Doc.B's Nature Blog

Before some rainy weather set in decided to spend a morning birding just locally yesterday 12th.,just 4 hours and back home for lunch.As we set off noted around the urbanisations Collared Dove,a male Blackbird and Black Redstart.

On our way up to the hilltop village of Casares stopped on the Sierra Utrera which is one of my usual birdy sites and always turns up something.And surprise ,surprise a whole lot of migrant/wintering White Wagtails feeding under the feet of a herd of cattle but lots in a recently ploughed field,I stopped counting when reached 60 ,first because we had to make tracks for breakfast and 2ndly because impossible to get an accurate count as thye kept appearing and disappearing in between the furrows of the field.Other birds here incl.3 Corn Buntings (increasingly fewer around,very worrying),5 Meadow Pipits ,4 1st winter Spotless Starlings,a local Stonechat and 7 Goldfinch flew over.

Breakfast stop was in a venta below the massif of Sierra Crestellina,striong black Spanish Coffee,(They know how to make it round these parts!!) and a generous slice of taosted brown local bread with salt,clove of garlic,olive oil and tomato frit,typical Spanish fare.

Quickly finished off and thence to next port of call looking up to the Sierra followed by a couple of good viewing points,all by 10.30 and by that time the wind started to blow from the E.and gusty,not pleasant,so drove down to the area of a cemetary just below the village to get a bit of shelter,much better.

Its impossible to get accurate counts of all the birds so my numbers are always a minimum but they make a reasonable assessment of what is around.So all in all at all these sites in and around the village we noted good numbers of Griffon Vulutres ( a decent sized breeding colony up on the sierra).I shall never forget the 1st.time I saw 1 of these magnificent creatures on Gibraltar back in the day,it was a close overhead fly by,and I said Look there’s a flying carpet!!).Never get tired of them,Also we had 2 Collared Doves,1 Eurasian Hoopoe(Prob.a wintering bird),1 local Female Blue Rock Thrush,12 Cram Martins,a pair of Ravens,6 Migrant/wintering Common Chiffchaffs,Blackcaps flying in between the bushes everywhere (But failed to spot a single female,all males noted!!),3 Local Male and 1 Female Sardinian Warblers (Our commonest scrub warbler),3 wintering Robins,a good count of 16 Black Redstarts,9 White Wagtails,a single male Greenfinch,3 local Stonechats,House Sparrows,4 Blackbirds,

Time was pressing so had to forshorten our stay and made way back home on a circular route so that we took in a couple of local golf clubs where there are small accessible ponds to assess whats around

On and around these ponds we found,6 winter plumage Little Grebes,7 Moorhens,11 Common Coot,2 migrant Barn Swallows,a Collared Dove ,2 more White Wagtails,1 Grey Wagtail,and 13 Common Chiffchaffs fly catching amongst the Phragmites and Bulrushes (Typical habitat for them here in the winter).

And I had to show this.These monstrosities are appearing everywhere ,in every small available piece of ground,apartment blocks are more common than the birds!!.It is an ecological disaster.And they are not cheap and who is going to buy them.As sure as eggs are eggs most will be 2nd holiday homes for the well off Scandinavians and Germans to name a few.Its OK at the mo while there is plenty of water in the reservoirs ,but if we get another drought and extreme temperatures as we did this year,the water will soon run out after next summer.its so short sighted by the local Town hall,who are happily taking in the money for the building licences ,but what of the consequences!!.Its criminal,and there is no future for the local wildlife.

I have experienced 3 Booms and 2 Busts since living here in S.Spain so watch this space for another Bust.And its not just happening here ,all the Spanish Costas are experiencing the same catastrophe.,a concrete jungle.I dont want to harp on about it anymore,it makes my blood boil and thats putting it mildly!! Well goota go and see what I have in last nights’ moth traps,hopefully no geckos!!