(Manavgat River)

●   Two toes forward, two toes backward on featherless feet. Special tools with razor-sharp claws for catching fish or crustaceans.

●   We found this juvenile bird at 09:30 PM after 1-2 hours of searching. Since the first hotspot was empty this time, we moved on to the next one. On this short drive we spotted the silhouette of an owl on a tree leaning over the river. The car was stopped a little further away and we crept back closer in full darkness. The owl was silent and still perched on the same branch waiting for the fish.

●   Only a few minutes are available to take some pictures, as the guide does not allow any further disturbance. As he said, after a few torch exposures, they simply fly away. We left this bird after 3-4 exposures of 10 seconds each. The use of a flash is, of course, strictly forbidden. The observation did not last more than 5-6 minutes in total.

●   Interestingly, a cat was also sitting and waiting in the dark on a boulder just in front of the owl on the opposite bank of the small river. Two pairs of eyes glowed in the dark now. We will never know who hunted whom. Probably the cat wanted to steal the fish caught by the owl, but I think it's a risky game for the cat itself too.

●   The location is not top secret, but I really don't understand why it isn't, that's why I've decided not to share this information and contribute for further habitat disruption.

●   Not so long ago, a small population of these owls lived around the Lake Oymapinar. Owls were used to people coming and going on boats. In 2020, tourists disappeared for a few years due to covid closures, and their subsequent return was shocking for the new generations and they moved to upper, calmer regions of the river. The destruction of several nesting sites by recent big wildfires also contributed to this.

●   Just to be sure, I first took pictures with the 150mm kit lens of Canon R7. See results in the gif above.

●   I had strong doubts, but in the end I managed to take photos with the f11 600mm lens too. Settings were: 1/100 sec, ISO 32000 with manual focus on R7. A lower ISO probably would have been more than enough too, but there were only a few opportunities for a good shot, so I didn't want to miss it. Resulting raw images weren't too bad, but with odd colors and with a lot of noise. GIMP and IrfanView helped to improve quality afterwards.

●   An interesting source mentions this species as Bubo semenowi - Turkish Fish Owl, a new species. Scientific papers, eBird and Wikipedia still use Ketupa zeylonensis semenowi - Turkish Brown Fish Owl, an isolated subspecies fragment of the main South-Asian population. (Map from Wikipedia)  ➤

●   This site at the Manavgat River is not the only habitat of the species in the WP, but it almost is.

 

 

 

 

(Manavgat River)

●   Another creature in the night at the river.

●   In the bright light of a torch or during the day, its pupils are vertically slit-shaped, otherwise they are round.

●   Photo was taken with 150mm kit lens of R7 in the light of a handheld torch, image was fixed with GIMP and IrfanView afterwards.

●   50-100 cm long, nocturnal, slightly venomous but only hunts for small animals.

●   Opisthoglyphous snake, meaning it has two engraved fangs from posterior maxilla. In a position of the teeth like this, it is impossible to inject venom to human.  ➤ 

●   In Kefalonia, Greece, they are the sacred snakes of some religious rituals.

 

 

 

(roadside clearing, 1360 m, Çimiköy Köyü Yolu, Akseki region)

●   Surprisingly common in many habitats in the Akseki region and also around Side: villages, forests, groves, mountains. Not less common than the Red-backed Shrike (L. collurio collurio).

 

 

 

 

(forest road, 1160 m, Çimiköy Köyü Yolu, Dutluca, Akseki region)

●   Only almost endemic to Türkiye, as it also lives in E-Greece and in the Caucasus.

●   Both sexes have bright rusty breastplates, males have a bigger and sharply demarcated black spot on the head.

●   They live in denser forest habitats.

●   We saw 3 birds moving together, and they were shy in our presence. 3 others birds could only be heard nearby:

 

 

 

 

(ruined cabins with well, 1480 m, Çimiköy Köyü Yolu, Akseki region)

●   A common bird of the mountainous region.

●   Sociable, vocal, curious and bold birds that move in small groups.

●   Relative to their body size, nesting pairs build really large nests made of mud, stucked to cliffs or buildings.  ➤

●   The Western RN is very similar to the Eastern RN (S. tephronota), but fortunately this is not a problem in the Akseki region of the Taurus Mountains. Their plumage can be very similar, they mostly differ only in body sizes. The Western RN is slightly bigger than the European N, the Eastern RN is larger than both.

●   The nominate ssp neumayer lives in the Balkans and Greece, ssp zarudnyi (smaller and paler) is the race of Asia Minor.

 

 

 

(ruined cabins with well, 1480 m, Çimiköy Köyü Yolu, Akseki region)

●   He just drank from the puddle around a well and walked away.

●   Male because the rear scute of carapace leans inwards.

●   Officially, ssp anamurensis is no longer a valid taxon. Recent papers completely exclude anamurensis and only discuss terrestris or ibera in this region, but distribution maps are still conflicting.

 

 

 

(road at cemetery, 1020 m, Çimiköy Köyü Yolu, Dutluca, Akseki region)

●   Ssp danfordi is the race in Greece and Türkiye (except SE-Türkiye). Black band connects cap and moustache on ear coverts. Darker underparts. (Female bird in pic)

 

●   Another woodpecker was found in the little forest on Çolaklı hill: a Middle Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocoptes medius anatoliae), a regional ssp with paler red colors in underparts and more streaks on breast. (Another female bird in small image) ➤

 

●   With the exception of a Wryneck (Jynx torquilla torquilla) at the site called here 'Ruined cabins', no other woodpeckers have been seen or heard in these days.

 

 

 

(Çolaklı hill, Üçtepeler Cad, Çolaklı, Side)

●   A very strange looking ssp from the region. Black half-cap, colorless face, pale body colors.

●   The widespread species has 8 race groups with 33 subspecies within.  ➤

●   Ssp anatoliae belongs to the race group Atricapillus and lives in E-Greece, S-Türkiye, N-Syria, N-Iraq, W-Iran. (Map: Wikimedia Commons)

 

 

●   Other corvid species were represented by abundant Hooded Crow (C. cornix sharpii) in urban-suburban habitats, and by some Ravens (C. corax laurencei) a larger subspecies, in mountainous areas (). ➤

 

 

 

 

 

(roadside grove, 1020 m, D687 junction, Başlar)

●   Not as rare as I thought, but always just a few birds together. Mostly in groves and forests at low altitudes.

●   Ssp anatoliae is the race in Asia Minor.

 

●   Some Coal Tits (Periparus ater ater), a Striated Flycatcher (Muscicapa striata neumanni) were also present in this habitat. The Striated Flycatcher has a somewhat paler subspecies here.

 

 

●   In the same habitat lives the Anatolian race of the common Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus tephronotus). This local subspecies with its darker and dirtier-looking colours seemed to me really different from the European nominate. The thick eyebrows behind the eyes and the different coloration of the wing give it a characteristic look. () ➤

 

 

 

 

(roadside grove, 1020 m, D687 junction, Başlar)

●   Here and there in low numbers in groves both at low and high altitudes.

 

●   A single Cretzschmar's Bunting (Emberiza caesia.) was also found, but it was in the higher altitude region. It came to drink to a remote mountain well with a small group of Ortolan Buntings (with two Linnets on the left here). ➤

 

 

 

 

(village farm, Demokrasi Cad, Çolaklı, Side)

●   Common swallow species around the village of Çolaklı, where they move together with Barn Swallows (H. rustica rustica).

●   Ssp rufula is the same subspecies as in Europe.

 

●   In this rural-urban habitat, another familiar and common bird from Europe, Goldfinch, also has a different subspecies here (Carduelis carduelis niediecki). Paler back and paler breast buff are the main differences. () ➤

 

 

 

(Gulf of Antalya, Antik Side)

●   Primaries are mostly white, grey is only at the end of these feathers.

●   Turkish name is interesting here. In Turkish, Yelkovan is the official name of another bird: Yelkouan Shearwater (Puffinus yelkouan), and Boz yelkovan is the name of Scopoli's Shearwater (C. diomedea). In direct translation, Yelkovan means wing, Boz yelkovan means grey wing.

●   I only saw a few of them, hanging around in small groups.

●   Photo was taken from a little fishing boat departed from Antik Side, we were about 2 km from the coastline. There were simply no other birds here. Nothing. No fish either... Gulls were represented only by very few Yellow-legged Gulls (L. michahellis michahellis) in the beach zone (a total of 2 birds in 2 days). Fish stock of the sea seemed very scarce nowadays.

 

 

 

(ruined house, Tilkiler Cd., Çolaklı, Side)

●   The ancient name of the region is Pamphylia.

●   This is a juvenile lizard, adults are bright green and blue (and are easy to recognize...).

●   Identification was based on the information and images of this very excelent page, which I would really like to recommend to anyone interested: lacerta.de

 

 

 

Cicada sp  Cicada sp Ağustos böceği  kabóca faj Çolaklı hill, Üçtepeler Cad Or at least the shed skin of the larva. According to data of iNaturalist.org Cicada lodosi and Lyristes gemellus are the most common species in the region. Based on morphology of the skin, I'm guessing the first one, but I'm not sure.

Cueta cf. lineosa  Antlion sp  Karınca aslanı  hangyaleső faj Manavgat pine forest On sand dunes in a pine grove. The Dorsal pattern of the stripes on thorax most closely resembles this species.

Saga natoliae(?)  Predatory Bush-cricket  Saga çekirgesi  fűrészlábú szöcske Manavgat River Photographed in full darkness by torchlight.

Cataglyphis nodus  Nodal Desert Ant  Atlı karınca  vörös fürgehangya Çolaklı, Tilkiler Cd A huge major worker (~18mm) standing guard at the entrance of the anthill, and a minor worker of a Myrmicinae species (Messor or Tetramorium) at its feets.

 

 

 

(weedy area, Tilkiler Cd., Çolaklı, Side)

●   Contrary to the bar chart data of eBird for this region, I only saw two prinias in the village on a weedy vacant lot.

●   August is perhaps the worst month for birding here, that was probably the reason.

●   Delicate Prinia is a recently split species from Graceful Prinia (P. gracilis), they don't share distribution ranges and have many differences: source.

●   Prinias also resemble Zitting Cisticola (Cisticola juncidis juncidis) and they live in the same habitat (tall grass, low bushes) and ranges. But also differs from it in some main field markers: prinias are smaller, prinias have much longer tail and have less streaked upperparts. Vocally they are also different. 

●   The most common warbler in this half-rural half-urban habitat was the Eastern Olivaceous Warbler (Iduna pallida eleaica). Being a hiding bird, it caused many trouble at first, but later it was easily recognized by its characteristic call and by the way it pumps its tail up and down. In most cases it just calls from a thicket and cannot be seen, eBird describes this sound like a 'dry and harsh chack'. None of them sang at all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

(groves near an old cemetery, 1230 m, Çimiköy Köyü Yolu, Akseki region)

●   In the hotspot of the Olive-tree Warbler (Hippolais olivetorum.) (olívgeze), what we didn't find. August is a late month for this bird here too. Other nice warblers were still moving in the bushes.

 

●   An Eastern Orphean Warbler (Curruca crassirostris crassirostris) was also in this habitat. () ➤

●   A few Greenfinches, Willow Warblers, Lesser Whitethroats and a Striated Flycatcher were also seen in this grove.

 

 

 

(motorway retaining wall, 1020 m, D687 junction, Başlar)

●   A grey mantle, a shorter tail, no ear tufts (mostly), a yellowish-reddish belly, not white, are the main distinctive markers. And it also has a slightly different dental formula.

●   This is a rotated image to fit the page, that's why the reflection in its eye is slanted.

●   Squirrel map: source  ➤

 

 

 

 

(mountain well, 1960 m, Çimiköy Köyü Yolu, Akseki region)

●   A whole family (officially known as covey) of Chukars, mostly juveniles, came to quench their thirst from the remote mountain well, but in the end they didn't dare to come closer to our car-hide.

●   They were quite common in the mountains everywhere. The guide said it's a very good year for Chukars, he saw a remarkably number of them everywhere.

●   The distribution area of the ssp cypriotes extends from Crete to E-Türkiye, including Cyprus. The nominate lives in the far Central Aisa.

●   Caspian Snowcock (Tetraogallus caspius) and Black Francolin (Francolinus francolinus) are not possible in the Akseki region.

 

 

 

(curb of a motorway, 850 m, D687, near Başlar)

●   We found it half under a rock on the side of the road, just eating a beetle for breakfast.

●   Most scorpions avoid humid habitats. This species lives in wooded areas too, this specimen was found at the bottom of a mountain slope with a subalpine dwarf pine scrub habitat.

●   The genus can be identified by the large inner tooth on the lower moveable part of pedipalp. Endemic to the area. Source1, Source2.

●   Its sting is painful but not dangerous or fatal. However, Mehmet, the bird guide, was quite afraid of it.

●   The species has no English and Hungarian name, names above are just simple direct translations from the Turkish name.

 

 

 

Galerida cristata subtaurica  Crested Lark Tepeli toygar  búbospacsirta Antik Side, Hippodrome More coffee-brownish tinge, less pronounced white collar.

Lullula arborea pallida  Woodlark  Orman toygarı  erdei pacsirta Manavgat pine forest Paler, less colorful everywhere, less buff colors below.

Linaria cannabina mediterranea  Mediterranean Linnet  Keten kuşu  kenderike mountain well Paler, less colorful (breast is less pinkinsh and more purplish), shorter wing, slender bill.

 

 

 

(roadside slope, 1360 m, Çimiköy Köyü Yolu, Akseki region)

●   In one of the possible hotspots of one of our main target bird species, the White-throated Robin (Irania guttularis), which was still present a few weeks ago, but unfortunately no longer this year. August was too late again.

●   Hardun Agama has two parallel subspecies in the region. Laudakia stellio daanii is the more common. The easiest way to differentiate them is the color contrast of the head and the body (source). Light head and dark body is L. stellio stellio. Dark head and dark body is L. stellio daanii. Other properties require much closer (in hand) examination.

●   According to the identification key written in the source linked above, I think the big image above is the rarer L stellio stellio, the lesser one to the right here is the L. stellio daanii. (However, I found many conflicting photos of these taxa on the net.) ➤

 

●   Large adults can be 30-40 cm long, they are mainly insectivorous and the males are territorial.

 

●   Along the main road between Çolaklı and the hotel zone at the sea (Tilkiler Cd.) I found some young lizards simply sunbathing on the curb stones. Identification of juveniles is really not my level, but I presume these should be the more common subspecies, L. stellio daanii. ➤

●   Any comments or suggestions for corrections would be greatly appreciated.

 

 

 

(mountain village, 1760 m, Çimiköy Köyü Yolu, Akseki region)

●   Only a few them.

●   The first one at a remote mountain village, it was sitting on an electric panel box of a little house. Sometimes it made some circles but always turned back to its personal lookout point.

●   The second one was hunting over an Irania hotspot (shrubs, rocks, slopes, ~1500m altitude) in the late afternoon.

 

 

 

(hillside at mountain village, 1760 m, Çimiköy Köyü Yolu, Akseki region)

●   Half collar on both sides, large bill.

●   Only a few birds in a small group at the small mountain village. They were quite shy, and they preferred the trick of running on ground and hiding behind bushes or rocks.

●   I'm not sure of the subspecies here as the descriptions of the distribution ranges are conflicting in different sources. Most probably ssp artemisiana lives in Central- and S-Türkiye, Caucasus, Iraq and Iran. The other option, ssp woltersi, is in NW-Syria and SE-Türkiye, this latter has a much more limited area.

 

 

 

(plateau, 1720 m, Çimiköy Köyü Yolu, Akseki region)

●   Endemic to the Taurus Mountains.

●   Interestingly, it is more closely related to the common European Ground Squirrel (S. citellus) than to the Anatolian Ground Squirrel (S. xanthoprymnus) which is dominantly distributed in Asia Minor (source).  ➤

●   This species has no Hungarian name. The name in square brackets above is a direct translation.

 

 

 

(plateau, 1750 m, Çimiköy Köyü Yolu, Akseki region)

●   A subadult bird, 2-3 CY. The wingspan is about 2 m.

●   Two of them made a short circle above us and then disappeared.

●   The area and the sky is not always easily and fully visible everywhere due to higher cliffs and surrounding prominent steep peaks around. On the other hand, these terrain conditions provide excelent opportunity for the eagles to make surprise attacks on mountain animals.

 

●   There were hardly any other birds of prey in the region in these days:

-    1 Common Buzzard (B. buteo buteo) on Çolaklı hill

-    2 Eurasian Sparrowhawks (A. nisus nisus) on the mountain plateau (around flocks of Linnets)

-    1 Mediterranean Peregrine (Maltese Falcon) (F. peregrinus brookei) above the D687 mountain slope, near Başlar (a bad crop of a bad photo, but the rusty breast is visible)  ➤

 

 

 

(mountain roadside, 1920 m, Çimiköy Köyü Yolu, Akseki region)

●   Only a few of them and only on the high altitude hotspot.

●   Very similar to some relatives:

-    It differs from the Pied Wheatear (O. pleschanka) in its white back, O. pleschanka has a black/brown back.

-    It differs from the Eastern Black-eared Wheatear (O. melanoleuca) in its more pronounced black on its throat and in its special habitat. Although, O. melanoleuca has a variable black throat patch. O. finschii has a terminal tail-band evenly narrow, O. melanoleuca has a terminal tail-band wider at the edges. Although I didn't see too much of them, but birds of the race of O. melanoleuca living in this area were much more sandy in color. ➤

 

●   Eastern Black-eared Wheatear (Oenanthe melanoleuca.) seen also only in small numbers, but at both low and high altitudes. ➤

 

 

 

●   Southern Northern Wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe libanotica) is clearly the most common songbird in this region of the Taurus Mountains. They are everywhere, both at lower and higher altitudes. Even in this nonbreeding plumage, which all of them were wearing now, ssp libanotica is paler and has somewhat longer bill than the European nominate. ➤

 

 

 

(mountain well, 1960 m, Çimiköy Köyü Yolu, Akseki region)

●   Two beautiful females came to drink to the remote mountain well, the only source of water in a dry and rocky scrubland. The precipitation in the region is almost zero in July and August.

 

 

 

 

 

 

(mountain well, 1960 m, Çimiköy Köyü Yolu, Akseki region)

●   Males in breeding plumage have more rosy colors, females and young birds are duller in color.

●   They seemed to be the "strongest" birds at this drinking station. They quarreled a lot with Linnets and other birds. Rock Sparrows are a clearly bigger than Crimson-winged Finches, still the latter wanted to show dominance over them at the water source.

 

 

 

(mountain well, 1960 m, Çimiköy Köyü Yolu, Akseki region)

●   Shy and rare little birds. They come quickly and go quickly.

●   A male and a female came to drink from the water of the well. Crimson-winged Finch, Rock Sparrow and Linnet are the other birds to the right in the lower image.

●   This mountain well, like a magnet, attracts many birds from the surrounding arid area. Linnets and Northern Wheatears were the most common, but others were also present: Crimson-winged Finches, Red-fronted Serins, Rock Sparrows, Rock Thrushes, Tawny Pipits, Cretzschmar and Ortolan Buntings, Black Redstarts, Rock Nuthatches, Alpine Choughs, Chukars. Most of them have only been seen here. As the guide Mehmet said, during the summer season birds live scattered all over the region and it's harder to find them, but some points like this are still suitable for birdwatching. In winter, they move to lower altitudes.

●   Another great torphy would have been the White-winged Snowfinch (Montifringilla nivalis leucura) which is also scattered in summer and much harder to find in this season, we didn't find them either.

 

 

 

(mountain well, 1960 m, Çimiköy Köyü Yolu, Akseki region)

●   Always in little flocks.

●   They were not uncommon at the well at all, but I didn't see them anywhere else.

●   Ssp puteicola is the race from Central Southern Türkiye to Jordan.

 

 

 

(mountain well, 1960 m, Çimiköy Köyü Yolu, Akseki region)

●   Ssp digitatus (S-Türkiye, Levant, SW-Iran) is a little bit larger than the nominate.

●   A large flock of 60-70 birds behind the mountain well on the slopes. ➤

●   They were chatting and foraging on the steep slopes. We spent a few hours here, but unfortunately they kept a safe distance the whole time.

 

 

 

 

 

(hillside at mountain village, 1760 m, Çimiköy Köyü Yolu, Akseki region)

●   A little flock of them (~10 birds) on the hillside at the little mountain village, sometimes mixed with Greater Short-toed Larks. A couple of other birds in the site described here as 'mountain road', in the habitat of Finsch's Wheatears, the latter 2 birds were less shy and much more photogenic as we were in the car.

●   The subspecies is endemic to the Taurus Mountains and to the surrounding heights in South Central Türkiye.

 

 

 

  1. Around Çolaklı village: Some rustic farms, vacant lots, groves, orchards, plantations, cemeteries, some old and ruined buildings. Tourists mostly stay only in the zone close to the sea. Tits, warblers (mostly Olivaceous W.), doves (Laughing, Collared), Feral Pigeons, House Sparrows, Bulbuls, White Wagtails, Barn and Red-rumped Swallows, Jays, Hooded Crows. +2 Delicate Prinias on a vacant lot.

  2. Çolaklı hill: A wooded hill with an old radio tower on top. No tourists. Cicadas, Masked and Red-backed Shrikes, Jays, Middle Spotted Woodpecker, tits, warblers. This is where I saw the one and only Common Buzzard fly over.

  3. Manavgat pine forest: Some sort of ecopark. A pine grove on the dunes of completely sandy soil. I didn't have time to explore here, I just touched the edge during a longer walk. Some warblers, bulbuls, tits, blackbirds, jays.

  4. Antik Side: Ruins of the ancient city, too late for anything in August, except Crested Larks and House Sparrows. The free beach was completely lifeless except for a few brave tourists in the heat. The commercial-historical sites were mostly dominated by House Sparrows, Laughing Doves, Collared Doves, Feral Pigeons and some Bulbuls.

  5. Gulf of Antalya, Antik Side: Only a very few birds, a few Yellow-legged Gulls (on the beach) and some Scopoli's Shearwaters (in the deeper sea). Not a single fishing boat could be seen (only for the tourists...), which is a telling sign of the sea's fish stock. Another morning two Barn Swallows passing over the beach, that's all... This hot season is not a good time for birdwatching here.

  6. D687, mountainside: A steep slope at a construction site and a dwarf pine and scrubs habitat on the rocky slope. Blue Rock Thrush, Rock Nuthatch, Woodchat Shrike, Bee-eater, Chukars, Raven, Peregrine.

  7. D687 junction, Başlar: A roadside grove with abandoned farms or maybe beekeeper's buildings. Tits, Ortolan Buntings, Striated Flycatchers, Black-eared Wheatears, Goldfinches, Willow Warblers. We stopped here for the Olive-tree Warbler, but had no luck with it here either.

