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Bird Census. SACRE VN 44

Again I have realised the census of the program SACRE in square VN44.
Unlike other years, the number of detected birds has been something greater, 62 species.
No new detected species.
Most remarkable:
Wryneck, the past year I did not detect any bird, and this year I have only heard two birds. Others years, with 10 – 15 birds.
Rock Sparrow, records similar to last years.
Two records of European Turtle Dove. This bird have a bad population with an annual evolution of -2,3% in Spain.

The trend in Europe:

Records of Common Quail (shortly time will be necessary to think about remove the “Common” in the name) like other farming birds the Common Quail have a very bad situation.

House Martin, a few birds. In this area is more common to find nest in the rock that in the houses, mainly so that people destroy the nests.

A total of 62 different species, the list:

Mallard
Griffon Vulture
Hen Harrier
Black Kite

Common Buzzard

Common Coot

Common Woodpigeon

European Turtle Dove

Common Cuckoo

Common Swift

Wryneck
Green Woodpecker
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Sky Lark

Crag Martin

Barn Swallow

House Martin

Tree Pipit

Grey Wagtail

White Wagtail

Wren

Dunnock

Robin

Black Redstart

Common Redstart

Whinchat

Common Stonechat

Blackbird

Song Thrush

Mistle Thrush

Cetti's Warbler

Melodious Warbler

Subalpine Warbler

Blackcap

Bonelli's Warbler

Iberian Chiffchaff

Common Chiffchaff

Firecrest

Long-tailed Tit

Coal Tit

Blue Tit

Great Tit

European Nuthatch

Shot-toed Treecreeper

Golden Oriol

Red-backed Shrike

Eurasian Jay

Re-billed Chough

Carrion Crow

Spotless Starling

House Sparrow

Rock Sparrow

Common Chaffinch

European Serin

Greenfinch

Goldfinch

Linnet

Common Bullfinch

Cirl Bunting

Corn Bunting

A new trip report in the Gorges of River Ebro

A good day of birdwatchig throughout the gorges of the Ebro river.
We begin in the same Inn, where the concert of the songbirds already is very significant and easily we listened to Song Thrush, Common Chiffchaff, Iberian Chiffchaff, Bonelli’s Warbler and Blackbird.
Ours to first stop in a zone of meadows where it emphasizes the spectacular flight of the Meadow Pipit. We can listen the songs of Thrushes, Robins and Wrens, while a Short-toed Eagle flies over to us.
A Peregrine Falcon flies in the zone of crags, between Griffon vultures and Egyptian Vultures. Crag Martin accompany the route throughout to us.
The fast flight of the Dipper over the river, between the mills.
Firecrest, Garden warbler, singing from within of the shrubs, whereas in the stop we can be seen Cirl bunting.
Near the towns the Swallows make their appearance.
In the poplars, the Woodpeckers emit their songs.
White stork, Black Kite, Common Buzzard, make their appearance in the valley of Valderredible.
We when up to the highland, they appear the typical species of this habitat, Hen Harrier, Whinchat, Northern Wheatear, Sky Lark, Yellowhammer..
Altogether, a good morning of birdwatching with a total of 56 species observed or heard singing.

White Stork
Black Kite
Egyptian Vulture
Griffon Vulture
Short-toed Eagle
Hen Harrier
Eurasian Sparrowhawk
Common Kestrel
Peregrine Falcon
Rock Dove
Common Cuckoo
Green Woodpecker
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Sky Lark
Crag Martin
Barn Swallow
House Martin
Meadow Pipit
White Wagtail
Dipper
Wren
Robin
Whinchat
Stonechat
Northern Wheatear
Blackbird
Song Thrush
Cetti’s Warbler
Garden Warbler
Blackcap
Bonelli´s Warbler
Iberian Chiffchaff
Firecrest
Blue Tit
Great Tit
Short-toed Treecreeper
Jay
Magpie
Red-billed Chough
Jackdaw
Carrion Crow
Common Raven
Spotless Starling
House Sparrow
Rock Sparrow
Common Chaffinch
European Serin
Green Finch
Goldfinch
Linnet
Yellowhammer
Cirl Bunting
Rock Bunting
Corn Bunting

Thanks to Ginny, Pete, Christine, Jenny, Paul and Mrs. Hughes for their interest inthe birds of Burgos

Migratory Birds

All have arrived from Africa?. And now is possible to see a good number of migratory birds. Swallows, Martins, Swifts, Bee-aeters, Cuckoos, Warblers, Shrikes, Hoopoe, Flycatchers, Eagles, but at the moment without news about the Golden Oriol. A very good season.

