BIRDWALKERMONDAY

Friday, 22 December 2017

22-12-2017 LA FONT EN CARROS, VALENCIA - COMMON CHIFFCHAFF (Phylloscopus collybita)

The common chiffchaff (Phylloscopus collybita), or simply the chiffchaff, is a common and widespread leaf warbler which breeds in open woodlands throughout northern and temperate Europe and the Palearctic.

It is a migratory passerine which winters in southern and western Europe, southern Asia and north Africa. Greenish-brown above and off-white below, it is named onomatopoeically for its simple chiff-chaff song. It has a number of subspecies, some of which are now treated as full species. The female builds a domed nest on or near the ground, and assumes most of the responsibility for brooding and feeding the chicks, whilst the male has little involvement in nesting, but defends his territory against rivals, and attacks potential predators.

A small insectivorous bird, it is subject to predation by mammals, such as cats and mustelids, and birds, particularly hawks of the genus Accipiter. Its large range and population mean that its status is secure, although one subspecies is probably extinct.

The common chiffchaff breeds across Europe and Asia east to eastern Siberia and north to about 70°N, with isolated populations in northwest Africa, northern and western Turkey and northwestern Iran. It is migratory, but it is one of the first passerine birds to return to its breeding areas in the spring and among the last to leave in late autumn.] When breeding, it is a bird of open woodlands with some taller trees and ground cover for nesting purposes. These trees are typically at least 5 metres (16 feet) high, with undergrowth that is an open, poor to medium mix of grasses, bracken, nettles or similar plants. Its breeding habitat is quite specific, and even near relatives do not share it; for example, the willow warbler (P. trochilus) prefers younger trees, while the wood warbler (P. sibilatrix) prefers less undergrowth. In winter, the common chiffchaff uses a wider range of habitats including scrub, and is not so dependent on trees. It is often found near water, unlike the willow warbler which tolerates drier habitats. There is an increasing tendency to winter in western Europe well north of the traditional areas, especially in coastal southern England and the mild urban microclimate of London. These overwintering common chiffchaffs include some visitors of the eastern subspecies abietinus and tristis, so they are certainly not all birds which have bred locally, although some undoubtedly are.

Thursday, 21 December 2017

21-12-2017 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - COMMON PHEASANT (Phasianus colchicus)

The Common Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) is a bird of the pheasant family, Phasianidae. It is native to Asia and parts of Europe and has been widely introduced elsewhere as a game bird. The male is particularly striking with its bright gold and fiery copper-red plumage with an iridescent sheen of green and purple, while the female is much less conspicuous with her mottled brown appearance.

Males of the nominate subspecies, Phasianus colchicus colchicus, are identifiable by their long brown streaked black tail and bright body plumage. They lack the white neck ring found in some other races. The head is a bottle green with a small crest and red wattle. Females and juveniles are duller with a mottled brown plumage and a shorter tail.

The Common Pheasant thrives in grassland near water with small copses of trees. It is also found in woodland, farmland, scrub, and wetlands.

Originally from the Balkans to Manchuria, Siberia, Korea, Mainland China, and Taiwan, the Common Pheasant has been introduced to Europe, North America, and other regions.

These birds are gregarious and form loose flocks outside the breeding season. They prefer to run but can take flight abruptly if startled. Males are polygynous and may be accompanied by several females.

The Common Pheasant emits a distinctive "kok kok kok" call when alarmed.

Nesting occurs on the ground in scrapes lined with grass and leaves. The clutch size ranges from 8–15 eggs, which are incubated for about 22–27 days. Chicks are precocial and leave the nest shortly after hatching.

The diet includes a variety of animal and vegetable matter such as fruit, seeds, grain, insects, and small vertebrates.

The IUCN lists the Common Pheasant as Least Concern, although some subspecies are at risk due to hybridization with introduced birds.

Monday, 18 December 2017

15-12-2017 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - VESPERUS BEETLE (Superfamily Chrysomeloidea)

18-12-2017 TORMOS, ALICANTE - HOUSE SPARROW (MALE) (Passer domesticus)

Once one of Britain’s commonest birds, numbers have crashed in recent years. London lost three-quarters of its sparrows between 1994 and 2000.

In some urban areas the population has fallen by 99%.

The cause of the sudden decline remains a mystery, though many improbable theories have been put forward, ranging from unleaded petrol to the use of mobile phones.

When sparrows were at their most numerous a century ago, there were many sparrow clubs whose members competed to kill the most birds in a year.

Though a long-established resident of Britain, it’s not thought to be a native, but spread naturally north from North Africa.

Man has always had a love-hate relationship with the cheeky sparrow. They have been introduced successfully to numerous countries around the world, including both North and South America, East and South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

The common sparrow in eastern Asia is not the house sparrow but its cousin, the tree sparrow.

DNA research has shown that 15% of offspring are the result of either the cock or hen mating with another partner, confirming the sparrow’s reputation for sexual infidelity.

They are very sociable birds, often nesting in colonies.