  8. Dutluca cemetery, wooded (NO ENTRY!, but everything is easily visible from outside over the low stone fence): In theory, a sure hotspot for Krüper's Nuthatch, but not this time. Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Woodlarks, tits, shrikes, crows, doves, pigeons, sparrows.

  9. Dutluca, dirt road in a pine forest: Another sure Krüper's Nuthatch hotspot, this time also in practice. A dense pine forest with a little dirt road.

10. Çimiköy, grove at old cemetery: Many warblers. Hotspot habitat for Olive-tree Warbler (not this time).

11. Roadside clearing: Only dirt roads leads up from this point. Shrubs and rocks, and even more shrubs and rocks everywhere. In some places the slopes are less steep, creating small valleys or small plateaus along the road. Good little hunting grounds for Agamas and Masked Shrikes.

12. Ruined cabins and an old well: Some wooden skeletons and ruins of abandoned and old buildings. A small water source brings many animals here. The small valley is surrounded by sparse forests. Many Mistle Thrushes, Blackbirds (very shy birds around here!), Hoopoes, Rock Nuthatches, Greenfinches, Chaffinches, wheatears, tits, warblers.

13. Irania hotspot: A mountain serpentine with small rocks, big rocks, huge rocks and bushes and an old well nearby on the side of the dirt road. There are fewer and fewer high trees around. Too late for Irania this time in August. They were still here a few weeks ago.

14. Plateau: A relatively flat and grassy large area at an altitude of 1700 m, surrounded by cliffs. Linnets, Sparrowhawks, Golden Eagles.

15. Mountain village: A tiny and remote rural village with its football field and with mountains around. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any information about the name of this old village. Greater Short-toed Larks, Horned Larks, Crag Martins, wheatears.

16. Mountain road: A rocky dirt road with low shrubs and boulders everywhere. Just a very few trees. High chances for Finsch's Wheatear, Black-eared Wheatear, Horned Lark, Greater Short-toed Lark.

17. Mountain well: A remote and solitary well in the higher mountains. Probably a very important source of water in the arid region, many birds came here to drink.

+1: secret Fish-owl hotspot on Manavgat River.

 

1. Çolaklı-Side	2. Çolaklı hill	3. Manavgat pine dunes	4. Antik Side
5. Gulf of Antalya	6. D687, mountainside	7. D687 junction, Başlar	8. Dutluca, cemetery
9. Dutluca, pine forest	10. Çimiköy, grove at cemetery	11. Çimiköy, roadside clearing	12. Çimiköy, ruined cabins
13. Çimiköy, Irania hotspot	14. Çimiköy, plateau	15. remote village	16. mountain road
	17. mountain well	+1. Manavgat River, Fish-owl hotspot

 

 

 

Bird stats and infos:

●   70 bird species of category A were observed during the 2-3 days, most of them (61) on the guided tour. For me it meant 16 new species and 14 new subspecies in the Western Palearctic. Apart from the guided tour, I found 28 category A species, of which are only 2 new: Delicate Prinia and Scopoli's Shearwater. These personal trips were mostly just morning walks around the accomodation, middays and afternoons were unbearable hot and humid in the coastal zone.

●   No free-living category C or B species were seen. There are some cages here and there for parrots and ornamental poultry in the streets and on the beaches, and perhaps the Ruddy Shelducks on the beach were not so free-living as they looked like.

●   Side and Taurus Mountains species list (18-25 August 2024)

●   None of the birds were baited or set up. Two of them were called in by the bird guide: Krüper's Nuthatch and Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. On the other hand, sitting and waiting in a car-hide next to a mountain well in the middle of a bone-dry countryside might be baiting, but I don't know...  Either way, we didn't feed them or didn't bring them extra water or didn't create any artificial environment for birdwatching and photography.

●   Map pointer of the observations are accurate.

●   Don't ask me for Fish-owl coordinates, please. It's not such a big secret in the internet age...

●   Except for monotypic bird species, the third Latin name was always used.

●   Latin names of monotypic bird species were marked with a dot instead of the non-existent third name.

●   The Turkish names of animals were based on Wikipedia, names of places were based on Google Maps.

 

General comments:

●   This week was a family vacation in Side, Türkiye, with one day out to go birding.

●   July and August are maybe the worst months for birding in the region. It is very hot and the air is terribly humid in the seaside tourist zone. At 10 AM it's already hot and suffocating. The above-mentioned birds are mostly the results of a full-day guided tour (link) in the company of the excellent birder and tour guide Mehmet Özcan Kilic (Vigo Tours). Higher altitude mountain areas are less humid during this season. Some areas around the village of Çolaklı were also good places, where I found a few (really few) birds on some mornings.

●   July and August are not recommended by Vigo Tours for birdwatching. The beach zone part is completely omitted from the program of the summer season.

●   The Fish-Owl tour was led by the same guy, but it is a separate tour (link). Their website is a bit messy so note that there is no day-time Fish-Owl tours anymore, it starts in the evening from Side (or, as I did, with some rests, connected to the full-day tour). The search will countinue until the owl is found or as long as the birders can stand it.

●   Mountain hiking in the areas described above requires a permit, birdwatching without an authorised guide is not allowed in the region according to the law. In practice, it is possible to explore, but it is strongly not recommended because of the bears, the wild boars, the really huge and free-ranging unfriendly sheepdogs common around roads and their herds, the free-living grazing herds of large animals like cattle, sheep, horses, donkeys, etc, the venomous small animals, the very few sources of drinking water, the lack of any help in a dangerous and remote terrain, and also beacause of the probable control of rangers. On the other hand you need a reliable 4x4 SUV to overcome terrain obstacles on mountain roads, and a reliable emergency service in case of problems. The guide of this tour (link) has a permit and license to walk and a pro car to drive on the mountain roads of the national park. The company also always knows the wheather, the currently accessible ways and the best birding sites throughout the year. This is not an advertisement, just a simple statement, there is no other option here.

●   You must not sit, rest or do anything else on rock piles, old walls or ruins because of the scorpions inside, especially in the night when they become more active. Snakes also tend to hide in rock piles and bushes. Never leave the trails.

●   Do not pay by card on the streets, as unsuspecting tourists can be easily scammed by fraudsters by card skimming or cloning.

●   Prepare in advance for night photography, practice at home, construct a 'night mode' into your camera.

 

 

Technical info:

●   Wildlife pictures were taken with Canon EOS R7 and Canon RF 600mm F11 IS STM. The RF-S18-150mm kit lens was also used a few times in very low light conditions.

●   Many pictures were somewhat denoised or sharpened afterwards with Topaz Labs AI, cropping images and additional optimizations were made by IrfanvView and GIMP. Finally, file sizes were reduced by the free online COMPRESS JPEG (Webp Converter version).

●   Plants were mostly identified by the famous and infamous Pl@ntNet.org online platform from cropped images. Only high percentage and reliable results have been accepted, but here can be problems, for sure...

 Phoca.cz free flag icon bundle (16-12px) has been used at translation of names (source). Here, slightly adapted 13-10px dimensions and somewhat darkened versions were applied.

  Turkish language audio content is based on the Turkish version of the free online Play.ht (source, 'Turkish Text to Speech & Turkish Accent Generator'), voice: "Ahmet" (2nd in dropdown menu).

●   Published: 27th Jan 2025

 

 

Any comments or suggestions for corrections would be greatly appreciated.

Ceryle rudis rudis (syriacus) -  Pied Kingfisher   פרפור עקוד  tarka halkapó (Eliat, IBRCE, Lake Anita)

●   IBRCE = International Birding and Research Center Eilat, Eilat, Israel. A great starting point for birding in Eilat. So far about 350 bird species have been found here.

●   I saw the Pied Kingfisher only two times in the area in the week given, once at the sewage canal dike, once at the lagoons of IBRCE. (Map is at the very end of the page.)

●   Females have a single broken band (like this one here), males have two continuous parallel bands across their breast.

●   This bird is about twice the size of our Common Kingfisher in its all dimensions.

●   Contested ssp syriacus: lives in Turkey, Syria and Levant, generally larger than the sub-Saharan nominate in warmer climates, but not yet widely accepted as a ssp taxon, it is merged into the nominate (source).

●   Unfortunately, during my week in Eilat I didn't find the White-throated Kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis smyrnensis), but I've heard that others have seen it here and there (KM19, Yotvata, Ezuz), so the species must be present.

 

 

 

Egretta gularis schistacea -  Western (Arabian) Reef-Heron   לבנית ים-סוף  zátonykócsag (Eilat, North Beach)

●   The only one I found was perched on a fence on North Beach shortly before sunset, at the mouth of the canal where it is said that it used to hunt fish here.

●   Slate gray morphs are super easy to identify. White morphs can be very similar to its closest relative, the Little Egret: the latter has a little bit shorter, thinner based and fully dark bill. The bill of the Reef Heron is always slightly curved downward like a sabre (Collins Bird Guide, 2nd Ed. p82). Legs of Reef Heron are more variable than those of the Little Egret, with more color variation and more greenish tone.

●   Ssp schistacea: the eastern subspecies lives from the Red Sea to India (nominate lives in W Africa).

●   Other European heron species in the Eilat region: Little Egret and Gray Heron are common everywhere, Black-crowned Night-Heron and Squacco Heron are also present everywhere but in lower numbers, all others are also occur, but rarely (Great Egret, Purple Heron, Glossy Ibis). No Cattle Egret was seen this time, it is definitely around (eBird), but more common in the North.

●   It seemed a general phenomenon that herons gathered here around this hotspot before sunset. They probably spend the nights in the nearby palm plantations.

●   Regarding one of the herons passing by in an evening at North Beach, I suspected Chinese Pond-Heron (Ardeola bacchus), as it had already been in the region of Eilat not so long ago (source). Finally it turned out that it was not, but a strange dark-headed Squacco Heron, according to the expert's reply, Chinese Pond-Heron should have a dark rufous and unstreaked head and pale bill. ➤

 

 

 

Hydroprogne caspia. -  Caspian Tern   שחפית כספית  lócsér (Eilat, IBRCE, Lake Anita)

●   Another nightmare for the fish also cruises over the waters, ...on its wingspan of 1.4 meters.

●   Seen many times around IBRCE lagoons and salt pans.

●   Other tern species were scarce this time: only a few Sandwich Tern (T. sandvicensis sandvicensis) at South Beach and a few Gull-billed Tern (G. nilotica nilotica) at IBRCE salt pans came up.

 

 

 

Tylosurus charom -  Red Sea Houndfish   חניתן דו-ימי  tengeri csőröscsuka (Eilat, South Beach, Underwater Observatory)

●   Large amount of bait fish form dense schools near the sea surface. They are some sort of sardines, I guess. ➤

●   This yet another predator lurks underwater a few meters away from the school.

●   Red Sea Houndfish is ~1 m long and weighs ~1.5 kg.

 

 

 

 

Ichthyaetus leucophthalmus. -  White-eyed Gull   שחף לבן עין  pápaszemes sirály (Eilat, North Beach)

●   Not so easy to find them as I thought. During the day they mostly fish in the open waters of the sea, they can be seen near the coast more often in the evening.

●   The species is endemic to the Red Sea and to the Gulf of Aden, and only vagrant in others seas. Breeds in small undisturbed islands (Siyal) in the southern part of the Red Sea.

●   White-eyed Gulls are hard to find, but easy to identify. Other gulls of the region are easier to find, but - as usual - harder to identify. Here are some local and authentic ID guides: Gulls of Israel, Gulls of Iran.

Other medium sized gulls:

●   Armenian Gull (L. armenicus.) can be found here and there in low numbers around North Beach. 2 adults and about 10 young-subadult birds were seen altogether. Mostly 2nd and 3rd CY birds were passing by in loose groups mixed with young Caspian Gulls in the evening. Subad Armenian in small pic here.  ➤

●   I wanted to, but I had no luck to the uncommon Sooty Gull (Ichthyaetus hemprichii.), it may occur in the Gulf of Aqaba.

Large gulls:

●   In theory, Caspian Gull (L. cacchinans.), Yellow-legged Gull (L. michahellis michahellis) and Lesser Black-backed Gull (L. fuscus) are common in Eilat in March. Some of them passed by at North and South Beach, but not that much, mostly young birds in their odd colors... So far, I managed to identify some Caspian and Armenian Gulls, and a single Yellow-legged Gull. Also found a dark adult Lesser Black-backed Gull which could be heuglini, but it was too far away, so it remained L. fuscus fuscus.

Small gulls:

●   Black-headed Gull (C. ridibundus.) is the most common everywhere. Slender-billed Gull (C. genei.) is second on this list. Large flocks fish in North Beach and in KM20.  ➤

●   North Beach also had now a single Common Gull (L. canus) in the company of Slender-billed Gulls.

 

 

 

 

Vanellus spinosus. -  Spur-winged Lapwing   סיקסק  tüskés bíbic (Eilat, IBRCE)

●   True to its lapwing nature, it is noisy, territorial, but really attractive.

●   Can be agressive against anything near its nest or hatchlings. Its loud rushes are enough most of the time to chase away any animal, the spurs in its wings are primarily for deterrence.

●   Each wing has a small but pointed spur at its frontal side of the wrist (Source of the drawing).  ➤

●   Common everywhere near any bodies of water.

 

 

 

Alopochen aegyptica. -  Egyptian Goose   יאורית מצרית  nílusi lúd (Eilat, North Beach, New Marina)

●   Category C species, but new to me. Two Egyptian Geese accompanied a lost Lesser White-fronted Goose here, they were just strolling around at the bay called New Marina.

 

Anser erythropus. -  Lesser White-fronted Goose   אווז קטן  kis lilik

●   It could be a stray bird in this place, according to a local source this goose species is a rare vagrant in Israel in winter.

●   Perhaps this bird should belong to the Central Asian population of its species breeding in N Siberia, wintering in Iraq-Iran. I don't know, but this is the closest wintering base of the species (~1100 km). (source of map)

 

 

 

Canis aureus syriacus -  Syrian Jackal   תן סורי  aranysakál (Eilat, IBRCE)

●   Photo was taken early in the morning (5:50 AM) at the entrance of a drain near the lakes. As far as I could see, they come out of their hideouts twice a day and 2-3 jackals were present during these raids (maybe they were a family). At dawn and dusk, they sneaked out of the canal drains and head to the lakes to hunt.

●   The howling of the jackals from afar, somewhere at the lakes of IBRCE after dusk (21.03.2023):

●  I was also lucky to see an Arabian Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes arabica) at another drain of the IBRCE area, but it was very quick and escaped from my photo shoot. It was much grayer and slimmer than the European Red Fox.

●  The big dream, to see a Striped Hyena, remained a dream.

 

 

 

Merops cyanophrys cyanophrys -  Arabian Green Bee-eater   שרקרק גמדי  arab gyurgyalag (Eilat, Eilat Mountains, Wadi Ya'el)

●   A fairly common bird around, but not in high numbers. Mostly hunts alone or in pairs, they are not as gregarious and talkative as our European Bee-eaters.

●   I didn't see any sign of the other two - rather vagrant - Merops species in the region (M. apiaster., M. persicus persicus).

 

 

 

Cinnyris osea osea -  Palestine Sunbird   צופית בוהקת  jerikói nektármadár (Eilat, Holland Park)

➤  Not only an exotic and beautyful tiny bird, but also a songbird.  ➤

●   Males are shiny metallic and iridescent bluish green, and purple on their breast. Females and juvenile birds are not shiny and simple greyish brown.

●   Quite easy to find them in parks, groves, where its favorite fuel, the Acacia strap flower thrives, which is a parasitic plant of acacia trees. As acacia trees and their parasites are common, so are sunbirds also common. Sometimes also feeds on nectar of other tubular and funnel shaped flowers, but Strap flower is the most abundant source of food here.

 

 

●   Seeds of the parasite plant are spread by the droppings of birds, mainly the White-spectacled Bulbul (Pycnonotus xanthopygos.). The way of spreading is analogous to that of its European relative, the mistletoe, which is spread by thrushes: the sticky seed sticks to a branch and the mistletoe takes haustoria into the tree. The same is the case here with the Strap flower and the Acacia. As a result a confused mess of branches, leaves, flowers, pods, fruits of the 2 plant species seen all over the foliage (+1 Lesser Whitethroat (C. c. curruca)).  ➤

●   The 2 plants in this relationship:

-    Vachellia tortilis - Umbrella Thorn Acacia, ernyőakácia

-    Loranthus (Plicosepalus) acaciae - Acacia Strap Flower, vörös fakín

●   Some say, the striking red blooming of the parasites on the acacia tree may have inspired the biblical burning lace bush, as it usually blossoms suddenly and simultaneously after sudden rains.  ➤

 

 

 

Pycnonotus xanthopygos. -  White-spectacled Bulbul   בולבול צהוב-שת  pápaszemes bülbül

(Eilat, Southern Date Palm Plantation)

●   One of the most common birds around Eilat.

●   Also known as Yellow-vented Bulbul.

●   An intelligent looking and gregarious bird.

●   Often found in small flocks or in pairs looking for food and while constantly chatting.  ➤

●   Not an invasive species, but native from S-Turkey to S-Arabia (some sources consider it invasive in Turkey).

●   Not a category C species in Israel!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Argya squamiceps squamiceps -  Arabian Babbler   זנבן ערבי  arab rigótimália (Eilat, Holland Park)

●   An interesting-looking bird that lives an interesting and vibrant gregarious life.

●   Babblers mostly move in small groups, these little communal societies are consist of a breeding pair and their subordinates organized in some sort of hierarchy (about 3-10 birds altogether). They help the pair hatch eggs, feed the hatchlings, clean the nest or each other, defend the territory from predators or from other groups, and perform many other tasks. Most of the time, we only observe the sentinel bird of a group operating nearby, just like on this pic above.

●   Genetically, they belong to the Timaliidae family of the Sylvioidea superfamily. Based on behavioral and morphologyical similarities, I thought that their closest relatives in our fauna were the genera Panurus and Aegithalos, but the results of phylogenetic studies are contradictory, so I could not find any evidence for this theory.

●   Females have full black eyes, males have brownish iris.

 

 

 

Onychognatus tristramii. -  Tristram's Starling   טריסטרמית ים המלח  fuvolázó fényseregély (Eilat, Holland Park)

●   Another gregarious bird of the groves. Also called Tristram's Grackle or Dead Sea Starling. Males are shiny black, females are a more modest brown. Both sexes display very nice orange panels on their wings in flight.

●   They are often seen on a certain tree species: Salvadora persica - Mustard tree or Toothbrush tree. Its tiny sweet spicy berries are not only a treat for many local birds, but also for humans as it can be used in many ways (Source).

●   Starlings' social voices are nice melodic whistles  ➤

●   They are omnivores and sometimes they even groom ectoparasites from the hides of Nubian Ibexes in a mutualistic relationship, like oxpeckers do on large mammals in Africa. Some say, Bedouin people of the region knew exact locations where their camels were driven to get cleaned by hungry groups of Tristram's Starlings (Source). 

●   Here is a very good video about this behaviour by Amir Balaban. I also strongly recommend his whole YouTube channel: The Wildlife Channel. Not only birds but hyenas, caracals, wolves, jungle cats, porcupines, etc, etc. Simply amazing footages...

 

 

 

 

Capra ibex nubiana -  Nubian Ibex   יעל נובי  núbiai kőszáli kecske (Eilat, Wadi Ya'el)

●   Found one big male resting and peacefully ruminating alone on the top of a ridge in Eilat Mountains, and a group of females and their calves on the slopes of Nahal Zin, Midreshet Ben Gurion. Latter group was apparently not afraid of tourists (they were too close for me to take a picture of them together...).  ➤

●   The curved horn of an adult male is about 1 m long.

●   Males weigh about 50-70 kg, females weigh about half of that.

 

 

 

 

Lanius isabellinus isabellinus -  Isabelline Shrike   חנקן ערבות  pusztai gébics (Eilat, Eilat Harbour, Northern Gate)

●   Also called Daurian Shrike.

●   Breeds in Central Asia.

●   Seen only once in this week perched on the fence of the harbour.

●   A common migrant in autumn in Israel, but rarer in spring.

●   Attached gif here is harshly compressed, find the superb original file in this link.

●   And here are a bunch of cool other migration gifs of other birds from these authors!

 

 

 

Lanius nubicus. -  Masked Shrike   חנקן נובי  álarcos gébics (Ezuz, Be'erotayim Grove)

●   One of the most elegant looking shrikes.

●   Prefers more vegetated areas for hunt (orchards, gardens, groves).

●   Seen twice: first at Northern Plantations, second in Be'erotayim Grove.

●   Mostly migratory in Southern Israel, can be seen here often in spring and less often in autumn.

 

 

 

Chlamydotis macqueenii. -  MacQueen's Bustard   חוברה מדברית  pettyes túzok (Nitzana, Ezuz Road, KM7)

●   The famous but very strange courtship dance of the male bustard.

●   Not the best video for sure, it was a too large distance... Set video quality to HD1080 for more details, please.

●   This really bad picture turned out to be the best of the series I made, as the bird remained still very far away, and the image is heavily cropped. Anyway, I don't have a photo to save the situation...  ➤

●   There were 5-10 other birds in the site, but they were even further away on the ridge of a distant hill.  

●   MacQueen's Bustards can be found in the deserts of the Negev but guidance is highly recommended into Nitzana, which is a well-established and well-tested easy way by the staff of IBRCE from Eilat (during their migration event).

●   Today it is a separate species, it used to be the macqueenii subspecies of the C. undulata - called the 'Asian Houbara'.

●   The blind in Nitzana, Ezuz Road, KM7 is made of two abandoned train cars in the middle of the desert. The Ottoman Empire built here military railway in 1916. After their defeat by the British in 1917, two train cars and some track left for a memorial site (Mitzpe Hobarot), nowadays it also serves as a research blind of the MacQueen's Bustards.

●   Sinai and Israel is the westernmost border of their distribution area. Unfortunately, they are illegally or partly legally hunted in many countries (most of them in Pakistan). There was/is many sophisticated ways to do this: by hunting falcons, by guns from camel backs or en masse from jeeps as a competition.

●   As the populations seemed to be collapsing everywhere, some Arab countries took steps to protect the remnants of the species. Or in other countries, at least the hunting was suspended for a while...

 

 

 

Cursorius cursor cursor -  Cream-colored Courser   רץ מדבר  futómadár (Nitzana, Ezuz Road, KM7)

●   There were 15-20 birds scattered around the bustard-blind site, mostly far away, but we hit the jackpot with a bird suddenly passing by.

●   Its flight reveals a little better that it is related to the pratincoles.

