Rarest of the Rare 2011 [El más raro de los raros 2011]
Which species
sighting or group of sightings is for you the rarest in Spain in 2011?
Just vote in the poll! You can choose several choices, not only one
(it's a difficult poll!!!). Full details in the website in each one of
the months featured close to the name.
¿Que cita de especies o grupo de ellas es para ti la más rara de España en 2011? Votad en la encuesta, similar a la de 2010, esta vez sin embargo podeis elegir varias especies porque la tarea es muy dificil! Los detalles para todas las citas las teneis en la web en el mes que figura al lado del nombre.
Los 21 candidatos son / The 21 candidates are:
C1. African Crake Crex egregia (1)
5TH FOR SPAIN AND THE WP
(1) Tenerife One landed on a boat off Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands on 5.1.2011 and was brought to a recovery centre where it died (J.A Lorenzo). The 5th record for Spain and the WP, all falling within winter dates. See a photo below and more information in the Aves Canarias blog here.
C2. Isabelline Shrike Lanius isabellinus (1)
(1) Alicante. One was ringed at El Hondo NR, Alicante on 16.2.2011 (Sociedad Ilicitana de Ornitología). Read a post here in Spanish and see a thumbnail here.
C3. White-tailed Eagle Haliaeetus albicilla (1)
(1) Girona The 1w at Pedret i Marzà area, Girona found on 19.2 was still there until 6.3 (comm. by A.Ollé. Still seen on 9.3 but over Mornau, Aiguamolls de l'Empordà Natural Park, towards Palau-Savardera (Àlex Ollé), photo below. See frontera.cat website for a chronicle of most interesting sightings at Alt Empordà county).
(1) Girona The 1w at Pedret i Marzà area, Girona found on 19.2 was still there until 6.3 (comm. by A.Ollé. Still seen on 9.3 but over Mornau, Aiguamolls de l'Empordà Natural Park, towards Palau-Savardera (Àlex Ollé), photo below. See frontera.cat website for a chronicle of most interesting sightings at Alt Empordà county).
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| Photo above:© Àlex Ollé 21.2.2011 |
(1) Lugo On 20.3.2010 a gull was seen at Lago, Xove, Lugo (Ricardo Rodríguez, David Calleja). That bird featured in the March 2010 page was believed to be a Thayer's Gull, the 1st for Spain. Confirmation of this suspite came recently when gull and ID specialist Alvaro Jaramillo commented on that bird in Spanish:
"Esta parece ser un thayeri, bien clásico en su apariencia. Edad, no se, no tenemos ejemplares con anillos para verificar si es una especie que madura rápidamente o lentamente, pero en plumajes como este casi intermedio no se sabe si es un ejemplar en su segundo ciclo, o tercer ciclo. En el primer ciclo esta especie casi no muda hasta Febrero, y de ahí desaparecen en el ártico, y no sabemos si la primera muda cambia bastante el patrón o lo mantiene similar. Falta anillar algún día para ver si es una especie que madura rápidamente o lentamente, acá en el oeste solo tenemos buena información sobre la maduración de L. occidentalis.
Pero lo importante es que es un thayeri, sin duda. Tiene el tamaño y forma, color de pico, ojo, orbital, y plumaje impecable como thayeri. Aquí seria uno del montón, no sobresaldría como diferente o inusual."
More interestingly, on 13.3.2011, a Thayer's Gull was seen at San Ciprián, Lugo. See photos below and a thumbnail in the right column. Later, some observers have come to see the gull. It is believed to be the same individual, one year later, thus, the 1st for Spain (Raul Carrillo & David Calleja; Toño Salazar; Ricardo Hevia; Dani Lopez, Nacho Castelao, Manuel Quintana & Conchi Ovín). Not seen on 19.3 but relocated on 20.3 (Antonio Gutiérrez) and still present on 21.3 morning (Fernando Pereiras; Raúl Carrillo)
C5.EASTERN BLACK REDSTART Phoenicurus ochruros phoenicuroides (1) 1ST FOR SPAIN
(1) Murcia. On 23.3.2011 a 1w ♂ 'paradoxus' was trapped and ringed at Isla Grosa, Murcia (Ángel Sallent, J.Antonio Barba). See a special page on this bird with 10 photos and details on its identification (so far mostly in Spanish with English abstract).
