Sunday morning, and Birdwatch Alpujarras are taking a couple of clients out for a few hours up the hillside above the village. The high winds and grey clouds of Saturday had given way to bright sunshine so we were hoping for a productive day. After the great birdwatching of last Wednesday we’re retracing my steps, hoping to add a few ticks to our guests’ life lists…
First up were my firm favourites Woodchat Shrikes, rare vagrants in the UK but regular seasonal sightings out here, perched as always on wires or on the tops of trees, waiting patiently for prey to pass by. Stonechat were a nice reminder of home but of more interest were the Crested Larks, a common sight for me but for UK birders an interesting addition to the day. A Black-eared Wheatear showed well as we climbed higher, bright summer plumage in sharp contrast to the UK’s Northern Wheatear and a Mediterranean speciality British birders rarely get to see.
A brief stop higher up the slope to search a patch of woodland failed to produce a Short-toed Tree Creeper, a mainland European bird our clients had hoped to see, so we moved on. Beyond the tree-line we had great views of Crag Martins, swooping around cliffs below us. At this altitude I would usually hope to see Blue Rock Thrush and we were rewarded with a good look at a male, perched typically on the skyline above us, its tell-tale profile clearly visible against the sky. A female Black-eared Wheatear stayed for some time and gave us all an oppurtunity to study the details in her plumage, often overlooked when faced with the more dramatically marked male.
A glimpse of an “as yet unidentified” warbler caused us a few problems but with patience we were eventually rewarded with really nice views of Rock Bunting, distinctive grey and black plumage on the head separating them from the Corn Bunting that we had seen in some numbers on the climb uphill.
To finish off the day we returned to one of our Bee Eater hotspots hoping to catch a glimpse of these elusive but beautiful birds…we have had difficulty locating the flocks of a month or so ago, and unfortunately so it proved today. Good views of Woodchat Shrike and Corn Bunting just to finish off the day however eased the disappointment a little. With a few life-firsts for our clients our the few hours we had together at least brought them nice views of some of our Alpujarran favourites…
