Birds of Andalucia Spring 2014 Volume Three, Issue Two

Birds of Andalucia Spring 2014 Volume Three, issue two

Trekking for the Phillipine Eagle Beauty is in the eye of the Beholder ABS Photographic Competition

The Quarterly editorial journal of the andalucia bird society 1 .

Front Cover Photograph In this issue.... Notice Board 2 News from the Editor - Brenda Jones A new regular feature is an article by Roger Marchant, which will help you with your nature Important dates for your diary 3 photography. On the same theme we are also running a quarterly photo competition. See pages 14 4 and 15. ABS February Field Meeting Once again, a very big thank you to advertisers and contributors! Birds of Serrania de Ronda 6 1st - 4th of May Birdfair Doñana Our Noticeboard Avutardas y Pinsapos 8 Our friends at SEO/Birdlife are staging the Donana International If there are Members that Trekking for the Phillipine Eagle 12 Bird Fair this year during 1-4th May at the Dehesa de Abajo Visitor wish to put a note on the Centre near Villamanrique in the Donana. There will be exhibitor Magazine’s Notice Board Nature in Focus - Photographic Competition 14 stands, excursions and photography events, besides the normal please send your note to birding opportunities at this, the best of year. The Dehesa VC is one the Editor. Your note needs Montes de Málaga National Park 16 of the lesser known centres in Donana but I have always found that to be short, no more than Beauty is in the eye of the beholder 18 Nuthatch (Sitta europaea) section to be very productive, birdwise. The event also provides the 120 words, and succinct. Its The most common and most widespread of opportunity to visit the Canada de los Pajaros Reserve in Puebla del subject should be related to Food for thought 20 all the nuthatches. It is found throughout Rio, a site which I had been unaware of until now. the Society or bird watching temperate Europe and Asia, most 22 commonly here in our oak woodlands. More information on www.donanabirdbirdfair.es and directions on in Andalucia. My Local Patch - Sevilla Province Photo courtesy Roger Marchant www.dehesadeabajo.es. DID YOU KNOW? Studies show that most wild birds will die in their first year of life. But if they can survive this first year then they stand Field Meeting Attendance Spring Migration a strong chance of living for some considerable time, e.g. Sardinian Warbler 8yrs, Eurasian Collared Dove 5yrs, House Our membership continues to increase and most of those By the time you get this magazine the Sparrow 13yrs, Raven 17yrs, Peregrine Falcon 19yrs, Golden Eagle 28yrs. who have joined in the last twelve months have taken an Spring migration will be well under active part in the Society by joining our monthly Field way. One of the better places to view Meetings. It is great to see you all and your attendance the Spring migration is from Punta is encouraged, but with larger groups participating, the Carnero, near Algeciras in Cádiz. So Important dates for your diary Society is having to look at the best way to organise why not give this site a visit? See the Attendance of all Field Meetings and meetings are free to members of Andalucia Bird Society. future Field Meetings. You can help by letting us know ABS web site for directions and other you are attending these meetings by replying to the Field information. On the front page find May 18th 2014, Sunday. Areas around the city of Córdoba, Córdoba province, led by Florent Prunier at 10:00hrs. Meeting thread on the Forum (under Calendar Events) as Birding Information and click on We will visit former gravel pits, take a small drive in Sierra Morena and visit a Lesser Kestrel colony in cliffs along the we need to know how many of you are attending prior to “Bird Sites”, then on “Cádiz”, then on Guadalquivir. It will be very hot so wear long, fine clothing and a hat. Bring plenty of water and a light picnic. This the day of the Field Meeting. Please do not send us emails “Migration Watching”. Scroll down the is a new site for the Society. Saturday could be spent at the “patio festival” in Córdoba City. anymore as they sometimes get lost among the many page until you find Punta Carnero. If June 21st 2014, Saturday. Field Meeting at Odiel Marshes, Huelva province, led by Manu Mojarro at 09:30hrs. emails that we receive daily. you do visit, let us know what you see. We will meet in the car park of the Odiel Marshes Nature Reserve Visitor Centre. The meeting will involve driving and walking around the Odiel Marshes. We will then move on to the beach area to have a look at the fresh water lake of El Portil. Bring a light picnic with you. Please see the Forum for further details.

July 12th 2014, Saturday. Areas around Ronda, Málaga province, led by Peter Jones at 08:30hrs. Andalucia Bird Society Quaterley Magazine We wil meet at the Venta La Vegas on the junction of the MA-505 to Montejaque and the A372 Ronda to Sevilla road. After the Field Meeting there will also be an Extraordinary General Assembly for the Election of Officers of the Officers of ANDALUCIA BIRD SOCIETY: Committee. This will be followed by a barbeque. Please see the Forum for further details. President: Alfredo Carrasco Chairman: David Hird Treasurer: Pieter Verheij Secretary: Helen Wallbank Membership Officer: Robert Wright Field Meeting Officer: Frank Hair August 23rd 2014, Saturday. Montes de Málaga, Málaga province, led by Luis Alberto Rodríguez at 09:00hrs. Editor: Brenda Jones We will meet on A-7000 (Carretera de Los Montes, Málaga to Colmenar) at Fuente Olletas. Alberto will introduce To learn more about the society’s activities visit our website: www.andaluciabirdsociety.org us to some of the Montes de Málaga Natural, which extends an area of 5,000 ha. north of the city of Málaga. Bring ContactContact us us AdvertisingAdvertising 20132014 Membership Membership Fees Fees a picnic lunch. AndaluciaAndalucia Bird Bird Society Society ContactContact the the Society Society for for advertisement advertisement IndividualOrdinary € 25€ 25 ApartadoApartado de de Correos Correos 375 375 1/41/4 page page € € 45 45 CoupleJoint € €30 30 2940029400 Ronda Ronda (Málaga) (Málaga) 1/21/2 page page € € 80 80 AffiliatedAffiliated € €40 40 Please see the Forum for more details and any changes a few days before each meeting. SpainSpain FullFull page page € €140 140 CorporateJunior € €60 10 E-mail:E-mail: [email protected] [email protected] BackBack page page € €180 180 LifeLife € €300 300 NOTE: Please let us know via the Forum if you are attending any of these meetings, as we need to know numbers beforehand. More details of meeting places can be found via the website and Forum.

