FLYPASTS AT THE SALT TOWER

Bryan has put all the photos from Monday 28th on his blog and I have chosen two.  We stopped at The Salt Tower and we had flypasts of several species. Two Sandwich Terns are usually here and on this morning they were flying close by. Patience was required and this photograph was secured.

 

My birds of the day had to be the two Greenshanks in the flooded field which made them easier to see. Their white undersides showed up well and with the short grass we could see all of the birds. They were by best view of this species.

San Felipe Neri and all around looking for Águila Clanga

“ I Know You Are Out There Somewhere”

On Monday 28th we were out again to see what we could. No disappointments, except one, and all the other species were showing well. The beauty is out there for all.

We had a plan and with a reasonable forecast for both sun and wind we thought we would be okay. Before 9am we had pulled into the layby on N332 by the Salt Tower. It was a good choice as we had fly-past after fly-past. Spoonbills - Espátula Común were close again and frequently took to the air. Two Sandwich Terns - Charrán Patinegre  are regulars to us now, flew, dived for fish and kept on doing it. Cormorants - Cormorán Grande too were continually seen flying and on the water in high numbers. We sometimes struggle to find Great White Egrets - Garceta Grande, but today they were there and in the way back to Gran Alacant Bryan counted fourteen with two Grey Herons - Garza Real. If that was not enough three separate Grey Plovers - Chorlito Gris and a Greenshank - Archibebe Claro. This is a place not to go past for our total of species seen here in about twenty minutes, including Gulls, was eighteen.

We moved in land as we wanted to nail the ‘big ‘un’. We know the info the satellite had recorded and we checked out the environs of San Felipe Neri again. Next to the industrial area a flooded field yielded some great birds that included Wood Sandpipers - Andarrios Bastardo (we have never seen so many as this winter), both Ringed and Little Ringed Plovers (Chorlitejo Grande & Chico) and, of course truck loads of White Wagtails - Lavandera Blanco, and their numbers are so numerous. On an opposite corner a large flock of Serín - Verdecillo entertained us. 

On to Santa Águada where there is now little water we had one Little Stint - Correlimos Menudo       and a Bluethroat - Peciazul. Here dark clouds had formed, the wind blew in gusts and some rain came. We could see some raptors in the distance but not what we really wanted . As were about to leave we had clear uninterrupted views of a male Pale Morph Boot Eagle - Águila Calzada. It flew low enough to see the markings on the upper and lower wings. A sighting well worth it.

                                                  “I Know I’ll Find You Somehow”

We moved around and checked wherever we could including going to the other side of AP 7. New territory for us, with large vistas and farmed fields. It did not contain the large number of species that are around San Felipe. There were no flooded fields, but we did have Skylarks - Alondra Común.

We re-traced our steps passing through Santa Águada and beyond. Again we had Booted Eagles and in a ditch one Snipe - Agachadiza Común. We came across other flooded fields and we checked everyone. On our way back we had a flock of Starlings- Estornino Europea on the ground but only a small number were Estornino Negre. Then in one of the large fields a flock of over one hundred Lapwings - Avefria Europea  with eight Golden Plovers - Chorlito Dorada Europea. (a second sighting for this winter)

Again we saw some great birds almost without getting out of the car. The weather was not in our favour but a great day nevertheless. We will do it again.

Bryan’s photos to follow

                                                “I Know You Are Out There Somewhere

                                                       I know I’ll Find You Somehow”

Until next time  - lyrics by Justin Hayward of The Moody Blues (1987)

BOOK REVIEW - A SONG FOR THE DARK TIMES BY IAN RANKIN

 Title                A Song for the Dark Times - Family comes first even before the truth

Author            Ian Rankin

Publisher.        Orion Fiction an imprint of The Orion Publishing Group Ltd. 