The Rarest Bird of Spain

If you want to really observe a rare bird in Spain, you do not have to wait for hurricanes of Caribbean or African winds, simply you must go to the province of León and look for, without much effort, to the Rooks that live there.

Yes, the Rook I believe that it is the rarest bird of Spain.

When in other European countries it is a very abundant species,

This species has a large range, with an estimated global Extent of Occurrence of 10,000,000 km². It has a large global population, including an estimated 20,000,000-35,000,000 individuals in Europe (BirdLife International in prep.). Global population trends have not been quantified; there is evidence of a population decline (Madge and Burn 1993, Snow and Perrins 1998), but the species is not believed to approach the thresholds for the population decline criterion of the IUCN Red List (i.e. declining more than 30% in ten years or three generations). For these reasons, the species is evaluated as Least Concern. - BirdLife international

in Spain it is only located in the León province.

And even more showy it is than these Rooks do not move of the León province, that do not emigrate.

According to the last studies the Rooks of center and north of Europe are reducing their migratory movements and now make shorter movements from the breeding sites.

Jacinto ROMÁN y Carlos GUTIÉRREZ.

The decline of the Rook Corvus frugilegus wintering population in Spain. A new caseof ‘Short-stopping’?

Ardeola 55(2), 2008, 229-235. Notas breves.

Every time it is more difficult to observe Rooks in Spain outside the León province.

In Burgos the last group of Rooks seen was in 1993.

The Rook Corvus frugilegus in Burgos

Why the León rooks are not realised movements from the breeding sites?.
The Rook, nests in cold countries, no case of the Mediterranean, and near the fluvial shores.
Its presence in from Leon can be justified because it is cold and there are rivers, but why in Leon and no breeding in , for example, Palencia or in Burgos? , when there are similar meteorological conditions and similar habitats.

The Rookery

A trip report

A good morning of birdwatching in the vicinity of the Inn, in the meadows fields to see Mistle Thrush searching earthworm, Robins, Common Chaffinch and Firecrest does not stop to sing from the Oaks.
Four Roe Deer leave running, while a Common Buzzard is thrown in search of its prey from a tree.
A Grey Heron on an unusual perching, at the top of a black poplar.
Stop to observe the rocky wall, locating to a precious female of Peregrine Falcon, a while a Short-toed Eagle flies over the zone to settle in a rocky one. Several Griffon Vultures settle and fly by the zone.

A flock of 36 Great Cormorants flying in formation towards the north.
In the bank of the river, among the alders and ashes, the Iberian Chiffchaff with its characteristic voice.
The Egyptian vultures, just arrived from Africa, with their spectacular plumage, emphasize among the Griffon Vultures. To far a Golden Eagle it flies near the cut ones, one settles in a dry tree and it allows us to observe it easily.

In the canyon of Orbaneja del Castillo they appear the Egyptian vultures again, several Black Kite and the omnipresent Griffon Vultures.
Wood Pigeon, Jackdaw, Yellowhammer.
Once again a Grey Heron surprises when being perching at the top of the rocky of the canyon of river Ebro.
Altogether 26 species of birds in a pretty morning of spring.

