Doc.B's Nature Blog

Well,I dont possess a fancy camera with enormous lenses so there will be very few photo records of the bird sightings unless something sits on the fence below our balcony overlooking the golf course,

I am attempting to input all my sightings of whatever wildlife I come across,whether its birds,moths, butterflies, insects,flowers,or even weird things such as Stone Marten faeces on to a website http://www.observation.org.Yes,it covers the whole planet and is a massive citizen science website.So when our sort of winter kicks in ,the daylight hours are shorter,and there are less moths around to process I shall find time to input all my bird data from way back when,times when I flew all over the planet on birding trips.,never a thought on my carbon footprint.Whats the point in keeping all this data on a computer and never using it,just get it out there.

Having collected the moths from the traps around 07.00 Saturday went out for an early Spanish breakfast a few kms.away in Guadiaro village.As I passed over the Rio Guadiaro bridge noted 30+ Great Cormorants and a single Grey Heron on an exposed sandbank.

After breakfast had around just 15 mins.to spare to look around Laguna de Las Camelias in Sotogrande and noted many of the usual suspects incl.1 Collared Dove,9 Crag Martins (passage/wintering),2 Linnets (Passage/wintering),1 Cattle Egret remaining in reeds of the winter roost site,1 Blackbird,1 Male Stonechat,2 Goldfinch (Passage/wintering),10 Little Grebes in winter plumage (highest count so far),1 Black Redstart (Passage/wintering),2 Common Chiffchaffs (Passage/wintering),2 Adult Purple Swamphens,1 Statuesque Grey Heron,a wandering Griffon Vulture,and 2 White Wagtails (Passage/wintering)

Back home a little birding from the balcony produced 6 Crag Martins,1 Spotless Starling,2 Griffon Vultures,3 Wood Pigeons (been big movement of these this Autumn),1 Collared Dove,House Sparrows (Plenty round our urbanisation,unlike some areas),and 2 Black Redstarts (1st noted on 21st.October)

Last Autumn 27th.October 2024 an adult male Black Redstart turned up at our urbanisation Duquesa Fairways Sabinillas,and remained through the whole winter and last record was 18th.March 2025!!This Autumn another has turned up here,it could be the same one!! Watch this space until next March