 

 

 

Uromastyx aegyptia aegyptia -  Egyptian Mastigure   חרדון צב מצוי  egyiptomi tüskésfarkú gyík (IBRCE, Mastigure Reserve)

●   A 80 cm long vegan monster, weighs about 3 kg.

●   Lives in desert habitats, usually hiding in its 10-20 m long underground burrow.

●   The easiest way to find these giant lizards is the Mastigure Reserve at the IBRCE, called Desert Dragons' Land, as they are basking in the sun around noon.

●   Uromastyx means whip-tailed. Their strong spiny tail is for defence, mainly against canids and larger birds of prey. Allegedly they flick and swing their tails to scare off predators or use it to block the entrance of their burrows.

 

 

 

Oena capensis capensis -  Namaqua Dove   תורית זנבנית  álarcos gerle (Eliat, Northern Plantations)

●   Seen only once in the week, these doves are not nearly as common here as I tought.

●   The hotspot advised everywhere - the border fence at Eilat canal - was empty this time, finally found a pair quickly passing by at Northern Plantations, near KM19. (Ok true, that's not far from the fence either.)

●   The Namaquas are a South African people, the Latin name 'capensis' also refers this geographical region. Namaqua doves live throughout Africa, mainly in savannas and semi-deserts. Southern Israel is the northernmost point of their range.

 

●   Laughing Dove (Streptopelia senegalensis senegalensis) is common, but Cat C. ➤

     Str. s. cambayensis is known to have been introduced from S Asia and category C in Israel. Some sources only dispute (1), others clearly rule out (2) the natural origin of all ssp of Laughing Dove in Israel.

●   Other doves are also common as elsewhere (Str. decaocto decaocto), a single Turtle Dove (Str. turtur turtur) was only heard In Yotvata. In theory, Rock Pigeons (Columba livia palaestinae) are also present in Israel, but I did not find any of them, only Ferals were everywhere, even in the mountainous regions around Eilat.

 

 

 

Ammomanes deserti isabellinus -  Desert Lark   עפרוני מדבר  sivatagi pacsirta (Eilat, Mount Yehoram, Eastern Campsite)

●   Found the species many times around Eilat, always in desert habitats.

●   They are hardly afraid of human proximity.

●   After a while it's easy to recognize by the large lark-type bill and by the 'ground-level' behaviour of their little loose flocks as they looking for insects and seeds.

●   There are 3 subspecies in Israel, based on geographical descriptions, I think this should be isabellinus.

 

 

 

Ammomanes cinctura arenicolor -  Bar-tailed Lark   עפרוני חכלילי  homoki pacsirta (Eilat Mountanis, Nahal Netafim Campsite)

●   Similar to the Desert Lark, but also differs in many features.

●   Tiny bill, dark tail, faint colors, light pale supercilium.

●   Seen only once from the Nahal Netafim Campsite on a steep mountain side, and unfortunately it was not close. It arrived with a little flock of desert larks, but it searched a little separately from them on the rock wall. Most of the desert larks landed on the ground. After a minute they left the valley all together.

 

 

 

Melanocorypha bimaculata (rufescens) -  Bimaculated Lark   עפרוני פסגות  hegyi kalandrapacsirta (Eilat, Holland Park)

●   Seen only once and only for a glance as it quickly passed by.

●   A robust lark with a large bill. Strong and almost white supercilium, striking black double markings on its neck (='bimaculata'). Looks quite similar to Calandra Lark (Melanocorypha calandra).

●   Differentiation of Bimaculated and Calandra Lark (Collins Bird Guide, 2nd Ed p254):

-    The tail of the BL is shorter, its bill is somewhat longer and stronger.

-    CL has a white trailing edge on its wings.  ➤➤  No white trailing on BL.

-    CL's underwing is dark, almost black.  ➤➤  BL's underwing is brownish-grayish.

-    Tail of CL is bordered in white on all sides and tip.  ➤➤  BL has a terminal white band at the tip of the tail only.

-    BL has strong and dark lines before and through its eyes.  ➤➤  CL has only faint lines here.

●   There are 2 subspecies in Israel with overlapping distribution ranges, and both are migratory, so it's not an option to identify this flying bird here correctly... (Source1, Source2): ssp rufescens is more Southwestern and ssp bimaculata (nominate) is more Northeastern in the range. Rufescens is darker in general in coloration. In this particular observation I would vote for rufescens because my AERC TAC checklist favors rufescens in the Levant area, but I'm not experienced at all to tell them apart, so any comment is greatly appreciated...

 

 

 

Ptyonoprogne obsoleta obsoleta -  Pale Crag Martin   סנונית מדבר  halvány sivatagi szirtifecske (Eilat, South Beach)

●   Seen many times in small numbers, mainly near to steep rocky walls or cliffs (they build their mud nests on these). One large flock of about 50 birds were hunting termite swarmers in Northern Plantations.

●   Other swallow species were represented by Common House-Martin (D. urbicum urbicum), Barn Swallow (H. rustica) and Western Red-rumped Swallow (C. daurica rufula). None of them are scarce in Israel.  ➤

●   Barn Swallow has 3 subspecies in the region: rustica is mainly migrant, transitiva is breeder, savigni is rare vagrant from Egypt. Ssp rustica was common, transitiva much less common but also widespread around Eilat in this week (latter is in small pic).  ➤

 

 

 

 

LEFT - Apus apus apus -  Common Swift   סיס חומות  sarlósfecske (Eilat, IBRCE)

●   As its name says, common. In Israel too.

 

MIDDLE - Apus apus pekinensis -  Eastern Common Swift  'pekinensis' סיס חומות  (kínai) sarlósfecske (Eilat, IBRCE)

●   According to the book Birds of Israel (Shirihai, 1996), 10% of spring migrant Common Swifts are A. a. pekinensis in Eastern and Southern Israel, with a peak in March-April. Shirihai classified this subspecies as 'quite common' at this time of the year (this huge book is not available online, but the quoted statement can be read in this article). A local birding webpage also confirms the presence of this subspecies in Israel in spring.

●   These birds are not A. pallidus because their general body color is as dark as a Common Swift, except their heads. Body, wing and tail structures are also common-swift-types.

●   These birds are not A. a. apus because of the pale forehead, the underwing is contrasted to the color of the body color, the saddle is contrasted to the color of the wings, eyes are also contrasted on the pale head. Head of juvenile A. a. apus is darker and more striped (latter is maybe a bad field marker).

●   I only saw these two birds in this plumage, they moved strictly together but separetly from others. All other swifts anywhere else were 'normal type'.

 

RIGHT - Apus pallidus pallidus -  Pale Swift   סיס חוורוור  halvány sarlósfecske (Eilat, IBRCE)

●   Stocky build of the body, pale colors, contrasted eyes, scaly underparts, less sickle-shaped wings.

●   The nominate ssp is dominant in Israel.

 

 

 

Rhinotermitidae -  subterranean termite   טרמיטים תת קרקעיים (Eilat, Sewage Canal Dike)

●   Termite identification is not easy... I think, these are some sort of Coptotermes sp. Maybe C. gestroi (Asian Subterranean Termite).

●   They were swarming from the ground of the dike: many workers, alate swarmers and a few youngster larvae surfaced from their tunnels. No soldiers were in these recon teams (and this is not good, because termite differentiation is based on morphology of the head of the soldiers). 2-3 swarming hotspots were along the dike.

●   There were some swarming at Northern Plantations too.

●   Probably dangerous pests, but many birds around were very happy with them.  ➤

 

 

 

Monticola solitarius solitarius -  Blue Rock-Thrush   צוקית בודדת  kék kövirigó (Ezuz, Be'erotayim Grove)

●   Only seen once, in a rocky valley very close to the village of Ezuz (see pointer link above).

●   2 subspecies is present in Israel: the nominate solitarius (Europe - Turkey - Caucasus - Levant) and longirostris (Iraq - Iran - Turkmenistan - Afghanistan).

 

 

 

Prinia gracilis palaestinae -  Graceful Prinia   פשוש  karcsú prínia (Eilat, Holland Park)

●   According to the suggestion of a recent research, the species P. gracilis should be divided into two new species. Based on morphological, audiological and genetical data two groups (southwestern P. gracilis, northeastern P. lepida) can be clearly separated from each other. Geographical isolation is also evident (except maybe the ssp hufufae).  ➤

●   Ssp palaestinae: From Syria to NW Arabia (including Southern Israel), excluding the Mediterranean coastline. Paler colors and well-defined subterminal tail bands.

●   Ssp deltae is widespread in Israel, but in the Negev and the central and northern parts of the country. Ssp palestinae is resident in the South.

●   A very common bird around. It is also very easy to find them because they behaves conspicuously, as they always sing perching on top of bushes or trees.

●   Song of the Graceful Prinia:  ➤

 

 

 

 

Scotocerca inquieta inquieta -  Streaked Scrub Warbler   מדברון  csíkos prínia (Eilat, Wadi Ya'el)

●   Much rarer than the other prinia species. Seen only once and only for a few minutes in the dry canyon Wadi Ya'el, a rocky desert habitat with some scrubs.

●   A very fast and restless little bird, moreover, it is also really elusive. I'm really proud of this lame picture.

 

 

 

Phylloscopus orientalis. -  Eastern Bonelli's Warbler   עלווית לבנת-בטן  balkáni füzike (Eilat, Wadi Ya'el)

●   Resembles the Common Chiffchaff (P. collybita), the most abundant warbler of the region, but differs in many markers:

-    EBW has pale colors (especially on face).  ➤➤  CC is much browner and darker in general.

-    EBW has very clear white underparts.  ➤➤  Beige in CC.

-    EBW has striking greenish-yellowish wing panels and rump with this same color (see small pic on the right).  ➤➤  Wing panels are brownish, rump has no distinctive color in CC.

-    Call of EBW is a sharp 'chip' (XC).  ➤➤  Call of CC is a rising whistle (XC).

●   Common Chiffchaff was common everywhere in the region. E-Bonelli's Warbler was also present in most of the sites, but scarce and at most 1-2 birds. It is not difficult to tell them apart in the field by the striking color of the wing and tail and the white underparts, if these marks are visible at all among the dense vegetation.

●   Western Bonelli's Warbler (P. bonelli) habits W-Europe and W-Mediterraneum until Austria-Italy. Range of the Eastern Bonelli's Warbler (P. orientalis) starts here and ends in Iran-Oman.

 

 

 

Curruca crassirostris crassirostris -  Eastern Orphean Warbler   סבכי חורש  vastagcsőrű (balkáni) poszáta

(Eilat, Holland Park)

●   Pale iris gives the adult birds a frightened face expression, young birds have full black eyes. Females and juveniles have paler head and reddish underparts, more brownish upperparts.

●   Almost only 2 Curruca species were dominant everywhere: Lesser Whitethroat (C. c. curruca) and C. c. crassirostris. After a while it was easier to differentiate the scarce E-Orphean Warbler by its large bill from the very abundant Lesser Whitethroat.

●   Curruca species in the region: Lesser Whitethroat (C. curruca) is really in every bush everywhere. Blackcap (S. atricapilla), Greater Whitethroat (S. communis) and Cyprus Warbler (C. melanothorax) are migrants and not so hard to find them in spring, occasionally in larger numbers. I think, frequency of these warblers was something like this in this week: C. curruca > C. crassirostris > C. ruppeli > C. communis > others. I didn't see a single C. melanothorax. It is worth to mention that this order can be completely different in another weeks during migration, their groups migrate mostly in hard-to-predict waves, influenced by a network of many interrelated factors (date, wheather, food and water sources, etc.).

●   The subspecies status of these birds is difficult to identify in the field as many ssp migrate through this bottleneck area between entire continents of Africa, Asia and Europe. For example, both C. curruca and C. communis have four migrating ssp each in Israel. However, in these cases the nominates are the most common migrants, all other ssp are present in smaller or larger quantities. Local birders and ringers can probably tell them apart based on external markings and the arrival dates of their migration waves.

 

 

 

Curruca ruppeli. -  Rüppell's Warbler   סבכי שחור-גרון  feketetorkú poszáta (Eilat, Holland Park)

●   Just as elusive as all other Curruca species...

●   Spelling of its names is a little bit confusing: ruppeli in Latin and Rüppell's in English. 

●   A migrant species in Israel, breeds in Greece-Turkey-Syria, winters in Middle Africa (Niger-Chad-Sudan). The peak of their frequency of occurrence in Eilat is in mid-March.

●   Females don't have at all or have some spotted markings on their throat (small pic). ➤

●   Completely white throated females and immatures look very similar to Sardinian Warbler (C. melanocephala), but there are differences: Rüppell's have more curved bill (especially upper culmen), longer tail, lighter underpart colorations, and Sardinian Warbler is more common in northern regions. Males of Cyprus Warbler (C. melanothorax) have an also spotted throat too, but they have the black cap and this is a very different kind of spotted appearance and their bellies are also spotted, females are mostly brown-grey.

 

 

 

Emberiza caesia. -  Cretzschmar's Bunting   גיבתון אדום-מקור  rozsdás sármány (Eilat, Holland Park)

●   A little flock of 3 buntings was found in the shadow of a dense hedge.

●   At first I thought they were Ortolan Buntings, but suddenly I noticed a bluish-gray headed adult male hiding in the thicket.

●   Males are easy to identify.

●   Females and juveniles differ from Ortolan Bunting (E. hortulana.) only in certain tiny field markers (source):

-    OB has yellowish-white eyering (but clear yellow on males).  ➤➤  Clear white on all CBs.

-    OB has a little bit more pointed and orange bill.

-    OB has absolutely no bluish tinge on head or orangey tone on underparts.

-    OB has reddish-brown outer fringes of tertials,  ➤➤  CB has rusty-brown. (I hardly see the difference here...)

●   I think, these color markers listed above are sometimes impossible to distinguish in the field.

 

 

 

Passer moabiticus moabiticus -  Dead-Sea Sparrow   דרור הירדן  tamariszkuszveréb (Eilat, KM19)

●   Found some suspicious birds here and there in this week around Eilat, but for sure a flock at KM19 were indeed Dead-Sea Sparrows. Females are not easy to distinguish at first sight on spot as they are similar to females of other sparrow species.

●   Compared to other sparrows, Dead-Sea Sparrows have smaller body, smaller bill, their head seems smaller and the face looks a bit cuter. The clear yellow markings are not so easy to find on birds hiding in thicket.

●   Like all other sparrow species, they are also gregarious, but Dead-Sea Sparrows hang out most of their time hiding in reeds and dense bushes near bodies of water.

●   Plant in pic: Ochradenus baccatus - Taily Weed

 

Other sparrow species:

●   Eilat region is dominated by two other sparrow species, the House Sparrow (Passer domesticus indicus) and the Spanish Sparrow (Passer hispaniolensis transcaspicus). House Sparrow is maybe a bit more related to human environments, but both species can be found anywhere in large numbers, Dead-Sea Sparrow is not common in the region of Eilat. Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus) is not present at all.

●   Both House Sparrow and Spanish Sparrow has different subspecies here:

-    P. domesticus indicus has much whiter face patches and underparts. Back is also paler brown. This ssp lives around Eilat and in S-Arava (source). Their distribution area, which begins here and in Arabia, extends all the way to Myanmar and Sri Lanka. (Photo (left) taken in Eilat, IBRCE)  ➤

-    P. domesticus biblicus has gray face patches and underparts, but still paler than the nominate and lives throughout Israel and in Northern and Central Negev. Its whole range is Turkey-Cyprus-Levant-Iran, this is the most prevalent House Sparrow ssp in the Middle-East. (Photo (right) taken in Ezuz)  ➤

-    P. hispaniolensis transcaspicus is also called the Eastern Spanish Sparrow, it has paler colors with less chestnut shade. Many sources emphasize the difference of only a small degree. This ssp lives from Asia Minor to Afghanistan. (Photo taken in Eilat, Sewage Canal Dike)  ➤

 

 

 

 

Carpospiza brachydactyla. -  Pale Rockfinch   דרורית קצרת-אצבעות  halvány köviveréb (Eilat, Northern Plantations)

●   Seen only once a single bird from afar and only for a few seconds in Northern Plantations (near KM19).

●   Formerly called Petronia brachydactyla.

●   According to a local source, the species in Israel is a rare migrant in autumn and locally fairly common (E-Israel) passage migrant in spring. Rarely also nests at Mount Hermon.

 

 

 

Poekilocerus bufonius -  Black Cone-headed Grasshopper   כושן ארסי (Eilat, IBRCE)

●   Male on top, females are much larger in general.

●   Highly toxic bugs as they mainly feed on a highly toxic plant, Giant Milkweed (Calotropis procera).

●   Not just simply poisonous, but they are also able to spray two toxic fluid jets from their abdomen towards the enemy to a distance of ~50 cm (source).  ➤

●   The bug's Bedouin name is expressive, meaning “the one who sprays toxins onto girls’ faces". On the other hand, a few species of mammals (some desert hedgehogs) and some birds (quails, jays) tolerate their poison and are able to consume them (source).

 

 

 

Oenanthe melanura melanura -  Blackstart   שחור-זנב  koromfarkú csuk (Holland Park)

●   One of the most common songbirds in the region.

●   Unafraid of human proximity, but often spreads its very nice dark brown tail feathers, which in other birds usually means negative emotions or displeasure.

●   Common in every type of habitats, but can be found in even greater numbers in the more desolate and rocky mountainous regions.

●   Its hunting style and niche is similar to our Chats in Europe. Perches on top of low scrubs and scans the nearby grass for insects.

●   Recently renamed from Cercomela melanura, now it belongs to the genus Oenanthe along with its closest relatives, the Wheatears.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oenanthe isabellina. -  Isabelline Wheatear   סלעית ערבות  pusztai hantmadár (Nitzana, Ezuz Road KM7)

●   Can be found here and there, but numerous on the desolate plains of Nitzana and Ezuz.

●   Sexes are similar. Both resembles to the female of Northern Wheatear, these are the main field markers of Isabelline Wheatear:

-    taller body and posture, longer legs, shorter tail, black belt on tail is wider, bigger bill, the coloration is pale brown.

 

 

 

Oenanthe oenanthe oenanthe -  Northern Wheatear   סלעית אירופית  hantmadár (Eilat, Northern Plantations)

●   A migrant bird in Israel, on its spring way towards Eurasia somewhere.

●   In theory, there is another migrating (and sometimes breeding) ssp in Israel, the O. o. libanotica, which is paler, longer billed and has a narrower terminal tail band. I carefully looked through all my wheater photos from this week but I couldn't find anything like that.

 

 

 

Oenanthe melanoleuca. -  Eastern Black-eared Wheatear   סלעית קיץ  déli hantmadár (Ezuz, Be'erotayim Grove)

●   Breeds in the Eastern Mediterranean region.

●   Black mask and throat, black wings and tail, others are white with some beige shade.

●   Sexual dimorphism is extreme, females are pale brownish, almost unicolor.

●   Unlike females, males are easy to differentiate from its sister species, the Western Black-eared Wheatear (O. hispanica). Fortunately, this is only questionable in their overlapping ranges, such as in Italy, Sicily or Tunisia.

 

 

 

Oenanthe monacha. -  Hooded Wheatear   סלעית נזירה  csuklyás hantmadár (Eilat, Wadi Netafim)

●   White cap, black nape, partially black breast, completely white belly.

●   2-3 birds found in a desolate stone desert area, they were hunting for dragonflies in the evening.

 

 

 

Oenanthe leucopyga (lernesti) -  White-crowned Wheatear   סלעית שחורת-בטן  koronás hantmadár

(Eilat, cemetery)

●   Adult (left): white cap, black nape, white rump, black belly.

●   Juvenile (right): white rump, others black.

●   Juvenile White-crowned Wheatear resembles a lot to the rare Basalt Wheatear (Oenanthe lugens warriae), but there are 3 main criteria for field identification (infos from Shachar Shalev):

-    Side of the tail of WCW is white all along.  ➤➤  End of the tail of BW is full black.

-    Bill of the WCW is sturdier.

-    Black of the belly of the WCW doesn't stretch beyond the legs.  ➤➤  Black stretches a little bit beyond legs on BW.

●   In theory, birds in S-Israel belongs to the ssp ernesti, but some sources debate its independency. The nominate lives in a zone from Djibouti - Erithrea - C-Egypt to N-Africa - NW-Africa.

 

 

 

Orthetrum sabina -  Slender Skimmer   ריחופית חרוזה (Eilat, IBRCE)

●   At the freshwater lagoons.

 

 

 

Luscinia svecica -  Bluethroat   כחול-החזה  kékbegy

LEFT - ssp cyanecula: Eilat, IBRCE

RIGHT - ssp svecica: Yotvata, Sewage Ponds)

●   L. s. cyanecula: the widespread ssp of Central Europe, white spot with blue-black-white-rusty color extensions.

●   L. s. svecica: the nominate ssp from Northern Eurasia, red spot with blue-black-white-rusty color extensions.

●   5 ssp migrate in Israel (source).

●   Here is a really nice summary image on the European bluethroats (source).  ➤

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Parus major terraesanctae  Great Tit  ירגזי מצוי  széncinege Midreshet Sde Boker Somewhat paler upperparts, more orange in underparts, all yellow is more orange shade overall. Ssp of Levant.

Phoenicurus ph. samamisicus  Ehrenberg's Redstart  חכלילית עצים  keleti kerti rozsdafarkú Midreshet Sde Boker Nice photos... The presence of the white patch on primaries is not a sufficient criterion for the Ehrenberg's Redstart. Extended white patch on primaries, lack of white edges on inner primaries and extended black on throat are needed for a certain identification (source). From Balkan to Tajikistan.

Anthus spinoletta coutellii  Caucasian Water Pipit  פפיון המים  havasi pityer Sewage Canal Dike Ssp of area from Asia Minor to Iran. Pinkinsh-brownish shade on underparts, weak malar stripe.

Lanius senator niloticus  Woodchat Shrike  חנקן אדום-ראש  vörösfejű gébics KM20 White of the rump emerges to some extent on the tail, white underparts (except the buff on the flanks), larger white patch on primaries, females often have no black on face mask (source). From Cyprus to Iran.

 

 

 

Euodice malabarica. -  Indian Silverbill   כסוף-מקור הודי  indiai ezüstcsőrűpinty (Eilat, Northern Plantations)

●   Also called White-throated Munia.

●   A close relative of the tropical estrilds (waxbills).

●   Gregarious bird of plain grasslands and cultivated areas of South-Asia.

●   Category C species in Israel.

●   Not common, only seen two times around Eilat in this week.

 

 

 

Acridotheres tristis tristis -  Common Myna   מיינה מצויה  pásztormejnó

(Nitzana, Ketsi'ot Junction to South, at a gas station)

●   Invasive species in most continent from South-Asia (Category C in WP).