Thanks to Beatriz, César, Daniel and Borja for their interest in the birds of Burgos

Lagoon of Miranda de Ebro

The province of Burgos is not characterized to have many wetlands, but the few that it has are really interesting.
One of that I have followed since I began with birdwatching is the lagoon complex next to the city of Miranda de Ebro.
Three small lagoons very next to the city and surrounded by highways, but that even so are able to lodge a good amount of species of birds. Luckily, from year 2002 a good sum of money has been reversed to prepare them, and now one of them has an observatory.
These lagoons were on the verge of disappearing, as it happened with other many in Spain, used like tip, burned the vegetation…
Now it is possible to be enjoyed a good number of birds and the proximity to the city causes that they are possible to be used by the schools to bring back to consciousness to the children and to teach to them to the importance of the water, wetlands and birds.
The other day in a two hours I could see the next birds:

Mallard
Northern Shoveler
Common Buzzard
Great Cormorant
Eurasian Coot
Common Moorhen
Corn Bunting
Common Red Bunting (3)
Marsh Harrier (1)
Common Snipe (16)
Barn Swallow
Cetti’s Warbler
Magpie
White Stork
European Greenfinch

A new little wetland

Mario Alonso Blanco, to discover for the ornithological community a new little wetland in the outskirts of Villarcayo town.
This it is very interesting so that in the province of Burgos there are not many wetland, which makes difficult the establishment of own species of these zones.
Even so, in dams and gravel pits, there have been very interesting records, although with very few settlement birds permanently.
The small lagoon, forms next to a farm, and it is dried in summer, reason why it will not be able either to have species all year, but during the winter it becomes a rest area for migratory birds.
Also it owns a quite great colony of White Stork.

These days:
Greylag Goose
Common Shelduck
Common Teal
Mallard
Northern Shoveler
Northern Lapwing
Great flocks of Common Starling
White Stork
Black-headed Gull

Yearbook, last quater of 2008.

A new quarterly report already is available in the web page of the Yearbook, corresponds to the months of October , November and December of 2008. Here.
With this report, the yearbook 2 finalizes and will be published next.

These are, for my, the most interesting records of the quarter, some really spectacular *:

Great Bittern (Botaurus stellaris)*
White-fronted Goose (Anser albifrons)
Egyptian Goose (Alopoche aegyptiacus)*
Ruddy Shelduck (Tadorna ferruginea)*
Common Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna)
Smew (Mergus albellus)*
Black-winged Kite (Elanus caeruleus)
Eurasian Black Vulture (Aegypius monachus)
Eurasian Coot (Fulica cristata)*
Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus)
Alpine Accentor (Prunella collaris)
Wallcreeper (Tichodroma muraria)
Snowfinch (Montifringilla nivalis)

Spain Wild Bird Indicators

The first results of the program SACRE - Spain Wild Bird Indicators - already can be consulted here.
The results are national scale and by each the regions that have been considered (North, center, this and South ones).
The analyses have been realised for each species and having in account groups of species according to the habitat (forest, agrarian…), its migrador behavior (sedentary, trans-saharan, pre-saharan) and its feeding (granívorous, frugívorous).

Wild bird indicator at national scale

Wild bird indicator-North

Wild bird indicator-centre

Wild bird indicator-east

Wild bird indicator-south

SEO/BirdLife has been published a book, too, with the bird population in 2004-2006 of 95 species, with estimates at national scale and by regions (all administrative provinces in peninsular Spain), and percentage for each region, as well as the trends from 1996 to 2006 and percentage of right habitats.

Migration towards to North

A small trip to the reservoir of the river Ebro, here I have seen great flocks of birds in migration towards to North, nearly 1000 Lapwings, 300 Greylag Goose, two great flocks of Lesser Black- backed Gull nearly 100 birds, a flock of 70 Common Curlew, Starling, Golden Plover, Yellow-legged Gull, Black-headed Gull…. All this in a small cove near the village “La Riva”.

Greylag Goose, Yellow-legged Gull, Black-headed Gull, Lesser Black- backed Gull and Lapwing

Common Curlew and Lapwing

And on the following day, Yves Borremans informs three Great Northern Loon in the same zone.


Few records of this specie in the province of Burgos, I have a record in 1991 , a bird in the water reservoir of Puentelarrá , Volumen 40(1), junio 1993.