                        www.orionbooks.co.uk 

Having enjoyed Galbraith’s tome of 927 pages and reached a break in Mantell’s Mirror and the Light I needed something different. I turned to Michelle's Book Club cultured choice of the classic Far from the Madding Crowd and I am enjoying reading it in small doses and appreciating the language. However, at the forefront of my mind, was Ian Rankin’s latest, A Song for the Dark Times. Very appropriately named and one could be forgiven for thinking it is about our two-fold troubles. Written at the time of the struggle to break free from Europe, but before Covid became the daily news it only has a passing mention of Brexit and refers to the pandemic at the very end.

I have enjoyed the stories with John Rebus, his attitude of working to his own rules and his dealings with criminality in and around Edinburgh. Ian Rankin is a fabulous story teller and the different scenarios run along with ease. Two threads to follow. Two dead, and several characters with their own agendas. He weaves them together and it hops back and forth between Edinburgh and his country locale. It works well. Without giving much of the plot away he makes us stare in the face of corruption, uses Big Ger Cafferty to introduce us to the seemingly steadfast citizens and, of course, to Police Scotland’s top people.

Included and integral to part of this book is about ‘old man Rebus’ and the importance of one family member, at last. He is still the incorrigible un-orthodox cop though but with the distinct impression that COPD has slowed him up.

The words flow at astonishing speed and for me the end came all too quickly and was dealt with rapidly. I could say all too fast. And offering, impertinence to an accomplished author there was one incident that was not fully explained. Yours to find or not; agree or disagree or not.

TONN AGAIN OR NOT?

 

It was another morning having a damn good look for the ‘Big One’. We knew where he, Águila Moteado, has been and where he goes frequently. There are lots of places where he is concealed and it is never far from human habitation. Suffice it to say we were again unsuccessful in securing a sighting.

Everything was in our favour with sunshine forecast for all day and with a very light breeze. Our first stop off was for the lagoons just down the slope from the Santa Pola turn-off. It is a favourite place for us and apart from the usual a Reed Bunting - Escribano Palustre popped up feeding amongst the reed heads. It showed well in the early morning sun. A first sighting for me for months. On reflection my bird of the day. At the Salt Tower we saw Spoonbills - Espátula Común close up, perched and flying. There are not normally this close. Four Great White Egrets - Gareceta Grande were easily seen and, as usual two Sandwich Terns - Charrán Patinegro flew and dived for food.

The sea at El Pinet was calm, but yielded nothing. The lagoons gave us good views of both Redshank - Archibebe Común and Spotted - Archibebe Oscura and the photographers got really busy. This is always a good spot not to miss. We tried the mouth of the Rio de Segura and apart from Sanderlings - Correlimos Tridáctilo at the waters edge there was nothing exceptional.

Spotted Redshank

Sanderling

As the sun was now up and temperatures were rising we headed inland and toured both tracks before and after San Felipe Neri. One was a new track for us and it added to our knowledge of the area and the other one we had travelled on our last trip. Somewhere between Tonn has been frequenting. No luck.

We checked out Santa Águada and he wasn't there either. The one of the viewing platforms has been fixed and from there we could see over the reedbeds, This is now Marsh Harrier - Aguilucho Luganero and Booted Eagle - Águila Calzado territory.  Everywhere we looked there were these raptors in the sky. 

On the way back a sudden stop and in a ditch a single beautiful Snipe - Agachadiza Común. It was Michelle's bird and photo of the day.

I can add many species to what we had seen and reported, and overall it was great to be out and seeing the beautiful. We will do it again. My bird of the day had to be that Reed Bunting.

DAY TWENTY THREE - FORCED LABOR, BIG BRANDS.

 Since 2017, over one million Uyghurs and other people from Turkic and Muslim-majority groups in the Uyghur Region of northwest China have been detained by the Chinese government.

Central to this campaign of repression, which represents the largest detention of an ethnic minority since WWII, is a vast system of forced labour. Experts argue that forced labour is now so widespread in the Uyghur Region that all goods produced there should be considered tainted. 

Despite the ongoing atrocities in the Uyghur Region, most major fashion brands continue to source cotton and yarn from the region: in fact, roughly one in five cotton garments sold in Europe and North America contain cotton grown there.