●   Common Myna is in top 3 of the worst invasive bird species in the world (along with Common Starling and Red-vented Bulbul) (source). Extremely agressive against other birds in its territory, big threat to fruits and cereals, and reservoir of avian malaria.

●   But also an intelligent bird, with one of the most advanced vocalization and "speaking" abilities.

●   I saw them only in urban areas (on top of residential blocks, at parking lots, in city parks) and always in small groups.

 

 

 

Corvus splendens splendens -  House Crow   עורב הודי  indiai varjú (Eilat, IBRCE)

●   Invasive species from the Indian subcontinent. Category C in WP. Two subspecies (splendens and zugmayeri) are known as invasive along the coastlines of the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea, and E-Africa. Ssp zugmayeri has a pale nape.

●   Compared to European crows, their glossy bluish plumaged body is much slimmer shaped, their calls sound to me a bit shorter and a bit different.  ➤

●   In the late 19th century, House crows were introduced into many cities to reduce garbage problems or to solve agricultural and house pests. For example, house crows were known as active predators of rodents around houses (source). However, they do not only eat rodents but also all kind of small animals and household waste.

●   Intelligent and highly social birds. They are not dependent on it, but - as opportunists - it is probably much more comfortable and profitable for them to live in human habitats.

 ●   Common everywhere, mainly in urban and suburban areas.

●   Other crow species were only represented by the Hooded Crow (Corvus cornix), but in very low numbers. Two SE-European ssp birds (C. c. sharpii) were seen in Mitzpe Ramon at a gas station (range: N- and Central Israel), and a single very pale bird in Eilat, South Beach, close to the Egyptian border. Probably it was the East Mediterranean Hooded Crow (C. c. pallescens), a much paler version of the species.  ➤

     I think nominate also has such pale morphs in Europe (maybe this is the general case here, but I only saw a single bird). I feel more difference in the shape of their face-neck shield and of the shortness of their cap.

 

 

 

Corvus ruficollis ruficollis -  Brown-necked Raven   עורב חום-עורף  barnanyakú holló

(Eilat Mountains, Nahal Netafim Campsite)

●   Seen only three times, at first a single bird in Eilat Mountains, later two flocks of 4-5 ravens around the plains of Nitzana.

●   Not up close either time...

●   In theory, on the way back from Nitzana, we had the chance to see the Middle-East subspecies of the Common Raven (Corvus corax laurencei) at Midreshet Ben Gurion (Nahal Zin), we saw their nests in distant rock crevices, but unfortunately they were not at home at that time.

 

 

 

Gazella dorcas -  Dorcas gazelle   צבי הנגב  dorkászgazella (Eilat, Northern Plantations)

●   Also called Ariel Gazelle, Negev Gazelle or Negev Deer.

●   Arid and sparse groves with expanded plains are their favorable habitat which are less disturbed. Such a habitat is the western side of the road at Northern Plantations, near KM19.

●   3 gazelles were seen here. They spotted me approaching on the road much much earlier and already tried to disappear when I finally discovered them. The 3 escaped in 2 directions: 1 fled alone and 2 together, I think the latter were a mother and her almost adult calf.  ➤

●   Both sexes have horns, but horns of males are thicker and ringed. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pterocles lichtensteinii lichtensteinii -  Lichtenstein's Sandgrouse   קטה הודית  csíkos pusztaityúk (Eilat, IBRCE)

●   There is no photo here.

●   Sounds were recorded at dusk in IBRCE next to a low water level canal. Unfortunately, the noise of the nearby road traffic can also be heard in the recording (some constant noise has been reduced by Audacity).

●   I only saw for a moment the silhuette of a small flock of suspicious birds flying nearby, but due to near total darkness and inexperience, I was unable to identify them. They most probably arrived to the freshwater source of the canal with low-slope wall. Unfortunately, I couldn't find their landing place in the dark. A minute later they disappeared, and again I saw nothing... Luckily, the sound recording was already in progress.

-    Yellow markings are the Lichtenstein's Sandgrouse(s), arrows point to normal calls, curly bracket at the end shows alarm calls of multiple birds.

-    Red squares show Common Redshanks.

-    Black square shows Black-winged Stilts.

-    Green square points to a strange beep at 34 sec. I think, this is a Marsh Sandpiper.

●   Based on the similarities to some XC recordings (XC163724, XC371177) it was possible to identify these mysterious voices. My recording was uploaded here: XC838756.

●   Audio file was visualised by the spectral view mode of Audacity, and by some additional image modification programs (IrfanView, Gimp).

●   The nominate ssp lives in the Levant region. According to a local source, it is mainly active at night and drinks after sunset and before sunrise.

●   In Nitzana, at the bustard blind, our guide heard and identified the calls of some sandgrouses, but unfortunately we didn't find them. This other observation happened in the early morning hours at KM7.

 

 

 

Ammoperdix heyi heyi -  Sand Partridge   קורא מדברי  fehérfülű sivatagifogoly (Eilat, Wadi Netafim)

●   Seen 3 times in the week: twice around Eilat, once at Ezuz. Each time in hot and rocky dry scrublands.

●   Resident along the the Red Sea and in the habitable parts of the Arabian Peninsula. Since these habitable desert lands are mostly unhabitable for humans, the populations of partridges are stable everywhere.

●   The barred pattern is not part of their wings, wings are gray-sand colored and are hidden behind these ornamental feathers.

●   Perhaps this barred plumage provides a very good mimicry in its environment of polygonal lines and shadows as it also breaks up the bird's shape, similar to warship camouflage, called dazzle painting.

●   Sexually dimorphic: males have the chracteristic white ear patches, orange bill and nice brown-white striping on their sides, females only have modest hide colors.   ➤

●   They are able to fly but rarely do, they rather run for cover in dangerous situations.

 

 

 

Alectoris chukar sinaica -  Chukar Partridge   חוגלת סלעים  csukár

(somewhere between Ezuz and Nitzana, exact location lost)

●   ssp sinaica: lives in Sinai, Levant and Syria. Much paler and more sand colored.

●   Seen only twice in the week, at first a flock of 10 birds on an empty soccer field in Mitzpe Ramon early in the morning, at the second time in Nitzana this single bird.

 

Athene noctua lilith -  Little Owl   כוס החורבות  kuvik

●   In the background perched on the highest rock (framed and enlarged from another photo of this series). Ssp lilith is much much lighter in color than our European nominate, this is the palest subspecies of all.

 

 

 

Buteo buteo vulpinus -  Steppe Buzzard   עקב מזרחי  vörösfarkú egerészölyv (Eilat, KM19)

●   The nominate (B. b. buteo) ssp rarely migrates over its southern range borders (Mediterraneum). B. b. vulpinus is a long-distance migrant, migrates from N- and NE-Europe to S-Africa and S-Asia, and back. These birds are the majority of migrating birds of prey in Eilat in spring, in some years they can be found in the order of hundreds of thousands. This quantity was not so large scale this week, loose groups of 10-20 birds were seen over the mountains each time, but they still made up the majority of the migratory raptors.

●   Ssp vulpinus is not so polymorphic as nominate, there are two main types:  ➤

-    'Normal' morph: more rufous than nominate, but similar patterns. Underwing pattern resembles Long-legged Buzzard (B. rufinus rufinus), but black carpal patch is also fainter (see big picture above). Tail is slightly barred. Head is darker than belly (opposite to B. rufinus).

-    'Rufous' morph: uniformly rufous body, wing pattern as in normal morph. Head is still darker than in Long-legged Buzzard (B. rufinus).

●   Photos of both morphs were taken in Holland Park, Eilat.

●   Here is a good source for differentiation of B. b. vulpinus and B. rufinus and their morphs.

 

 

 

Milvus migrans migrans -  Black Kite   דיה שחורה  barna kánya (Eilat, KM19)

●   The most numerous migratory raptor in this week. One evening a homogeneous, soaring flock of about 500 migrating black kites arrived above KM19. Some kites descended to the nearby palm plantation to roosting in. The majority of them moved on to North. No camera can capture such an event, the whole sky was full of kites passing over.  ➤

 

 

 

Aquila nipalensis. -  Steppe Eagle   עיט ערבות  pusztai sas (Eilat Mountains, Nahal Shahmon)

●   The former ssp orientalis (already merged into a monotypic taxon) winters in Africa and Arabia, breeds in Kazakhstan, migrates across Israel two times a year. Their mass migration in spring is one of the main prides of the migration flyway in Eilat. Annually 20-30.000 birds pass over. The official best rush hours are between noon and 2PM around 10th of March, but it depends on many other factors, too.

●   I was not so lucky, but about 20 birds were seen almost together in Nahal Shahmon on 18th of March, they followed an air corridor above the Eilat mountains in a very loose line in the early afternoon. The direction was from SW to NE. This corridor was also used by many other migratory raptors in the same direction this afternoon:

-    a lot of Steppe Buzzards (B. buteo vulpinus)

-    a single Long-legged Buzzard (B. rufinus rufinus)

-    some Marsh Harriers (C. aeruginosus aeruginosus)

-    one Lesser Spotted Eagle (C. pomarina pomarina)

-    one Short-toed Snake Eagle (C. gallicus gallicus)

-    one Booted Eagle (H. pennatus.)

●   This lookout point is not even mentioned anywhere, I just stumbled upon this site by accident. In contrast, a few days later, the sky above the world-famous Mount Yehoram Lookout was almost empty this time (maybe this is the main air corridor). I think, it's hard to predict.

●   In other places around in this week there were some additional solo migrating Steppe Eagles, too.

●   Young birds are easy to identify, the broad white longitudinal band in underwing is striking and evident. Adult birds are almost completely dark from below, but in most cases the primary and secondary feathers are similarily barred, this is a rare feature in other eagles. Anyway, their immense dimensions and their company in a migrating group can also help a lot...

 

 

 

Neophron percnopterus percnopterus -  Egyptian Vulture   רחם  dögkeselyű (Sde Boker, Nahal Zin)

●   The nominate ssp lives in the entire Mediterraneum and even beyond, all the way to Afghanistan. 

●   2 birds were seen soaring and circling in the valley of Nahal Zin, an adult and a subadult.

●   Protecting, monitoring, breeding, tracking, the main activities of Israel's national raptor protection system called 'The Spreading Wing Project'. Ein Avdat National Park and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev are the key actors in the project.

 

 

 

Gyps fulvus fulvus -  Eurasian Griffon Vulture   נשר מקראי  fakó keselyű (Sde Boker, Nahal Zin)

●   Yellow beak, white collar and light brown plumage indicates it is an adult bird.

●   3 Griffon vultures were soaring above Nahal Zin at that time with 2 Egyptian vultures.

●   According to its wing tag, this is K76. Tracking data are not public for well known reasons...

 

 

 

 

 

 

  1. IBRCE (International Birding and Research Center Eilat): large and very diverse biome and very important hotspot for birding (salt pans, salt-mud groves, freshwater lagoons with reedbeds, scrublands, canals, hides, everything...).

  2. Sewage Canal Dike: a straight canal lined by palm plantations all along to the Aqaba-bay.

  3. North Beach: the Eastern part of this beach is less populated and the outlet of the canal lures here birds. In addition, this is the passage way from the sea to the plantations and back.

  4. Holland Park: famous city park, irrigated, a very important hotspot for migrants.

  5. Wadi Netafim: stone desert area between the feets of the Eilat Mountains and Kibbutz Eilot.

  6. South Beach: a long sandy beach (mostly restricted) with some sea views and sea birds. And the southernmost point of Israel.

  7. Eilat Mountains Nature Reserve: canyons and groves between mountains.

  8. Mount Shahmon: a great lookout point for raptor migration (not shown on eBird as a hotspot). It is not high, rather just a steep hill close to the city.

  9. Northern Fields: a dirt road lined by grape, date, palm and many other plantations from the East, and savanna-like desert groves from the West.

10. KM19: a (mostly...) fenced sewage pond and dense green reedbeds around with a diverse bird fauna, plantations and groves can also be found nearby, luring even more birds.

11. KM20: salt pans in the desert near the border of Jordan.

12. Eilat Mountains, Mount Yehoram, Upper Mountain Hawkwatch Site: famous raptor lookout point (almost empty this time).

13. Yotvata Sewage Ponds: as its name says, and proximity of Yotvata NP further increases the high diversity of fauna.

14. Nitzana, Ezuz Road KM7, Mitzpe Hobarot: A birdwatching hide in the desert made of two old train wagons, today the sanctuary habitat of the MacQueen's Bustards in the Negev.

15. Ezuz, Be'erotayim Grove: an oasis in the Negev with dry groves in valleys with some green forest patches with many birds.

16. Ben Gurion's Tomb National Park: a European-style dense and really green city park in the desert with many birds.

17. Ben Gurion Gravesite: amazing view of Nahal Zin and its vultures.

 

 

1. IBRCE	2. Sewage Canal Dike	3. North Beach	4. Holland Park
5. Wadi Netafim	6. South Beach	7. Eilat Mountains NR	8. Mount Shahmon
9. Northern Fields	10. KM19	11. KM20	12. Mount Yehoram
13. Yotvata NP	14. Nitzana, The Negev	15. Ezuz	17. Nahal Zin

 

 

 

Overall bird stats and infos:

●   135 bird species of category A were observed in the week, among them it meant for me 40 new species and 28 new subspecies in the Western Palearctic.

●   In addition, 6 category C and 2 category B species were also seen.

●   Eilat species list (15-21 March 2023)

●   None of the birds were baited, set up or called in.

●   Map pointer of the observations are accurate.

●   In case of monotypic bird species, a third Latin name was not signed, otherwise always included.

●   I used the Hebrew names based on Wikipedia. I noticed that in the Hebrew language, the Hebrew name covering the subspecies is not created, but only the binomial old Hebrew name is used and the third part of the name is written in quotation marks next to it in Latin letters. The situation is more confusing in the cases of new species recently slipt from other species, they seem to use the old name, i. e. Pale Crag Martin/Rock Martin. Probably it's not true in scientific platforms, but Wikipedia or Avibase were not sufficient in these cases.

 

General comments:

●   At all border crossings of Israel, everyone is asked why they are coming and where they are going. Nature photography in designated sites can be an answer. A girl standing in front of me in the queue, who didn't say anything specific about the purpose of her trip - obviously she just came on vacation and had no special plans - was not allowed to enter without further questions.

●   There are no entrance fees in the sites discussed above (except Underwater Observatory in South Beach).

●   Nitzana-Ezuz-Sde Boker and Mount Yehoram-KM20-Yotvata were guided tours in a group, any other places were relatively easily accessible personally from the city of Eilat (mostly on foot or sometimes by bus) (car rental costs a bit high).

●   Never plan too big, nature is always bigger and harsher than you think. Distances are always bigger in reality!

●   Always be aware of military zones and equipment scattered throughout the country, as Israel is one of the strongest military powers in the world, and Israeli Army is constantly on alert.

●   And just that leads to the Number One Rule of Hikers should never be ignored and cannot be overemphasized: 

     NEVER EVER LEAVE THE TRAILS BECASUE OF THE POSSIBLE MINES!

●   And snakes and scorpions haven't even been mentioned yet...

 

Technical info:

●   Wildlife pictures were taken with Canon EOS R7 and Canon RF 600mm F11 IS STM.

●   Many pictures were somewhat denoised or sharpened afterwards (Topaz Labs AI), cropping images and minor additional optimizations were made by IrfanvView and GIMP, and finally file sizes were reduced by the free online COMPRESS JPEG.

●   Plants were identified by the famous and infamous Pl@ntNet.org online platform from cropped images. Only high percentage results have been accepted, but here can be problems, for sure...

 Phoca.cz free flag icon bundle (16-12px) has been used at translation of names (source). Here, slightly adapted 13-10px dimensions and somewhat darkened versions were applied.

   Hebrew language audio content is based on the Hebrew version of the free online FreeTTS (source), voice: "IL-Standard-B".

 א  Transliteration of Hebrew words was accomplished by the online 'Hebrew Transliteration 2.5.0, © Charles Loder 2023' (source).

 

 

Any comments or suggestions for corrections would be greatly appreciated.

Corvus corax jordansi -  Raven  cuervo grande  holló

(Fuerteventura, Istmo de La Pared, hiking trail GR 131)

●   ssp jordansi: restricted to the eastern islands of the Canaries and differs from other regional subspecies in its brown colorations

➤  plumage details in the video (preening in desert wind), set quality to '720p  ➤

●   some sources refer this distinct taxon as a possible result of introgressive hybridization of the species Brown-necked Raven (Corvus ruficollis) from North-Africa: Rösner 2012 

●   I saw these brown birds mostly in pairs in the semi-deserts of La Pared, Fuerteventura

●   ssp canariensis (western islands' subspecies) heard from afar in a few times in the high altitude forests of Las Lajas and Los Silos, but none were seen

●   blackish variation (ssp tingitanus) is also present in the eastern islands (small image)    ➤

 

 

 

 

Neophron percnopterus majorensis -  Canarian Egyptian Vulture  guirre  dögkeselyű

(Fuerteventura, Barranco de Río Cabras, landfill)

●   the famous 'el guirre'

●   ssp majorensis: somewhat bigger due to island gigantism, plumage has a more orange hue, endemic and non-migratory

●   +0,5 kg in weight (=2,5 kg) and +20 cm wingspan (=160-180 cm)

●   orange tinge is a result of high level of iron accumulation from an environment rich in iron compounds, not a genetic feature

●   thanks to LIFE projects population exceeded 400 in Fuerteventura and Lanzarote in 2021

●   I was lucky enough to see 3 of them at Barranco de Río Cabras (near Puerto del Rosario), 2 from very far away at the landfill sitting among gulls waiting for new garbage food brought by trucks. Another one flew out from the dump area and in its way made a circle above me before he/she circled up to the sky

●   the bird has a colour-ring on its left tarsus: yellow ring with the characters 95F written on it

●   thanks to the help of the online service of the ASA got some information about the bird:

-    colour-ring code 95F is valid, right leg tarsus metal ring code is: ESAFA00216

-    ringed as a pullus in 2016 in Barranco de la Torre, near Salinas (ca. 13 km to the South)

-    the bird is 6 years old, sex or nickname is unknown, but he/she is a young mature now

-    unfortunately, neither tracking nor other observation data is available

 

 

 

Buteo buteo insularum 'lanzarotae' -  Common Buzzard  busardo ratonero  egerészölyv

(Fuerteventura, Barranco de Río Cabras)

●   'lanzarotae': not ranked as an independent subspecies taxon, but an endemic variation of Common Buzzard in Eastern Canaries

●   very similar in its apperance to the continental species Long-legged Buzzard (Buteo rufinus), particularly to its African subspecies Buteo rufinus cirtensis, but the not so pale head excludes this other species in differentiation

●   currently all resident Common Buzzards on the Canary Islands are officially ssp insularum but the eastern islands' 'lanzarotae' birds are obviously different in many ways

●   high similarity between 'lanzarotae' and Buteo rufinus hypothesize an ongoing or a historical hybridization event, just like as in the case of 'Gibraltar Buzzard' which is a knwon hybrid lineage of the two buzzard species

●   description of the 'lanzarotae' and the theory of hybridization: Rodriguez 2017 

 

●  Buteo buteo insularum: the accepted subspecies which is endemic to Western Canary Islands, resembles to continental nominate (small image (taken in Erjos, Tenerife))   ➤

 

 

 

Pterocles orientalis -  Black-bellied Sandgrouse  ganga ortega  feketehasú pusztaityúk

(Fuerteventura, Istmo de La Pared, near the windfarm)

●   female on the left, male on the right (trying to be invisible and motionless in a hillside)

●   found about a dozen in Istmo de La Pared, and one pair in Llanos de Tindaya

●   never seen a solitary bird, always at least in pairs

 

 

 

Cursorius cursor bannermani -  Cream-coloured Courser  corredor sahariano  futómadár

(Fuerteventura, Istmo de La Pared, hiking trail GR 131)

●   ssp bannermani: endemic subspecies to the Canaries with minimal morphological differences compared to the nominate

●   seen in little groups in the semi-desert scrublands of Istmo de La Pared

●   plant: Suaeda vera - Shrubby sea-blite (cserjés sóballa)

 

 

 

Burhinus oedicnemus insularum -  Stone Curlew  alcaraván común  ugartyúk

(Fuerteventura, Istmo de La Pared, near the entrance of NP)

●   ssp insularum: smaller in size, lighter colors with a slight rusty tint, resident and endemic to the Eastern Canaries

●   plant: Suaeda vera - Shrubby sea-blite (cserjés sóballa)

●   lives in small groups in semi-desert habitats (see footprints on the left in small image)  ➤

●   I have not met the western islands' curlew subspecies (B.o.distictus) in Tenerife

 

●   unfortunately, I couldn't find the most sought after bird of the islands, the Houbara Bustard  (Chlamydotis undulata fuerteventurae), only a few blurred footprints in the sand revealed its hidden presence in Istmo de La Pared, found at an eBird pointer called 'Jandia PNat--La Pared' (see large footprints on the right)  ➤

 

 

 

Lanius excubitor koenigi -  Canary Islands Grey Shrike  alcaudón sureño  sivatagi őrgébics

(Fuerteventura, Costa Calma, Calle Garcey)

●   ssp koenigi: Canary Islands endemic, smaller, shorter wings and tail, more strongly hooked beak

●   no longer a subspecies of L. meridionalis

●   usually waits for its prey from elevated perches, mainly feeds on insects and lizards sometimes also on birds

●   mostly seen in deserts but also found in rural areas, dry suburb parks or vacant lots

●   plant: Suaeda vera - Shrubby sea-blite (again...)

