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.

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.

Breeding Bird Survey . Square VN3040

My second square- VN 3040- for the Breeding Bird Survey
has reported a total of 48 different species of birds, a number similar to other years and to the other squares that I make, VN 4040, a number of birds that can seem small, but this is obtained in only four hours and by habitats little varied.

In this second square, again the river Ebro and the moor is the principal habitats, although the cliffs of the canyons of limestone are very abundant.

Again, several migratory birds that have arrived, in this square have been seen are outstanding the Common Swift and Alpine Swift, this one an amazing bird.

1.Black Kite (Milvus migrans)
2.Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo)
3.Great Tit (Parus major)
4.Blue Tit (Parus caeruleus)
5.Coat Tit (Parus ater)
6.Wood Pigeon (Columba palumbus)
7.Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major)
8.Green Woodpecker (Picus viridis)
9.Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus)
10.Dunnock (Prunella modularis)
11.Carrion Crow (Corvus corone)
12.Magpie (Pica pica)
13.Jay (Garrulus glandarius)
14.Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes)
15.Song Thrush (Turdus philomelos)
16.Mistle Thrush (Turdus viscivorus)
17.European Robin (Erithacus rubecula)
18.Blackbird (Turdus merula)
19.Black Redstart (Phoenicurus ochruros)
20.Firecrest (Regulus ignicapillus)
21.Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla)
22.Garden Warbler (Syvia borin)
23.Ibarian Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus ibericus)
24.Bonelli´s Warbler (Phylloscopus bonelli)
25.Eurasian Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula)
26.European Serin (Serinus serinus)
27.European Greenfinch (Carduelis chloris)
28.European Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis)
29.Common Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs)
30.Short-Toed Treecreeper (Certhia brachydactyla)
31.Rock Sparrow (Petronia petronia)
32.House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)
33.Eurasian Golden Oriol (Oriolus oriolus)
34.Common Swift (Apus apus )
35.Alpine Swift (Apus melba)
36.Common Skylark (Alauda arvensis)
37.White Wagtail (Motacilla alba)
38.Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea)
39.Tree Pipit (Anthus trivialis)
40.Spotless Starling (Sturnus unicolor)
41.Cirl Bunting (Emberiza cirlus)
42.Yellowhammer (Emberiza citrinella)

The Dupont´s Lark

The birds on the brink of extinction sing worse than those than they are not it.

The males of populations of birds on the brink of extinction have a poorer and simple song than those species with a great viability, according to a team of the Superior Council of Scientific Researches (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. CSIC).
The investigators analyzed during four years in steppes of the Valley of the Ebro a threatened species of bird: the Dupont´s Lark (Chersophilus duponti).
With this work the scientists of the CSIC have discovered that the greater or smaller repertoire of the song of the birds can work like indicator of its survival.
According to the investigator of the CSIC and director of the study, Paola Laiolo, the reason that explains the song of the male birds is simpler in threatened species is that “the diversity of melodies depends on two factors nails in the viability of the populations: the population size and the number of youthful birds by year “.

“the song of the Dupont’s lark has up to 12 musical sequences with 13 different notes each one, but in the populations with possibility of being extinguished the birds they only sing three or four phrases” , detail the specialists.
This must, according to the scientists, to that the young does not have a sufficient number of adult males to whom to imitate and, for that reason, only three or four learn melodies that will be, as well, solely those that will be able to sing if it does not increase the number of birds in his population.

Until now, one had demonstrated to the relation between the song and the quality of the birds at the time of being selected by the females in a sexual context.
Nevertheless, “ it is the first time that the song can constitute an indicator of the quality of population”, assure the scientists the work.

Dupont’s Lark in Burgos, data of the Ornithological Yearbook of the Province of Burgos

ALONDRA RICOTÍ
Chersophilus duponti (Vieillot, 1820).
Dupont’s Lark
Status and population:

Atlas of the Breeding birds of the Province of Burgos (Roman ET al., 1996): Sedentary . 110-135 individuals.
Ornithological Yearbook of the Province of Burgos: Sedentary . In decrease.

Great Bustard in Burgos

Flock with 23 Bustards

This year has been first that the birders of Burgos we have been to centre on registering Great Bustard (Otis tarda) of the province.
Possibly the northern population of the Iberian peninsula.
The weather was not good, bad visibility and mainly the light winter, they have made disperse more the flocks of Bustard, any birds alone or in pairs have been observed.
Divided in three cars, ten people, we crossed the best places, that previously had been selected, prospecting all the possible zones.
During all the morning we were observing the different flocks, also was tried to determine the sex of birds, although in some case, due to the distance and the bad light this could not be done.
We have been crossed near 200 km, and between the three groups, a 228 total of Great Bustard, which agrees with the last national censuses for the province of Burgos, and this population possibly represents also the reproductive population.

Great Bustrard (Otis tarda)

Other observed species have been, Red kite (Milvus mivus), great amount of them, many in migration towards the north of Europe.
Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus), Merlin (Falco columbarius)and Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus), a good representation of the Falcons.

Merlin (Falco columbarius)

Many Skylarks (Alauda arvensis), but especially, Calandra Lark (Melanocorypha calandra), hundreds, by all the zone, singing and letting themselves see easily.

Calandra Lark (Melanocorypha calandra)

Atlas of Wintering Birds. VN2050

Again I have been able to make a new one square for the Atlas of wintering birds, the VN2050 and again I have been able to enjoy a day of birdwatching, without a doubt this type of bird works becomes an incentive to follow with the birding.

This routes into squares is located under the reservoir of the river Ebro, these have a influence in the presence of birds in to the square.


It is a cattle zone and is characterized by the abundance of pastures, and is in these zones where more diversity of birds we can found.
In winter flocks of birds, they move by all the area.




