Some migration notes...an a first record!

Hi there:

Here some notes that I had in the wardrobe about those magnificient birds;

 Dunlin (Calidris alpina).

Dunlin (Calidris alpina).

This time I used the camera instead of the telescope to capture those images.

Common snipes feeding. 

A nice group of more tha fifty birds has been lingering around the past days.

Laguna de dos Reinos. 20 september

Kentish plover.

The first record for the reservoir !! 

(Found by D.Mikeleiz ,identified by me afterwards)

(Laguna de Dos Reinos).20 september

In this human made reservoir is essential to maintain low levels of water in order to create safe islands and muddy shores for the waders that stop here on migration.

The muddy areas that appear with low water, make a very interesting place for shorebirds.

 Otherwise no birds will stop in this protected area.

Variety of shorebirds.

Ruff(1),Littele stint (4),Dunlin (3),Ringed plover (4).

A big surprise in the ricefields!!

 

Hi there!

Some days ago I had the great opportunity to observe a lifer for me and lucklily not far away from my home town, Pamplona.

It was a Buff breasted sandpiper, localized in Arguedas village,famous for its ricefields.

This neartic species breeds mainly in Northern Canada and Alaska so it was a wonderfull record.

Buff breasted sandpiper (Calidris subruficolis)

Descriptive picture.

The long moustard colored feet barely pertrude beyond the tail.

Quite remarkable the "C" comas of the neat clean underwing.

It keept feeding in the same flooded area the whole time I remained there.

Very similat to a female ruff, beware of the different character.

This has been the first historical record for the county.

Video.

Feather cleaning.

Video.

Feeding.

Various lapwings with a pair of glossy ibises flying around.

Those ricefields are a valious habitat in this period of the year.

I also saw twelve little ringed plovers and six wood sandpipers.

The bird is difficult to detect with the muddy background.

Three glosy ibis were also a nice treat in the mudflat.

The buff breasted sandpiper on the left,easily overlooked bird.

The bird has remained in the place for at least four days...

 The pectoral spotting quite obvious in this pic

Good day to everyone!

The rice the harvest in this area is sold with the Alcaravan brand name. 

An excellent product, healthy and produced with eco label!

Without those ricefields no waders around...........

Productos El Alcaravan

( web site )

Some birds in August

Hi there!

The last week of august has been quite dull in my local patch with not to many waders around.

As usual various common sandpipers,by far the most numerous wader around with the ocasional visit of ringed plovers in very scarce numbers.

(*) all pics with kowa 88 + smartphone hand held (a good way of staying far from migratory birds).

Ringed plover.

Ringed plover.

Ringed plover (young)

Those three were together in the same shore area.

And now I post some pics of a very nice afternoon I had in Laguna de Dos Reinos

I could tick ten species of waders,my record in this lake;

Green sandpiper 4

Avocet 1

Lapwing 1

Black tailed godwit 1

BWS 4

Dunlin 1

Curlew sandpiper 2

Wood sandpiper 1

Common snipe 6

Little ringed plover 1

Not very high numbers really but good variety.

BWS feeding surrounded by more than a hundred mallards.

 Avocet.

A pair of curlew sandpipers (young) in the distance.

Avocet probing in the swallow waters of  Dos Reinos.

14 aug 2020. Zolina reservoir.

Those green sanpipers were resting together in a mudflat area.

When they are in postnuptial migration they are much more sociable than in spring.

BWS

Here we see a nice group.