2 3 Larks, Collard Doves, busy little White off to one of the many local Ventas for Wagtails, Black Redstarts, Blue Rock their lunch, the rest opting for a spring Thrush, Crag Martins and returning ABS walk in the sunshine along the nearby member Claus from Denmark spotted the Guadalporcún river. two illusive Bonelli’s Eagles and of course The fast flowing small river was a very Vultures the big unmissable Griffon Vultures, too pretty site but not so hot on the bird count; many to count. nevertheless, Chaffinches Chiffchaffs, After a while on the viaduct and several noisy Blackcaps having an outrageous aborted attempts to re-asses our own tree party, Green Sandpiper, Serins, head count it was decided to say adiós to Meadow Pipits, Finches, Cettis and other the gliding Griffons and move on up to Warblers. The presence of lots of little and see Franks friends at the nature reserve yellow Celandine flowers throughout the reception centre and the birds in the surrounding meadow confirming that picnic area. spring surely was not far away. There were more birds to be seen - despite After an hour walk-about Frank arrived our constant chit-chat and the chirping of and invited those left to re-join the group passing Sunday Cyclists, who seem happy at the nearby Artesania del Prado Pottery to spend a grand plus on a bicycle but and Glass Studio. Time was running short Viaducts reluctant to give the local Halfords just two but the pottery proved to be worth the and sixpence for a warning bell, however extra effort, delightful bespoke craft work there was room enough and friendly by owners Liz and Jenny and a Green greetings from both sides, the cyclists and Woodpecker hiding in a tree. the ABS birders, who in all fairness will Black Bird, on the way back a “cloud” of Five twenty-five, the light was starting to three legged ENL generator windmills persist in standing in the middle of any Natterjack Toad Tadpoles in a puddle and fade, all in all another excellent day out and a ruined fortified look-out tower path or road, oblivious to all and sundry, a lovely Bee Orchid under a bush. and for us, time for home. ABS February Field Trip from a bygone era. Eventually, despite whilst peering through rubber coated After a rest up and a sandwich, Frank Any ABS field trip is always preceded Airport at 8.07, the frost warning light the confusing mismatched road map tubes at the back and beyond. Crested lead us back across the puddles and Pete Woodall & Satori Casanova - by a degree of excitement, checking the came on, showing a cooler 4ºc and the numbers, the winding road reached the Larks, House Martins, both Blue and Long potholes to Estación de Olvera, where ABS Members weather, planning the packed lunch and first birds of the day appeared. Flocks Olvera turn-off. Passing through the Tailed Tits, Goldfinch, the ever present some disappeared, some choose to head (with very helpful birding notes from Ellie Wallbank) wondering which particular fashion of Rock Doves, plenty of Gulls and two town and down a steep valley where often statement, using multiple shades of common Egrets out on the breakfast run, nobody goes, except today it looked like green, to make this month. Starting a mid-air altercation between some more a practice run for St Patrick’s Day, green out from Mijas just as the night-time gulls and what looked like a Kestrel and jackets everywhere with a splash of white street lights were turning off, the clock a cracking view from a road bridge down and orange for good measure. on the dashboard said 7.45 am and the on to a Mallard in a graceful curved glide After a quick hello, coffee and head count, temperature a cool 7ºc, no wind and no that followed the river. So far, more than at 10.00 am sharp, field guide for the day rain, so far so good. good. Frank, led us off on the first leg of a motor- Today was a day out in the Province of Leaving the Guadalhorce wetland behind, tour of the lesser known potholes of Cádiz with Frank Hair, Birding for Big Boys the road starts the climb out into the Andalucía. Seven cars, twenty five birders and Girls, promising a high probability of Campo proper, always a stunning sight, which magically increased to nine cars Griffon Vultures, a possibility of Bonelli’s especially in the early morning light. and twenty eight birders or perhaps more Eagles, a certainty of sparrows and all the Driving with one eye on the road and by the time we reached the farmhouse other little feathered fellahs too. speedometer, the other taking in the in Muela and the start of our Via Verde Crossing the Rio Guadalhorce by Málaga sights, long abandoned farmhouses, big Andalucía nature walk. This Vía Verde is a disused railway line passing over several similarly disused viaducts one of which provides an unobstructed view of one of the largest Griffon Vulture colonies in Spain, the Peñón de Zaframagón. This huge outcrop of rock, just under 600 metres tall, is located in a nature reserve of the same name and blessed by a plentiful food supply of small animals and foxes, thermal up-draughts, easy access and scores of Griffon Vultures. The Sunday excursion so far had produced a fair showing of other birds; in Olvera, House Sparrows, two Ravens, Spotless Starlings and a Common Cormorant. On the road to Muela, Common Kestrel, Linnet and Sparrow Hawk. Either side of the track to Vulture Viaduct, female Stonechat, Sardinian Warblers, Crested

4 55 Alfredo Carrasco of the Serranía de Ronda as an ideal destination for bird known two places in Andalucía for bird watching (Doñana the current Presi- watching. The fact that our interest in the promotion for and the Straits of Gibraltar) and to the quality of tourism dent of the Anda- this sector of tourism coincided with the arrival of Peter offered in Serranía de Ronda. Jones was fundamental in the success we have achieved All of these actions have contributed to the creation of lucia Bird Society in the development of this area. I remember the first business activities around bird watching, which means has many years of time I heard of Peter Jones, it was in the Hotel Cortijo Las that the natural resources that have always been there in expertise resulting Piletas, on the outskirts of Ronda. I was informed that an Serranía de Ronda, are slowly being converted into a tourist from working in English man had arrived and had left some leaflets for product, a tourist product that generates economy for this touristic promotion their clients. My first thought of Peter was, “This guy is rural area. And this is the principal key of the focus which I crazy, who is going to pay to go bird watching when you have always promoted in the performance of my role with and economical de- can do it for free?” That was in April 2004. A little while regards to dealing with ornithological tourism. The local velopment in the later, he introduced us to Juan Luis Muñoz and since then population will better understand the need to support rural areas Andalucia. Appart from being a Tourist Peter and I have continued to see each other, whether it the maintenance of the habitats and the species when Guide specialiced in the Serrania de Ronda and a was in the countryside, to assist in the British Bird Fair or they can see that they will benefit economically by doing consultant, he is also the President of “CEDER” and to create the Andalucia Bird Society. so. The sustainability of the ecosystems that surround us The first time we went to promote the Serranía of Ronda at must be analysed, not only from the environmental point “CIT Serrania de Ronda”. the British Bird Fair was in 2005 and I was overwhelmed by of view, but also from the socioeconomic view, in such a I would like to focus this article from the perspective that the potential bird related business that we could generate. way that the natural resources allow us to earn a living 20 years of accumulated experience of working in the I discovered that the Serranía de Ronda was completely from our environment. If the natural environment offers Rural Tourism sector in Andalusia has provided me. unknown for this segment of the tourist market. Every economic development possibilities to the population, My role has been to act as a link between the public year since then, the Serranía de Ronda has been present its conservation is guaranteed. Ornithological tourism is administration and tourism entrepreneurs. I have worked at this fair, and also at other fairs at national level, such contributing to an increase in the number of people in the throughout the region, especially in the 24 National Parks as the FIO Extremadura and the Feria de las Aves Tarifa, Serranía who show an interest in the birds in our area. of Andalusia. But, the Serranía of Ronda is where I have etc. Over time, this continued promotion, has borne fruit, It is interesting to observe how, over time, even the most worked most and where I have been able to contribute as there are more and more tourists visiting Serranía de sceptical have been surprised by the economic activity more to its development. Ronda, attracted by the uniqueness of its surroundings generated by the tourists who come to the Serranía de There is no need to tell you that Andalusia is an ideal place and the diversity of birds that can be found in our area. Ronda because of the uniqueness of its birds. They have to observe birds, I am sure that the majority of the readers This is not surprising given that you can see some 250 finally realised that ‘Mr Foreigner’ who liked to watch of ‘Birds of Andalucía’ know this better than I. However, different species throughout the year, particularly raptors. birds was not as crazy as they thought. I would also like to comment that this tourist movement is no panacea. It is true that the profile of these tourists is very interesting, but it is also true that an idealised Birds of de Serrania de Ronda image may have been produced. In some cases the public From Natural resource to tourist product administrations have considered this as the solution to all the problems that the regions have faced in recent years in Andalucía. It is important that the employers and the administration continue working together, shoulder to shoulder, to achieve the target of providing the tourist destinations with the infrastructure and the quality of service necessary to meet the expectations of these tourists. Only by being firm and resolute about this work will the administration see a continued increase in the number of tourists and the business owners satisfaction, when these tourists become their clients. As an expert in tourist promotion I am satisfied with how the Serranía de Ronda has progressively positioned itself on the ornithological map of Andalucía. Also, as president of the Andalucia Bird Society, it is a pleasure for me to also be part of this exciting project, which contributes to the enhancement of the ornithological resources of Andalucía and for the development of this region. But what gratifies me most is to realise when working as a tour guide, that for the majority of the local population, the birds go At first, our promotion was aimed at positioning the birds are not only interesting for bird lovers, but also for unnoticed. Only a minority have demonstrated an interest Serranía de Ronda on the ornithological tourism map of those tourists who are not nature lovers, who also choose and are concerned with the conservation of them. Andalucía and little by little we have been achieving this the Serranía de Ronda as a destination for their holidays. The biodiversity of areas such as the Serranía of Ronda objective. It is very gratifying to see how the public that All of them love to know what birds can be seen. The birds allows the convergence of a significant number of species. visits our stands at these fairs discover the ornithological are an extra attraction for the area, which means because This has always been there as a natural resource, but we potential of Serranía de Ronda and that they are planning there are not many other attractions for the tourists the had never previously considered that we could create to visit in the short or medium term. Furthermore, our birds will act as a motor for the local economy. tourist products related to the observation of birds and efforts have also resulted in a number of specialist travel In short, the richness of the ornithology in the Serranía even less that these activities would attract tourists to the agents including Ronda in their travel programmes of for de Ronda is going to be the main component of a series area. Andalucía. This is due, not only to the promotion, but also of tourist products that will generate economic overspill It was about ten years ago when we started the promotion to the strategic location of Ronda in respect to the best into many areas.

