Rare Birds in Spain Blog

Spain has experienced a very good year for rarities in 2010. Within the amount of observations gathered in Rare Birds in Spain recent report pages, we've selected 22 of those, with The rarest of the rare: an overview of 2010 rare bird highlights in Spain in the website > And vote in the poll useful for this blog entry and the webpage in this blog right column! CANDIDATE 1 Branta hutchinsii at Badajoz, January 2010 Photo above:© Antonio Ceballos. 2.1.2010 CANDIDATE 2 Bucephala albeola at Cantabria, January - March 2010 Photo above:© Luis Eduardo Molina. 7.1.2010 CANDIDATE 3 Megaceryle alcyon at Murcia, relocated on January 2010 and present until March 2010 Photo above:© Kris de Rouck 17.1.2010 CANDIDATE 4 Falco rusticolus at Asturies, February 2010 Photo above:© Juan Sagardia. February 2010 CANDIDATE 5 Larus smithsonianus at Madrid on February - May 2010 Photo above:© Delfín González. 7.2.2010 CANDIDATE 6 Motacilla flava feldegg ...

Photo above:© Toni Alcocer 13.9.2010 An influx of Buff-breasted Sandpipers ( Tryngites subruficollis ) took place in Spain in September-October 2010. About 18 different birds were reported in September 2010 and 7 additional new individuals in October 2010. In comparison, De Juana (2006) gives only 28 accepted records up to 2004 in the whole of the country and 43 up to 2007 (Mainland and Balearics: 35 records/39 individuals; Canary Islands: 7 records/7 individuals; Dies et al 2009 Ardeola 56(2):309-344). Hence the 25 birds reported so far in Spain this Autumn 2010 is a notable number (40 reported in UK & Ireland in September as a comparison, Source: Birding World). Unlike the proportion of records shown in De Juana (2006) with a larger number of records in Galicia compared to E Spain and a lack of records from central Spain, the distribution of Autumn 2010 records seem to show a 'wave' moving N to South and crossing all over Spain, perhaps after having reached Europe furth...