 

 

 

Anthus berthelotii -  Berthelot's Pipit  bisbita caminero  Kanári-szigeteki pityer

(Fuerteventura, Istmo de La Pared, hiking trail GR 131)

●   distinguishing characteristics of the species:

-    clear white belly, stripes on breast, strong bright supercilium

-    searching for food at the ground level of open habitats most of the time

-    lives only in the Canary Islands and Madeira

●   seen everywhere in low numbers both in Tenerife and Fuerteventura, even in parks, beaches, deserts

●   thorny plant: Lycium intricatum - Southern Boxthorn

 

 

 

Apus pallidus brehmorum -  Pallid Swift  vencejo pálido  halvány sarlósfecske

(Fuerteventura, Istmo de La Pared, hiking trail GR 131)

●   ssp brehmorum: larger and darker suspecies, lives in Macaronesia, North Africa and parts of the Mediterraneum

●   I saw only 2 of them flying together over the desert plains of La Pared

 

 

 

Bucanetes githagineus amantum -  Trumpeter Finch  camachuelo trompetero  trombitás sivatagipinty

(Fuerteventura, Llanos de Tindaya)

●   ssp amantum: has a greyer head and thicker bill, endemic subspecies to the Canaries

●   male's bill is pink/orange and has many kind of reddish tinges in its plumage, faded color female's bill is straw-yellow

●   seen a fast-moving small flock of 20-25 finches at an oasis-like spot in the dry plains of Tindaya (see pointer in title), and another looser and smaller group at the edge of the village Tindaya

●   plant: Patellifolia patellaris

 

 

 

Alaudala rufescens -  Mediterranean Short-toed Lark  terrera marismeña  csíkos szikipacsirta

(Fuerteventura, Llanos de Tindaya)

●   in theory a common bird, in practice I could hardly see any of it, maybe due to the summer season

●   seen one skittish flock at a dry canyon at La Pared, and a single lark in the group of trumpeter finches in Llanos de TIndaya

●   the formerly known species, Lesser Short-toed Lark (Alaudala rufescens) was recently split into 4 new species (2 of them found in WP): Alström 2021

-    A. rufescens - Mediterranean Short-toed Lark (NW-Africa)

-    A. heinei - Heine's (Turkestan) Short-toed Lark (Middle-East)

-    A. cheleensis - Asian Short-toed Lark (Mongolia, NE-China)

-    A. raytal - Sand Lark (India, SE-Asia)

●   A. rufescens rufescens in Tenerife and A. rufescens polatzeki in the eastern islands are no longer valid taxa

●   zigzag plant in background: Launaea arborescens

 

 

 

Streptopelia senegalensis phoenicophila -  Laughing Dove  tórtola senegalesa  pálmagerle

(Fuerteventura, Tindaya)

●   ssp phoenicophila: NW-African subspecies, somewhat larger in size and duller in colors, upper tail coverts are bluish-grey

●   seen only a few birds, all near a farm at Tindaya, later heard some of them in the village, too

●   plant: Kleinia neriifolia - Canary Islands candle plant (endemic)

 

●   in urban and rural habitats collared doves are abundant everywhere in the islands, as they do in the continental cities

●   Eurasian (Str. decaocto) and African collared dove (Str. roseogrisea) are common in most cities, just like the Str. decaocto in Europe

●   it's really hard to tell them apart, but there are some field marks to help  ➤

 

●   European Turtle Dove (Str. turtur) is also present in the islands, but I saw only 2 in Jardín Botánico, Puerto de la Cruz (plant: Brachychiton populneus - Kurrajong)  ➤

 

 

 

Passer hispaniolensis -  Spanish Sparrow  gorrión moruno  berki veréb

(Fuerteventure, Costa Calma)

●   the nominate lives in the Canaries and no other Passer species lives in the islands

●   a common bird but most of the time it hides in the crown of dead leaves and fronds of palm trees

●   plant: Phoenix canariensis - Canary Island date palm (endemic tree, but it has already been introduced to many other places)

 

●   the decline in the population of Rock Sparrow (Petronia petronia) is considered due to the competition of the naturally arriving and continously increasing population of Spanish Sparrow in Canary Islands since 1998. Before the arrival of the Spanish Sparrow, there were no other sparrow species except the Rock Sparrow. I could not find a single Rock Sparrow in this whole journey in Tenerife and Fuerteventura.

 

 

 

Alectoris barbara koenigi -  Barbary Partridge  perdiz moruna  barnanyakú szirtifogoly

(Tenerife, Los Abrigos, Barranco del Saltadero)

●   ssp koenigi: endemic subspecies to the Canary Islands, introduced from Morocco as a game bird in the 18th century

●   I saw the species only twice: once a bird running through an abandoned golf course in Los Abrigos, Tenerife, and once a flushing bird in Istmo de La Pared, Fuerteventura

●   according to some local legends, there are some hiking routes where tourists can feed tame partridges, but I haven't even seen anything similar

 

 

 

Falco tinnunculus canariensis -  Common Kestrel  cernícalo vulgar  vörös vércse

(Tenerife, Puerto de la Cruz, Palmetum)

●   plant: Araucaria heterophylla - Norfolk Island Pine (introduced)

●   male kestrels have grey head and grey tail, females have brown head and barred tail

●   ssp canariensis: subspecies of the Western Canary Islands and Madeira, slightly different from the continental form, it has somewhat more contrasted plumage colors (image above)

-    a common bird of prey in many habitats: urban parks, mountain forests, groves

●   ssp dacotiae: endemic to the Eastern Canary Islands, more reddish in color tones and has paler markings on it (small image)  ➤

-    may be much less frequent, I found only one female bird hunting on the lawn of Jandía Golf Club, Morro Jable

 

 

 

Saxicola dacotiae -  Canary Island Stonechat  tarabilla canaria  kanári csuk

(Fuerteventura, Morro Jable, Jandía Golf Club)

●   endemic species of the Canary Islands, lives only in Fuerteventura and Lanzarote

●   near threatened, the population is decreasing

●   long white collar and throat, very few white in wings, supercilium extends only slightly beyond the eye; females are pale  ➤

●   males are territorial, just like their relatives in Europe

●   I only saw one pair at the Jandía Golf Course in Morro Jable

 

 

 

Linaria cannabina harterti -  Common Linnet (eastern Canary Islands)  pardillo común  kenderike

(Fuerteventura, Puerto del Rosario, El Charco)

●   ssp harterti: endemic subspecies of the eastern islands, bright ruby-red breast, much darker brown upperparts

●   song of a Linnet in El Palmeral park, Costa Calma:

●   there is another and similar endemic subspecies (L. c. meadewaldoi) that lives only in the western islands

 

 

 

Motacilla cinerea canariensis -  Grey Wagtail  lavandera cascadeña  Kanári-szigeteki hegyi billegető

(Tenerife, Los Cristianos, beach)

●   ssp canariensis: male has a larger black breast plate, much less white in wings and tail, narrow supercilium

●   can be found anywhere near fresh water (does not live at all in the arid Fuerteventura and Lanzarote)

●   I saw the species in this trip only in some irrigated city parks in Tenerife

 

 

 

Bostrychia hagedash (nilotica?) -  Hadada Ibis  ibis hadada  hadadaibisz

(Fuerteventura, Morro Jable, Avenida del Saladar)

●   the family crosses the highway...

●   category C: stable 'street population' escaped from Stella Canaris Zoo, which closed in 2013

●   seen many of them in groups among Western Cattle Egrets (Ardea ibis.) in the coastal parks of Morro Jable picking insects off the lawn, near the abandoned zoo

-    one Cattle Egret had a uniquely dark summer plumage (the others were all normal)  ➤

 

 

●   3 wild species of parrots (all introduced, category C) were found in this trip:

Psittacula krameri Rose-ringed Parakeet cotorra de Kramer  örvös papagáj (Tenerife, Puerto de la Cruz)

Myiopsitta monachus Monk Parakeet cotorra argentina  barátpapagáj (Fuerteventura, Morro Jable)

Nymphicus hollandicus Cockatiel cacatúa ninfa  nimfapapagáj (Fuerteventura, Costa Calma)

 

 

 

 

Pycnonotus cafer -  Red-vented Bulbul  bulbul cafre  kormos bülbül

(Fuerteventura, Costa Calma, Calle Punta de los Molinillos)

●   another category C species for WP listers, as it is a globally invasive bird from SE-Asia

●   the first ones were observed here in 2003, they have a stable population since 2014

●   restricted to cities, parks and plantations, but in large numbers they can pose a harmful threat to fruit orchards, and behave agressively towards other bird species

●   I saw one of them in an evening in Costa Calma, next morning a group of birds (10-15) were chatting in the same parking lot and in the neighboring streets, some of them were even singing

●   morning song of the Red-vented Bulbul in the streets of Costa Calma:

 

 

 

Apus unicolor -  Black Swift  vencejo unicolor  egyszínű sarlófecske

(Tenerife, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Palmetum)

●   the most common swift in the archipelago, easily found on every island

●   lighter in color than A. apus, darker than A. pallidus

●   slightly smaller in size and has narrower wings than A. apus and barely has any throat patch

●   largest groups (100-200) were found in a city park of Los Cristianos near the beach, in the recreation park of Las Lajas and in the tidal shrub zone of Playa de Jandía in Morro Jable

●   I saw significant number of swallows (H. rustica, D. urbicum) only on the beach of Morro Jable

●   other swift species were also rare, a single A. apus in Los Cristianos and a pair of A. pallidus in Istmo de La Pared were found all over, A. unicolor is dominant in numbers everywhere, at least in the summer season

 

 

 

Dendrocopos major canariensis -  Great Spotted Woodpecker  pico picapinos  Kanári-szigeteki nagy fakopáncs

(Tenerife, Las Lajas)

●   ssp canariensis: resident and endemic subspecies in Tenerife, lives only in pine forests between 800-1800 m, population is about 200 pairs (slightly increasing), the dry coniferous forests around Mount Teide are one of their last strongholds

●   has a browner underparts, a browner band above the bill and more contrasting white flanks. However, birds of the nominate subspecies in the continental Europe have very similar color variants, too. Honestly, I don't see any crucial difference here...

●   genetic studies show more evidence for the subspecies taxon status: Garcia-del-Rey 2007

●   sexual dimorphism is the same: adult male on the left and juvenile male on the right in the picture shown above, females do not have red on their heads

●   another resident and endemic subspecies (D. m. thanneri) lives in Gran Canaria with a slightly more stable population

●   plant: Pinus canariensis - Canary Island pine (kanári fenyő)

 

 

 

Serinus canaria -  Atlantic Canary  serín canario  kanári

(Tenerife, Las Lajas)

➤  two singing wild canaries (1st in a busy highway of Costa Adeje and 2nd in Las Lajas park) ➤

●   the most famous bird of the Canary Islands, it is present throughout Macaronesia and a common songbird

●   its breeds are the most common pet birds worldwide since the 17th century (Serinus canaria forma domestica)

●   the plumage is variable in the wild population, too

●   males are more striking, females are paler, young birds are brownish

●   wild canaries can be found in many places in Tenerife, but I saw them in highest density in the parks of Las Lajas

 

 

 

 

Cyanistes teneriffae teneriffae -  African Blue Tit  herrerillo afrocanario  tenerifei kék cinege

(Tenerife, Las Lajas)

●   an endemic bird on an endemic tree

●   Tenerife Blue Tit preens its feathers after a bath (Las Lajas)   ➤

●   dark blue cap, long and thin bill, no white stripe on wings

●   4 other endemic subspecies living in the islands with slight morphological differences

●   tree: Pinus canariensis - Canary Island pine (kanári fenyő):

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fringilla teydea -  Tenerife Blue Chaffinch  pinzón azul de Tenerife  kék pinty

(Tenerife, Las Lajas)

●   endemic species, lives only in Tenerife

●   has a stable population at an altitude of 1000-2000 m on Mount Teide

●   males are blue, females are brownish-grey blue

●    the simple calls of the Tenerife Blue Chaffinch in Las Lajas (with some woodpecker calls in the background (0:14)):

●   another endemic and similar species Gran Canaria Blue Chaffinch (F. polatzeki) was recently split from F. teydea and lives in Gran Canaria

 

 

 

Phylloscopus canariensis -  Canary Island Chiffchaff  mosquitero canario  Kanári-szigeteki csilpcsalpfüzike

(Tenerife, Las Lajas)

●   endemic and resident species in the Canaries, except Fuerteventura and Lanzarote

●   unlike P. collybita and all of its subspecies, this new species is not migratory

●   its long bill is strikingly different   ➤

●   plant in picture above: Chamaecytisus proliferus - Tagasaste (lucernafa)

●   recenlty split form Common Chiffchaff (P. collybita), from which it differs in many parameters: it has a more brownish plumage with a little bit more striking supercilium, a much longer bill, a longer tail and shorter wings

●   a constantly moving bird, often calls from the bushes

●   common everywhere in the Western islands: parks, hedges, bushes, groves, forests, etc., but notice that P. collybita is also present in the islands (small image) 

Charcas de Erjos    ➤

●   calls of the Canary Chiffchaff:

 

 

 

 

Turdus merula cabrerae -  Blackbird  mirlo común  fekete rigó

(Tenerife, Charcas de Erjos)

●   ssp cabrerae: endemic and resident in Madeira and in the Canaries, it has somewhat shorter wings and tail (Hounsome 1993)

●   common but not as dominantly common as in the continental Europe

●   plants in picture:

-    bush with the canary: Ulex europaeus - Gorse (sünzanót)

-    purple flower: Bituminaria bituminosa - Arabian Pea (korpás borsó)

-    yellow umbels: Foeniculum vulgare - Fennel (édeskömény); the air of the whole site (Charcas de Erjos) was filled with fragrance of this wild and locally abundant plant

 

 

 

Accipiter nisus granti -  Macaronesian Sparrowhawk  gavilán  karvaly

(Tenerife, Charcas de Erjos)

●   a sparrowhawk dries his feathers in the hedge after a morning rain

●   a fast predator of songbirds in the thickets of temperate cloud forests and groves

●   only saw it once

●   ssp granti: Canarian-Madeirian endemic subspecies (except Fuerteventura and Lanzarote), smaller and somewhat darker

 

Fringilla coelebs canariensis Common Chaffinch pinzón vulgar erdei pinty Tenerife, Erjos, Monte del Agua the different shaped crown and back is deeper slate-blue, face and belly faded, less color on wings song:

Erithacus rubecula superbus European Robin petirrojo europeo vörösbegy Tenerife, hiking trail PR-TF 53 (Erjos 🠊 Los Silos) pale white eyering, belly and vent are full white, color tone of breastplate is deeper   song:

Regulus regulus teneriffae Tenerife Goldcrest reyezuelo sencillo sárgafejű királyka Tenerife, Erjos, Monte del Agua smaller body size, longer bill, broader black stripe on head, generally brighter   song:

Sylvia atricapilla heineken Eurasian Blackcap curruca capirotada barátposzáta Tenerife, Puerto de la Cruz, Palmetum males are browner above, females are more rufous above

 

 

 

Columba bollii -  Bolle's Pigeon  paloma turqué  szürkefejű babérgalamb

(Tenerife, hiking trail PR-TF 53 (Erjos 🠊 Los Silos), near Erjos)

●   photo was taken in dense fog and light rain, the picture had to be heavily modified afterwards

●   grey body, grey head, wine-red breast, red bill with yellow tip, grey band on tail (but not at the very end!)

●   its voice is a really weird nasal cooing

●   easy to hear but hard to see them in the forest canopy, mostly gregarious (I saw groups of 2-5 and once a group of 10)

●   the lichen on the dead tree is maybe an Usnea sp., the trees in the background are Chamaecytisus proliferus (Tagasaste)

●   according to some botanical sources, laurel cloud forests ('laurisilva') are made up of several main species, including: 

Laurus azorica - Azores laurel

Persea indica - viñatigo

Myrica faya - faya

Erica arborea - tree heather

Visnea mocanera - mocan

Chamaecytisus proliferus - tagasaste

Rhamnus glandulosa - sanguino

Ilex spp. - holly

Ocotea foetens - stinkwood

 

 

 

Columba junoniae -  White-tailed Laurel Pigeon  paloma rabiche  szürkefarkú babérgalamb

(trail PR-TF 53 (Erjos 🠊 Los Silos), near Los Silos)

●   the species is "near threatened", there are only about 2000 living individuals today, the population is relatively stable (1000–1200 on La Palma, 120–160 on La Gomera and 80–120 on Tenerife, recently introduced to El Hierro)

●   lives on steep, inaccessable, densely vegetated rock slopes; feeds on fruits and seeds

●   dark brown body with a wine red shade, head is lighter, tip of the tail is off-white    ➤

●   I saw 2 of them flying quickly in the cloud forest of Monte del Agua from the well known lookout point (small photo) and heard some of them on the trail of Monte del Agua from the high canopy, also heard 2 from the bushes of high cliff gorges at Los Silos (and saw here 1 perched on a cactus for a while on a distant slope: photo above)

●   best places to find in Tenerife: vegetated mountain habitats and forests near Erjos, Los Silos and Tigaiga (La Grimona)

●   its voice is a characteristic pigeon-voice (the forest was loud with Tenerife Goldcrests):

●   cactus: Opuntia ficus-barbarica - Prickly Pear Cactus

 

 

 

Falco peregrinus pelegrinoides -  Barbary Falcon  halcón tagarote  sivatagi sólyom

(Tenerife, Erjos, Monte del Agua)

●   ssp pelegrinoides: according to Wikipedia, pelegrinoides could be a species-level taxon from a biological and ecological point of view, but it remains a subspecies due to its close phylogenetic relationship to the nominate

●   coastal or ravine cliffs are needed for nesting, where its favourite food, pigeons are also mostly common

●   almost extinct from Tenerife but rediscovered in 2007, now the population is slowly increasing

●   I saw two young falcons during the trip: the first was patrolling above the 'laurel pigeon-forests' of Erjos and the second above the beach of Laguna de Sotavento, near Costa Calma

 

 

 

Sylvia conspicillata orbitalis -  Spectacled Warbler  curruca tomillera  törpeposzáta

(Fuerteventura, Costa Calma, Laguna de Sotavento)

●   ssp orbitalis: subspecies of the Macaronesian region, with somewhat darker plumage than continental forms

●   just like its relatives, it is also a very elusive bird

●   I found only 2 places with these warblers, both of these habitats were much more vegetated and much less arid than most areas: Charcas de Erjos is a seasonal lake system with dense natural hedges, Laguna de Sotavento is a coastal intertidal zone with halophyte succulent shrubs

●   plant: Arthrocnemum macrostachyum - Glaucous glasswort

 

 

 

 

Numenius phaeopus phaeopus -  Whimbrel  zarapito trinador  kis póling

(Fuerteventura, Costa Calma, Piedras Apiladas)

●   seen the species only once here, at a rocky part of the long and mainly sandy beach

●   a small group of Sanderling (C. alba) were also here looking for breakfast

 

 

 

 

Larus michahellis atlantis -  Yellow-legged Gull  gaviota patiamarilla  sárgalábú sirály

(Fuerteventura, Costa Calma, Laguna de Sotavento)

●   ssp atlantis: very similar to the nominate but there are some marks to look for:

-    adults have deep yellow legs, and more black and less white on wingtips compared to continental nominate (notice the lack of any white here in the closed wingstips (main image above))

-    the distinctive hood-like heavy 'Atlantis-striking' on the head is not seen in the gulls of the Canaries and other local populations of the region, it is only visible in the winter plumage of the 'Azores gulls' (variant of L. m. atlantis) 

-    juveniles and 1st-CY birds have more dark pattern on head and underparts and have dark wings almost without any pale patches

 

 

 

Calonectris borealis -  Cory's Shearwater  pardela atlántica  halványcsőrű (vagy sárgacsőrű) mediterrán vészmadár

(somewhere between Tenerife and Gran Canaria...)

●   spotted singly or in small groups in the open sea, and seen in a large fishing group off the coast of Morro Jable

●   the only shearwater species found around the islands in this trip

●   lives for more than 20 years, spending almost all of its life in the open ocean, flies more than 40.000 km per year

●   a surprisingly large bird, with a wingspan of 120-125 cm (rarely seen up close)

●   Cory's mainly differs from the Mediterranean species Scopoli's Shearwater (Calonectris diomedea) in that its wingtips are more black and has this remote Atlantic distribution area ( 🠊 a perfect ID guide)

●   some suspicious birds were found in the Morro Jable group, but the evidence was weak to clearly identify them as C. diomedea. Wingtips are more white but there can also be a light effect, and some variations in the extent of black/white are also known on the wingtips of the Cory's. (see the middle one of the three birds in the small picture)    ➤

 

 

 

 

Stenella frontalis -  Atlantic Spotted Dolphin  delfín pintado  foltos delfin

(somewhere between Tenerife and Gran Canaria...)

●   I only noticed this dolphin at home in the corner of one of the pictures with shearwaters

●   Common Dolphin (Delphinus delphis delphis) or Rough-toothed Dolphin (Steno bredanensis) are also reasonable options and I'm not at all sure in this identification

●   shape of the dorsal fin is slightly curved (Bottlenose and Pilot Whale have more curved fins, and are larger in body size)

●   according to an official local source (Herrera 2021) Bottlenose, Pilot Whale and Spotted Dolphin are the most common species in the region, Rough-toothed is rare

●   I would highly appreciate if anybody could help to identifiy correctly this dolphin (unfortunately there are no more photos)

 

 

 

Gallotia galloti galloti Southern Tenerife Lizard lagarto tizón kanári gyík (Tenerife, Las Lajas)

Danaus plexippus Monarch Butterfly mariposa monarca pompás királylepke (Tenerife, Palmetum)

Grapsus adscensionis Eastern Atlantic Rock Crab cangrejo de la isla Ascensión vörös sziklarák (Tenerife, Los Cristianos)

Arbacia lixula Black Sea Urchin erizo de mar negro fekete tengeri sün (Tenerife, Costa Adeje)

 

 

 

Atlantoxerus getulus -  Barbary Ground Squirrel  ardilla moruna  berber csíkosmókus

(Fuerteventura, Costa Calma, Laguna de Sotavento)

●   found in many places, mostly in small families living in cavities of cliffs, rock walls

●   a curious but very cautious rodent, feeds on seeds and fruits

●   introduced a pair as pets from NW-Africa to Fuerteventura in 1965, invasive in most islands of the archipelago today, in large numbers they can affect negatively the spread of some plants (Medina 2018)

●   sometimes uses its tail as a shade against the strong sun    ➤

●   some of them are half-tamed around popular beaches

●   the most horrifying moments of a staring contest with the landlord of the beach (he won):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Leonardo Torriani (1590) 

 

 

 

 

  1. Barranco del Saltadero, Los Abrigos: an abandoned golf course

  2. Las Lajas, Mount Teide: mountain pine forest and recreational park

  3. Charcas de Erjos, Erjos: seasonal lakes with hedges and bushes

  4. Monte del Agua, Erjos: hiking route in and above a laurel cloud forest (National Park)

  5. PR-TF 53 trail, Erjos --> Los Silos: steeply descending and slippery hiking trail in a mountain forest and later in a gorge

  6. Palmetum, Santa Cruz de Tenerife: a botanical garden with many exotic plants and some good views of the sea

  7. Las Palmas de Gran Canaria: sea port

  8. Playa del Matorral and Lighthouse, Morro Jable: a long sandy beach with a long stripe of halotolerant tidal scrubland

  9. Avenida del Saladar, Morro Jable: lawn park lined with many palm trees and the abandoned lot of Stella Canaris Zoo

10. Jandía Golf Course, Morro Jable: fenced off and active golf course, but it is clearly visible from the street next to it

11. Jandía, Istmo de La Pared: semi-desert National Park with a windfarm and many hiking trails

12. El Palmeral, Costa Calma: an unkempt city park

13. Laguna de Sotavento, Costa Calma: a very long sandy/rocky beach with a wide and desolate area of tidal scrubland

14. Barranco de Río Cabras: bone-dry semi-desert with a canyon, a nearby landfill lures many intersting birds here

15. Llanos de Tindaya: semi-desert plains with some oases and ruins

 

 

1. Barranco del Saltadero	2. Las Lajas	3. Charcas de Erjos
4. Monte del Agua	5. PR-TF 53	6. Palmetum
7. ocean ferry	8. Playa del Matorral	9. Avenida del Saladar
10. Jandía Golf	11. Istmo de La Pared, GR131	12. El Palmeral
13. Laguna de Sotavento	14. Barranco de Río Cabras	15. Llanos de Tindaya

 

 

 

Overall bird stats:

●  Canary Islands species list (June 27 - July 7, 2022)

●  a total of 57 bird species of category A were seen, plus 5 species of category C

●  19 new species and 21 new subspecies have been ticked on my WP list, mostly these birds have been discussed above

●  species/sites and individuals/species ratios were low everywhere, but habitats are very diverse with also very diverse species

●  map pointers of the observations are accurate

 

Comments:

●  most places have been overrun by tourism, but you can easily find untouched sites

●  on the other hand, tourism makes it possible to easily plan ahead a new cheap room for each night during a trip like this

●  weather was mostly constant: sunny with extreme UV (!) but always windy, so temperature rarely exceeded 30°C

●  it is problematic to record quality audio and video files due to the constant strong wind (use some sort of windproof furry mic and a monopod instead)

●  there were some rain in the mountains of Erjos and once a quick windy shover in Istmo de La Pared, nothing else

●  winter season is usually better because of the breeding bustards and maybe other birds too

●  unfortunately there was no time to visit the island of Gran Canaria

●  it would also have been important to visit Punta de Teno, Roque Garachico, Tigaiga Reserve, Anaga Rural Park, Punto Jandía, Betancuria, Las Salinas, Los Molinos Reservoir, El Cotillo, Dunes of Corralejo, Lanzarote and the other small islands, and many other places... maybe another day...