We know that brands are more likely to listen when they hear from you directly, rather than just hearing from us.  

As major fashion brands, they are implicated in the forced labour system and must set an example for the industry to follow.  

DAY TWENTY TWO - NO MORE DEATH SENTENCES FOR CHILDREN

It is a violation of international law to sentence children to death.

  

It’s also a violation of Egyptian law. But a loophole in Egypt’s Child Law means that children tried alongside adults in mass trials can face the same outcome as them – and for at least 12 children since President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi came to power in 2014, that has meant a death sentence.  

Reprieve fights to save the lives of those on Egypt’s death row – and wins.  

Ahmed Saddouma is one of the child defendants we work with. He was abducted from his family home by Egyptian authorities in the middle of the night. He was tortured and held without being able to talk to his family or a lawyer. He was forced to ‘confess’ to a ‘crime’ that happened three weeks after his abduction.  

Thanks to the Reprieve community, he was released from death row last year after a court finally recognised that he was a child at the time of his supposed ‘crime’.  

But Ahmed isn’t alone. Any child caught up in Egypt’s mass trials could face the terror of a death sentence. That’s why we’re campaigning to close the loophole in Egypt’s Child Law.  

 

DAY TWENTY ONE - HELPING TO KEEP THE LIGHTS ON

 Take action and help keep the lights on for every family this Christmas.

 

Christmas will be different for every family this year. And for some parents, getting food on the table, keeping the electricity on, and the house warm will be harder than ever before.

That’s why we are asking the Government to make sure there is a safety net for every family, by funding and fixing local crisis support in every area.    

 

Even before the pandemic, too many families were finding themselves in unexpected crisis with nowhere to turn. 1 in 7 councils in England no longer has a crisis support scheme, and funding provided by the Government has fallen sharply for those that still exist.

We are asking the Government to provide councils with the resources and guidance they need to support these families through these difficult times. But we need your help.

DAY TWENTY - 2021 THE WORLDS WATCH LIST

 Imagine queuing for the supermarket and, when it’s your turn, you’re denied entry. Why? Because of your belief system. 

2020 has been a tumultuous year for all of us, but for persecuted Christians around the world, their existing discrimination has been exacerbated – they are often the last in line for essential aid by local governments.

 

Rose, a widow from Nigeria, said, “We were happy when the government announced food aid for the poor. But we were left out.”

 

This is our opportunity to inform those in power of the discrimination faced by persecuted Christians and how local faith leaders are courageously serving the needs of their communities.

Invite your MP to the 2021 World Watch List launch so they can hear about the 50 countries where it is the most dangerous to be a Christian, and what they can do to change policy and practice that could impact the lives of the 260 million persecuted Christians in the world today.

DAY NINETEEN - A CHANCE TO MOVE ON

 There are an estimated 350,000 under-25s living independently in the UK who need help from the government to pay their rent and buy essentials like food and toiletries. The coronavirus crisis has made young people even more vulnerable; under-25s are more likely to lose their jobs due to the crisis.  

 

Universal Credit was set up to provide a safety net for everyone – but the system assumes that all under-25s can rely on family for financial support. At Centrepoint, we know that in reality that is not the case for so many young people living independently, particularly those who have experienced homelessness. 

 

These vulnerable young people, who can’t rely on family support, are entitled to £67 less per month, often leaving them struggling to afford food, clothing and other essentials, and facing hunger and homelessness.

 

In the wake of coronavirus, Universal Credit has been temporarily increased by £20 each week. This has been a vital lifeline for tens of thousands of young people who were already looking for work or have lost their jobs in the last few months. But this temporary increase comes to an end in March, unless we take action now.

 

To give vulnerable young people a chance to move on, Centrepoint are urging the Government to make the £20 increase permanent.  Add your voice to our urgent campaign and email your MP today, and ask them to stand up for vulnerable young people.

DAY EIGHTEEN

 See through the trail hunting ‘smokescreen’

Today's injustice is that of animals being hunted and killed across our beautiful British countryside in the smokescreen that is ‘trail’ hunting.

