randombirder

A packed three-day trip (not including travel days) recording 88 species, six of which were new and sought after. Flights were booked with easyjet from Luton (operated by Smartlynx on the outbound leg) staying at the incredible la palmeraie de massa auberge/restaurant an hour south of Agadir, an independent guesthouse settled in amongst the Berber community where nature abounds. Birding was concentrated around the Oued Massa area avoiding long drives focussing efforts around waterbodies and areas of steppe and coastal locations in the search for waterbirds and the enigmatic northern bald ibis. The full list sightings is as follows (PdM indicates sightings from the auberge); Ruddy Shelduck Group of 20 at Oued Mass NP. Mallard Group of four on Oued Massa. Shoveler 11 at Oued Massa NP. Barbary partridge Around a dozen on scree in the Barrage Youssef Ben Tachfine area. Little Grebe 6 on Oued Massa at champs d'Aghorimze. Moroccan Cormorant 8 at Oued Massa NP (PdM). Grey Heron Seen reg...

The greater sand plover was gratefully showing well along the shoreline a couple of hundred metres from the Majuba Car Park in Redcar.  Even more grateful that shortly after my arrival, the plover flew strongly north along the beach as the tide rushed in.  The summer plumaged turnstone were lovely too. It was all very relaxing - the long drive was traffic free, the site easy to find, the weather was glorious, and the beach looked immaculate. Not really expecting to see the bird immediately, the day was my lobster so after enjoying the beach for a short while, I headed to South Gare for a bit of wader action.  A couple of hundred of dunlin were running the tideline, nine bar-tailed godwit , and four little stint .  A lone wheatear flicked past the rocky foreshore. The juvenile red-backed shrike was still present in an area of scattered scrub on the eastside of the channel. Noticing that the plover had flown approximately 2 km from the car park, the walk from the ...

Bastardised by the bloody Brits, Spain is always a treat so escaping to the coastal town of Oliva an hour south of Valencia provided a sense of felicidades in not hearing an English accent for a week. A trip that involved some beachtime, local foodtime, inevitable winetime, was never going to be bereft of birdingtime and the destination in no way considered the prospect of birdy opportunities. So it was in no doubt a surprise to discover a local reserve, Marjal Pego-Oliva, a large expanse of wetland that held a variety of waterbirds, often in impressive numbers. Flocks exceeding a hundred purple heron circled overhead, squacco heron disappeared into channels, large congregations of cattle egret and glossy ibis filled the middle distance, the odd night heron or two passed by at dusk.  It was hot out there, so the evenings were the best time to be out and about although the temperature barely seemed to fall until shortly before dusk.  This lovely  bluethroat appeared right...