Atlas in VN3040

The past week I finished the census in the last square for the Atlas of wintering birds .
In this grid I have been able to observe a lot of forest birds, more variety of species and number of birds that in the two previous squares.
The first routes in an Oak forest and pine and the last routes I walk on arable land.
The weather has been excellent, reason why also it can have been this one of the causes by which I have detected more birds.
Reviewing the species of the squares, (VN2050, VN3060)one can to get come idea of the birds that can be found in the northwest of Burgos in winter.
Between that I have seen, they emphasize a lot of Goldcrest, a scarce bird in this area, unlike Firecrest, much more common in any time of the year.
Also there was a good number of Bullfinch.
Although they do not enter within the census, I saw first flocks of Geese going towards the North, altogether 300 birds.
This, along with the first songs of Wren, Great Tit, and Woodpeckers, nuptial flights of Vultures, the first Swallows and House Martins…, confirm that the breeding season is ready.
Birds observed in the 20 routes of square VN 3040
Griffon Vulture, Common Buzzard, Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Common Kestrel, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Green Woodpecker, Coal Tit, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Goldcrest, Firecrest, Long-tailed Tit, Song Thrush, Blackbird, European Robin, Wren, Common Chaffinch, Bullfinch, European Nuthatch, Short-toed Treecreeper, Skylark, White Wagtail, Yellowhammer, House Sparrow, Red-billed Chough, Carrion Crow, Jay.

The Red Kite

One of the most spectacular birds of Europe is in regression, the causes clearly are produced by the man.
Among these causes the inclusion of the poison in the food chain is one of them.
The past year, in the region of Castile and Leon a cyclical invasion of rodents , common vole, a caused.
To palliate the problem, and to content to the farmers, the government of the region, it sowed of poison average region.
One of the causes of this madness begins to see now, it pays attention to which writes Javier Viñuela in the forum on threatened birds of BirdLife.
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Red Kite (Milvus milvus): projections needed about future threats, trends and carrying capacities.
Red Kite Milvus milvus is endemic to the Western Palearctic, with Europe encompassing >95% of its global range and hosting a population of 19,000-23,000 pairs (BirdLife International 2004; Mammen 2007). In 2005, following a discussion on this forum, the species’s status was uplisted from Least Concern to Near Threatened under criterion A of the IUCN Red List, based on evidence that it was experiencing a moderately rapid population decline (approaching 30% over 18 years, which was then considered to be three generation lengths). In 2009, an international symposium on the species will be held in France, and an EU Species Action Plan will be developed to prioritise actions for its conservation. To inform that process, it is timely to review its global status and ensure that it is categorised correctly, taking the latest information into account, including a revised generation length of 11.5 years based upon recent work by BirdLife International (unpublished data). Since 2005, the results of the 2004 national census in Spain have been published (Cardiel 2006), showing that the Spanish wintering population has declined by c. 50% (from 66,235-72,165 in 1994 to 35,523-36,233 in 2004). Cardiel (2006) assumes that one third of all Spanish wintering birds are immature. With an estimated maximum of 23,000 pairs in Europe (and only a few hundred at most elsewhere), the global population perhaps numbers c. 47,000 mature individuals and c. 80,000 individuals in total. Hence, the large decline in the Spanish wintering population is of particular concern, as Spain hosts a large proportion of the global population in winter (compared with just 6,000 wintering in France; Mionnet 2007). If these observed trends translate into actual population declines, the global population has been reduced by 33% over the past three generations (see the attached spreadsheet 1 of population declines of wintering birds) and the species may qualify for listing as Vulnerable under criterion A2 of the IUCN Red List. Although the Red Kite declined globally until the 1970s owing to persecution, many populations recovered or stabilised during 1970-1990 (Mionnet 2007) and its overall numbers were probably stable in Europe from 1970 to 1990 (Tucker & Heath 1994). Since 1990, declines documented within its core breeding areas – Spain (c. 4,000 mature individuals; Cardiel 2006), France (c. 6,000-7,800 mature individuals; Mionnet 2007) and Germany (c. 22,600 mature individuals; Mammen 2007) – have been partly offset by increases in countries like the UK, Sweden, Poland and Switzerland. Combining stable population trends between 1970 and 1990 with recent rapid declines in its core range, and increases in a few countries, yields an overall population decline over the past three generations (34.5 years) of 16%. If we concentrate on the species’s core areas and assume that recent national trends that began in the late 1980s or early 1990s will continue in the future, we would expect the overall reduction in the species’s population to continue (see spreadsheet 2 of breeding population trends, which excludes UK and Swedish figures). Hence, the most appropriate assessment may be to list the species as Vulnerable under criterion A4. However, if we include figures from the UK and Sweden, where the species’s numbers have increased dramatically in recent years and assume that they will continue to grow into the future, as projected under some climate change modelling scenarios (e.g. Huntley et al. 2007) then the global population may in fact increase during the next one to two generations (see spreadsheet 3). Therefore, the two key parameters to consider to assess accurately the species’s status are: 1. Will population declines continue in France, Germany and Spain? Declines have been attributed to poisoning, persecution, electrocution by powerlines and loss of habitat/food sources. These threats seem unlikely to be removed rapidly in the future. 2. Will the UK and Swedish populations continue to increase, and what are their likely carrying capacities? If populations are near carrying capacity in these countries, then – in global terms – declines in France, Germany and Spain would be expected to overshadow nominal future increases in the UK and Sweden, and the species may warrant uplisting. If these populations continue to increase at current rates, however, then declines elsewhere will be compensated by future increases in the UK and Sweden, and the global population may increase, potentially warranting the species’s downlisting to Least Concern. Any comments on this complex proposal, specifically addressing the two key questions posed above, would be welcome. BirdLife International (2004) Birds in Europe: population estimates, trends and conservation status. Cambridge, UK: BirdLife International (Conservation Series No. 12). Cardiel, I. E. (2006) El milano real en España. II Censo Nacional (2004). SEO/BirdLife, Madrid. Huntley, B., Green, R.E., Collingham, Y.C. & Willis, S.G. (2007) A climatic atlas of European breeding birds. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. Mammen, U. (2007) The Red Kite as a priority species for bird conservation in Germany and Europe. MEROS, Halle/Saale and Trier. Mionnet, A. (2007) The Red Kite in France: distribution, population development and threats. LPO, Vitry-le-François. RSPB (2008) Red kites soar in 2008. Downloaded from http://www.rspb.org.uk/news/details.asp?id=tcm:9-198487 on 31/10/08. Tucker, G.M. and Heath, M.F. 1994. Birds in Europe: their conservation status. Cambridge, UK: BirdLife International (Conservation Series No. 3).

