Autumn arrivals

As autumn starts in the Northern hemisphere, we begin to see migrating birds flying South from Scandinavia, the UK and Northern Europe, on their way south and to Africa.

The ones I especially become excited to see again, are the waders. What a group of birds, many of them used to travelling thousands of miles during migration and each one with a specialised bill for finding a particular food source.

Some have started to arrive on the Mediterranean shores and wetlands; last week I saw my first returning Black-tailed Godwit. It was still carrying some of its summer plumage colours, great to see!

A bird I didn't expect was this huge Caspian Tern at Guardamar del Segura, fishing at the point where the river joins the sea. They are bigger than small gulls and carry that distinctive large orange bill.

Back to the waders - last week I have seen Little ringed Plovers, Ruff, Wood and Common Sandpipers, lots of returning Avocets, Whimbrel, Turnstones & Sanderling (both annuals), Curlew Sandpipers and (not a wader) Yellow Wagtails in volumes. Kentish Plovers are annual here but numbers even lower than previous years. I watched a gull collect a fluffy fledgling this year, which doesn't help at all.

Reported in my area are also Spoonbills, Grey Plovers, Pectoral & Green Sandpipers, Osprey, Whinchat, Snipe, Common & Spotted Redshanks, Temminck's Stint, Booted & Short-toed Snake-eagles.

All exciting stuff, I can't wait for the weekend to go and see if I can find Osprey again. Only once have I seen a UK blue ringed one passing through, the rest are all unringed.

Little ringed Plover Common Sandpiper

Previously we always had Avocets breed and stay during summer but this year, at all the locations I visited, not a sign of any Avocets, let alone breeding. I understand this is not a scientific statement, rather my observations alone. Good to see them back.

I have been commenting about the lack of Yellow Wagtails for a while now and last weekend, I ran into a flock of them. Normally I see them individually and here were juveniles, females and males. In total, a group of nearly twenty birds. Never seen that before!

Also pleasantly surprised to still see Bee-eaters & Rollers present. A flock fly over the house every morning and evening, far too high for the camera but good enough for binoculars. Little Owl, Hoopoe and a Black-Wheatear pair also still visiting the garden, as do the Flamingos who fly overhead every midnight!

A distant and cropped shot of a Bee-eater bathing at El Hondo below and another shot into the sun. Both terrible images but great for showing the birds fly style.

Look at the state of these tail feathers, after a summer of bug catching and feeding the kids.

Of course, we continue to enjoy thousands of Black-headed Gull in flotillas, Med, Audouin's and the big Yellow-legged Gulls and one of my favourite the Slender-billed. A great small Gull with superb orange colouring on the wing tips and belly in season. What a cracking bird!

Haven't seen a Great-crested Grebe for weeks now, as well as the Black-necked, probably gone off already but the breeding of Little Grebes has been superb again this year. Everywhere you look, they are present and in some numbers. Five years ago I would report up to eight on a visit to El Hondo, now it's four times that number.

Finally seeing Marsh Harriers again, it's only one or two here and there but very odd to have them missing during summer, another climate adjuster perhaps?

The usual suspects continue to impress - Glossy Ibis, Squacco and Purple Herons, Great, Little & Cattle egrets (now out of breeding colours), Larks, Redstarts, Spotted Flycatchers, I must go to La Mata to see if the Pied Flycatchers are back.

Ruff

Barn and Red-rumped Swallows are present and calling in the skies, all the Martins and Swifts have gone from us.

It would appear all the Swifts, Martins & Swallows continue to nest successfully in our area.

As the Nightingales leave, in come the Bluethroats, a treat to see the first one of the year, none reported locally as yet but should be any day now.

As for Warblers, it's that time of year where we question what the hell it is we saw.

Willow, Chiffchaff, Sedge, Melodious, Reed (the Great reed have left) and Savi's. Calls make a big difference but Savi's and Reed both kik kik for example. More and more practice is needed!!

So looking forward to this weekend with more arrivals as well as the usual suspects.

What are you hoping for to turn up during this migration period?

I leave you with the marsh trouble maker extraordinaire, the Black-winged Stilt. Till next time, keep birding.