, and its worldwide population is reckoned to be 20,700 to 24,900 pairs.
* Germany accounts for 50%; France and Spain together another 20%; and the UK, Sweden and Switzerland another 20%. This means that 90% of the population breeds in only six countries.
* The overall C20th trend was downwards. From 1990 to 2000 it increased in a few countries but numbers continued to fall in Germany, France and Spain. After 2000 it continued to fall in France and Spain, held steady in Germany and increased in some countries where more and more birds are now overwintering, like UK, Switzerland, Italy and Sweden (Aebischer, 2009).
* In Spain the last Red Kite count was carried out in 2004, with an estimated figure of about 2100 pairs, 46% down on the previous count of 1994. The estimated wintering population in 2004 was 36,000 birds, half of the estimated 70,000 figure ten years earlier (Cardiel, 2006).
* In Extremadura the 2005 count throws up a figure of 250-310 breeding pairs and 7700 wintering birds. The trend is bleak with a 65% breeding-season decline in 10 years (85% in Badajoz). The decline in the wintering population was less, 33%, albeit centred solely in Badajoz (Prieta, 2007).
* In recent years a greater inflow into the Iberian Peninsual through the western Pyrenees has been detected (Urcun and Codaccioni, 2009).
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Sources:
- Aebischer, A. 2009. Distribution and recent population changes of the Red Kite in the Western Palaearctic - results of a recent comprehensive inquiry. Proceedings of the Red Kite international Symposium, October 17th & 18th 2009, Montbéliard, France.
- Cardiel, I. 2006. El milano real en España. II censo nacional (2004). SEO/BirdLife. Madrid.
- Prieta, J. 2007. El milano real en Extremadura (1994-2005). Unpublished report for SEO/BirdLife.
- Urcun, J. P. & Codaccioni, O. F. 2009. The Migration of the Red Kite over the Pyrenees. Proceedings of the Red Kite international Symposium, October 17th & 18th 2009, Montbéliard, France.

WINTERING QUAIL: A MUDDY PICTURE

The Common Quail (Coturnix coturnix) is a highly mobile species, especially the males, which move around at random in the breeding season in search of females. This mobility is the response to a complex reproduction system, without territory, and their particular breeding habitat, unirrigated cropland, which often changes its position from one season or year to another. Quails in fact may well breed more than once a year in Europe, first in the south and then further north. When the cereal crop is harvested they are forced to move anew; on the Iberian Peninsula they usually congregate in the meseta norte, where the crop is harvested latest in the year. Lastly, come autumn, they move off to Africa. Not all of them, however; a few wintering birds do stay behind. For example during the field work of the Atlas of Wintering Birds in Spain there were 112 contacts over three winters (2007-2010), 31 of them in Extremadura; Badajoz is the Spanish province with most wintering Quails (22 contacts). The provisional map below shows the places where these wintering Quails were found (sampled grids shown in red, grids with wintering quail shown in blue).

But a curious event begs new questions. On 04/12/2010 in Navalvillar de Pela (Badajoz) a hunter was seen carrying a shot Quail (S. Mayordomo, C. Clemente and J. Mahíllo). Nothing extraordinary about this because Quail are known to winter here sometimes. A few days later, on 20/12/2010, three people were seen releasing Quail in another part of the same area, three complete crates of birds; they then started shooting at them forthwith, killing at least six (Á. Sánchez). This unexpected event, perhaps a one-off, poses doubts about whether the wintering Quail are natural. We know for sure only about this one case of deliberate Quail release in winter and winter Quail observations are fairly widespread, so the logical conclusion to draw is that wild birds do winter. This is borne out by studies conducted in Portugal which show the presence of migratory birds from September to December and sedentary birds from December to March, when the first migrants return from Africa. The proportion of migrants, judging from body fat, peaks in October (40-50%) and there are always more migrants in the north than in the south, where up to 70% of the birds are non migrators. Autumn density is usually high, up to 130 Quails per km2. Sedentary birds start breeding very early in the year, singing as from November and pairing off as from December. They breed before the migratory birds and the first brood is itself able to breed after a few months in their first summer. This sedentary behaviour seems to be recent, as the result of changes in farming practices. Although Portuguese authors argue that the same thing happens in north Africa and part of Spain, including Extremadura, there is no actual information to confirm this. In fact there are no known records of singing Quail in Extremadura in December or January (the first are heard in February) and winter records, even allowing for the specie's retiring habits and low detectability, are still few and far between (only nine from 2005 to 2008).

Sources:
- Catry, P., Costa, H., Elias, G., and Matias, R. 2010. Aves de Portugal. Ornitologia do territorio continental. Assirio & Alvin. Lisbon.
- Anuarios Ornitológicos de Extremadura (Aves de Extremadura) 1998-2008.

SWAROVSKI CHOOSE EXTREMADURA

Swarovski, the well known manufacturer of top-range optics, chose Extremadura for the international presentation of its new binoculars, Swarovision EL 12x50. A group of 25 people from different countries, mostly Europeans but also from United States and South Africa, had the privilege of trying out the new bins in the field, even before they come on the market. From 10 to 14 February 2011 they toured Extremadura, visiting the birdwatching hotspots: Monfragüe, Llanos de Cáceres-Trujillo and Vegas Altas del Guadiana. The guests included leading figures from the birdwatching world, such as tour guides, photographers, publishers, organisers of bird fairs and birdwatching competitions, among others. Extremadura, thanks to Swarovski, will therefore be featuring widely in the news over the coming weeks. As part of the promotion a small website was set up with various images of Monfragüe, plus a bird-identification internet game with three different venues: Extremadura, Austria and Texas (USA).

The long list of birds observed over these four days includes Black Stork, Griffon Vulture, Monk Vulture, Imperial Eagle, Bonelli's Eagle, Red-Rumped Swallow, Eagle Owl, Pintail, White-Fronted Goose, Common Crane, Shoveler, Merlin, Lesser Kestrel, Garganey, Great Bustard, Pintailed and Black-Bellied Sandgrouse, Shelduck, Golden Eagle and Great Spotted Cuckoo.

More information:
- Martin Kelsey's blog (in English), one of the local tour guides together with Godfried Schreur (author of the photograph above).
- International competition "Digiscopers of 2010". The first three were all Spanish.
- Swarovski Optik

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]

SPAIN'S "EAR-SPLITTING" WHITE STORKS

This blog entry in the Spanish version comments on the worrying trend of stork-nest intolerance after a long tradition of man and stork living in mutual harmony in Extremadura's villages. Two recent TV reports, one in Extremadura and the other in Catalunya, have highlighted this trend, with an ill-researched and biased focus on their "noise" and "dropping" nuisance. Although the image of the stork is still meretriciously used as a tourism lure, there are in fact increasing examples of wholesale nest removal from official buildings and powerline pylons, both in Extremadura and elsewhere.