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Peter Newbery (RSPB Reintroductions Project Manager) has made the following contribution: I was interested to see Ian Carter's contribution - I agree with all that he said. Recently there was a meeting of the British and Irish Red Kite Co-ordination Group. We estimated that the total UK population in 2008 was at least 1,350 breeding pairs, and continuing to increase rapidly. From modelling exercises based on past annual increases in numbers, it looks likely that this population will continue to grow. Unfortunately, as each reintroduced population exceeds around 50 pairs, it becomes impossible to carry out an accurate annual survey with the resources available, but in the early years the populations can double every two years. Even the native Welsh population, which has previously had a much lower breeding productivity than the reintroduced populations, appears to be growing and spreading very quickly (Tony Cross, Welsh Kite Trust). Carrying capacity is impossible to estimate, but there seems no reason why they shouldn't continue to increase until all lowland parts of the UK support breeding populations. They are very catholic in their choice of habitats, but would probably not reach the same sort of densities of buzzards (anecdotal evidence suggests that in Scotland there are probably 2-3 pairs of buzzards for every pair of red kites in areas where both species breed). However, a population of over 10,000 pairs doesn't seem an unreasonable long-term figure (there was an estimate of 60,000 pairs of buzzards in the UK in 2001, I believe). With two new release projects in Ireland, the position is even better. We therefore feel confident that red kites in Britain and Ireland will form an increasingly large proportion of the European/world population. I look forward to being involved in developing the Species Action Plan for this species in 2009. It will be very useful to have a detailed discussion of what is causing such large declines elsewhere in Europe when kites in the UK are doing so well. We are rather puzzled by some of the explanations given for these declines: 1. Food shortage - red kites are scavengers, and there surely is no shortage of road kill and other sources of carrion. They also eat earthworms, fledgling birds and so on. 2. Habitat loss - in the UK, red kites are very adaptable, and are increasing even in fairly intensively managed farmland (provided there are trees for nesting). 3. Electrocution - it is difficult to see why this should be a much greater problem elsewhere in Europe than in the UK, where it is a minor cause of mortality. Deliberate and accidental poisoning are clear causes of mortality, in the UK as well as elsewhere in Europe, and I feel that addressing these issues should be a major theme of the action plan. The (legal) use of rodenticides has the potential to cause huge mortality through secondary poisoning, and changes in legislation governing their use may be of great benefit. Illegal persecution may be even more difficult to address - we have found that often kites are not the target species for setting poisoned baits, but because they are such efficient scavengers they find baits before foxes, crows and so on. People in the UK seem to accept the fact that kites are not predators of game species or livestock, so they are very rarely targeted specifically. I will be happy to share more information about UK kites and the reintroduction projects if it would be of interest.