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“……And beyond Osuna´s huge an original mixture of ecosystems and this region, as well as Avocets and Black- be mentioned. Nevertheless, if for something this countryside turns this region into the only place in winged Stilts. The Greater Flamingo is also is to be noticed is because of the existence of an extraordinary barren plains and steppes with Andalucía where noticeable aquatic and a frequent species which can be observed bird community of open spaces. Among the limicoles of steppe several salt lagoons which shone lowland bird populations coexist in in groups of several hundred individuals origin, there is the Collared Pratincole, a species with several with the sun”. nearby places. These qualifications have and the Gull-billed Tern which can be seen breeding colonies established at the lagoon´s borders, fallows justified the inclusion of more than 35,000 in small groups in spring and summer. and dry farmlands and which amount over 200 pairs and the With this short description Charles ha of these lands in Red Natura 2000, Stone Curlew, a night bird with great yellow eyes which has a Edmond Boissier portrayed the view over thereby declaring them as ZEPA with Raptors are also represented in the region, large reproductive population, which is added to a large number the Guadalquivir valley from Pilar del the denomination “Campiñas de Sevilla” with samples of Spanish-Imperial Eagles, of wintering individuals. Another singular species which has a Tolox one day at the end of September (Sevilla´s countryside”). Golden Eagles and Bonelli´s Eagles who small population is the Black-bellied Sandgrouse, a bird with 1837, when he climbed Sierra de las profit from abundant rabbits, hares and remarkable morphologic adaptations, colorful and reproductive, Nieves to gather pinsapo (Spanish Fir) In springtime, after autumn and winter partridges, as well as concentrations of in order to successfully take advantage of the arid grounds and cones, material which this renowned rains, is when the lagoons reach their water fowl in the lagoons, and in order to which is almost extinct in western Andalucía. botanic used further on to describe the maximum flood level and their greatest establish their temporary hunting grounds science of this remarkable Andalucía fir. splendour. It is in this season that there in these plains. At any time of the year the Among the steppe raptors, the Lesser Kestrel is the most is a curious mixture of migrating birds Griffon Vulture flies over this region, while abundant species with remarkable urban colonies in the towns Doubtless from Sierra de las Nieves one coming from Africa with others that leave the Red Kite is frequent in winter with of Écija, Osuna and Marchena, usually in churches and other can see the Guadalquivir Depression with for central and northern Europe, including sleeping places that exceed hundred birds monumental buildings and fewer numbers in rural, scattered Subbetic units, but from the distance it the Arctic. The reproduction of White- and its relative, the Black Kite is frequent inhabited farms and farm ruins. These play an important role is hard to imagine the rich biodiversity headed Ducks in the small Gobierno there during migration periods. During as nesting grounds for various bird species common in these of these barren plains and appreciate Lagoon is noticeable: 15 pairs and 56 this time of the year Short-toed Snake regions, like the European Roller, the Common Kestrel, the Barn even more the great beauty of these hilly chicks born in 2013, one of Andalucía´s Eagles and Booted Eagles are to be found. Owl, the Jackdaw and the Spotless Starling. landscapes sprinkled with salt lagoons. best places, together with several pairs As nesting species, Black-winged Kite Most of these lagoons are not there year of Black-necked Grebes, Red-crested with 12 pairs in areas with scattered trees Another raptor, the Montagu´s Harrier, builds its nests on round, have a round morphology, present Pochards and 1 heronry which in 2013 or small woods should be mentioned and farmed cereal fields, their population being between 10 and 20 a flat bottom, are shallow and extend like comprised 3 pairs of Squacco Herons, the Marsh Harrier with 5 pairs in lagoons reproductive pairs. This species is replaced in winter by the Hen the continuation of the soft shore like 1 pair of Glossy Ibis, 30 pairs of Night- with ditch reed and tamarisk. Among the Harrier, which has several sleeping places in this countryside banks which broaden like the surrounding Herons and 200 pairs of Cattle Egrets. nocturnal raptors the Eagle Owl, also a and in the last years by isolated individuals of Palled Harriers. grain producing steppe, which produces Groups of Kentish Plovers are dispersed in successful nesting species of the area, is to At the same time the Peregrine Falcon, the Merlin and the Short- Continued on page 10 ... BUSTARDS AND PINSAPOS

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236 km, as well as shorter movements upstream along the Guadalquivir Valley. This male migratory behaviour of the Great Bustard was already described by Abel Chapman and Walter J. Buck at the end of the XIX century in “La España Agreste”, when this species was abundant in Andalucía. But the trip described in this book is towards the south “in the midst of May, while I was hunting wild goats I was able to observe seven Bustards in the heart of Sierra de Ronda, flying over its high peaks”. Nowadays there is evidence of displacements of Bustards though mountain regions, although outside of Andalucía. In nearby Extremadura individuals have been seen in Gredos and Sierra de Gata and it is known that a bird from Toledo spent the summer in Gredos, Your place to stay in Ronda Cáceres Province. Will the Great Bustard Great Bustard. Photo: Janos Olah The best to combine a visit to the historical continue overflying the Pinsapo (Spanish City and birding in the Serrania de Ronda eared Owl spend the winter there. an emblematic species, has in this rolling Fir) forest looking for mild summer The Little Bustard and the Great Bustard countryside the biggest population in temperatures? Everything is possible: in represent the Otus family. The first one has the Guadalquivir Valley, with over 160 Gilena, a town south of Osuna, a few years • Reformed recently a male reproductive population of over a individuals. It is there during the whole ago two birds were seen at the end of May • Ensuite rooms thousand individuals and they are to be year, yet most males are migrants, leaving slowly flying towards Sierra de las Nieves. • TV and free Wifi found in heterogeneous grounds together their exhibition places after mating season with small and medium dry cereal fields and returning at intervals after summer, • Economical with fallow, olive trees, pasture and between September and January. In Javier Salcedo - Técnico del Servicio leguminous vegetables. Osuna displacements have been recorded de Gestión del Medio Natural . On the other hand, the Great Bustard, to the north at a maximum distance of Translation: Lucy Alió C/ Sevilla 51 - Ronda. Tel. 952871538 – 608454005 www.hotelmorales.es - [email protected] Advertisement