 

Technical info:

●   Wildlife pictures were taken with Canon EOS RP and Canon RF 800mm F11 IS STM.

●   Many pictures were somewhat sharpened afterwards (Topaz Labs AI), cropping images and minor additional optimizations were made by IrfanvView and GIMP, and finally file sizes were reduced by the free online COMPRESS JPEG.

●   Foggy, misty photos of laurel pigeons were cleared with GIMP and Irfanview.

●   Plants were identified by the famous and infamous Pl@ntNet.org online platform from cropped images. Only high percentage results have been accepted, but here can be problems, for sure...

●   Antique map of Canary Islands: Leonardo Torriani (1590): Alla Maesta del Re Catolico, descrittione et historia del regno de l'isole Canarie gia dette le Fortvnate con il parere delle loro fortificationi Di Leonardo Torriani cremonese.

  Phoca.cz free flag icon bundle (16-12px) has been used at translation of names (source). Here, slightly adapted 13-10px dimensions and somewhat darkened versions were applied.

   Spanish language audio content is based on the online Realistic Text-to-Speech AI converter (source), voice: "Dario".

 

 

Any comments or suggestions for corrections would be greatly appreciated.

 

Sterna paradisaea -  Arctic Tern   kría  sarki csér (Reykjanes peninsula, Sandgerði)

➤  flocks of terns on the windy coastlines of Garður  ➤

●   breeds in the Arctic and winters in the Antarctic region (each individual flies more than 70.000 km annually!)

●   found almost everywhere in this week in W Iceland, but none of them in Heimaey

●   no other tern species lives on the island of Iceland

●   the similar looking Sterna hirundo hirundo - Common Tern is a real rarity in Iceland, S. paradisea has a shorter and red bill without a black tip

 

 

 

 

Stercorarius skua skua -  Great Skua   skúmur  szkua (nagy halfarkas) (Westman Islands, Heimaey)

●   a patrolling pair under the coastal cliffs of W Heimaey

●   unfortunately, only this pair was seen in the whole week; in theory, they are widespread at the Icelandic coasts (mostly in the South)

 

 

 

Stercorarius parasiticus -  Parasitic Jäger   kjói  ékfarkú halfarkas (Snæfellsnes peninsula, Hellnar)

●   about a dozen of single birds were seen all over the Snæfellsnes peninsula and some others here and there; according to the maps of ebird S. parasiticus distributes equally in Iceland and not more dominantly in Southern regions as S. skua does

●   interestingly, hunting method of Jägers above coastal open grasslands looked quite similar to the swaying-floating-seeking technique of our Marsh Harriers (C. aeruginosus)

 

 

 

Fulmarus glacialis auduboni -  Northern Fulmar   fýll  északi sirályhojsza (Reykjavík, Norðurströnd)

●   strong and always hungry birds with a special pelagic character and with a wild Northern heart

●   'fúll már' means in Old Norse language 'foul gull' (chicks can spray out foul smelling stomach oil as a defence)

●   Procellariiformes order: tubenosed seabirds; including albatrosses, shearwaters, petrels and fulmars

●   as other members of the order, lives up to 40 monogamous years, has very limited walking abilities, and has a wingspan of 100-110 cm with an average flight speed about 45 km/h

●   ssp audoboni: lower Arctic belt of the Atlantic Ocean (SE Canada - Greenland - Iceland - N Europe - Novaya Zemlya)

●   found almost everywhere in this week (also nests on coastal cliffs of Snæfellsnes peninsula and Westman Islands), the species was very numerous at the entry of Heimaey's fish unloading docks

+1 dark morph variant of the species: 'Blue Fulmar' (Westman Islands, Heimaey)  ➤

 

 

 

 

Puffinus puffinus -  Manx Shearwater   skrofa  atlanti vészmadár (Faxaflói)

●   only a few of them seen (1 in Faxaflói and 3 at Sandgerði) and always from afar

●   its interesting Icelandic name 'skrofa' probably refers to something related to shipping as skrofa means hull of the ship, and has nothing do with pigs (scrofa), although they have very strange sounds and they nest in underground burrows dug by themselves or by rabbits

●   map was stolen from Wikipedia

 

 

 

Morus bassanus -  Northern Gannet   súla  szula (Reykjanes peninsula, Garður)

●   another bird of the open seas; patrolling for signs of food in groups of 5-6 birds on the edge of pelagic regions

●   seen some of them in Faxaflói, Snæfellsnes and Westman Islands, and a lot in Reykjanes (Garður)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rissa tridactyla tridactyla -  Black-legged Kittiwake   rita  csüllő (Westman Islands, Heimaey)

➤  the noise of a colony in Heimaey's fishing port  ➤

●   observed only 1 in the old harbour of Reykjavík, somewhat more in Miðborg and Geldinganes

●   adult bird in upper image

●   was very numerous in Snæfellsnes peninsula and Heimaey (near inaccessible cliffs for rest and for nesting)

●   there are large dense nesting colonies of kittiwakes on volcanic cliffs near the unloading quays of the fishing port and on the entry of the harbour in Heimaey; also nests in coastal cliff-based mixed colonies with Fulmars in Heimaey and Arnarstapi

 

 

 

 

 

Larus fuscus graellsii -  Lesser Black-backed Gull   sílamáfur  heringsirály (Reykjavík, lake Tjörnin)

●   ssp graellsii: greyish black mantle, bright yellow legs and bill, NW Atlantic region

●   adult bird in summer plumage

●   seen 20-50 at every spots (including the forestral lake of Heiðmörk, Elliðavatn) and seemed the most widespread gull taxon in the region

●   in contrast to its state in the whole continent, Black-headed Gull (C. ridibundus) is not a dominant species in their numbers in Iceland

 

 

 

Larus argentatus argenteus -  European Herring Gull   silfurmáfur  ezüstsirály (Reykjanes peninsula, Garður)

●   ssp argenteus: paler mantle and more black on wingtips than nominate, NW European region

●   adult birds in summer plumage

●   was numerous in the NW tip of Reykjanes peninsula (Garður, Sandgerði) and in Miðborg beach; but scarce elsewhere

 

 

 

Larus glaucoides glaucoides -  Icelandic Gull    bjartmáfur  sarki sirály (Reykjanes peninsula, Sandgerði)

●   ssp glaucoides: European region

●   found almost only in NW Reykjanes peninsula (Garður, Sandgerði) in small groups

●   1st CY birds in winter plumage in upper image, 2nd CY bird in winter plumage in lower image

●   most of the birds found in this week were juveniles, the only one almost adult (2CY) bird was spotted (lower picture) in the middle of lake Tjörnin, Reykjavík

 

 

 

Larus hyperboreus leuceretes -  Glaucous Gull   hvítmáfur  jeges sirály (Snæfellsnes peninsula, Ytri Tunga)

●   ssp leuceretes: region from NE Canada to Iceland, paler than nominate

●   adult birds in summer plumage

●   in small groups in NW Reykjanes peninsula (Garður, Sandgerði), Snæfellsnes peninsula (Arnarstapi, Ytri-Tunga) and in Westman Islands (Heimaey); + some vagrant juvenile here and there (1 juv in Reykjavík's old harbour)

 

 

 

Larus marinus -  Greater Black-backed Gull   svartbakur  dolmányos sirály (Reykjanes peninsula, Sandgerði)

➤  flight calls at Garður  ➤

●   adult birds in summer plumage in photos

●   huge sea gulls with 1.7 m wingspan

●   only seen near open sea regions in small and loose groups; found in large numbers in Geldinganes peninsula

 

 

 

 

 

Anser anser anser -  Greyleg Goose   grágæs  nyári lúd (Reykjavík, Grótta)

●   ssp anser: (nominate), somewhat darker brown feathers and more intense orange bill than on Eastern Greylag Goose (ssp rubrirostris)

●   clearly the most common and widespread goose species in Iceland during this trip in every type of habitats, Pale-bellied Brent Goose (B. bernicla hrota) is 2nd on this list with also high numbers but cumulated in some larger groups, Pink-footed Goose (A. brachyrhynchus) is a much rarer species

●   swans (only Whooper Swan, C. cygnus) are not common, but in low numbers they are present in most habitats

 

 

 

Branta bernicla hrota -  Pale-bellied Brent Goose   margæs világoshasú örvös lúd (Reykjavík, Grótta)

➤  brents playing golf  ➤

●   ssp hrota: pale and contrasting underparts; breeds in N Atlantic islands, winters in NE America and Ireland

●   were mostly numerous in Grótta and Snæfellsnes peninsula (flocks of 300-500 geese)

●   some of them had white rings on their feet

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anser brachyrhynchus -  Pink-footed Goose   heiðagæs  rövidcsőrú lúd (Reykjavík, Vatnsmýrin)

●   a single bird was seen by huge luck in Vatnsmýrin on the first day, and a small group of 5 flying geese at Garður on the last one

●   Iceland is the most important breeding site of the species

 

 

 

Somateria mollissima borealis -  Northern Eider  æðarfugl  pehelyréce (Reykjavík, lake Tjörnin)

●   ssp borealis: bright yellow-orange colours on bill and feet, and scapular sails on the back of drakes; breeds in Arctic Atlantic regions, winters in NE America

●   common everywhere, and lives an intersting greagarious coastal-pelagic life

 

●   Obviously Northern Eider was the most abundant duck species in Iceland during this tour, considering exact numbers 2nd is Mallard (A. platyrhynchos platythynchos) and 3rd is Tufted Duck (A. fuligula). After these dominant and abundant species, some other species were found here and there, too: Long-tailed Duck (C. hyemalis), Greater Scaup (A. marila marila), Eurasian Wigeon (A. penelope), Gadwall (A. strepera strepera), Eurasian Teal (A. crecca crecca) and Harlequin Duck (H. histronicus).

●   Unfortunately, Barrow's Goldeneye (B. islandica) was not accessible in this trip due its to too big distances from Reykjavík (Lake Myvatn, NE Iceland). According to eBird, it can be found sometimes in much closer locations, too.

 

A. platyrhynchos platyrhynchos	A. fuligula	C. hyemalis
A. marila marila	A. strepera strepera	A. crecca crecca

 

 

Anas penelope -  Eurasian Wigeon   rauðhöfðaönd  fütyülő réce (Reykjavík, Heiðmörk)

●   not too common in Iceland, seen only a few of them in Grótta and in Heiðmörk

+   swarming hordes of midges (Chironomus islandicus (árvaszúnyog sp))  ➤

 

 

 

Histrionicus histrionicus -  Harlequin Duck   straumönd  tarka réce (Snæfellsnes peninsula, Arnarstapi)

●   only one pair at Arnarstapi under coastal cliffs and a single flying female from afar in Heimaey

●   the Icelandic name refers to its habitat as it lives in fast moving streams, I saw them twice, both in the very dangerous-looking wave breaking zone at the rocky coast

●   this upper image doesn't represent this habitat well, the next one - with the shags - would show this much better

 

 

 

Phalacrocorax aristotelis aristotelis -  Shag   toppskarfur  üstökös kárókatona (Snæfellsnes peninsula, Arnarstapi)

●   a single bird in Grótta (with some Great Cormorants (Ph. carbo carbo)) and a homogeneous group of 30 Shags in Arnarstapi

●   the nominate (aristotelis) subspecies lives on a wide territory from Iceland to the Iberian Peninsula

 

 

Uria aalge aalge -  Common Guillemot   langvía  lumma (Faxaflói)

●   always seen on the edge of open sea regions in small loose groups (Snæfellsnes, Faxaflói, Heimaey)

 

 

Cepphus grylle islandicus -  Icelandic Black Guillemot   teista  fekete lumma (Snæfellsnes peninsula, Arnarstapi)

●   ssp islandicus: endemic Icelandic distribution

●   seen as single or paired birds, never in groups (Reykjanes, Snæfellsnes and Heimaey)

 

 

 

Alca torda islandica (syn. britannica) -  Razorbill   álka  alka (Snæfellsnes peninsula, Hellnar)

●   ssp islandica: distribution area from Iceland to N France

●   syn britannica: synonymous old name, merged into ssp islandica

●   always in tight groups of 5-10-20 birds at open sea areas, largest group (~30) at Heimaey coastline

●   and an interesting composition in Efstidalur, in the famous farm of icecreams of Iceland  ➤

 

 

 

 

Fratercula arctica arctica -  Atlantic Puffin   lundi  lunda (Reykjavík, Geldinganes peninsula)

●   ssp arctica: middle-sized race in the subarctic regions (from Norway to NE America)

●   unfortunately, seen groups (20-30 birds) only from afar from coastline in Geldinganes and Heimaey

●   +1 easy twitch: there is a tame puffin in the Aquarium and Natural Historical Museum, Heimaey... his name is Tóti (he is living, not stuffed)  ➤

 

 

 

Columba livia forma domestica -  Feral Pigeon (?) (juv)   húsdúfa  parlagi galamb (Westman Islands, Heimaey)

●   found only a couple of small groups of rock doves and only at the undisturbed coastline of W Heimaey (where the pair of skuas appeared, too)

●   required characteristics were all present: white rump, light grey armpit and underwing, double barred wings, light grey back, unaccessible cliff habitat far from civilization, fear of human approach, no color variants in the flock, ...but I still just hope they could be real rock doves not ferals

●   according to this Wiki-map (very similar to the unaccessible HBW-map) where native breeding is known in Faeroes and in other N Atlantic islands, and according to this Icelandic species list where Rock Dove is category A or C (page 6), there is a chance to find real rock doves in Southern Iceland

●   since the species list cited above is not accessible anymore, here is the current eBird species list, which does not contain Rock Dove but Feral Pigeon

●   according to a BirdForum thread (source), only Feral lives in Iceland (Cat C)

 

 

 

Calidris canutus islandica -  Red Knot   rauðbrystingur  sarki partfutó (Reykjavík, Grótta)

●   ssp islandica: deeper brick-red head and underparts, more colourful upperparts; breeds in N Atlantic, winters in W Europe

●   seen exclusively in the main island's coastline and always in little groups, often in mixed groups with turnstones, oystercatchers, ringed plovers and sanderlings

 

 

Calidris maritima (ssp. littoralis) -  Purple Sandpiper   sendlingur  tengeri partfutó (Westman Islands, Heimaey)

●   ssp littoralis: a proposed but not yet accepted taxon in Iceland; somewhat larger than the geographically separated nominate

●   not a common bird, but seen in small mixed wader groups both in sandy (NW Reykjanes) and rocky (Heimaey) coastal habitats

 

 

Charadrius hiaticula psammodromus -  Ringed Plover   sandlóa  parti lile (Reykjavík, Geldinganes peninsula)

●   ssp psammodromus: a recently accepted ssp taxon of the Subarctic region (breeds in NE Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Faeroes, Svalbard; winters in SW Europe and W Africa)

●   seen in every beachy habitat

●   kelps: Fucus vesiculosus - Bladderwrack, hólyagmoszat; Ulva lactuca - Sea Lettuce, tengerisaláta

●   humps and coiled casts of lugworms (Arenicola marina) on the muddy beach  ➤

 

 

 

Arenaria interpres interpres -  Turnstone   tildra  kőforgató (Reykjavík, Grótta)

●   common in every coastal region

●   kelp: Laminaria hyperborea - Cuvie, ujjasmoszat

 

 

Calidris alba -  Sanderling   sanderla  fenyérfutó (Reykjanes peninsula, Sandgerði)

●   common and numerous in every coastal habitat, especially in NW Reykjanes

●   Life history of my observed colour-ringed sanderlings on the East Atlantic flyway:

     G3WWRB, G3BWYW, G3BWGR, G3BRYB,

     G3GYWB,G4BBWR,G4BBGY

 

 

Calidris alpina schinzii -  Dunlin   lóuþræll  havasi partfutó (Reykjanes peninsula, Sandgerði)

●   ssp schinzii: short bill, pale head, brownish scapulars; breeds in subarctic region (Iceland, N Britain, Scandinavia), winters in S Europe and NW Africa

●   found in mixed groups of other waders

 

 

Tringa totanus robusta -  Icelandic Redshank   stelkur  piroslábú cankó (Snæfellsnes peninsula, Ytri Tunga)

➤  an adult content video of a pair of redshanks on the beach of Garður  ➤

●   ssp robusta: distinctly larger in size, darker head and upperparts, cinnamon-grey colour suffusion on breast and larger stripes and spot markings; breeds in Iceland and Faeroes, winters in W and NW Europe

●   very common and conspicuous bird everywhere (and not restricted to coastlines!)

●   kelps: Laminaria hyperborea - Cuvie, ujjasmoszat; Palmaria palmata - Dulse, vörös pálmaalga

 

 

 

Haematopus ostralegus ostralegus -  Eurasian Oystercatcher   tjaldur  csigaforgató (Reykjavík, Geldinganes peninsula)

➤  alarm calls (in all forms, as much as you just want...)  ➤

●   common and widespread everywhere (sandy and rocky beaches, grasslands, football pitches, city parks, etc)

●   nests in open areas

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oenanthe oenanthe leucorhoa -  Northern Wheatear ('Greenland Wheatear')   steindepill  hantmadár (Reykjavík, Grótta)

●   ssp leucorhoa: larger size, longer legs, longer primary projection, broader tail band; breeds in N Atlantic, winters in W Africa

●   seen in all coastal habitats in low numbers

 

 

Gallinago gallinago faeroeensis -  Faeroe Snipe   hrossagaukur  sárszalonka (Reykjavík, Heiðmörk)

●   ssp faeroeensis: more rufous colours on upperparts; breeds in Iceland, Faeroes, Orkney and Shetland, winters in British islands

●   common everywhere, I think I was just dropped in the middle of their courtship period (mostly in Heiðmörk and Snæfellsnes):

➤  males sang their mating calls from top of pine trees, and made drumming ('winnowing') in courtship flights by their outer tail feathers (recorded in Heiðmörk and Grótta)  ➤

 

 

 

 

 

Numenius phaeopus islandicus -  Whimbrel   spói  kis póling (Reykjavík, Geldinganes peninsula)

●   ssp islandicus: NW European region, somewhat larger in size than nominate; breeds in Iceland - Scotland, winters in W Africa

●   found common in less disturbed habitats (NW Reykjanes, Snæfellsnes, Geldinganes)

 

 

Limosa limosa islandica -  Icelandic Black-tailed Godwit   jaðrakan  nagy goda (Reykjavík, Geldinganes peninsula)

●   ssp islandica: shorter bill, more intense chestnut colouration on head and breast with white belly, heavy barring on underparts, no supercilium behind the eye; breeds in Iceland, Faeroes and Shetland, winters in W Europe

●   seen only in Snæfellsnes (a lot) and Geldinganes (a few) peninsulae, and only 2 birds in NW Reykjanes

 

 

 

 

 

Pluvialis apricaria -  European Golden Plover   heiðlóa  aranylile (Reykjavík, Grótta)

●   always in low numbers but found almost everywhere (except Westman Islands), mostly in open grassland areas

●   the favourite bird of Icelanders, their late March arrival is the sign of the end of the long winter season

 

 

 

Turdus iliacus coburni -  Icelandic Redwing   skógarþröstur  szőlőrigó (Reykjavík, Miðborg)

●   ssp coburni: browner upperparts, more and bigger and darker markings on breast and even on belly; breeds in Iceland and Faeroes, winters in W Europe

●   Redwing is the dominant thrush species in the region everywhere, Blackbird (T. merula merula) is 2nd in rural areas

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lagopus muta islandorum -  Icelandic Rock Ptarmigan   rjúpa  havasi hófajd (Reykjavík, Heiðmörk)

➤  flight call of the male  ➤

●   males have black eye stripe and red spot above this stripe

●   background sounds in video: redwings, godwits (and 2 passing hikers)

●   ssp islandorum: endemic subspecies to Iceland

●   6 in Heiðmörk (2 close encounters), and seen 3 others here and there from cars during travelling

➤  some of them are really calm, notice in the video how undisturbed he remains (0:25) despite the passing tourists  ➤

●   ...looking at these camera movements, I think I was much more nervous

●   tree: Betula pubescens - Downy birch, molyhos tölgy

 

 

 

 

Corvus corax varius -  Icelandic Raven   hrafn  holló (Reykjavík, Heiðmörk)

●   ssp varius: less glossy than nominate; distributed in Iceland to Faeroes

●   there are no other corvid species in Iceland, hence Ravens are widespread

●   Common Starlings (S. vulgaris vulgaris) are much more numerous and they look like to be the real cleaning staff everywhere (cities, harbours, parks)

●   calls of the Icelandic Raven:

●   other birds in the recording: oystercather, snipe, redwing, crossbill.