Their adaptability can be gauged by the fact that they have been found living and breeding 2000ft underground in a coalmine; others have been recorded living their whole lives inside warehouses.

Few birds are happier in the company of man than the house sparrow, and for much of the year it is rare to find them far from human habitations.

18-12-2017 TORMOS, ALICANTE - EURASIAN COLLARED DOVE (Streptopelia decaocto)

Sunday, 17 December 2017

17-12-2017 LA FONT EN CARROS, VALENCIA - EURASIAN KESTREL (Falco tinnunculus)

17-12-2017 PEGO MARJAL, ALICANTE - LITTLE EGRET (Egretta garzetta)

17-12-2017 PEGO MARJAL, ALICANTE - COMMON CHIFFCHAFF (Phylloscopus collybita)

17-12-2017 OLIVA NOVA, VALENCIA - HOUSE SPARROW (MALE) (Passer domesticus)

17-12-2017 LA FONT EN CARROS, VALENCIA - COMMON CHIFFCHAFF (Phylloscopus collybita)

The Common Chiffchaff, Phylloscopus collybita, is a diminutive and sprightly leaf warbler known for its distinctive, onomatopoeic song. This small, migratory passerine is characterized by its greenish-brown upperparts and off-white underparts, with a weight ranging from 6 to 8 grams and a length of 10-12 centimeters.

In the field, look for the Common Chiffchaff's short whitish supercilium, fine dark bill, and dark legs. Its primary projection is short, and the plumage may appear duller and browner as it wears. Juveniles are browner above with yellow-white underparts, but they soon acquire brighter plumage after their first moult.

The Common Chiffchaff breeds in open woodlands with a mix of taller trees and ground cover across northern and temperate Europe, Asia, and parts of north Africa. It prefers woodland with trees at least 5 meters high and an undergrowth of grasses and nettles.

This species has a vast breeding range, extending from Europe to eastern Siberia and northward to about 70 N. It winters in southern and western Europe, southern Asia, and north Africa. The Common Chiffchaff is one of the earliest spring migrants to return to its breeding grounds and one of the last to depart in autumn.

The male Common Chiffchaff is fiercely territorial during the breeding season, defending its core territory against rivals. It exhibits a fearless nature, even attacking predators that threaten its nest. Outside the breeding season, these birds may form small flocks with other warblers.

The song is a cheerful "chiff-chaff," which heralds the arrival of spring. Calls include a "hweet" sound, less disyllabic than the calls of closely related warblers. The song is a key distinguishing feature from similar species, such as the Iberian Chiffchaff.

Friday, 15 December 2017

6-12-2017 ULLAL DE BOLDOVI, VALENCIA - BRAMBLING (MALE) (Fringilla montifringilla)

The brambling (Fringilla montifringilla) is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae. It has also been called the cock o' the north and the mountain finch. It is widespread and migratory, often seen in very large flocks.

This bird is widespread, in the breeding season, throughout the forests of northern Europe and east across the Palearctic. It is migratory, wintering in southern Europe, North Africa, northern India, northern Pakistan, China, and Japan. It frequently strays into Alaska during migration and there are scattered records across the northern United States and southern Canada. The global population of bramblings is about 100 to 200 million, with a decreasing trend.

Open coniferous or birch woodland is favoured for breeding.

Wednesday, 13 December 2017

13-12-2017 ULLAL DE BOLDOVI, VALENCIA - EUROPEAN ROBIN (Erithacus rubecula)

The European robin (Erithacus rubecula) is a small insectivorous passerine bird. The term robin is also applied to some birds in other families with red or orange breasts. These include the American robin (Turdus migratorius ), a thrush, and the Australasian robins of the family Petroicidae.

The male and female European robins are similar in coloration, with an orange breast and face lined with grey, brown upperparts, and a whitish belly. The bill and eyes are black. Juveniles are spotted brown and white in coloration, with patches of orange gradually appearing.

The robin occurs in Eurasia east to Western Siberia, south to Algeria and on the Atlantic islands as far west as the Central Group of the Azores and Madeira. It is a vagrant in Iceland. In the southeast, it reaches Iran the Caucasus range. Irish and British robins are largely resident but a small minority, usually female, migrate to southern Europe during winter, a few as far as Spain. Scandinavian and Russian robins migrate to Britain and western Europe to escape the harsher winters. These migrants can be recognised by the greyer tone of the upper parts of their bodies and duller orange breast. The continental European robins that migrate during winter prefer spruce woods in northern Europe, contrasting with its preference for parks and gardens in Great Britain.

In southern Iberia, habitat segregation of resident and migrant robins occurs, with resident robins remaining in the same woodlands where they bred.

Attempts to introduce the European robin into Australia and New Zealand in the latter part of the 19th century were unsuccessful. Birds were released around Melbourne, Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington and Dunedin by various local acclimatisation societies, with none becoming established. There was a similar outcome in North America, as birds failed to become established after being released in Long Island, New York in 1852, Oregon in 1889–1892, and the Saanich Peninsula in British Columbia in 1908–1910.