10 11 their families were living. We would have drinks. I pointed to the smoke and asked including Apo Myna, Mountain Verditer to get above the deforestation if we were one of them “Is that smoke from a village flycatcher, and a glimpse at a white- Trekking for the Philippine Eagle to get into prime eagle habitat. Wood or a farm?” The smoke so close to the browed short-wing. We saw both Eagle smoke smell filled our heaving lungs eagle nest made me all kinds of curious: parents flying in the vicinity of the nest, as we climbed higher and higher, the Was it a hunting camp? Were the eagles and we watched one adult eagle rise up to The small river—more like a big stream, day’s humidity already soaring, turning in danger? Would the camp disturb the meet another, smaller raptor and escort it flowed noisily down the mountain. I air into water. We got some good birds birds? Was it someone assigned to guard over the far mountain ridge, away from the could probably jump it if I got a running along the trail: Tawny Grassbird, Pygmy the eagles? Then the answer came: “No nest. We got good, if distant, looks and a start, but with all my birding and camera Woodpecker, Mountain white-eye, and a that’s a camp of The Communist Peoples’ few remember-the-moment photographs, gear that was looking like a bad idea. tiny hanging parrot known as the Colasisi. Army.” We had heard about the camps of but now the heat of the day was upon us. The old man whose barn we’d slept in After an hour-plus hike we arrived at the anti-government factions in remote parts the night before had told us to be careful overlook opposite the eagle’s nest. Our of Mindanao, and of course the U.S State Most of our group headed for the shade. when we came back down—that we guides knew just where to look. Far across Department warnings were moving to the On the hike up the mountain I’d twisted should stay between the rivers. “Don’t a mist-shrouded valley we could just front lobe of my brain once again. my right knee and ankle slightly and they cross the water! If you do, two things will barely make out a mostly grown eaglet on were now beginning to ache a bit, so I happen: your feet will get wet and you the nest. As we watched through spotting “Do we need to be concerned about decided to start back down the mountain will get lost!” scopes it alternately jumped and flapped them?” I asked, trying not to think about ahead of the rest of our group. Moving its wings, and absent-mindedly preened the worst-case scenario. down at a slow pace, I thought they would Well I was lost. And my feet were already while waiting for a returning parent. “No, they know we are here. They won’t overtake me about half way.Have you ever wet from the steady rain I’d been walking bother us. And they won’t bother the been lost—I mean more lost than we- in for the past hour. The path I was While we waited, the mist cleared, except eagle, either.” missed-our-freeway-exit lost? Lost where slogging up was on Mount Kitanglad for a greyish-white plume southwest of Just as the small wave of relief came over your mind starts to abandon ship because on the island of Mindanao in The the eagle nest. I pointed to the column me, someone in our group spotted an your thoughts are tumbling at you from Philippines—home to the world’s largest of what I thought was smoke from a fire adult Philippine Eagle, flying in from all kinds of crazy places? That’s the kind of raptor, the Philippine eagle. I, along with eight other birders, had come to The Philippines as guests of the tourism authority, to and asked on of the local guides what that the left, carrying a half-eaten hunk of lost I was that afternoon on Mt. Kitanglad. experience the birds of this nation of islands. The main part of our 12-day trip had ended two days before and a handful of us was. “Oh that’s just more mist from the mammal to the nest. It perched nearby, I was angry at myself for heading down signed on for the extension trip to Mindanao. This was the only chance we’d have to see the massive Philippine eagle, one of the forest!” he replied. But I caught a glance and then hopped over to feed the eaglet, the mountain alone. Eventually I came most endangered raptors of the world. The critically endangered Philippine I gave up my mud-spattered pony for the There are more than 7,100 islands It is also home to a number of rebel and eagle was first discovered in 1897 by a shoe-leather express. comprising The Philippines and on our terrorist groups and the accompanying European ornithologist. Endemic to the familiarisation trip, we’d visited just a concerns about attacks and kidnappings, Philippines, it was originally called the We hiked up the mountain all afternoon, fraction. As most bird watchers know, according to the U.S. State Department Philippine monkey-eating Eagle due to the sporadic showers keeping the outside islands are often home to endemic Travel Warnings website. However, I was early (and inaccurate) observations on of our rain jackets as wet as our uphill species—birds found there and nowhere reassured that the regions of greatest its prey preferences. exertions were keeping the inside of our else. We’d encountered endemic birds danger were in the southern parts of It’s one of the largest and most powerful jackets. Late in the day we arrived at a at Subic Bay, in Candaba Swamp, on Mindanao, far from where we’d be eagles in the world—rivalling the harpy clearing, in the middle of which was an Palawan, Cebu, Olango, Rasa Island, and travelling. eagle of Central and South America in open-sided, two-story barn with a cement even around the metropolis of Manila. its ability to capture, kill, and carry large floor and tin roof: the eco-lodge. We’d also, sadly, witnessed vast areas Our group consisted of seven visiting bird prey items. Facing a big day the next morning, we of these same places that were being watchers, three Filipino birding guides Its powerful flesh-tearing bill, long legs soon retired to the upstairs loft and our timbered, mined, turned into agricultural and one Filipino ground agent. We left and piercing talons are ideally suited to bedrolls. It was cool at night at this altitude use, or simply encroached upon by an our hotel at 3 am for the 5 am flight to plucking prey items out of the branches and with the mixed sounds of rain on the ever-expanding human population. Our Mindanao. From there we drove about of giant rainforest trees. tin roof, and the night sounds from the Filipino birding guides and the members an hour to a small village at the foot of Main prey items of the Philippine Eagle forest, I was soon deeply asleep. of the Bird Club of The Philippines Mt. Kitanglad, arriving around mid-day, are flying lemurs and civets (an arboreal indicated that saving the endemic birds along with a soft drizzle. Here our luggage mammal), plus large snakes, lizards, On the ground floor in the morning, fog website Eagle Foundation the Philippine from Photo of their country is a race against time and gear was wrapped in plastic tarps and and birds (including Hornbills!). and rain greeted us, but the hot food and and a fight against the power of the tied onto the saddles and backs of small These huge raptors require large tracts of rainforest (as large as 50 square miles) for nesting and hunting. Sadly, habitat loss, coffee lifted our spirits sufficiently and multinational corporations hungry for horses. We got somewhat conflicting timbering and mining, and subsistence hunting have had a heavy impact on the species’ population. soon we were on our way, hiking up the the rich natural resources of this emerging information on how long we’d be hiking Current population estimates have fewer than 500 pairs of Philippines eagles on the islands of Mindanao, Luzon, Leyte, and Samar. rough and sloping path toward the eagle- country. up the mountain to The Philippine Eagle Philippine eagles do not breed until after they reach full adulthood after five years of age, and then they only produce a single egg. viewing site. Ecolodge. Three things were certain: it was If the egg hatches and the eaglet survives, its parents will care for it for two years—not a high rate of replacement for a critically Mt. Kitanglad, up which we were now The avian highlight of the trip was the going to be muddy, it was going to be a endangered species. extension tour at the end, the trek up Mt. rugged trail, and we were going to get wet. trekking, is one part of The Philippines Kitanglad to view a distant (but reportedly We were each offered a horse to ride and a where land has been set aside for the still active) nest of the Philippine eagle. few intrepid souls took to the saddle. I was Philippine eagle, which became the passing between two of our other Filipino though we could not see this activity for upon a house, where the farmer led me We were given fair warning that this trip one of these, though the size of my mount national bird of this country in 1995. guides—something wasn’t right here. the intervening branches and extreme to the correct path down, much to my would be physically challenging with and the length of my legs were not a good An hour later, the sun was up and already distance. For the next four hours we overwhelming relief. segments we would hike and one stretch match. It was nice to be riding and my We left before dawn. It was a wet, slippery scorching us and the plume of smoke was enjoyed our own lunch and watched the we’d traverse via horseback. The island of horse was sure-footed crossing streams hike up to the plateau from where we were still rising from the woods. By this time we eagles going about their lives. It was a Bill Thompson Mindanao, where the Mt. Kitanglad eagle and traversing muddy patches, but the to look for the eagles’ nest. En route we had two different local guides, two strong genuine privilege to spend quality time nest is, is one of the largest and wildest of wooden pommel of the saddle struck me passed through deep forest broken up by fellows who had hauled large coolers with this very special bird. This is an edited version from Bill. We will publish the islands in the Philippine archipelago. in a particularly unpleasant spot, and so clearings where subsistence farmers and up to the lookout with our lunches and There were other birds to watch, too, the full article on the web-site in due course.

