A grey phlarope in the meadows.

 

At least a Red necked Phalarope in my county!!

Hello again!

Long time without writting on the blog, but I am back again with this precious species that made a stop during it's postnuptial migration in my local patch (I wasn't the lucky finder this time....).

The recent years I tried to find one of those, even if I knew that it was a very difficult task due to it's tiny size in such a big reservoir and also because here is a very rare visitor.

So I was lucky enough to get decent views of this confident bird that lingered close to the south damm and gave good opportunities for other twitchers too.

 

My local patch, a reservoir to preserve......

 Hi there.

A few waders have shown in the shores of the reservoir, Balsa de Zolina, lately during the peak of the prenuptial migration of birds heading northwards a few making an stopover to fuel up their fat reserves and this improving their chances to continue in their challenging journeys.

Numbers have been quite discrete in general ,with ten species recorded, beeing the highlight a solitary Temmincks stint and a ferrougineus sandpiper,it was also a lonely individual.

As usual common redshanks and comon sandpipers have been the most numerous species, but this year the presence of sanderlings and greenshanks has been quite remarcable.

Also mention a solitary knot that was seen by other person the first week of may, and the absence of any records of spotted redshank or any kind of stilt.

Recorded numbers (19sp).

Curlew sandpiper 1

Temmnick Stint 1

Curlew 2

Grey plover 2/3?

Sanderling 5/6?

Dunlins 5

Little stint 3

Ruff 2

Common redshank

Greenshank

Wood sandpiper 2

Green sanpiper 7

Common sandpiper

Little ringed plover

Ringed plover

Black winged stilt

Snipe

Lapwing

Avocet

Common redshank

Sanderling

Common redshank

Grey plover

Common redshank.

Ringed plover

Common sandpiper.

Common redshank.

Greenshank.

Temminck's stint.

Greenshank.

Black winged stint.

Greensank & redshank.

Have a nice day.

Thanks for your visit.

And.... protect shorebird habitat!!!

Pursuing this goal about the reservoir's legal protection among others objetives, it has been recently published a book written by me (also the majority of the pics) were I underline that this environment is of inestimable value for the shorebird migration.

The birds of Eskoriz's reservoir.

Back side....a sanderling with a pair of ringed plovers .....

Birdwatchers of the XXI century, we don't only have to take pics or observe .....we have to actuate to defend and preserve the remaining nature habitats where "our" birds live!!

Some waders arriving.....

Hi there.

A recent video that I manage to do a few days ago in my LP, 

A few waders hace shown in the shores of the reservoir lately during the peak of the prenuptial migration of birds heading northwards and doing an stopover to fuel up their fat reserves and continue in their challenging journey.

Numbers have been quite discrete in general ,with ten species recorded beeing the highlight the kentish plover that I mentioned in my previous post and a ferrougineus sandpiper that was lingering in the north shore two of days ago (with the ruffs).

As usual common redshanks and comon sandpipers have been the most numerous species.

A solitary sanderling was seen by a close friend in the dam, but I wasn't able to detect the bird in the forecoming afternoon. 

 A pair of Calidris alpina feeding in the muddy shore.

A nice kentish plover in my local patch!!

 Hi there!!

Now a few shoots that I could manage yesterday with this real special bird in my lp.

Its a very rare migrant on the shores of Zolina reservoir so each time I see one is always a celebration.

I also saw one small ringed plover , one dunlin a six redshanks.....

Kentish plover

A nice male adquiring a full breeding plumage.

Charadrius alexandrinus.

Its a LP rarity.

The nineth record and five years since the last sighting.

Sharing the muds with a dunlin.

Obvious differences between the "cousins" in good conditions..

VIDEO

Two late november records..

Hi there.

I haven't been very active lately and the waders don't show up so easy in this time off the year ,with the migration finished a few weeks ago ,not many chances to make blog entries.

Anyway I write down two interesting records that don't want to forgive.....

Golden plovers. Asturias. (20nov21).

A really nice group that was feeding in a recently harvested crop field.

A lonely whimbrel with fourty five lapwings in my local patch,Zolina reservoir.(23nov21).

A second for Spain...

 Hi there.

Last week I had the opportunity to twitch a real treat that was discovered a few days before (Alberto Benito&others...) , it was a short billed dowitcher, the second record for Spain and first for Castilla y Leon province. Is a very scarce vagrant in Europe with much less records than its closer relative, the long billed. 

The lonely bird shared the muddyflats of a damm (Embalse Aguilar de Campoo) with other birds like some little stints, various dunlins and a dozen of ringed  plovers. 

                                     

                                                   Linmodromus griseus.

        VIDEO

Panoramic landscape views.

                                                                            VIDEO

Feeding action.

During tbe time I spent in the spot, the bird showed more and more confident and gave me good chances for quality observations and pictures for the card. 

The shorebird keep feeding frantically continuosly, with very fast head movements and short runs. From time to time, digged the whole long beak in its probbing manouvers and even the entire head!

As far as I know it remained in the same place and who knows for how long will stay..... 

One morning in the Ebro delta......

Hi there!

I have been missing for to long, and now is the moment to return with the blog even if there hasn't been to much to talk about due to the dull period of summer in my local patch.

Nonetheless I had a holiday period of eight days and I went one morning birding to Deltebre,without a doubt  one of the best places in the Iberian peninsula for wader watching.

In july there are not plenty of those birds, but is always a treat observing the local ones like the kentish plover or the pranticole (this year I missed this one).

In mid july the postnuptial migration is really in it's very early beginnings so not to many shorebirds around, a few common redshanks and greenshanks to mention something.

I wonder how this place would look like in september with so many ricefields,muddy flats,beaches,small streams and shoreline....!!

 

Oystercatcher feeding.

Greenshank bath. (in the background a slender billed gull).

A solitary common redshank. Always wary....

Greenshank on the look out.

This was the only one I saw......

Kentish plover.

A real rarity  in my "l.p" but here always presents in "good" numbers.

A BW stilt family...out of focus.