After the relentless sunshine of summer the weather has finally broken…we’re in the second day of thunder and lightening and pounding rain, got caught in it earlier and it was freezing. Not before I’d managed to get out on patrol again however, as I continue to check out the valley below Lanjaron for departures and arrivals as the migration season rolls on.
Just before the storm kicked in yesterday two or three Crag Martins made the most of the last of the sunshine and were feeding over the house before the skies darkened, joined briefly by just a couple of House Martins and a single Red-rumped Swallow. The Crag Martins are resident in Spain but the House Martins and Red-rumped Swallows are stragglers now as numbers have thinned out enormously over the last fortnight.
It was amazing to watch the Bee Eater flocks over the house yesterday as the weather closed in…strange to see them against storm clouds after the blue skies of summer, calling loudly as they struggled against the wind. Surely a few days of this will convince them to cross the Med for the warmth of Africa! For now, it’s still nice to have them around.
Took a walk down towards the river this morning while the weather allowed. I could hear the scolding alarm calls of Sardinian Warblers as I headed off, but it seemed a little quiet today…perhaps it was down to the local pair of Kestrels, perched together in a dead tree only yards off the path. Nice to see them up so close, it’s easy to forget sometimes how striking these falcons actually are.
Goldfinches added their usual sweet calls and a splash of colour along the track, and there are still plenty of Spotted Flycatchers about, perched alertly on wires and branches waiting for passing insects. The Chiffchaffs are here in some numbers now too…small and easily overlooked, I had good views of one as it foraged animatedly through the foliage of an orange bush, another as it perched on a wire over the road down to the valley bottom.
I sat quietly not far from the river and soon the third Chiffchaff of the day showed briefly between the leaves of a Fig tree, then a movement on the rockface over the river caught my eye. A Blue Rock Thrush, bright male plumage showing no signs of fading as autumn approaches, quickly joined by a second equally pristine male which it noisily and intolerantly chased off over the boulders strewn over the hillside. Great stuff!
I was hoping the river might produce something interesting and I spent a little while tracking the explosive, metallic song of a Cetti’s Warbler, amplified off the cliff every few minutes as it characteristically worked it’s way upstream, securely hidden every step of the way in deep cover. Good birding this! I hope this year-long resident is still singing in the depths of winter.
We’ll continue to keep you updated as I face my first autumn down here in the Alpujarras. If the birdwatching stays this interesting i think I’ll enjoy every minute!…….
