By Monday 11th January ‘La Borrasca’ Filomena brought the wet and windy period of excessive cold had now passed. It is still cold and will remain so but we will have sun and the wind has reduced to a breeze. Four days of storm would have reduced the weak and hungry birds to corpses. The FB post on Crónicas Naruralles de TORREVIEJA shows how Crag Martins - Ávion Roquero had suffered and perished. It's tough out there and we complain because we cannot get there!
Tuesday morning saw a cold breeze with temperatures down to 3 degrees and not rising above 15 all day. It was sunny though. We did not expect to see the number of Crag Martins - hundreds of them swarming over the marsh- and today we saw only a few. It's tough out there and maybe some will have moved further south.
We started our morning quietly with a quick stop at the Salinas down the hill from the Santa Pola turn-off. There was nothing different. A Great White Egret - Garceta Grande stood out, a Lesser-black Backed Gull swam with Yellow Legged Gulls - Gaviota Patiamarila. I don't often mention Audouin’s Gulls - Gaviota de Audouin but there was a group of of them. A Reed Bunting - Escribano Palustre fed in the reeds. There are a few of them about.
We moved onto the Salt Tower and then to ‘the stones’. Dunlin - Correlimos Común and four Black-tailed Godwits - Aguja Colipinta. In the distance a cluster of Spoonbills - Espátula Común.
We sped off down the N332 with Bryan's sharp eyes picking out a ‘Knott - Correlimos Gordo’ but after some safe and steady maneouvres and a quick fire on the camera it was confirmed to be a Ruff - Combatiente. Our first for ages. What a spot!
We now went inland and had a treat 37 Golden Plover - Chorlito Dorada Europea with a few Lapwing - Avefria Europea with them and on the way back, in the same field, 51 Lapwing and only a few Golden Plover. That's what winter storms can bring us. And hopefully more besides and we’ll keep looking. It's fair to say whenever there was water with some mud there were birds. Dunlin again with Little Ringed - Chorlitejo Chico and one Ringed Plover - Grande.
Another Merlin - Esmerejón flew across the road and the car. Only a quick sighting, but enough for Bryan to do the ID.
Santa Águeda was quiet, had water with the environs muddy. We looked over the marsh and the usual flew around.
Calling into the Information Centre we took the boardwalk. A few Chiffs, several Purple Gallinule - Gallinule Calamon Común. We looked for Snipe - Agachadiza Comun and for the Little One reported to have been seen. It was found feeding close to two Little Stint - Correlimos Común. So we found this little visitor and had good looks at it although it could have been closer! Bryan will show his photo of this bird and also a library one of a closer Jack Snipe - Agachadiza Chico in the Scillies.
We have been short of ducks, but accept we need to go to other places to concentrate on them. Today we saw pristine Northern Shovelers - Cuchara Común and one Teal - Cerceta Común on show.
We checked out our usual routes hoping to see Águila Moteada and turned up a twenty strong flock of Tree Sparrows - Gorrión Molinero. That shows us to check every sparrow out as we had spent considerable time in the same spot watching Serin - Verdecillo.
We saw more and I have only picked out the more interesting aspects of our morning out. This winter has paid us back with great birds and more to come?
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