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| Photo: © José Antonio Barba, 23.3.2011 |
C6. Semicollared Flycatcher Ficedula semitorquata (1) 1ST FOR SPAIN
(1) Illes Balears On 17.4 a male was trapped and ringed at Cabrera island National Park, Illes Balears (Eduardo Amengual).See a photo below (E.Amengual)
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| Photo above:© Eduardo Amengual 17.4.2011 |
C7. Olive-backed Pipit Anthus hodgsoni (1)
(1) Lanzarote. A bird was found and photographed at Montaña Blanca, Lanzarote, Canary Islands on 9.4 (Juan Sagardía). It was later seen by Francisco Javier Garcia Vargas. On 10.4 morning it remained there, but not seen later (Juan Sagardía). See two photos below. See a video and more photos in Juan's blog here.
(1) Lanzarote. A bird was found and photographed at Montaña Blanca, Lanzarote, Canary Islands on 9.4 (Juan Sagardía). It was later seen by Francisco Javier Garcia Vargas. On 10.4 morning it remained there, but not seen later (Juan Sagardía). See two photos below. See a video and more photos in Juan's blog here.
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| Photo above:© Juan Sagardía 9.4.2011 |
C8. Italian sparrow Passer 'italiae' (1) 1ST FOR SPAIN
(1) Illes Balears On 6.5 a bird was found at Pla de l'Anzell, Vilafranca, Mallorca (Manolo Suarez). See photos at Mallorcaweb website here and one of them below (M.Suarez)
Photo above:© Manolo Suarez 6.5.2011
C9.Cretzschmar's Bunting Emberiza caesia (1) 1ST FOR SPAIN
(1) Illes Balears On 1.5 a male was seen lingering around Cabrera island National Park, Illes Balears (Juan Sagardía; Eduardo Amengual).See a photo below (E.Amengual). See anoher photo below (Juan Sagardía)
(1) Illes Balears On 1.5 a male was seen lingering around Cabrera island National Park, Illes Balears (Juan Sagardía; Eduardo Amengual).See a photo below (E.Amengual). See anoher photo below (Juan Sagardía)
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| Photo above:© Juan Sagardía 1.5.2011 |
C10.BROWN BOOBY Sula leucogaster (1)
C11.BLACK-BELLIED STORM PETREL Fregetta tropica (1) 1ST FOR SPAIN, 2ND FOR WP
(1) Lanzarote.
On 10.9 one was seen c.40 nautic miles N of Lanzarote at Banco de la
Concepción area, where a pioneering seawatch was being carried out (J.Sagardía,
Miguel Rouco, D.L.Velasco, O.Llama, J.L.Copete et al). Previous record
is that of a bird c.15 nautic miles NE of Madeira on 8.8.2011
(Correia-Fagundes and ROmano, 2011, Birding World 24(8);326).Ed.comment. Read some thoughts on the sighting and its linkage with ocean biodiversity in the Rarebirdspain Blog hereAccording to its finder, Daniel L.Velasco, the bird they saw is different to that from August 2011 at Madeira. See the only photo below! (Miguel Rouco)
Photo above:© Miguel Rouco 10.9.2011
C12. AFRICAN WHITE-BACKED VULTURE Gyps africanus (1) 3rd FOR SPAIN. 4th FOR EUROPE
(1) Cádiz On 19.9 one was photographed on a caracase at Algarrobo, Algeciras, Cádiz (Javier Elorriaga). See a photo-collage below
(1) Cádiz On 19.9 one was photographed on a caracase at Algarrobo, Algeciras, Cádiz (Javier Elorriaga). See a photo-collage below
Photo collage above:© Javier Elorriaga 19.9.2011
C13. Upland Sandpiper Bartramia longicauda (1) THIRD FOR SPAIN
(1) Asturies One bird reached a private land in the coast of Asturies, at Cabana, c.9,5 km from where the 2005 bird was seen on 21-22.9 (Xurde Gayol). On 23-24.9 arrangements were done to be seen by many observers ( Xurde Gayol, Pablo Fernandez, ; Daniel López Velasco; Nacho Castelao, Manuel Quintana, Moncho Revuelta, Jose Luis Copete, Ricardo Hevia Barcón; Dave McAdams ; Xuan Cortés ; Jose Portillo ; Manuel Carregal ; Graciela Fernández ; Luis Carrera Buergo; Jaime Celorio). See two photos below (Daniel López Velasco). Any would be observer should contact local birdwatchers in order to avoid innecessary disturbance to the birds which is in private land too.
(1) Asturies One bird reached a private land in the coast of Asturies, at Cabana, c.9,5 km from where the 2005 bird was seen on 21-22.9 (Xurde Gayol). On 23-24.9 arrangements were done to be seen by many observers ( Xurde Gayol, Pablo Fernandez, ; Daniel López Velasco; Nacho Castelao, Manuel Quintana, Moncho Revuelta, Jose Luis Copete, Ricardo Hevia Barcón; Dave McAdams ; Xuan Cortés ; Jose Portillo ; Manuel Carregal ; Graciela Fernández ; Luis Carrera Buergo; Jaime Celorio). See two photos below (Daniel López Velasco). Any would be observer should contact local birdwatchers in order to avoid innecessary disturbance to the birds which is in private land too.