12 13 at this point with the choice of lens since NATURE IN FOCUS one labelled DX will not be compatible THEORY AND PRACTICE FOR SUCCESSFUL NATURE PHOTOGRAPHY with full frame although the reverse is not true and an FX lens will cover the The availability of high quality digital cameras, coupled with DX sensor perfectly. One confusing the computer processing options that follow, provide many aspect of the sensor size is the crop effect outlets for the pictures produced. This has enticed many produced for a single lens. Because the nature enthusiasts to start recording their own experiences sensor is placed in the same position in relation to the lens regardless of its area, and views of birds, animals and plants. While it is easy to the image created by the lens is identical take photographs a little extra knowledge can improve the but the DX sensor only records the final product enormously. In this series of articles we will central portion of this image. When the start with the choice of equipment and then move on to digital image is displayed on the camera some of the topics such as exposure, depth of focus etc. that screen or is imported into processing software the image fills the entire screen. mystify the beginner finally dealing with handling of the This produces the effect of an apparent image in the computer. An opportunity will be provided magnification of the image from the DX for readers to submit questions which will be answered in sensor of approximately 1.5. Similarly if subsequent issues. a wide angle lens is used the FX sensor appears to give a wider view than the DX sensor (see illustration). Photograph of White Storks – (Ciconia ciconia) in Castilla la Mancha taken with an FX sensor (without any subsequent cropping) showing the crop effect if a DX sensor had been used. 1. THE EQUIPMENT - CAMERAS manufacturers of compact cameras have HOW MANY PIXELS DO I NEED? are better, but for most applications 16-25 stronger and the water and dust seals introduced versions with interchangeable The marketing information for cameras million pixels is more than adequate. allow them to be used in more extreme This is the first of a projected series of articles aimed at providing background lenses which makes them more similar often makes a big point of the number environments. Camera bodies from the information and techniques to help novices and those with some experience to Digital Single Lens Reflex cameras of pixels in the sensor, which now ranges WHAT IS THE ADVANTAGE OF A major manufacturers do have significant (DSLR) without the penalty of weight up to 35 million, as we have already seen MORE EXPENSIVE CAMERA BODY? trade-in value, providing they have not to obtain high quality photographs of wildlife, birds and animals, as well as and size. The big difference between the larger pixels may give better dynamic Any of the DSLR cameras from the major been abused, and so a gradual move plants. In this opening article we will deal with the camera equipment that is compact camera and the DSLR is the range and less noise so that 16-25 million manufacturers will produce stunning up the range of bodies available can be available and what might satisfy the requirements of different photographic means of framing the image you wish to pixels could be more than adequate. pictures under the right conditions, and contemplated. Manufacturers are also aspirations. take, if the compact has a viewfinder it is Certainly at this pixel density the quality this is the key. The more sophisticated continually improving their offerings Before we delve into the detail a few words of warning. not the exact image seen through the lens of the lens is the limiting factor in the camera and therefore the greater the and a desirable feature introduced by one Photography can become addictive, just like birding, and the standard of and the main tool for framing the image resolution, however, more pixels prevent ability of the photographer to manipulate manufacturer will inevitably appear in the photograph you achieve initially may not continue to satisfy as time goes is the screen on the back of the camera. the image pixelating (breaking up to the parameters for taking the photograph products of others in due course. on and, since individual aptitude and equipment both have an influence on Seeing people with a camera held at arms reveal individual pixels) as the image the wider the range of conditions under In the next article we will deal with lenses results, an urge to upgrade equipment is a common symptom of the addiction. length trying to frame a moving object is area is increased or the image is heavily which perfect photographs can be taken. and how to select the most suitable for The second warning is that the camera manufacturers are extremely smart a common sight. In the DSLR the image cropped (as is often necessary with distant The more expensive camera bodies, each application. through the viewfinder is exactly the photographs of birds). The advice might often referred to as ‘professional,’ are and once you enter the world of cameras with interchangeable lenses and image that will fall on the sensor when be therefore that if you intend to print also designed to withstand more extreme Roger Marchant - ABS Member accessory equipment you encounter the brand specificity of fittings ie. you the mirror is raised during exposure. very large poster size images more pixels conditions ie. the body is mechanically cannot use the lens or flash gun of one manufacturer on the camera of Many DSLR cameras now also include a another. Unless you are a professional photographer and replace all your ‘live view’ image capability for the screen. equipment regularly you will be locked into one brand indefinitely, so make For photographing small or moving PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPETITION FOR ABS MEMBERS your initial choice carefully! subjects, particularly in high ambient light conditions, the DSLR viewfinder is The editors of this magazine have decided to introduce a quarterly photographic competition with the winning TYPES OF CAMERA it comprises a solid state device with the most satisfactory system. entries published in the the following issues of the magazine. The entries will be judged by a panel of experienced We will deal here only with digital individual pixels each of which records The DSLR camera is perhaps the best wildlife photographers and naturalists who will also make general comments on the photographs submitted cameras and only those most likely to be an area of colour information which is starting point for someone who expects and give tips for improvement. encountered by the amateur photographer. converted to the digital signal forming the to increase and maintain an interest in The entries will be scored under three categories: At the present time many portable entire image. If a sensor has few pixels the photography. Even if you are starting electronic devices include cameras, eg individual pixels will become visible as the with one of the entry level cameras it 1- Technical excellence of the photograph ie. focus, exposure etc. phones, tablets etc., these are capable image is expanded during processing for is important to remember that the lens 2- Composition and presentation of the image ie. is the image properly cropped and have offending background of producing excellent images but have printing. If the pixel count is increased to on this camera can be used with a more elements been dealt with limited use in wildlife photography. The counter this each pixel has to be smaller sophisticated (and expensive) camera 3- Biological interest and challenge ie. is the subject doing something interesting and was there a challenge to simplest, and cheapest, dedicated cameras and the resulting sensor suffers from providing you remain with the same brand. obtaining the image, was the subject photographed in difficult conditions, is the subject infrequently observed. are the compacts without interchangeable greater electronic noise in the image There are two major manufacturers who lenses. These often have a significant (colour distortion) and the dynamic range provide the greatest range of equipment, optical zoom capability on the lens and is reduced, that is the ability of the sensor Canon and Nikon, but other makers have Rules of the competition are small enough to carry at all times to to record an image over a wide range of high quality products that can be used Entries must be submitted on-line to [email protected] in a jpeg format. The decision of the judges capture elusive moments. Inevitably they light intensities. This is manifest in blown to produce outstanding results. Most will be final and there will be no discussion of the decisions with the entrants. Entries must have been taken have drawbacks, principal of which is the highlights and lack of detail in shadows. DSLR cameras come with either an FX relatively small area of the sensor. The The basic lesson to be learnt from this is (full frame) sensor, which is the size of by the person entering the competition and have been taken within the last 2 years. Photographs that have sensor is the recording device that has to choose a compact camera with a larger the frame on 35mm film, or the slightly been previously published or entered into other competitions are not eligible. Entrants must be amateur replaced the film of traditional cameras; rather than smaller sensor. Recently the smaller DX sensor. Care needs to be taken photographers and not professional or semi professional photographers.