 

 

 

Acanthis flammea (islandica) -  Icelandic Redpoll   auðnutittlingur  zsezse (Reykjavík, Heiðmörk)

●   ssp islandica: paler underparts and rump, probably not a valid subspecies taxon but an intra-specific hybrid cline of Greenland (A. f. rostrata) and Arctic-Continental (A. f. flammea) subspecies of Redpoll

●   seen only small groups in wild forestral areas (Heidmörk), but much larger groups in city parks (Miðborg, Grasagarður)

 

 

 

Falco columbarius subaesalon -  Icelandic Merlin / Smyrill   smyrill  kis sólyom (Reykjavík, Heiðmörk)

●   ssp subaesalon: slightly larger and somewhat darker than nominate; breeds in subarctic regions of NW Europe

●   found only this single bird in Heiðmörk (and I saw MAYBE another one from car in Þingvellir N.P.)

●   there are no other similar predatory birds in Iceland

●   Merlin, Gyrfalcon and the White-tailed Eagle are the only birds of prey here

 

 

 

Anthus pratensis -  Meadow Pipit   þúfutittlingur  réti pityer (Reykjavík, Geldinganes peninsula)

●   frequently seen and heard in almost every wild habitats throughout

 

 

 

Phalaropus lobatus -  Red-necked Phalarope   óðinshani  vékonycsőrű víztaposó (Reykjanes peninsula, Sandgerði)

●   expected much higher numbers of this species, but found only 4 of them in Sandgerði, maybe it was too early yet...

+   a running mink (Neovison vison - American Mink, amerikai nyérc)  ➤

+   a lot of kelps at low tide:

Laminaria hyperborea - Cuvie Kelp, ujjasmoszat

Palmaria palmata - Dulse, vörös pálmaalga 

Fucus vesiculosus - Bladderwrack, hólyagomszat

Ascophyllum nodosum - Norwegian Kelp, csomós moszat

 

Laminaria hyperborea

Palmaria palmata

Fucus vesiculosus

Ascophyllum nodosum

 

 

 

Halichoerus grypus atlantica -  Grey Seal (Horsehead Seal)   útselur  kúpos fóka (Reykjavík, Geldinganes peninsula)

➤  periscoping seal (+bad noise of strong coastal wind on camera...)  ➤

 

 

 

 

 

 

Phoca vitulina vitulina -  Harbour Seal   landselur  borjúfóka (Snæfellsnes peninsula, Ytri Tunga)

 

 

 

 

 

  1. Sandgerði: coastal grasslands and coastline to open ocean

  2. Garður: coastline with grasslands and farms (+lighthouse)

  3. Keflavík airport

  4. Grótta: coastline and lake Bakkatjörn 

  5. Reykjavík: old harbour, lake Tjörnin, Vatnsmýrin (marshes), Miðborg (woods and parks), coastline

  6. Geldinganes peninsula: grasslands and coastline, fjords (Watch out of tides here as the only road in and out is under water in high tide! I didn't even think about it then, I was just lucky that I wasn't stuck there for a night...)

  7. Heiðmörk: lake Elliðavatn, woods and swamps

  8. Faxaflói bay: whale watching tour, departes from old harbour of Reykjavík (...without whales this time)

  9. Borgarnes: sandy beach under the feet of mountains

10. Selvallafoss and Selvallavatn: mountain lake and its waterfall

11. Grundarfjörður: Kirkjufell and Kirkjufoss (+coastline)

12. Ólafsvík: Snæfellsjökull National Park (this time in nonstop rainfall...)

13. Djúpalónssandur: Black Lava Beach

14. Malarrif lighthouse: coastline with grasslands

15. Hellnar: rocky coastline

16. Arnarstapi and Pumpa: rocky coastline with a lot of huge nesting cliffs

17. Ytri-Tunga: grasslands and sandy beach coastline with a small natural seal colony

18. Þingvellir National Park: Mid-Atlantic Ridge

19. Strokkur: geysers, hot springs

20. Gullfoss: a huge waterfall

21. Heimaey, Westman Islands: fishing port and rocky coastline open to the Atlantic Ocean (accessible by plane from Reykjavík Domestic Airport)

 

 

1. Sandgerði	2. Garður	3. Keflavík airport
4. Grótta	5. Reykjavík, old harbour	5. Reykjavík, Tjörnin
5. Reykjavík, Vatnsmýrin	5. Reykjavík, Miðborg	6. Geldinganes
7. Heiðmörk	8. Faxaflói	9. Borgarnes
10. Selvallavatn	11. Kirkjufell	12. Snæfellsjökull N.P.
13. Djúpalónssandur	14. Malarrif	15. Hellnar
16. Arnarstapi	17. Ytri-Tunga	18. Þingvellir N. P.
19. Strokkur	20. Gullfoss	21. Heimaey

 

 

 

 Overall bird stats:

●   60 bird species of category A were observed in the week (19 new species, 12 new subspecies in my WP list).

●   A single category C (Feral Pigeon) and no category B were seen (except feral pigeons in urban areas).

●   Western Iceland species list (May 12-19, 2018)

●   In case of monotypic bird species, a third Latin name was not signed, otherwise always included.

●   Monotypic species in the pdf list are signed with a point after the binomial Latin name.

●   None of the birds were baited, set up or called in.

●   Map pointer of the observations are accurate.

●   I used the Icelandic names based on Wikipedia.

 

 Technical info:

●   Wildlife pictures were taken with Canon EOS 7D and Sigma 120-400 mm f4.5-5.6 DG OS APO HSM.

●   Many pictures were somewhat sharpened afterwards (Topaz Labs AI), cropping images and minor additional optimizations were made by IrfanvView and GIMP, and finally file sizes were reduced by the free online COMPRESS JPEG.

●   Plants were identified by the famous and infamous Pl@ntNet.org online platform from cropped images. Only high percentage results have been accepted, but here can be problems, for sure...

  Phoca.cz free flag icon bundle (16-12px) has been used at translation of names (source). Here, slightly adapted 13-10px dimensions and somewhat darkened versions were applied.

   Icelandic language audio content is based on the online Realistic Text-to-Speech AI converter (source), voices: "Gudrun" and "Dóra".

 

 

Any comments or suggestions for corrections would be greatly appreciated.

Curruca melanocephala melanocephala -  Sardinian Warbler  toutinegra-dos-valados  kucsmás poszáta

(Tavira, salt pans)

●   the most abundant sylviid species in the Algarve, widespread and common in every habitat vegetated by shrubs

●   found in their largest numbers in roadside shrubs and plantations of Vilamoura and the shrubby coastline of Quinta de Marim

●   usually stays invisible behind dense vegetation and only appears for moments

●   a short alarm call of the Sardinian Warbler:

 

 

 

Sylvia (inornata?) cantillans iberiae 

Curruca iberiae -  Western Subalpine Warbler  toutinegra-carrasqueira  ibériai bajszos poszáta

(Castro Marim, Esteiro da Carrasqueira)

●   seen only a couple of birds in this tour, only in roadside shrubs and low trees in Castro Marim

●   ssp iberiae: purplish upperparts, intense deep brownish or burnt-orange underparts, narrow malar stripe; breeding range from Portugal to S France (and NW Italy), winters in NW and W Africa

●   taxonomy is really problematic here:

●   the species S. inornata was recently split [ref] from S. cantillans by differentiating Western and Eastern Subalpine Warbler species [+references: 1, 2]. In addition a new third species (S. subalpina) was created from the geographically and genetically central ssp S. c. moltoni of the former S. cantillans

●  ...after all resulting these complications (3 new species from 1):

-    S. inornata inornata - Western Subalpine Warbler (NW Africa)

-    S. inornata iberiae - Western Subalpine Warbler (Iberia and S France)

 

-    S. subalpina - Moltoni's Warbler

 

-    S. cantillans cantillans - Eastern Subalpine Warbler (Central and S Italy)

-    S. cantillans albistriata - Eastern Subalpine Warbler (from Balkan to Turkey)

●   this theory is not yet accepted

 

Update in 2024:

●   The taxonomic adventures seem endless ever since [ref].

●   It seems that the three-way split theory was OK after all, but with modifications:

●   All taxa were renamed from Sylvia to Curruca. This is not new.

●   The sp inornata and its 2 ssp compeletely disappeard and merged into the monotypic sp iberiae.

●   Resulting these 3 new species as a new classification:

-    C. iberiae (monotypic) - Western Subalpine Warbler (NW-Africa, Iberia, S-France, extreme NW-Italy)

-    C. subalpina (monotypic) - Moltoni's Warbler (N-Italy, Corsica, Sardinia, Balearics)

-    C. cantillans cantillans - Eastern Subalpine Warbler (C- and S-Italy, Sicily)

-    C. cantillans albistriata - Eastern Subalpine Warbler (NE-Italy, Balkan, Greece, Turkey)

●   I think - except inornata - the map above remained otherwise valid.

 

 

 

Curruca undata (undata?) -  Dartford Warbler  toutinegra-do-mato  bujkáló poszáta

(Castro Marim, behind a ruined building near the highway)

●   seen only one pair in Castro Marim (signed accurately on the map linked above) and only for a couple of moments, seemed very hiding birds but stayed in their close territory in the low dry scrubs in an abandoned farm

●   species is easily differentiable from other Curruca/Sylvia species by its long tail

●   differentiation of the two possible subspecies (undata vs. toni) is a harder task:

-    ssp undata: slate grey upperparts, Iberian Peninsula and W Mediterraneum

-    ssp toni: duller slate upperparts, more saturated underparts; Southern Iberian Peninsula and NW Africa

-    mostly the nominate subspecies lives in the Iberian peninsula (a ssp differentiation guide)

●   according to general coloration and probability I bet on the nominate subspecies to this fast moving birds in my quick and bad pictures

●   scrubs in photo: Ulex argenteus - Whin sp, xy zanót faj

 

 

 

Cisticola juncidis cisticola -  Zitting Cisticola  fuinha-dos-juncos  szuharbújó

(Vilamoura, grasslands)

●   ssp cisticola: Iberian Mediterraneum; duller brown upperparts, paler underparts than on nominate

●   seen almost in every kind of vegetated habitats, most abundant in the marshes of Catro Marim

●   fast moving and elusive little bird

●   plant in photo: Cynara sp - Cardoon

 

 

 

Cettia cetti cetti -  Cetti's Warbler  rouxinol-bravo  berki poszáta

(Vilamoura, shrubs and reedbeds)

●   very rarely seen but heard much easier from dense vegetation in close proximity of freshwater (Vilamoura Canal)

●   the always repeated melody from dense reedbed (multiple birds from the thicket with some background noise by a lawn mower):

 

●   a real wetland with extended reedbed is a rare habitat in the Algarve

●   I found larger and real reedbeds only in Vilamoura (near the water plant with a birdwatching hut) and in Ludo (Ria Formosa N.P.), these reedbeds and coastal wetlands give a home to some other wetland-connected songbirds, too: Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus scirpaceus) and White-spotted Bluethroat (Luscinia svecica cyanecula) were also found here in low numbers

A. scirpaceus

L. svecica cyanecula

 

 

 

Phylloscopus ibericus -  Iberian Chiffchaff  felosinha-ibérica  ibériai füzike

(Vilamoura, golf courses)

●   ibericus: different voice, greenish rump, shorter bill, brighter colors, more yellow marks and more yellowish general underpart colors than on P. collybita

●   a great guide in ID: ref

●   managed to see this species only twice (Olhão marshes and Vilamoura golf courses)

●   plant in photos: Pinus pinea - Mediterranean Stone Pine, mandulafenyő

Other Phylloscopus species:

●   other Phylloscopus species were also rare in this tour: Common Chiffchaff (P. collybita) (20-25) and Willow Warbler (P. trochilus) (1) seen only in less dry and more vegetated habitats, mainly around the fruit plantations near Vilamoura

●   P. ibericus is resident in Portugal, P. collybita is both resident and migrant, P. trochilus is only migratory in the country

 

 

 

Motacilla flava iberiae -  Iberian Yellow Wagtail  alvéola-amarela  ibériai sárga billegető

(Vilamoura, water plant)

●   ssp iberiae: grey head, white supercilia and throat, darker greyish mantle

●   perched on the top of a tree standing just on the edge of a golf course lawn

●   plant in photo: Pinus pinea - Mediterranean Stone Pine with pollen bearing male cones, mandulafenyő porzós virágzatokkal

 

 

 

Motacilla alba yarrellii -  'British' Pied Wagtail  alvéola-branca-britânica  angliai barázdabillegető

(Sagres, Jardim de Sagres)

●   ssp yarrellii: clear black mantle and breast; breeds in NW Europe, winters in SW Europe (some in Morocco)

●   a migrating adult male bird in summer plumage just in the middle of the main public square of Sagres city

●   for differentiation of alba alba and alba yarrellii in problematic cases: ref

●   the Moroccon Wagtail (ssp subpersonata) also has some similarities, but significantly differs in: eye-stripe, mustache, grey back

●   Motacilla alba alba wasn't a common species in this week, too

●   a single individual of Motacilla cinerea - Grey Wagtail (hegyi billegető) also found around the muddy bank of Esteiro da Carrasqueira in Castro Marim

 

 

 

Phoenicurus ochruros aterrimus -  Iberian Black Redstart  rabirruivo-preto  házi rozsdafarkú

(Cabo de São Vicente, coastline)

●   ssp aterrimus: black neck, shoulders and back on adult male

●   today an independent subspecies taxon, earlier it was just a race of P. o. gibraltariensis

●   Black Redstarts were uncommon in this trip: in total 3 in Sagres-region and 2 in Castro Marim

●   1 female Common Redstart (P. phoenicurus) was also spotted in Praia Falésia  ➤

Wheatears:

●   3 Oenanthe species are present in Portugal, but I saw only a couple of individuals of the most common Oenanthe oenanthe oenanthe - Northern Wheatear (hantmadár) here and there;

●   Oenanthe hispanica - Black-eared Wheatear (déli hantmadár) and the rare Oenanthe leucura - Black Wheatear (kormos hantmadár) leave the region in early Autumn

 

 

 

Monticola solitarius solitarius -  Western Blue Rock Thrush  melro-azul  kék kövirigó

(Cabo de São Vicente, coastline)

●   seen only once and only for some seconds flying into hide under the steep coastal cliffs

●   the nominate type lives in Portugal (Western Mediterranean region)

●   Turdus species in the Algarve were represented solely by Blackbird (T. merula merula) but in not too elevated numbers, presumably they needed more wet and more vegetated habitats (e.g. irrigated city parks in Faro, shrubby wetland marshes in Castro Marim and Quinta de Marim, fruit plantations and golf courses in Vilamoura)

●   plant in small picture: Cupressus sempervirens - Mediterranean Cypress)

 

 

 

Saxicola rubicola hibernans -  European Stonechat  cartaxo-comum  cigánycsuk

(Cabo de São Vicente, coastal shrubs)

●   the most frequently seen Turdidae species in the Algarve: marshes, grassfields, cities, beaches, they were everywhere...

●   resident and breeding bird in Portugal but many European birds winter or pass through here, too

●   ssp hibernans: darker than nominate, less white on wings, smaller patch on neck, less white on rump; NW Europe to Portugal

●   according to a study [ref] ssp rubicola breeds in Portugal and ssp hibernans rather just winters here

●   all Stonechats seen in this week had this type of appearance as shown in the upper photo and were identified as ssp hibernans

●   shrub in photo of Stonechat: Juniperus phoenicea - Phoenician Juniper, föníciai pikkelyboróka

●   a single migrant immature Whinchat (Saxicola rubetra) was also seen at Vilamoura (small photo)

 

 

 

Ficedula hypoleuca iberiae -  Iberian Pied Flycatcher  papa-moscas-preto  kormos légykapó

(Olhão, Quinta de Marim, park)

●   ssp iberiae: larger frontal patch on males, whiter tertial web, more extensive white patch on basis of flight feathers

●   a single bird (female) in the western coasts, which could be a nominate in its migration

●   little groups in forestral habitats in the more inner (eastern) regions were more likely Iberian ssp (Olhão, Vilamoura)

●   unfortunately, no picture from a male to clearly see differences

 

 

 

Lophophanes cristatus weigoldi -  West Iberian Crested Tit  chapim-de-poupa  búbos cinege

(Olhão, Quinta de Marim, park)

●   ssp weigoldi: underparts whiter, upperparts and head paler; S and W Iberian peninsula

●   only seen in a semi-arid pine tree habitat in Quinta de Marim

 

●   Parus species were represented only by P. major corsus (Great Tit) and were really rare in this week, found only in wetlands (Vilamoura, Quinta do Lago, Quinta de Marim)

●   ssp corsus: darker upperparts, paler underparts; Portugal, S Spain and Corsica

 

 

 

 

Galerida cristata pallida -  Crested Lark  cotovia-de-poupa  búbos pacsirta

(Lagos, São Roque Beach) 

●   ssp pallida: slightly paler, smaller in size, more reddish and less clear strinkings

●   about a dozen or two were seen in almost all area visited in this tour

 

 

 

Galerida theklae theklae -  Thekla Lark  cotovia-montesina  kövi pacsirta

(Sagres, coastline) 

●   the nominate subspecies lives in the Iberian Peninsula

●   identification guide to Thekla and Crested Lark (source: BirdForum)  ➤

●   the clearest markers for identification of Thekla Lark in the field:

-    shorter bill and convex lower cave (concave or flat on Crested Lark)

-    shorter crest

-    whiter collar on neck

-    shorter supercilium after the eye

-    some marks are not always obvious

●   after all of these, I still didn't manage to securely identify all the birds I photographed, in some cases some signs were not reliable

●   the two species overlapped only in the Sagres region, Thekla Lark was absent (for me) from other regions in this week. HBW and xeno-canto maps show much wider distribution area in Portugal for the Thekla Lark

 

 

 

Lanius meridionalis meridionalis -  Southern Grey Shrike  picanço-real  sivatagi őrgébics

(Castro Marim, arid region, near São Bartolomeu)

●   recently split from the closely related L. excubitor (Great Grey Shrike), an independent species today

●   main markers for differentiation:

●   L. excubitor is absent in the Iberian Peninsula

●   L. meridionalis: darker upperparts and more rosy-cream-coloured underparts, narrow white supercilium connected above bill, smaller white spot on wing

●   rosy underparts shown in another photo (Castro Marim pastures) (small picture) ➤

●   cream coloured belly is also characteristic for the adult male L. minor (Lesser Grey Shrike), but this shrike doesn't occur in Portugal and the male has a black mask above bill

●   seen only three times during this week: twice in Castro Marim and once from a train on a wire somewhere near Tavira (for a moment...), unfortunately, I never saw from close enough to a better quality capture

 

 

 

Coloeus monedula spermologus -  Western Jackdaw  gralha-de-nuca-cinzenta  csóka

(Sagres, coastline)

●   ssp spermologus: the darkest subspecies of all, almost no pale collar and no silvery shining on neck and head; distribution range from W Europe to NW Morocco

●   according to many sources ssp ibericus is no longer a valid taxon and is just a clinal variation of ssp spermologus

●   seen a flock in Lagos beach and some pair of birds around the cliffs of Sagres coastline

 

 

 

Cyanopica cooki -  Iberian Magpie  charneco / pega-azul  ibériai kékszarka

(Olhão, Quinta de Marim, park)

●   alarm calls and chatting of 2 magpies in a park of Quinta de Marim, Olhão

●   no longer a subspecies subtaxon of the very similar looking C. cyanus (Azure-winged Magpie), but an independent new species

●   the old Portuguese name pega-azul includes the Asian C. cyanus, too

●   C. cooki (compared to C. cyanus): smaller size, shorter tail, no white tip on tail, geographically separeted (~8.000 km...!)

●   ref1, ref2

●   found just a few in Quinta do Lago and in Vilamoura, but a lot of them in Quinta de Marim, Olhão

●   plant in upper picture: Opuntia ficus-indica - Prickly Pear Cactus, közönséges fügekaktusz

 

 

 

Pica pica melanotos -  Iberian Magpie  pega-rabuda  spanyolszarka

(Olhão, Quinta de Marim, park)

●   ssp melanotos: smaller than nominate, black rump (seen only in flight), there is a few bare-skin spot around/behind the eye (not an obvious sign in all individual); Iberian Peninsula

●   ssp mauritanica (Maghreb Magpie) (NW Africa) has a much bigger and always clear blue bare skin spot behind its eyes (Wiki)

●   widespread but not so common and abundant as the Central European nominate in C-Europe

●   plant in photo: Pinus pinaster - Maritime Pine, tengerparti fenyő

 

 

 

Garrulus glandarius fasciatus -  South Iberian Jay  gaio-comum  szajkó

(Olhão, Quinta de Marim, park)

●   ssp fasciatus: has a somewhat darker breast, clearly shorter tail and tarsus than nominate

●   ssp lusitanicus is just a race and a merged synonym of ssp fasciatus

●   this bird was the only one I saw (in Olhão) all over the whole tour, despite the Iberian Jay is known widespread in Portugal

 

 

 

Sturnus unicolor -  Spotless Starling  estorninho-preto  egyszínű seregély

(Castro Marim, near São Bartolomeu)

●   highly gregarious and social birds

●   a smaller group is singing-chatting on wires at a low-traffic road in Castro Marim

●   huge flocks roost on coastal trees of Faro city in the evening

●   not even a single S. vulgaris vulgaris were seen in this week, Common Starlings spend only their winter months in Portugal

 

 

 

Carduelis carduelis parva -  European Goldfinch  pintassilgo-comum  tengelic

(Faro, downtown lagoons)

●   ssp parva: somewhat smaller than nominate, paler brown mantle on back (honestly, I don't see these differences here...)