Photo above: © Daniel López Velasco, 23.9.2011
C14. SOUTH POLAR SKUA (1) Stercorarius maccormicki (1-4,5)
(1-4) Lanzarote. On 11.9 FOUR were seen: on c.57 nautic miles N of Lanzarote at Banco de la Concepción area and another at 15 nm on migration the rest during the trip during a pioneering seawatch that was being carried out in that area. (Juan Sagardía, Daniel López Velasco, Gonzalo Lage, Javier Traín, Xurxo Pinheiro, Roberto Ortiz, Jesús Menéndez, Carlos Gutierrez Expósito, Miguel Rouco, Oscar Llama, Eduardo Amengual, Rafael Más, Antonio Quintana, Jose Pedro Portillo, Clemente Álvarez Usategui y Carlos Martín). Learn more about that area in the Rarebirdspain blog here.One testimonial video from Javier Train is here in his facebook profile. See two photos below (Daniel López Velasco and Gorka Ocio) and read the full account of the FOUR birds with a lot of photos in Gorka Ocio blog here (fully reccomended!).More photos below!
(1-4) Lanzarote. On 11.9 FOUR were seen: on c.57 nautic miles N of Lanzarote at Banco de la Concepción area and another at 15 nm on migration the rest during the trip during a pioneering seawatch that was being carried out in that area. (Juan Sagardía, Daniel López Velasco, Gonzalo Lage, Javier Traín, Xurxo Pinheiro, Roberto Ortiz, Jesús Menéndez, Carlos Gutierrez Expósito, Miguel Rouco, Oscar Llama, Eduardo Amengual, Rafael Más, Antonio Quintana, Jose Pedro Portillo, Clemente Álvarez Usategui y Carlos Martín). Learn more about that area in the Rarebirdspain blog here.One testimonial video from Javier Train is here in his facebook profile. See two photos below (Daniel López Velasco and Gorka Ocio) and read the full account of the FOUR birds with a lot of photos in Gorka Ocio blog here (fully reccomended!).More photos below!
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| Photo above:© Gorka Ocio 10.9.2011 |
C15. African Desert Warbler Sylvia deserti (1) 1ST FOR MAILAND, 5TH FOR SPAIN
(1) Alicante. On 28.10 a bird was seen and photographed at Clot de Galvany, Elx, Alicante (John Oliver). See the two photos below (John Oliver via Mark Etheridge).
(1) Alicante. On 28.10 a bird was seen and photographed at Clot de Galvany, Elx, Alicante (John Oliver). See the two photos below (John Oliver via Mark Etheridge).
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| Photo above:© John Oliver 28.10.2011 |
C16. Buff-bellied Pipit Anthus rubescens (1) FIRST FOR SPAIN
(1) A Coruña. On 27.9, at 13h, a Buff-bellied Pipit was found at Parque de Bens, W A Coruña city, Galicia (Cosme Damián Romai). See the three first photos in thumbnail mood here. Originals are in the rarebirdspain yahoogroups page you can follow through homepage and directly here and here. The bird news were quickly broadcasted and other authors could see the bird in the afternoon, featuring photos in their blogs (Pablo Gutiérrez and Fernando Pereiras). Seen again on 28.9 at the same site (Dani López Velasco, Nacho Castelao González, Pablo Fernández García y C.Damian Romai; Ricardo Hevia, José Miguel Alonso Pumar). The bird occurrence was featured in local media as 'La Voz de Galicia' (see link here). On 29.9 it was still there (David Ortega, Mario Alonso, Manolo Carregal, C.D.Romai; Jose R. Bugallo, David Díaz, David Martínez y David Calleja) and the below photos were taken. A video of the bird (David Calleja) and a discussion on its occurrence can be seen in the Rarebirdspain blog here. On 30.9 it was still seen (Antonio Sandoval; Marcos Suarez).
(1) A Coruña. On 27.9, at 13h, a Buff-bellied Pipit was found at Parque de Bens, W A Coruña city, Galicia (Cosme Damián Romai). See the three first photos in thumbnail mood here. Originals are in the rarebirdspain yahoogroups page you can follow through homepage and directly here and here. The bird news were quickly broadcasted and other authors could see the bird in the afternoon, featuring photos in their blogs (Pablo Gutiérrez and Fernando Pereiras). Seen again on 28.9 at the same site (Dani López Velasco, Nacho Castelao González, Pablo Fernández García y C.Damian Romai; Ricardo Hevia, José Miguel Alonso Pumar). The bird occurrence was featured in local media as 'La Voz de Galicia' (see link here). On 29.9 it was still there (David Ortega, Mario Alonso, Manolo Carregal, C.D.Romai; Jose R. Bugallo, David Díaz, David Martínez y David Calleja) and the below photos were taken. A video of the bird (David Calleja) and a discussion on its occurrence can be seen in the Rarebirdspain blog here. On 30.9 it was still seen (Antonio Sandoval; Marcos Suarez).