14 14 15 Mediterranean scrubland with a high environmental value, The hidden jewel in our Malacitan park is, no doubt, the basically composed of Common Hawthorn, Kermes Oak, Goshawk, which will fly rarely above the trees and which we will Montes de Málaga National Park Mediterranean Buckthorn, Mastic tree, Prickly Juniper, distinguish from the smaller Sparrowhawk in the distance by the Honeysuckle, Genista umbellata, Spanish Broom, Hare’s Ear, heavier flapping of its wings. Bupleurum Gibraltarium and White-leaved Rockrose. Common Buzzards are present all year and are joined by Booted and Short-toed Eagles in summer. “Marujan”, a female Booted Eagle breeding in the park, is already known all around Spain after she was installed with a GPS tracking device last summer that showed, surprisingly enough, how she winters near Valencia, instead of crossing the strait to Africa. We will be frequently startled by the powerful flapping of the Wood Pigeons in their quick flight away and discover dozens of Crag Martins flying after little invisible insects when raising our eyes up. We will hear Great Spotted Woodpeckers’ drumming in the distance and even find their relatives, the Green Woodpeckers, flying among the pine trees. Jays will move from tree to tree in slow motion, Rock Buntings will whistle from the scrubland, Common Crossbills will take possession of their crowns in the trees and Chaffinches will always be our faithful companions. In winter, we pay attention to the calls of Dunnocks, Cetti’s Warblers, Chiffchaffs, Firecrests, Wrens, Long-tailed Tits, Nuthatches and Short-toed Treecreepers. Song Thrushes will fly Despite the dryness of the park, especially during the summer away from the branches of the olive trees, where they feed on period, four different species of toads (Discoglossus jeanneae, Pelodytes ibericus, Bufo bufo and Bufo calamita) are common and spawn in the little ponds around the springs and those which form in areas created by rain. The Mediterranean Chameleon, which will be difficult to discover unless crossing our path in front of us, is the most singular reptile in the park. There is also a big population of mammals in the park, including insectivores (shrews and hedgehogs), bats and rodents (mice and squirrels). We may run into a variety of carnivorous mammals like Foxes, Weasels, Beech Martens, Genets and Egyptian Mongooses. The king of mammals in the park is the Wild Boar which has rapidly expanded since the 1980s. Let’s do a little history So, the forestry expert Miguel Bermejo Durán designed in 1919 It was one o’clock in the morning in Málaga city on September the “Project for the Correction of the River Guadalmedina Basin”, The birds of the Montes de Málaga whose execution started in 1930 under the direction of another the 24th 1907 when, while the population slept, and without one Like in any other wooded environment, bird watching in the forestry expert, José Martínez Falero, to whose memory, in fair single raindrop having fallen on the city, an enormous flood of Montes de Málaga requires a great deal of patience and even a acknowledgement for such a formidable task, is dedicated one of water and mud rushed down the river Guadalmedina, coming long walk in order to tick the greatest number of species given the most beautiful viewpoints of the Montes de Málaga Natural from its high course where a violent downpour had taken place, the lower density of birds as compared with rivers or wetlands. leaving 21 dead, lots of injured people and a devastated town Park. These works went on until the 1950s. the black olives with Robins, Blackcaps and Sardinian Warblers. behind. Around 5,000 hectares on the left bank of the river were Great, Coal, Blue and Crested Tits use their calls to keep their The origin of this tragedy is to be found at the beginning of compulsory purchased and planted with trees. Thirty dykes families united until spring. Finches like Siskins will be common the XVI century when, after the re-conquest of Málaga by the were built and 62 kilometres of tracks and paths made. The in the pine groves and, when a cold front pushes in from the Muslims and the share-out of lands, the forests were cut down main species used in the restoration was the Aleppo Pine (Pinus north, Bramblings and Bullfinches will take shelter in the park. and the ground ploughed without any care for the steep slopes of halepensis), which has given rise to a wonderful pine grove that In the last days of winter, the nights will give us the brave song the hills. Grapevines replaced wood and scrub land, leaving the has successfully achieved its function during the last century. of Woodlarks and the first light of the day will be blessed with a soil unprotected from ordinarily scarce, but torrential rains. The burst of Robins, Nightingales, Blackbirds, Blackcaps and Wrens first recorded flood occurred in 1544. The Montes de Málaga Natural Park which will later give way to the calls of Subalpine Warblers, This situation turned even worse from 1878 on with the plague of The Junta de Andalucía converted the Montes de Málaga into Melodious warblers, Western Bonelli’s Warblers and the song of the Grape phylloxera infestation that led to the abandonment of a natural park in July 1989 and it was included in its Protected the Golden Orioles, Cirl Buntings and Mistle Thrushes. Turtle more than 110,000 hectares of vineyards in the Axarquia, Montes Andalusian Natural Sites Network (RENPA). It extends to the Doves will make us dream with their murmur in the shade of the de Málaga and the river Guadalhorce valley. north of Málaga city over an area of 5,000 hectares, with heights Holm Trees. Goldfinches, Greenfinches, Serins and Hawfinches ranging from 100 to 1,031 metres above sea level. will be common guests of the forest. The solutions As mentioned before, its vegetation cover is mainly composed of Little and Eagle Owls, in the boundaries of farmlands, and King Alfonso XIII ordered the necessary public works to prevent a mature Aleppo Pine forest, with some local species like Carob Tawny Owls in the pine forest, will be our company on cold these floods ever occuring again in Málaga. Trees in dry sunnier areas, Holm Oaks along the stream beds, winter nights and Scops Owls and Red-necked Nightjars will call The first project, started in 1908, consisted of building the Pantano and Cork Oaks in higher and more humid areas in the northeast And not only binoculars are required, but we will have to prick out on clear starry summer nights. A wonderful area indeed for (reservoir) del Agujero. The dam would stop the great flood of the park. Olive Trees and Strawberry trees (Arbutus unedo) up our ears if we are to spot our friends. the nature lover. waters with a capacity of up to 4.5 cubic hectometres. This work are also common in the park, as well as Poplars, Pomegranate Curiously, when one moves along the tracks crossing the park, finished in 1924 and, even though it effectively accomplished the trees, Common Figs and Turpentine trees, deciduous species one may go from complete silence and absence of birds, to finding Luis Alberto Rodriguez - ABS Member purpose it was designed for, those who requested tree restoration that embellish the park with beautiful colours every autumn. happy flocks of different species travelling together through the www.birdaytrip.es/en/ of the river Guadalmedina basin were happily considered as well. The growth of this forest improved the development of a forest. Note: “Malacitan” means belonging to Málaga

16 17 Beauty is in the eye of the beholder Back in the UK I had a great interest in was mainly where Juan’s interest had been (Orchis italica) which we spent some time (Orchiaeras bivonae), Champagne (Orchis champagneuxii), the country’s wild orchids and spent up until now. cleaning up before taking our shots. Lady (Orchis purpurea), Orchis cazorlensis, Dense-Flowered quite a lot of time searching for new Our first stop did not disappoint as (Neotinea maculata), Pyramidal (Anacamptis pyramidalia), species and eventually managed to see within a few minutes of arriving we had From here we headed north calling in at Lizard (Himantoglossum hircinum), Barton’s (Dactylorhiza and photograph all but two species Woodcock (Ophrys scolopax), Yellow Laguna Dulce and Fuente de Piedra for a insularis), Lange’s (Orchis langei), Robust Marsh (Dactylorhiza found there at that time. This interest has Bee (Ophrys lutea) and Sawfly Orchids couple of hours birding before continuing elata), Bee (Ophrys apifera), Small Tongue (Serapias parviflora), continued out here in Spain and I have (Ophrys tenthredinifera) photographed on to the Málaga side of Embalse de Iznájar Heart-flowered Tongue (Serapias cordigera), Sword-leaved over the last eight years searched for, and and this was just the start. At this same for some more orchids. Here we searched (Cephalanthera longifolia) and Red Helleborines (Cephalanthera found, a great many species. Whether it site we also found Ophrys Dyris, Mirror a couple of different areas along the one rubra), Burnt-tip (Orchis ustulata), Early Purple (Orchis is orchids, birds, butterflies or whichever (Ophrys speculum), Pink Butterflyroad and added a few more species to mascula) and Fragrant Bug Orchids (Orchis coriophora subsp branch of natural history that takes your Orchids (Orchis papilionacea) and what the days list including the very rare Dark fragrans). fancy there is always that one species that was to turn out to be the find of the day Spider Orchid (Ophrys incubacea) and you would like to see above all others. the hybrid between Ophrys scolopax and the more common Somber Bee (Ophrys Eventually June came around and we went to the site for the Ophrys speculum (Ophrys x castroviejio), fusca subsp fusca), Ophrys subfusca, star plant which was in the middle of nowhere in the mountains For me almost from day one this turned out to be the first record for Bumble-bee (Ophrys bombyliflora), Small in Spain I have wanted to see this hybrid for Andalusia and only the Woodcock (Ophrys picta) and Giant ... and then we found the first spike of the fifth record for the Iberian peninsular. Orchids (Barlia robertiana). We finished Algerian Butterfly Orchids and I was not and photograph the rare and the day with an amazing list of species I think beautiful Algerian We moved on to the second site of the day including 13 Ophrys species. disappointed; it was exactly as I had imagined Butterfly Orchid (Platanthera where we hoped for and found several and was in perfect condition. spikes of the superb Atlas Orchid (Ophrys This was the day when Juan got the algeriensis). It is generally a atlantica) a very rare species found at a orchid bug and from this point on with to the north of Granada. We drove to the reference given, then green plant and compared to few sites in this area. Our next stop was his contacts we were to see some brilliant walked a further 3 or so kilometres down a steep track into a some species quite dull. just to show Juan and Beatriz the original species including my main target species, small valley with a very damp meadow at its base and started to site where the newly described Ophrys within a few days he contacted me to say search. We soon started to find spikes of Common Twayblade