In the 15th century, when it became popular to give human names to familiar species, the bird came to be known as robin redbreast, which was eventually shortened to robin. As a given name, Robin is originally a smaller form of the name Robert. The term robin is also applied to some birds in other families with red or orange breasts. These include the American robin (Turdus migratorius, a thrush) and the Australasian robins of the family Petroicidae, the relationships of which are unclear.

Other older English names for the bird include ruddock and robinet. In American literature of the late 19th century, this robin was frequently called the English robin.

13-12-2017 ALBUFERA, VALENCIA - NORTHERN LAPWING (Vanellus vanellus)

The northern lapwing (Vanellus vanellus) is a wading bird common through temperate Eurasia. The name lapwing has been variously attributed to the "lapping" sound the wings of these birds make in flight; from the irregular progress in flight due to their large wings or from their habit of drawing potential predators away from their nest by trailing a wing as if broken.

The northern lapwing has rounded wings and a crest. It is also the shortest-legged of the lapwings. It is mainly black and white, but the back is tinted green. The male has a long crest and a black crown, throat, and breast contrasting with an otherwise white face. Females and young birds have shorter crests and less strongly marked heads, but plumages are otherwise quite similar.

Northern lapwings are found throughout temperate Eurasia. They are highly migratory over most of their extensive range, wintering further south as far as North Africa, northern India, Nepal, Bhutan, and parts of China. However, lowland breeders in the westernmost areas of Europe are residents. Northern lapwings inhabit wet grasslands, meadows, swampy heaths, bogs, marshes, other wetlands, and cultivated areas.

Outside of the breeding season, Northern lapwings are very gregarious birds. They feed in mixed flocks with Golden plovers and Black-headed gulls and often migrate in large flocks. In winter, these birds like to form huge flocks on open land, particularly arable land, and mud flats. Northern plovers prefer to feed at night when there is moonlight. They are very vocal birds in the breeding season, constantly calling during the crazed tumbling display flight performed by the male. The typical contact call of these birds is a loud, shrill ‘pee-wit’ from which they get their other name of peewit. Displaying males usually make a wheezy ‘pee-wit, wit wit, eeze wit’ during their display flight; these birds also make squeaking or mewing sounds.

Northern lapwings are serially monogamous and form pairs only for a single breeding season. They are solitary and very territorial nesters. Both parents defend noisily and aggressively the nest and young against all intruders, even cattle. The breeding season occurs between late March and early June. The female lays 3 to 4 eggs in a ground scrape and both parents incubate them for about 21-28 days. The chicks precocial; they are can walk soon after they are dry and are able to swim within 24 hours after hatching. Soon after hatching, the pair with their young leave their nest; they raise their chicks at a different site where the young can feed by themselves but both parents still brood and guard them for some time. Young Northern lapwings become reproductively mature and start to breed when they are one year old.

Population size

5.6-105 Mlnlnn

Life Span

3.5-10 years

Weight

128-330

goz

g oz

Length

28-33

cminch

cm inch

Wingspan

67-87

mft

Northern lapwings suffer from intensive agricultural techniques. In the lowlands, this includes the loss of rough grassland, conversion to arable or improved grassland, loss of mixed farms, and switch from spring- to autumn-sown crops. In the uplands, the losses may have been due to increases in grazing density. Other threats include heavy predation of nests and chicks, the loss of breeding habitats, and overhunting, especially along their winter migration routes.

According to IUCN Red List, the total population size of the Northern lapwing is around 5,600,000-10,500,000 individuals. The European population consists of 1,590,000-2,580,000 pairs, which equates to 3,190,000-5,170,000 mature individuals. Currently, this species is classified as Near Threatened (NT) on the IUCN Red List, and its numbers today are decreasing.

13-12-2017 ALBUFERA, VALENCIA - GREY HERON (Ardea cinerea)

The Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) is a statuesque wading bird belonging to the family Ardeidae. It is a familiar sight in both rural and urban settings, often seen standing stoically along the water's edge. An adult Grey Heron is a large bird, reaching up to 100 cm in height, with a wingspan between 155 to 195 cm. It weighs between 1 to 2 kg. The plumage is predominantly ashy-grey above, with a greyish-white underbelly and some black on the flanks. A striking feature is the white head and neck adorned with a broad black stripe that extends from the eye to the black crest. The beak is pinkish-yellow, long, and sharply pointed, while the legs are a brown hue.

When identifying the Grey Heron, look for the white head with the black supercilium and crest, the long grey neck, and the ashy-grey wings and back. The underparts are lighter, and the legs are long and brown. Juveniles can be distinguished by their duller grey neck and smaller crest. The beak is a useful indicator of age, being brighter in breeding adults.

Grey Herons are highly adaptable and can be found in a variety of watery habitats including lakes, rivers, ponds, marshes, and coastal environments. They require shallow waters for foraging or areas with shelving margins where they can wade.

Native to temperate Europe and Asia, as well as parts of Africa, the Grey Heron has a broad range. Northern populations may migrate southwards in autumn, while others remain resident year-round. Vagrant sightings have occurred in the Caribbean, Bermuda, and parts of North America.