It’s the first Monday of the new month, and Kiersten has snapped yet another first for the year! Our very first Honey Buzzards, floating over the hillside just outside the village of Lanjaron, back from Africa and on passage to breeding grounds further north. Kiersten counted at least thirty, and I was lucky enough to arrive and see a few before the last of the birds drifted on…a life-first for me and a fantastic start to May down here in the Alpujarras! Honey Buzzards are not real buzzards at all, but are in fact a completely separate species. They take a variety of insects, reptiles and small mammals, but show one particular talent… they are expert raiders of bees and wasps nests. Special scaly feathers protect the head from stings, and Honey Buzzards spend much time on the ground, digging out grubs, wax and of course honey with their feet. They can be secretive and difficult to see well when breeding, and more often than not they are encountered during migration. Typical views today then, as they soared effortlessly overhead, and Kiersten managed to capture a couple of important points of detail….
Honey Buzzards can show considerable variation in their plumage and can be difficult to identify…but there are some tell-tale points to look for. Note the three distinctive bands on the underside of the tail, caught in the light in the first image shown here. A closer look at the underside of the wing also reveals the typical “tiger stripes” of concentric bands across the outer pale patch, absent in the markings of the Buzzard, combined with the uniformly dark trailing edge. Fantastic stuff! The swirling throng of migrants was soon joined by some of our other local raptors…and it wasn’t long before a pale-form Booted Eagle was showing well. Kiersten just managed to catch the black and white plumage of the wings against the brightness of the sky…note also the translucent trailing edges, characteristic to the species. Is that a Bonelli’s Eagle below the Honey Buzzard in the second photo? The white leading edge on the wing might just be narrow enough…tough call though!
Superb birdwatching once again, and only minutes outside the village. Keep checking our posts as another terrific season rolls on, as we keep you up to date with all the latest news!