Atlas Orchid(Ophrys Atlantica) Algerian Butterfly Orchid Algerian Butterfly Orchid Dark Spider Orchid (Ophrys Incubacea) Ophrys * Castroveijoi (Platenthera Algeriensis) (Platenthera Algeriensis) I had done quite a lot of research on the Malagatensis was first found by Michael he had a site where just three spikes of this (Listera ovata) and Robust Marsh Orchid amongst the deep grass internet and verbally with some British Lowe and Ian Phillips as it flowered back plant, the Algerian Butterfly orchid, were We spent a long time at this site and took a great many and Spanish botanists and had drawn in December and January and was well said to flower, so all we had to do was wait photographs. We searched the area properly and by the time we a blank with regards to a site but in over with by now. Our final spot in this until mid June. were leaving we had counted over 40 spikes of this cracking little 2012 this was to change when my good area was a little nearer to Coín, this site plant and we left very happy. The orchid year did not end there as friends Juan Pérez Contreras and his wife is set amongst working quarries and is We had several more trips out in the we carried on and added a few later flowering species including Beatriz Pérez Machado and I spent a day under threat of being destroyed but at intervening period and recorded several Epipactis tremolsii, Small-leaved Helleborine (Epipactis searching for orchids down near Coín in the moment it holds a good if not dusty more species including Fan-lipped (Orchis microphylla) and Epipactis fageticola. Málaga Province. It was mid-March when colony of the uncommon Two-leaved collina), Early Spider (Ophrys sphegodes), we set off to visit several sites looking for Gennaria (Gennaria diphylla) and the Small Early Purple (Orchis olbiensis), Mick Richardson - ABS Member some orchids in the Ophrys group which much commoner Italian Man Orchid hybrid between Italian Man and Man www.granadawildlife.com

18 19 Advertisement

F you enjoy great birds and wonderful FOOD FOR THOUGHT natural scenery but like to do so from a comfortable base, you need to check out Are you looking for Twelve years ago when we moved to Spain, the Ronda area’s most popular award- Iwinning hotel., Molino del Santo. like all good ornithologists, we set out to Do you enjoy really good food, the friendli- feed the birds and entice them within easy est and most helpful sta who speak English a great base near if required and the security of knowing that 26 viewing distance. We failed miserably. years of experience mean you will nd your every need has been carefully thought about? Ronda from which to Spanish birds are not attracted by peanut Nestled alongside a rushing mountain stream cages, seed feeders or fat balls; at least here – where dippers, king shers and grey wagtails are regularly seen, the old watermill that forms explore Andalucia’s they are not. We had a problem. the base of Molino del Santo is a true delight. In the summer months you can eat on the riverside terraces at lunch and dinner time and natural delights? when it is cooler, there is a cosy sitting room The solution? with log res and a warm welcome. literally, was water. Neither we, nor the birds can live Where dippers dip, where grey wagtails wag, without it. Sorted and where vultures...um...vulch What do you need? Great birds all around? No problem, from raptors to passerines you’ll be Open every day for spoilt for choice on your doorstep or step out lunch and dinner to see amingoes and stone curlews, Egyptian of “The Ram’s Horn Bush” due to the numerous large ram´s vultures and Rock thrush, eagle owls and bee- horn shaped galls which form on it as a result of insect eaters, orioles and hoopoes, amongst an im- pressive bird list. attack. At the end of October and early November, the You want great walking? Sorted – the hotel has insects which have been developing within the galls start dozens of walks to recommend from half hour to emerge and fly. During the last week of October I sat routes to all day challenges. High mountain rang- on our terrace and watched 20 plus passerines frantically es or riverside strolls. Which will you choose? Interesting things for non-birding days? Ron- hawking as the clouds of insects emerged, while just above da is on the doorstep just 15 minutes away, 52 Crag Martins swooped backwards and forwards over prehistoric caves to visit, Roman amphithea- the bush, snapping up what was missed by the birds below. tres, the famous white villages all around, big cities of Sevilla and Granada possible as day Subalpine Warbler. Photo: Pieter Verheij trips. You’ll be spoilt for choice. We now have a large shallow dish we used to stand enormous Excellent flowerpots in which we keep topped up daily. Initially sited Excellent Food, Heated Swimming Pool and Very comfortable Rooms. unsuccessfully near the house but subsequently moved 40 Is amazing food and carefully-selected local wine a priority for you? Molino del Santo can metres away, it provides us with hours of enjoyment as the tick both boxes with con dence. e menus Mention this article birds drink and bathe. Visiting birders are thrilled to see a o er you light snacks and sandwiches to full 8 for a special room rate Blue Rock Thrush, one of the regulars, so close. course tasting menus. People have been heard to say eating here has been the best meal of their lives. Excellent breakfasts are included in But what can we do about food? room rates – or call in for breakfast if you are Our garden is a wild tangle of bushes and shrubs which in the area. Non-residents can also eat in the attract large numbers of Sardinian Warblers in June and hotel but reservations are o en essential. July, why? The answer was on hand, literally as I ringed the Comfortable rooms required? Look no further – choose from four categories with B&B rates birds my fingers were turning purple from their droppings. from only 45 euros per person. Central Heat- Oh the joys of bird ringing! It required little detective work ing, Kettles in rooms, Air con, wi – free of to realise it was juice from the berries they had eaten. We course – and pool towels provided so that you have two prolific berry bearing shrubs on the plot,Pistacia can enjoy the heated pool. lentiscus, the Mastic Tree, due to its sticky sap, which Precious normally fruits in June and July depending on springtime So, if you want birds in your Spanish Special assistance an issue? Not here. e ho- Need reassurance? e hotel guarantees your which means you get great personal service – temperatures and Pistacia terebinthus The Turpentine tel will do all they can to help you in any way satisfaction or your money will be courteously but they do book early for many dates ; many Tree, (smell the sap), which fruits in the autumn. Both garden provide fresh water and plant to get the very most out of your precious lei- refunded. Trip Advisor reviews rate the hotel people fail to make the reservation they want have clusters of berries which are eventually purple when some Pistacia bushes. Oh and if any sure time. Booking visits to local monuments, and restaurant number one in the area, Guide because it is too late. Check out availability at ripe, not unlike the Elderberries we picked for wine when arranging horse-riding, getting permits for books sing praises, 65% of visitors have been any time by email or phone. Secondly the hotel entomologist can help me identify the zones of limited access, ground oor rooms, before – some returning many times each year. and restaurant close from early November to in England. By encouraging both shrubs to expand by the insects causing the galls I would welcome special diets... You’ll be hard pressed to hear What are you waiting for? early March. Don’t miss out. Plan to visit when removal of Gorse and wild Olives, a feast awaits, both in that they can’t help you. e downsides? Firstly, there are only 18 rooms Molino del Santo is open. the summer for the breeding birds and in the autumn when some help please. I am stumped. Blackcaps, Black Redstarts and numerous other migrating MOLINO DEL SANTO , BDA ESTACIÓN S/N, 29370 BENAOJÁN, MALAGA Much more information on species avail themselves of the fruits. But there is a bonus M the website : www.molinodelsanto.com - All enquiries to [email protected] or call +34 952 16 71 51. for them from P. terebinthus, which has another slang name John Hale [email protected] Molinodel Santo Contact them today – tomorrow may be too late and you’ll be sorry to have missed out H OTEL • R ESTA URANT • B AR