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| Photo above:© David Calleja 29.9.2011 |
C17. Isabelline Weathear Oenanthe isabellina (1,2,3) SIXTH, SEVENTH & EIGHTH FOR SPAIN
(1)A Coruña On 5.10 afternoon a bird was found at Parque de Bens , A Coruña, the same place where a Buff-bellied Pipit was seen last month (and by the same author, Cosme Damián Romai). See the first images as binoscoping thumbnails here. The bird remained there on 6.10 (C.D.Romai, Xabi Varela, Pablo Pita, Clemente Álvarez et al) when photographed in better conditions (C.D. Romai), see below. Also seen on 7.10 (C.D. Romai, F.Pereiras). See more photos here (F.Pereiras) or here (P.Gutiérrez). Later on 7.10 still present (Raul Carrillo Lara, David Díaz Seoane & David Calleja Marcos). See photos from D.Calleja below. It remained on the park on 10.10 (José Luis Rabuñal) and a forest fire near the area and subsequent helicopter movement could have flushed the bird during the following days (A.Sandoval via galiciaves group).
(1)A Coruña On 5.10 afternoon a bird was found at Parque de Bens , A Coruña, the same place where a Buff-bellied Pipit was seen last month (and by the same author, Cosme Damián Romai). See the first images as binoscoping thumbnails here. The bird remained there on 6.10 (C.D.Romai, Xabi Varela, Pablo Pita, Clemente Álvarez et al) when photographed in better conditions (C.D. Romai), see below. Also seen on 7.10 (C.D. Romai, F.Pereiras). See more photos here (F.Pereiras) or here (P.Gutiérrez). Later on 7.10 still present (Raul Carrillo Lara, David Díaz Seoane & David Calleja Marcos). See photos from D.Calleja below. It remained on the park on 10.10 (José Luis Rabuñal) and a forest fire near the area and subsequent helicopter movement could have flushed the bird during the following days (A.Sandoval via galiciaves group).
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| Photo above:© David Calleja 7.10.2011 |
C18. Sandhill Crane Grus canadensis (1) FIRST FOR SPAIN
(1) Badajoz.
On 4.11 a bird was seen between Palazuelo & Torviscal villages,
Vegas Altas county, Badajoz (Manuel Gómez Calzado). Associated to Grus
grus, it was very probably the same bird seen in UK recently. Not
relocated so far. See a chronicle in Spanish at Manuel's blog here.
C19. Black-browed Albatross Thalassarche melanophris (1) 5TH FOR SPAIN
(1) Lugo.
On 6.11 one adult was seen from Burela, Lugo flying E at very close
range (Jordi Martí-Aledo, Luis José Salaverri).Interestingly, on 10.11
presumably this same individual was seen again from Muxia, A Coruña
(Luis José Salaverri, Jordi Martí-Aledo). On 29.11 it was seen again but from Cabo Peñes, Gozón, Asturies (Luis Mario Arce).
C20. Fea's/Zino's Petrel Pterodroma feae/madeira (1,2,3)
La candidatura se refiere al conjunto de citas recogidas en Estaca de Bares y Canarias en 2011, la últimas como siguen:
(1) Tenerife
There was one bird, almost sure feae/desertas (see two photos below)
40 nautic miles N of Tenerife, Canary Islands on 4.12 (Marcel
Gil/SEO-BirdLife)
(2) La Palma
There was a an individual 1 15 nautic miles N of La Palma island,
Canaries on 5.12 (Marcel Gil/SEO-BirdLife). See three photos below.
(3) A Coruña
There was a bird off Estaca de Bares, A Coruña, on 16.12 (Antonio
Sandoval, Dave McAdams). Best-ever year for the species in the area and
Spain.
Photo above:© Marcel Gil/ SEO-BirdLife 4.12.2011
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C21.ASIAN WHITE-WINGED SCOTER Melanitta deglandi stejnegeri (1) FIRST FOR SPAIN
(1) Pontevedra There was an adult male at Ensenada de San
Simón, Vigo, Pontevedra on 23.12 (José Ramón Gómez). See two photos
below and thumbnails here (J.R. Gómez) and his blog too.
Photo above:© José Ramón Gómez 23.12.2011
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