Hunts claim to be laying trails to follow rather than hunting animals.

This is a lie, used to deceive the public, secure political support, evade the law and get away with killing British mammals.

 

Fox hunting never went away. Foxes are being chased and torn apart under the guise of ‘trail’ hunting.

Senior figures within the fox hunting lobby have been caught on camera admitting that ‘trail’ hunting is a “smokescreen” for the chasing and killing of foxes. This is huge! It is finally an admission from the hunting lobby that they have been ignoring the law for the past 15 years.

 

“It’s a lot easier to create a smokescreen if you’ve got more than one trail layer operating, and that is what it’s all about, trying to portray to the people watching that you’re going about your legitimate business.” - Mark Hankinson, Masters of Foxhounds Association director.

 

It’s what we’ve been saying since ‘trail’ hunting was invented after the Hunting Act 2004 came into force – that it’s a smokescreen for real hunting. 

 

Please take action today and demand organisations that allow 'trail' hunting on their land such as National Trust, United Utilities, Forestry England and the Church of England to not only temporarily suspend licences but to permanently revoke their licences and stop being complicit in animal cruelty.

DAY SEVENTEEN - CANCEL THE DEBT

Now more than ever countries need to focus their resources on healthcare, rather than on debt payments. 

But the economic turmoil caused by coronavirus is pushing indebted countries deeper into crisis. 

 

The cost of borrowing has gone up significantly, and they are getting less money for products like copper and coffee, on which their economies depend.

Lower-income countries are due to spend $40 billion on debt payments in 2020 alone.

 

Countries like the Central African Republic have just 3 ventilators for almost 5 million people, and Malawi has only a quarter of the nurses needed to provide healthcare for all. It’s crucial that funds are freed up to help countries cope this winter.

 

Your action today is to to tell the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, to use the UK’s influence in international meetings to drop debt and save lives, put simply: #CancelTheDebt

CLANGA CLANGA, ÁGUILA CLANGA, ÁGUILA MOTEADA, GREAT SPOTTED EAGLE OR SPOTTED EAGLE.

The three of us, Michelle, Bryan and I went out today because Tonn is around and the satellite tracking indicates where he has been and could be again. We went down tracks that we had not traversed before and that provided us with more knowledge of this territory but there was no sign of him.

A day out with two cameras clicking away proves some of what have seen. We always see marvelous birds. Alongside an irrigation canal a female Kingfisher - Martin Pescador obligingly moved and perched and kept on doing it. Opposite in a field of Lucerne a huge flock of Serín - Verdecillo swarmed, flew and fed. What a sight! There must have been in excess of 500. When perched in Lemon trees their colours showed their condition. 

Serin

Kingfisher

We had a last attempt to see ‘the big’ one without success. The pool at Santa Águada has only the remnants of puddles and, thankfully, mud. Here were two Temminck's, six Little Stints - Correlimos Menudo and two Little Ringed Plovers - Chorlitejo Chico  Feeding with them and out in the open was a beautiful Bluethroat - Pechiazul. This area always produces. 

Until we had clear skies and the sun gave warmth the raptors did not show. But in the sky later it was easy to spot both Marsh Harriers - Águilucho Luganero and Booted Eagles - Águila Calzado circling around. 

My blog of 27th November mentions a ‘big one’ and very distant. This we thought at the time was a Spotted Eagle, but were not certain has his presence here had not been recorded. So, maybe we have seen him already, but we want to see him again. Perhaps next week!

DAY SIXTEEN - PAY YOUR WORKERS

 Garment workers, who were already earning poverty pay, have been hit hard during the Covid-19 crisis. The initial reaction of many big clothing brands was to cancel orders, including orders that were completed or near completion. This left suppliers without the money to pay their workers.

After many months of campaigning, many big brands have now reinstated their orders, yet this does not guarantee that workers wages will be paid. The Clean Clothes Campaign estimates that garment workers could be owed as much as four and half billion pounds - from the first three months of the pandemic alone!

Primark was quick to cancel all existing orders placed with factories when the Covid-19 pandemic hit.

