Rare Birds in Spain Blog

On 16:30 hours of 13th November 2012, Todor Todorov was having a tea with his boss. He nevertheless spotted a raptor in the distance. It seemed a Buzzard. To his surprise, the raptor headed directly towards them, perhaps unable to spot both humans shaded by a tree and canvas. A couple of  Kestrels ( Falco tinnunculus ) attacked the raptor and Todor could quickly mount his camera to take the above shot before the raptor left the area. That happened at Mijas Costa, Málaga, close to the Calaburras lighthouse. After some initial surprise, the bird was identified with the collaboration of more people as a juvenile Harris' Hawk Parabuteo unicinctus , a species of American origin unlikely to have been recorded in the wild in the area as it is commonly kept as a falconry species. Some individuals of this species have been seen in the wild in Spain and it's in the E3 list of the birds of Spain. However to our knowledge this is the 1st juvenile reported. The bird might be confus...

Photo above:© Jacobo Ramos y Manuel Carrascosa 19.11.2011 As shown in the Estonian interactive map, the Greater Spotted Eagle ( Aquila clanga ) Tonn is coming to Spain on 23.9.2012 when it was crossing mid France. Have a look to the map and the previous posts in this blog regarding this species . We'll keep you informed as in the previous years. *** Como se ve en el mapa interactivo estonio, el águila moteada Tonn se acerca a España en fecha 23.9.2012, cuando estaba cruzando Francia. Se pueden consultar los posts previos a esa especie en este blog. Y se continuará informando sobre este caso en la web y este blog.

Portada de la presentación de la lista española que se efectuó en las Jornadas celebradas en Sant Carles de la Ràpita, Tarragona el 8.9.2012, efectuada en base a un collage de fotografias enviadas a www.rarebirdspain.net por diferentes autores Saber cuántas especies hay en un determinado territorio siempre ha sido un indicador de biodiversidad del mismo. Aunque todo el mundo puede señalar   algunas o hasta algún centenar de especies frecuentes en un territorio, determinar exactamente cuando una especie pasa a formar parte de nuestro catálogo, y puede gestionarse como especie establecida, no es tan sencillo y requiere de un análisis pormenorizado. Algunos casos corresponden a especies raras, que llegan ocasionalmente a nuestro país traídas por fenómenos climatológicos extremos como huracanes, olas de frío o incluso de calor africanas. En otros casos se trata de especies asilvestradas en países europeos que, asociadas por ejemplo a patos invernantes, vienen llegando a ...

El fin de semana del 7-9.9.2012 se celebra la reunión anual del comité de rarezas de SEO/BirdLife preparatoria del informe que aparecerá en la revista Ardeola a final de año. Coincidiendo con la reunión se presentan los resultados de la edición 2012 de la lista española de aves (Gutiérrez, de Juana y Lorenzo, 2012) que incluyen los últimos cambios taxonómicos y de categoría de numerosas especies y que constituye una actualización notable de la avifauna estatal. La lista será editada en varios formatos digitales y en papel en los próximos meses por SEO/BirdLife pero aqui avanzaremos los detalles técnicos de la misma. La tarde del sábado 8.9.2012 habrá una serie de tres conferencias abiertas al público en Sant Carles de la Ràpita, Tarragona, impartidas por los autores de la lista sobre el papel de las rarezas en el conjunto de la avifauna estatal (E.de Juana), sobre las características de esta nueva lista, novedades avifaunísticas y cambios sistemáticos (R.Gutiérr...

On 3.5.2012 Alberto Plata has trapped and ringed a male Marmora's Warbler at Tabarca island, Alicante. See a full report in Spanish in his blog here and a photo provided by him below. Sylvia sarda ♂ 3.5.2012 (Alberto Plata) This is a 4th for Spain of a species that perhaps should not be so uncommon according to its nearby location and migratory character plus already existing records in S France. Previous accepted records in Spain are as follows: 1997 Barcelona. Garraf hills, Singing male. Song tapped 25 May 1997 (X.Bayer, C. Guasch, H.Salvadó). 2004 Barcelona. Delta del Llobregat, El Prat de Llobregat, Ca l'Arana, 1st winter male 14 March 2004 (Xavier Larruy), same site, probably same individual , La Magarola beach, 1st winter male, photo, 16 and 20 March 2004 (X.Larruy and Daniel Burgas).  This record appeared in March 2004 page of Rare Birds in Spain website too and a photo plus two thumbnails were featured there, photo reproduced below. Sylvia sarda 1...

The Black-bellied Storm-Petrel ( Fregetta tropica ), 1st for Spain and 2nd for the Western Palearctic seen on 10.9.2011 c.40 nautic miles N of Lanzarote at Banco de la Concepción area has been voted in this blog as the rarest of the rare birds seen in Spain in 2011. The 83 people voting in the blog poll have given 36 votes to this species, 3 more than the 2nd contestant, the also 1st for Spain and extremely rare Stejneger's Scoter ( Melanitta deglandi stejnegeri ) seen in Pontevedra coasts in December 2011. 3rd position of this incredible year went to Thayer's Gull ( Larus thayeri ), also from Galicia, gathering 22 votes. Thank you everybody for taking part in the contest. Both 1st and 2nd place winners appear in the animated image of the Rarebirdspain website already with previous highlights of the so far XXI century rarities in Spain. The unique photo of Miguel Rouco of the Fregetta is reproduced again below as an homage to this superb sighting!   El   PaíñoVentrine...

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...