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Javier Viñuela

The decline in the Spanish populaton still seems to be advancing. A new census was made in spring 2008 in Castilla y León (northern Spain, one of the main strongholds of the species), and in private conversations with people working on that census, the results seems to be depressing (aditional strong decline in just 4 years, but I have no more details). This census has not been made public by the Regional Government. This government has released more than 1,500 tons of rodenticide-treated baits over about 500,000 ha to fight against a common vole plague in agricultural lands between August 2007 and April 2008. We have found several cases of non-target species affected (Olea et al. in press, Environmental Conservation), and there are also some records of red kites apparently dying by secondary poisoning in treated areas. A complaint to the EU has been raised by environmental groups, and I think it is still under scrutiny (good opportunity for BirdLife to make pressure about this). Unfortunately, the Regional Government has not made any attempt to study this problem. On the contrary, they are trying to hide the real effects of rodenticides in other species (e.g. the effect on hare populations seems to be more than obvious). It seems clear that red kite are doing well in UK and Sweden, and that probably populations there could reach carrying capacity in the future at high numbers. The question is if we want a European population of red kites mainly based on the reintroduction programme of UK and on a natural population in the northern edge of the range. My feeling is that whenever populations are declining in Germany, France and Spain, this should be considered the central problem.

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Rare and Interesting Birds

A new project through a Web has started up that will try to update in real time all those records of interesting birds that occur in all Spain.
For it, a group of birders has constructed a web: www.birdingcatalonia.com/ReservoirBirds ,
with a network of birders in each community, will try to update in real time the records of all those interesting and rare birds for each place.
In this list they will be all the species that belong to the list of the rare birds of Spain, and a list with a interesting birds for each community.
In all the national territory there will be a twenty birders, who will guard to compile all records and to put in the web as soon as it is possible.
Each record, will go accompanied by the author name and the place where it has been gathered.

Census of Great Bustard II

The morning has left very pretty, almost cleared and without frost, there was 1.5ºC when we began the census to 9.00h.
No wind and the visibility was wonderful, in the majority of the flocks has been possible to know the sex of the birds.

Hoping to finish analyzing the collected data, we can indicate that the amount of wintering Great Bustards in the region the west of the province of Burgos is at least 266 birds, 27 more than the last year.

Photo by José Pedro Portillo

An equipment that has looked for Great Bustards in the province of Palencia, to the other side of the river Pisuerga and it has not found any, this is also an important data.

Photo by José Pedro Portillo

But not only it has been to count Great Bustards, the different equipment has been able to enjoy the tremendous number of raptors that there is in the zone, mainly Common Kestrels, Common Buzzard and Red Kite, but also has been able to observe Peregrine Falcon, Merlin, many Hen Herriers and some Marsh Harrier.
The cold of this week also have been let notice in the cereal plain of the region in the form of great flocks of Lapwings, with very few Golden Plover.
Other birds of the area, Skylark, Calandra Lark, Crested Lark, Corn Bunting, Cirl Bunting, Finches….

Also they have been mammalian, one of the equipment some thirty Roe Deer and another equipment a Fox.

The Birders

Information about the first census Here.