Primark has had strong post-lockdown trading, it must now assure us that their profits have not been made off the back of unpaid labour.  

 

We are calling on Primark to publish on their website, their commitment to ensure that all workers in their supply chain are paid their legally mandated or regular wages and benefits, whichever is higher.

 

Stand in solidarity with garment workers and sign the Labour Behind the Label petition today!

DAY FIFTEEN - THE RIGHTS TO MENTAL HEALTH

You probably know that lots of people are struggling with their mental health right now. But did you know that mental health is a human right?

 

Everyone has a fundamental right to access the mental health support they need, but for too many young people across the UK, that right just isn’t being met.

Even before Covid-19 struck, young people faced long waiting lists and other barriers to accessing services, and the huge mental health impact of the pandemic has only made things worse.

 

That’s why Our Minds Our Future, a campaign led by young people and co-ordinated by the charity Youth Access, is standing up for young people’s right to accessible and age-appropriate support.

BOOK REVIEW - TROUBLED BLOOD BY ROBERT GALBRAITH

Title             Troubled Blood - A Strike Novel

Author.         Robert Galbraith

Publisher      Sphere - An imprint of Little, Brown Book Group 

This is the fifth book in the series created by J.K. Rowling under the pseudonym of Robert Galbraith. It certainly is correctly referred to as a ‘novel’ with all of 927 pages. It is long: it is complex and there are sequences of events that move on at a fair pace. It did need to be divided into six parts as well as chapters.

I have heard it said that it is too long and needed a good edit. I don't agree. It switches from one narrative to another with ease and from one location to the next. The locations, for me, are a  character in there own right. It really earns the title of novel due to it’s many stories and events interwoven in what we are led to believe is the main thread. 

Dr. Margot Bamborough’s daughter, Anna, makes the decision to find out what happened to her mother who disappeared forty years ago. Dennis Creed was a serial killer at the time and was a prime suspect for Margot. A police investigation brings more interesting characters into the book and other facets as well. 

The covers give no hint of what you are about to read and that is good. Obviously I know about this series and so it was going to be about detectives investigating, but it is so much more than that. It is about people: it is about relationships good, bad and some with potential. They go through the whole spectrum of decent, of strong love, paranoia and death. That's what I loved, the whole gambit of emotions. It deals with topical matters that spring off the page and put me on edge. It doesn't need anything else.

Attention to detail is astonishing. The characters we know enough about and no more. It speaks of and brings freshly into our minds past feelings, past events and characters mentioned in previous stories. If that was not enough; it is well written. I enjoyed it, mammoth read or not! 

DAY FOURTEEN

2021: The Year We Stop Being Stupid?

Here's a good rule for life:

If you don't want something... don't spend billions of unnecessary pounds funding it.

The UK Government spends more than ten billion pounds every year making fossil fuels cheaper - far more than they spend on green energy.

They have green ambitions - but not nearly enough action.

Maybe surprisingly, the best time to speak up about this issue is not now - but next year.

The UK will lead the G7 - a group of the world's 7 largest economies - throughout 2021. In November, they will host the UN's climate conference in Glasgow.

So it's next year the Government are really going to be listening and hoping to impress.

If we don't act in 2021, we might miss our chance to steer world leaders towards the sensible, world-saving choices.

So we're building a 2021 climate team - to take simple actions next year that can make a big difference.

DAY THIRTEEN - TAKE THE CRUELTY FREE PLEDGE

 We're Cruelty Free International, the leading organisation working to end animal experiments worldwide.

We expose the reality of life for animals in laboratories, challenge decision-makers to make a positive difference for animals and champion better science and cruelty free living through our Leaping Bunny programme.

Each year, millions of animals - including dogs, cats, guinea pigs and mice - suffer in laboratories and are subjected to cruel, unreliable experiments worldwide. We won’t stop until a world exists where no animal suffers in a laboratory.

This Christmas, will you spare a thought for animals in laboratories and join our movement for a world without animal testing? It’s as simple as pledging your support for a cruelty free world