●   common and widespread everywhere in the Algarve, but scarce in the Sagres region

●   plant in photo: Cynara sp - Cardoon

●   the Portuguese name pintassilgo also means another bird in Brazil, the Hooded Siskin (>Spinus magellanicus)

 

 

 

Linaria cannabina mediterranea -  Mediterranean Linnet  pintarroxo-comum  kenderike

(Vilamoura, Canal de Vilamoura)

●   ssp mediterranea: shorter-winged and paler, less colorful than nominate; Mediterranean region

●   rarely seen but once managed to find a bigger flock in the dry fields of Vilamoura

●   a single bird found in Sagres region (small pic) (maybe a migrant bird) which doesn't show evaluable difference from the individuals of the Vilamoura-flock (for me...) ➤

●   plant in big photo (Vilamoura): Cynara sp - Cardoon

●   plant in small photo (Cabo de São Vicente): Juniperus phoenicea - Phoenician Juniper, föníciai pikkelyboróka

 

 

 

Chloris chloris vanmarli -  West Mediterranean Greenfinch  verdilhão  zöldike

(Vilamoura, Canal de Vilamoura)

●   ssp vanmarli: darker and greener upperparts, belly is more golden and less yellow; NW Morocco and W Iberian Peninsula

●   beyond the HBW description written above, I see some kind of size difference of the bill, too: smaller in ssp vanmarli and larger at home in Central European nominate (ssp chloris)

●   seen in more elevated numbers in arid fields near the Vilamoura Canal, sometimes in mixed groups with Linnets

Other finches:

●   another species in similar numbers (found in the previously marked Fringillidae hotspots (Vilamoura, Castro Marim)) was Serinus serinus serinus - European Serin (csicsörke)

●   some Emeriza calandra calandra - Corn Bunting (sordély) also seen in these regions but in much lower numbers

 

 

 

Passer hispaniolensis hispaniolensis -  Spanish Sparrow   pardal-espanhol  berki veréb

(Castro Marim, Esteiro da Carrasqueira)

●   seen occasionally in Tavira, Vilamoura and Castro Marim, and always in close proximity of water

●   more widespread in the Alentejo region in Portugal

●   P. hispaniolensis: white supercilium, brown head, bulkier and stronger bill, no spot on ear as Tree Sparrow (P. montanus) has, heavily spotted breast and back

●   the nominate race lives in the Western Mediterraneum including the Iberian Peninsula

●   much less 'domesticated' as the House Sparrow (P. d. domesticus), lives in rural and wild habitats

Other sparrows:

●   other Passer species in the Algarve: found P. d. domesticus in huge numbers everywhere, Tree Sparrow P. montanus was completely absent somehow in this week (for me...)

 

 

 

Ploceus melanocephalus -  Black-headed Weaver  tecelão-de-cabeça-preta  feketefejű szövőmadár

(Vilamoura, olive plantation)

●   typical gregarious bird of the African savannas, introduced into the Iberian Peninsula where small breeding populations live today in vegetation dense areas near lakes and rivers in Portugal (Cat C)

●   seen two birds in Quinta do Lago and a single one in Vilamoura, all of them close to freshwater, all of them female/immature

●   generally nests in flocks but the nests are individual  ➤

●   also found a single nest in the reeds in Quinta do Lago (small photo)  ➤

●   plant in big photo: Olea europaea - European Olive, olajfa

 

 

 

Estrilda astrild jagoensis -  Common Waxbill  bico-de-lacre  Helena-pinty

(Vilamoura, near the water plant)

➤  a small group in the lagoons near the airport  ➤

●   ssp jagoensis: the most popular SW-African (Angola) subspecies for aviculture, today independent breeding populations in Portugal and in Spain (Cat C)

●   exported from Sub-Saharan Africa as a pet worldwide but mainly into Europe and America 

●   found their flocks always around vegetated edges of waterbodies (shrubs of tidal marshes in Faro and Olhão, or tree alleys of waterwork in Vilamoura)

●   plant in photo (Vilamoura): Casuarina equisetifolia - Australian 'Pine Tree' (Beach She-Oak), zsurlólevelű kazuárfa

●   plant in video (Faro): Arthrocnemum macrostachyum - Glaucous Glasswort

 

 

 

Columba livia -  Rock Dove  pombo-das-rochas  szirti galamb

(Cabo de São Vicente, coastline)

●   the nominate race lives in the W Mediterraneum

●   common around the coastal cliffs of the Sagres region, but seen nowhere else in this tour

●   flocks nest in hidden corners of steep cliffs

 

 

 

Burhinus oedicnemus -  Stone-Curlew  alcaravão  ugartyúk

(Castro Marim, arid slope)

●   seen only 4 individuals in a loose group in the marked Eastern arid grassfields of Castro Marim

●   despite its open habitat Stone-Curlew is a very elusive bird

●   all-year-round resident in Southern regions of the Iberian Peninsula

 

 

 

Alectoris rufa hispanica -  Red-legged Partridge  perdiz-vermelha  vörös szirtifogoly

(Castro Marim, hill with trees)

●   ssp hispanica: overall brighter colouration, bright chestnut nape; Iberian region

●   only found a small flock in the arid hills of Castro Marim, near the pastures and near the Esteiro da Carrasqueira

●   at first sight I saw the flock flying from the shrubs to the sparse alleys of a hill  ➤

●   in flight their general apperance is similar to the European Grey Partridge (>P. perdix) but without patterns on wing upperparts and with an obvious and striking white supercilium above the eye

●   in autumn and winter they are in small groups called coveys before they separate into pairs in spring

●   Red-legged Partridge is a game bird in Portugal, but beside breeds there are natural and wild populations in natural reserves such as Sapal de Castro Marim

●   Grey Partridge (Perdix perdix) only occurs in the North-eastern corner of Portugal

●   Common Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) is present near Lisbon and Braga, but missing all other region in Portugal

 

 

 

Porphyrio porphyrio -  Purple Swamp-Hen  camão  kék fú

(Faro, Quinta do Lago)

●   the real bigfoot

●   the very best species of this whole week (many thanks to Guillaume Réthoré!)

●   expected a very rare and elusive bird deeply hidden in a highly protected military zone, but Purple Swamp-Hens just stroll along the edge of lake Quinta do Lago and the near golf courses

●   altogether, I counted 6 of them mostly in the reeds or on the border of golf lawn and reeds

●   one of them seen quietly swimming across the lake in the sunny afternoon...

●   plant in photo: Typha latifolia - Broadleaf Cattail, széleslevelű gyékény

Other Rallidae species:

●   in wetland habitats (Ludo, Quinta do Lago, Vilamoura, Olhão, Castro Marim) were Gallinula chloropus chloropus (Common Moorhen) in low numbers, and Fulica atra atra (Eurasian Coot) in abundant amounts

●   unfortunately, another big goal of this trip, the Red-knobbed Coot (Fulica cristata) (bütykös szárcsa) remained hidden for me, but according to ebird it undoubtedly exists in Ludo and in Quinta do Lago

 

 

 

Charadrius alexandrinus -  Kentish Plover  borrelho-de-coleira-interrompida  széki lile

(Tavira, salt pans and lagoons)

●   the most common shorebird all over the Algarve

●   seen in groups on every beach and every tidal shoreline

●   year-round resident in the Southern coasts of Iberia

●   none of the observed birds wear the reddish summer plumage cap (maybe one in transitional state: big picture above)

●   other species represented the Charadriidae group spend only their winters in Portugal: Charadrius hiaticula hiaticula - Common Ringed Plover (parti lile) seen in also significant numbers, Pluvialis squatarola - Grey Plover (ezüstlile) in reduced numbers, and encountered only a single one individual of Vanellus vanellus - Northern Lapwing (bíbic) in the wet marshes of Castro Marim

 

 

 

Calidris alba -  Sanderling  pilrito-das-praias  fenyérfutó

(Faro, Praia de Faro)

●   common on sandy beaches, not excluding even the city beach of Faro

●   winters in the Algarve

●   an article by Graham Appleton (BTO) with very good migrational maps and many others: Which Wader, When and Why?

 

 

 

Arenaria interpres -  Turnstone  rola-do-mar  kőforgató

(Faro, Doca de Faro)

➤  late afternoon leisure time program for Turnstones ➤

●   one of the most common Scolopacidae species, found in every tidal habitats

●   background calls in video: Tringa totanus - Common Redshank (piroslábú cankó)

●   background crab in video: Afruca tangeri - Fiddler Crab

●   plant in photo (at low tide): Posidonia oceanica - Mediterranean Tapeweed (neptunfű)

 

 

 

 

Limosa lapponica -  Bar-tailed Godwit  fuselo  kis goda

(Olhão, Quinta de Marim)

●   found only one little group in the tidal mud flat in Quinta de Marim

●   Limosa limosa - Black-tailed Godwit (nagy goda) was much more common, but they rather preferred freshwater habitats (as far as I saw...)

●   mixed groups of shorebirds were dominated in numbers by:

-    the two Charadrius species previously mentioned (C. alexandrinus, C. hiaticula)

-    Calidris alpina alpina - Dunlin (havasi parfutó)

-    Tringa totanus totanus - Common Redshank (piroslábú cankó)

-    Arenaria interpres - Turnstone (kőforgató)

●   in lower numbers were still present mostly:

-    Numenius phaeopus phaeopus - Whimbrel (kis póling) (on the right in small photo)  ➤

-    Limosa limosa - Black-tailed Godwit (nagy goda)

-    Pluvialis squatarola - Grey Plover (ezüstlile)

-    Himantopus himantopus - Black-winged Stilt (gólytöcs)

-    Recurvirostra avosetta - Pied Avocet (gulipán)

-    Haematopus ostralegus - Oystercatcher (csigaforgató)

-    Calidris ferruginea - Curlew Sandpiper (sarlós partfutó)

-    Calidris alba - Sanderling (fenyérfutó)

-    Tringa nebularia - Common Greenshank (szürke cankó)

-    Actitis hypoleucos - Common Sandpiper (billegetőcankó)

●   I found these shorebird species rare during this trip in this category:

-    Calidris minuta - Little Stint (apró partfutó) - 1 in Tavira, 3 in Castro Marim

-    Limosa lapponica lapponica - Bar-tailed Godwit (kis goda) - only one group of 9 birds in Olhão

-    Numenius arquata - Eurasian Curlew (nagy póling) - the same 1 bird but twice in Faro (on the left in small photo)  ➤

-    Vanellus vanellus - Northern Lapwing (bíbic) - 1 passing by in Castro Marim's marshes

-    Tringa ochropus - Green Sandpiper (erdei cankó) - 1 flown over in Castro Marim's marshes

 

 

 

Plegadis falcinellus -  Glossy Ibis  ibis-preta  batla

(Faro, Quinta do Lago)

●   seen only in Quinta do Lago (8 birds altogether)

●   plant: Typha angustifolia - Narrowleaf Cattail, keskenylevelű gyékény 

 

 

 

Platalea leucorodia -  Eurasian Spoonbill  colhereiro-europeu  kanalasgém

(Faro, Doca de Faro)

●   spoonbills are very well equipped in the Algarve

●   seen here and there some birds, but a really big group only in Ludo

●   4 colour ring combinations observed on legs (small photo):

1. (Doca de Faro)   Left: White (flag) - Black - White;      Right: Metal (I think the code is 3965) - Yellow - Black

2. (Ludo)               Left: Yellow - Yellow - White;             Right: Green - White - Red

3. (Ludo)               Left: White (code: 5R);                      Right: ?

4. (Ludo)               Left: Yellow - Red - Green (?);            Right: Blue - White - Yellow (flag)

 

 

 

Phoenicopterus roseus -  Greater Flamingo  flamingo-comum  rózsás flamingó

(Tavira, salt pans and lagoons)

●   probably the most emblematic, popular and celebrated birds in the region

●   most of the salt pans, lagoons and lakes of Ria Formosa are inhabited by flamingos

●   the largest and tight groups found in Tavira and in Ludo

●   some coded rings on legs:

1. (Ludo)       Left: 2|IXD;        Right: Metal

2. (Ludo)       Left: 1|4F;         Right: Metal

3. (Ludo)       Left: 0|ZRX;       Right: ?

4. (Ludo)       Left: 5|CA;         Right: -

 

 

 

 

Ixobrychus minutus -  Little Bittern  garçote-comum  törpegém

(Faro, Quinta do Lago)

●   seen two standing in reeds in Quinta do Lago and one flown over in Vilamoura reedbeds

●   not an uncommon but elusive bird in the Iberian Peninsula

●   plant: Typha latifolia - Broadleaf Cattail, széleslevelű gyékény

 

 

 

Bubulcus ibis -  Cattle Egret  garça-vaqueira  pásztorgém

(Castro Marim, pastures)

➤  hunting around grazing sheeps  ➤

●   common in arid grassfields especially with livestock

●   2 other Ardeidae species were really numerous in most places: Ardea cinerea - Grey Heron and Egretta garzetta - Little Egret

●   Ardea alba - Great White Egret is mostly absent from the Iberian Peninsula, supposedly increasing, I didn't see one

●   Cattle Egret is common in small groups even in city parks, roundabouts, etc:

 

 

 

 

 

Phalacrocorax carbo carbo -  North Atlantic Great Cormorant  corvo-marinho-de-faces-brancas  é-atlanti nagy kárókatona

(Cabo de São Vicente, coastline)

●   ssp carbo: coastline habitat in Atlantic region, acute angle gular pouch, darker colors and larger in size than sinensis

●   most of my observed Great Cormorants were P. carbo sinensis, 1-2 individual of P. carbo carbo seen in Lagos, Cabo de São Vicente and Vilamoura

●   identification was usually doubtul, here is a good source of informations: ref

 

 

 

Morus bassanus -  Northern Gannet  ganso-patola  szula

(Cabo de São Vicente, coastline)

●   always in open sea habitat, seen from the coasts of the Sagres region and one from Praia de Faro

●   3 juveniles (Lagos, Cabo, Faro), 1 moulting immature (Cabo), the others were adult birds

●   its breeding region is at much Northern coastlines and islands, rarely breeds in Italy, but never in Portugal

 

 

 

Sterna sandvicensis -  Sandwich Tern  garajau-de-bico-preto  kenti csér

(Vila Real de Santo Antonio, river Guadiana)

●   seen many times, e.g. in Faro lagoons, Tavira salt pans, Lagos beach, Olhão beach, Vilamoura, Castro Marim 

●   except Chlidonias leucopterus - White-winged Tern (fehérszárnyú szerkő) all of the European Sternidae occur in Southern Portugal, but in this season I only found Sterna sandvicensis - Sandwich Tern (kenti csér), and rarely Sterna caspia - Caspian Tern (lócsér) (see small pic taken in Olhão) and Chlidonias niger - Black Tern (kormos szerkő) (Quinta do Lago) in the Algarve

 

 

 

Ichthyaetus melanocephalus -  Mediterranean Gull  gaivota-de-cabeça-preta  szerecsensirály

(Faro, Praia de Faro)

●   a pair is on patrol around the crowded beach of Faro (adult and 1st CY birds in winter plumage)

●   can be found only in autumn and winter in the Algarve

●   originally had a limited distribution range at the Black Sea and Eastern Mediterraneum

●   according to the Helm Identification Guide (Gulls of Eu, As and N Am), European territories of the Mediterranean Gull had a dramatic expansion boom to W and NW European regions since the 40's, nowadays widespread in Western and Central Europe

 

 

 

Ichthyaetus audouinii -  Audouin's Gull  gaivota-de-audouin  korallsirály

(Castro Marim, salt pans)

●   with a Black-headed gull (C. ridibundus ridibundus) (dankasirály) on the right for comparison to Audouin's Gull (both are in adult winter plumage):

-   larger (general body size is somewhere between the 'large gulls' and the 'small ones')

-   dark legs and eyes

-   no spots on ear and head in winter plumage

-    larger and stronger red bill with a ringed tip

-   no white on leading edge of wings in flight and much more black on wingtips

●   a well recovering population of the formerly critically endangered gull species can be found in the Southern coastline of Iberia

●   about a thousand pairs left in the 60's, today their estimated number is about ten thousand pairs

●   because of its strict fish eating diet found strictly near pelagic or coastal regions

●   I saw a larger mixed group in the salt pans of Tavira (mixed with L. fuscus graellsii, L. michahellis and C. ridibundus), a single bird in Ludo (amongst a small group of C. ridibundus) and two birds in Castro Marim (also in a mixed group)

 

 

 

Larus michahellis michahellis -  Yellow-legged Gull  gaivota-de-patas-amarelas  sárgalábú sirály

(Faro, Doca de Faro at low tide)

●   a 3rd CY bird in winter plumage with a very angry and desperate eel

●   the dominant 'large gull' species in the region, seen everywhere in abundant numbers

●   some better markers to field identification:

-   yellow legs, light yellow iris, red orbital ring

-   square-shaped head, strong neck, strong breast, more powerful appearence

-   more pronounced gonys (than on L. agrentatus and L. cachinnans), bill is curved from gonys, and the red spot reaches the upper mandible

-   narrow striped mask in wintering plumages, fine stripes on neck

-   even more black and less white on wingtips than on L. argentatus (agrenteus)

●   a recently split subspecies of the Iberian region is mostly debated: L. michahellis lusitanius (Cantabrian Yellow-legged Gull)

●   L. m. lusitanius from Bay of Biscay to central Portugal, L. m. michahellis in Mediterranean basin

●   L. m. lusitanius: somewhat smaller body sizes, rounder head shape, little bit stronger stripes on head and neck, orange orbital ring (not red), legs can be more pinkish sometimes, no white mirror on P9

●   another subspecies, L. michahellis atlantis (Azorean Yellow-legged Gull) is restricted to Macaronesian islands (Madeira, Azores)

●   shorter legs, stronger striping around the eyes (except adult summer plumage), broader dark band on tail (here is an authentic and very detailed description of the subspecies by Nelson Fonseca: ref)

 

 

 

Larus fuscus graellsii -  Lesser Black-backed Gull  gaivota-de-asa-escura  világoshátú heringsirály

(Sagres, coastline)

●   ssp graellsii: dark slate-grey mantle, the palest race of all in fuscus, restricted in Atlantic regions

●   I saw this species mostly in Sagres region, they seemed migrating along the coastline in loose groups

●   breeds in N Atlantic coasts, winters in SW Europe and W Africa

●   differs from L. argentatus (Herring Gull) by smaller size, longer and narrower wings, weaker bill, yellow legs (a very good picture for comparison by Tim Melling)

●   differs from L. michahellis (Yellow-legged Gull) by larger size, wider wingspan, darker mantle, less black on wingtips

 

 

 

Larus fuscus intermedius -  Lesser Black-backed Gull  gaivota-de-asa-escura  heringsirály

(Sagres, coastline)

●   seen just a couple of them among the migrating groups of L. f. graellsii

●   because of the 'not-really-pitch-black' color of mantle and because of the rarity of L. fuscus fuscus in SW Europe, I vote on L. fuscus intermedius as a final identification (originally I thought L. f. f.)

●   however, on Kodak scale this bird looks like 16-17 or similar... so I still really don't know...

●   please, let me know your opinion if you have experience in this topic

●   according to this very good source, beyond colors and shapes and all of these stuff, there is a simple main difference between graellsii/intermedius and fuscus fuscus: graellsii/intermedius migrates SW, fuscus fuscus migrates S and SE. I saw 4 in Sagres and 3 in Faro, so according to their frequency in the region all of them were L. f. intermedius.

●   nominate ssp fuscus (Baltic Gull): black mantle, no contrast between the same color of mantle and of wingtips, more pointed wings and longer hands, more elegant general shape, more rounded head

●   L. f. intermedius: many characteristics as in L. f. graellsii but mantle can be much darker and shows a gradual transition into the 'real-pitch-black' of L. f. fuscus

●   a very detailed article on this topic by Andreas Noeske (in German)

●   another very good comparison and discussion by Nelson Fonseca

●   according to this publication, 90% graellsii, 9% intermedius and 1% fuscus represents the L. fuscus population in Portugal during migration

 

 

 

Asio flammeus -  Short-eared Owl  coruja-do-nabal  réti fülesbagoly

(Cabo de São Vicente, at the lighthouse)

●   a single bird flown over the crowded lighthosue building and outermost cliffs of Cabo de São Vicente

●   it was a surreal sight to see an owl over the sea

●   only migrates here, not a resident bird in Portugal

 

 

 

Elanus caeruleus -  Black-shouldered Kite  peneireiro-cinzento  kuhi

(Vilamoura, Canal de Vilamoura)

➤  hunting in the evening in Vilamoura  ➤

●   also seen and heard in this and the next video: greenfinches, linnets, stonechats, thrushes

●   seen the same bird twice in the same spot (morning and afternoon) (marked on map), stayed in its hunting territory all day long

●   Falco species were scarce during the whole tour, only seen a couple of F. tinnunculus - Common Kestrel (vörös vércse) here and there

●   Circus species were represented only by C. aeruginosa - Marsh Harrier (barna rétihéja), seen 4 in Vilamoura wetlands and 1 in Castro Marim wet marshes

●   Buteo species were rare, too (B. buteo - Common Buzzard (egerészölyv)), found most of them in Castro Marim

 

 

 

Hieraaetus pennatus -  Booted Eagle  águia-calçada  törpesas

(Vilamoura, Canal de Vilamoura)

●   the only eagle species of my week in Portugal

●   found two circling above the arid grasslands of Vilamoura in an early afternoon, one of them flew a little bit lower and closer  ➤

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  1. Cabo de São Vicente: lighthouse, end of the world, coastline and shrubs

  2. Sagres: city with a huge coastal fortress, coastline and shrubs

  3. Lagos: port and Meia Praia

  4. Vilamoura/Quarteira (one of the most diverse sites I've found): reedbeds, golf courses, plantations, grasslands and Praia Falésia

  5. Ludo and Quinta do Lago: salt pans, marshes, golf courses

  6. Praia de Faro: beach

  7. Faro: city parks, grassfields, lakes, marshes, tidal marshes

  8. Olhão (one of the most diverse sites I've found): Quinta de Marim, Ria Formosa N.P.

  9. Tavira: salt pans

10. Sapal de Castro Marim, Esteiro da Carrasqueira: marshes, arid grassfields and salt pans

11. river Guadiana: port of Vila Real de Santo António

 

1. Cabo de São Vicente	2. Sagres	3. Lagos
4. Vilamoura	4. Praia Falésia	5. Ludo
5. Quinta do Lago	6. Praia de Faro	7. Faro
8. Quinta de Marim	9. Tavira	10. Castro Marim

 

 

Overall bird stats and infos:

●   113 bird species of category A were observed in the week, among them it meant for me 24 new species and 15 new subspecies in the WP. There were 2 species Category C (Black-headed Weaver, Waxbill), too.

●   Algarve species list (2017, Oct 15-20)

●   In case of monotypic bird species, a third Latin name was not signed, otherwise always included.

●   Monotypic species in the pdf list are signed with a point after the binomial Latin name.

●   None of the birds were baited, set up or called in.

●   Map pointer of the observations are accurate.

●   I used Portuguese names based on Wikipedia.

 

Technical info:

●   Bird photos were taken with Canon EOS 7D and Sigma 120-400 mm f4.5-5.6 DG OS APO HSM.

●   Many pictures were brightened afterwards by GIMP, a complete renovation of pictures was made in Jan of 2024.

●   Many pictures were also somewhat denoised or sharpened afterwards (Topaz Labs AI), cropping images and minor additional optimizations were made by IrfanvView and GIMP, and finally file sizes were reduced by the free online COMPRESS JPEG.

  Phoca.cz free flag icon bundle (16-12px) has been used at translation of names (source). Here, slightly adapted 13-10px dimensions and somewhat darkened versions were applied.

   Portuguese language audio content is based on the online Textmagic, Free text to speech tool (source), voice: "Hanna".

 

 

 

Any comments or suggestions for corrections would be greatly appreciated.