20 21 the sight of a male Hen Harrier in winter In May we watched one Nightjar on its neighbour with a garden backing onto the and a male Montagu’s in spring quartering perch (previously on a cork oak, but olive groves finds them drinking from her over the orchard. Black Kites are common more recently on our neighbour’s dead pool. from February to August, with a flock of poplar) repeating its “chokka-chokka” Another star, which only puts in a 400 on 9 August. Common Buzzards are call, falling silent as the partner flies in few appearances each year, is the Golden resident in the cork oaks and Kestrels in and they fly off together performing Oriole. The Spotless Starlings, (known by the olives groves. Sparrowhawks we see their wing-clapping courtship. A great our non-birdwatcher neighbours as the only occasionally on migration. Two adult sight! My first sighting was at dusk on “telephone bird” because their accurate Golden Eagles annoyed our Buzzards on a slip road onto the autovia where there mimicry sends our neighbours running to 16 March 2012, and 2014 started well with seemed to be a dead bird laid out on answer their mobile phones), can also do an immature Golden Eagle on 14 January. the tarmac. When I was within a few a passable imitation of a Golden Oriole. I tend to think the absence of a Honey However, when the genuine article turns Buzzard on my list must be my failure up, it is always a thrill to hear its fluty to check the buzzards in August! When call. Will we find it this time? Two early gardening, I always remind myself to look mornings a male Golden Oriole obligingly up as you never know what will pass over. sat openly in the top of the pine and sang One day a Night Heron flew over, honking to us. to declare its presence (was it lost?), and The first year we recorded 65 My local patch on 21 September a Black Stork glided low species and surprisingly we have only overhead. Most of the year we have lunch added 6 species since. But I still enjoy on the lawn. “Setting the table” means listening to the cacophony of bird calls in knives, forks, salt and binoculars and we spring – the Common Cuckoos, Hoopoes Seville province are very often treated to a passing raptor (thank heavens they relieve the monotony and sometimes to a kettle of raptors joined of their 3-note call by occasionally Our garden and most interestingly the ski above it by Ravens and White Storks. adding or subtracting a “hoo”!!), When we arrived here in August Green Woodpeckers and Nightingales 2006 it was a learning curve for me dominating but the Great Tits, Finches, (fortunately there is always a lot to learn Serins, Blackbirds, Doves and Sardinian How quickly we become blasé about palms, pines, elms and well-irrigated fruit abundant, though still common, in the about birds). Day after day at about 3 p.m. feet it startled me by flying off and 20 Warblers having their say. Friends on the birds we once considered exotic! trees, hedges, shrubs, and lawns. With years where wet springs have rendered the I grabbed by binoculars and hurtled to yards further on a second Red Necked the phone find it hard to believe that When we first arrived in Andalucía I got summer temperatures often in the high banks of the stream in the adjacent field scan the cork oaks to discover what made Nightjar did the same. I later read in the the birdsong they are hearing is live and Tom (my husband) to abandon the car 30s, small birds must think this is an oasis too wet for nesting. The pair of breeding the angry “keeking” for the few minutes bird book “Aves de España” that this is real! And after the quiet of late summer in Arahal high street for me to jump out in the desert. Our garden is bordered Woodchat Shrikes obviously did not like until I arrived. I never saw anything, typical behaviour. In 2006 and 2007, and the Robins and Blackcaps arrive back at and take a photo of a White Stork on its by a lane with prickly pears and then a the new owners as they have not bred but eventually I realised it was a female possibly subsequently, I think they bred the end of September, bursting into song nest. When we continued to Marchena, hacienda with cork oaks and arable fields since. Hoopoes are common residents and Tawny Owl, presumably grumpy at being in the Eucalyptus woods 400 metres and prompting the Nightingales to sing where I realised that there were Storks’ beyond. The cork oaks offer nesting sites in early September a Western Olivaceous disturbed, perhaps by the Buzzards taking from the house. We would look in vain for their territory before leaving in early nests on the town hall, every church to a range of birds, the abundant rabbits Warbler, Melodious Warbler and Orphean flight after their siesta or by one of the from the path until one would rise from October. On summer afternoons I lie on and any available tall structure, I felt feed Buzzards and Tawny Owls, and the Warbler spent a week in a damp, shady many Green Woodpeckers. Another almost under our feet and fly about 30 my sun-bed in the shade of the pines with somewhat foolish. Storks continued to cows attract Cattle Egrets. The other corner flitting from grass to oleanders. afternoon I searched for the owner of the metres, remaining camouflaged only a book and my binoculars and watch the impress, particularly the magical sight of gardens back onto olive groves with stands My son arrived in early September, strident, piercing, persistent “Ke ...ke ...ke to startle us again as we were almost Nightingales under the hedges and, in them roosting in the neighbouring cork of eucalyptus dotted about. Unfortunately set up his sun bed and declared it was not ...ke”, which I hoped would be a rare bird treading on it. Was it trying to lure us the trees, the Short-toed Treecreepers, oaks silhouetted against the setting sun. our patch is completely flat so we don’t a bird-watching holiday. Minutes later he of prey, before realising it was a young from the nest? Certainly the Sardinian Spotted Flycatchers from late May until These days I am more likely to take note have great visibility into the surrounding was racing for his camera to video 50 White Common Buzzard angrily demanding its Warblers employ a similar tactic when I September, Pied Flycatchers for weeks of a Chaffinch (rare in our area) than a fields (although Tom has promised / Storks, and kept it handy for the Griffon parents return to feed it. And was that a accidentally approach their nests in the in September, abundant Goldfinches, White Stork! Nevertheless, I derive great threatened to build a tree house, and has Vultures (common all year), 2 Eygptian barking dog or a Raven? Answer: a Raven. hedge. They creep along in the hedge Greenfinches and Great Tits, Serins and enjoyment from the birds I see in and been seen up a ladder with binoculars on Vultures on 14 September (not seen And was that a squeaky wheelbarrow or a calling to lure me away, rather than Blue Tits (though both are more common over our garden all year round - so many occasions). again until 2013), Booted Eagles (which Raven? Answer: a Raven. And that hissing flying away as they would do at other outside midsummer), Sardinian Warblers, of which would have seemed exotic before We are situated close to the A92, grace us frequently from January until / spitting noise (described much more times of year. the occasional Spanish Sparrow and we moved here. 10 km from La Puebla de Cazalla, about September) and the much less frequently decorously in the bird books)? Answer: a I enjoy the plaintive call of the Stone Western Olivaceous Warbler, and hope 130km due north of Gibraltar, 60km from Hoopoe. for a new visitor. Seville, and a few kilometres south of the Although the stars of the show may I often think of a good day’s bird- Guadalquivir basin, which is an area of be the Egyptian Vultures, Golden Eagles watching as a trip to Donaña or the intensive agriculture picked out on bird and Black Stork, the winner of the long- mountains and have looked blankly at maps as being devoid of most small birds. service award is undoubtedly the Red people who have described our area as Six kilometres away is a rubbish tip which Necked Nightjar. These birds have arrived having great bird-watching, but then attracts hundreds of Black Kites, White on cue most evenings from the beginning I realise I may have started to take for Storks, Cattle Egrets, and thousands of of May until the end of September each granted the wonderful and exotic birds Gulls (depending on the season) and Red year. Fifteen minutes after sunset, and which fly over the garden, and the Kites. In February scores of Black Kites five minutes after the appearance of the abundance of birds and birdsong within My patch is our garden (and most squabbling and dodging pursuers can first bat, they suddenly appear and glide the garden. When my Spanish friends ask interestingly the skies above it) which, present a traffic hazard on the autovia. seen Short-toed Eagle. Each autumn, (on soundlessly over the pool and do their Curlews as they fly over at dusk. whether I get bored living in the country, together with 18 other properties, We moved to Spain in August 2006. 21 September in 2013) I am surprised by circuits. In summer we usually have friends They breed in the olive groves close I reply “NEVER”. each with a large garden and orchard, Bee-eaters perched on branches and wires the striking plumage of the immature Red and family staying, who have also become by and neighbours complain about comprises an area of lush vegetation with all around, though they have been less Kite, common all winter. Rare treats are enthralled with our Red Necked Nightjars. them becoming raucous in spring! A Linda Roberts - ABS Member

22 23 Binoculars & Telescopes

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Andalucia Bird Society Wint 13.indd 1 18/12/2013 13:19