Also wooded areas exist, mainly composed by Oak and Beech trees, in this type of forests the tits, treecrepers, woodpeckers… are the easy ones to find. Although today I did not have luck, is not difficult to see Black Woodpecker.

List of species recorder in the routes:
1. Northern Lapwing, Vanellus vanellus , two flocks in the pastures 2. Common Snipe, Gallinago gallinago , two birds in a water area in the pastures 3. European Golden Plover, Pluvialis apricaria 4. Great White Egret, Egretta alba , two birds on the pasture area 5. Grey Heron, Ardea cinerea 6. Mallard, Anas platyrhynchos 7. Great Crested Grebe, Podiceps cristatus 8. Common Kestrel, Falco tinnunculus 9. Common Buzzard, Buteo buteo 10. Red-billed Chough, Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax 11. Eurasian Jay, Garrulus glandarius 12. Carrion Crow, Corvus corone 13. Common Raven, Corvus corax 14. Magpie, Pica pica 15. Cirl Bunting, Emberiza cirlus 16. Yellowhammer, Emberiza citrinella 17. Rock Bunting, Emberiza cia 18. Sky Lark, Alauda arvensis 19. Common Starling, Sturnus vulgaris 20. Spotless Starling, Sturnus unicolor 21. Dunnock Prunella modularis 22. Meadow Pipit, Anthus pratensis 23. White wagtail, Motacilla alba 24. Robin, Erithacus rubecula 25. Blackbird, Turdus merula 26. Song Thrush, Turdus philomelos 27. Fieldfare, Turdus pilaris 28. Redwing, Turdus iliacus 29. Mistle Thrush Turdus viscivorus 30. Firecrest, Regulus ignicapilla 31. Short-toed Treecreeper, Certhya brachydactyla 32. European Nuthatch, Sitta europaea 33. Green Woodpecker, Picus viridis 34. Long-tailed Tit, Aegithalos caudatus 35. Great Tit, Parus major 36. Blue Tit, Parus caeruleus 37. Common Chaffinch, Fringilla coelebs 38. Brambling, Fringilla montifringilla , flock with 30 birds near of the village of Santa Gadea 39. Goldfinch, Carduelis carduelis 40. Common Bullfinch, Pyrrhula pyrrhula 41. Zitting Cisticola, Cisticola juncidis, four birds near of the river 42. House Sparrow, Paser domesticus 43. Greylag Goose, Anser anser, 18 birds flying towards the south 44. Common Crane, Grus grus 2 birds flying towards the south.

Atlas of Wintering Birds. VN3040.

Square VN3040, composed mainly by high land, a fluvial canyon formed by the river Ebro and a valley very closed by the oaks.

I have made the 20 routes of season 2007, in two days.

The first day 11 routes and second 9.

The time has been very good, with temperatures between 0 and 10ºC with sky overcast by high fog that soon has cleared leaving a spectacular sun.

With respect to the records of birds, both days have been very good, with a great variety of species and flocks of birds.

The total number of species recorder has been of 46.

The species with more birds, Common Chaffinch.

The species with interesting records.
-Golden Plover three birds with a Northern Lapwing flock.

-Goldcrest, is necessary to remember that, in Spain, the distribution of Goldcrest is smaller than the Firecrest, reason why always are interesting the contacts with this species.

Maps of distribution of Goldcrest (left) and Firecrest , in Europe.

Maps by COLLINS BIRD GUIDE. THE MOST COMPLETE FIELD GUIDE TO THE BIRDS OF BRITAIN AND EUROPE , Mullarney K. & Svensson L

Very interesting also the records of flocks of Fieldfare and Redwing.

The list of birds recorder.

1.Great Cormorant Phalacrocorax Carbo
2.Griffon Vulture Gyps fulvus
3.Common Buzzard Buteo buteo
4.Common Kestrel Falco tinnunculus
5.Northern Lapwing Vanellus vanellus, 60
6.European Golden Plover Pluvialis apricaria, 3
7.Common Woodpigeon Columba palumbus
8.Great Spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopos major
9.Green Woodpecker Picus viridis
10.Skylark Alauda arvensis
11.White Wagtail Motacilla alba
12.Blackbird Turdus merula
13.Mistle Thrush Turdus viscivorus
14.Fieldfare Turdus pilaris, >50
15.Song Thrush Turdus philomelos
16.Redwing Turdus iluacus, three flocks 20, 12, 15
17.Robin Erithacus rubecula
18.Great Tit Parus major
19.Blue Tit Parus caeruleus
20.Coal Tit Parus ater
21.Wren Troglodytes troglodytes
22.Dipper Cinclus cinclus
23.Short-toed Treecreeper Certhia brachydactyla
24.European Nuthatch Sitta europaea
25.Linnet Carduelis cannabina
26.Common Chaffinch Fringilla coelebs
27.Greenfinch Carduelis chrolis
28.Siskin Carduelis spinus
29.Common Bullfinch Pyrrhula pyrrhula
30.Rock Bunting Emberiza cia
31.Cirl Bunting Emberiza cirlus
32.Yellowhammer Emberiza citrinella
33.Corn Bunting Emberiza Calandra
34.Cetti’s Warbler Cettia cetti
35.Blackcap Sylvia atricapilla
36.Goldcrest Regulus regulus, 1
37.Spotless Starling Sturnus unicolor
38.Common Starling Sturnus vulgaris
39.Southern Grey Shrike Lanius Meridionalis, 1
40.House Sparrow Passer domesticus
41.Rock Sparrow Petronia petronia
42.Red-billed Chough Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax >50
43.Jay Garrulus glandarius
44.Carrion Crow Corvus corone
45.Magpie Pica pica
46.Raven Corvus corax