Over And Out

This blog stays well clear of party politics apart from occasionally noting that politicians know or care little about the environment or birds in general, but will answer a question or give an opinion with clichés or words they think a questioner wants to hear. There are no votes in birds. 

The referendum of 23rd June is slightly different by giving ordinary people a chance to decide whether the UK should either leave or stay in the European Union. There is a clear choice based not along traditional party lines of left, right or centre, but on how people feel about being part of the EU. No one should feel obliged to vote how their usual party allegiance tells them. 

Supposedly there are 500 bird species protected by the EU Wild Birds Directive, but it has achieved little or nothing for once common birds like the Cuckoo, the Curlew, the Lapwing, the Turtle Dove, the Skylark, the Yellowhammer, the Corn Bunting or the Yellow Wagtail. They are all in serious decline as seen in my own local area during the past 30+ years. A vast amount of public money has been wasted, misspent or worse, in thousands of funded agri-environment schemes that are not adequately checked or controlled with the result that most of the schemes produce no meaningful increases in our UK wildlife. 

Turtle Dove - declined 88% since 1995 

Common Cuckoo- declined +49%

 Lapwing - declined +55%

Yellow Wagtail - declined +43%

Corn Bunting - declined +50%

In the European Union there are theoretical constraints on the killing of migratory birds but hunting continues unabated as the EU shows itself unwilling or unable to stop the slaughter. The situation in the Mediterranean is appalling. Every year, from one end of it to the other, hundreds of millions of songbirds and larger migrants are killed for food, profit, sport, or general amusement. The killing is indiscriminate with heavy impact on species already battered by destruction or fragmentation of their breeding habitat. Mediterranean hunters shoot cranes, storks, and large raptors for which governments to the north have multimillion Euro conservation projects. 

All across Europe bird populations are in steep decline, and the slaughter in the Mediterranean is one of the causes. The French continue to eat Ortolan Buntings illegally, and France’s long list of “quarry” birds includes many struggling species of shorebirds. Songbird trapping is still widespread in parts of Spain where migratory thrushes are a particular target. Maltese hunters blast migrating raptors out of the sky. Cypriots harvest warblers on an industrial scale and consume them in platefuls of “ambelopoulia” (trapped birds) at €50/€60 a time in law-breaking restaurants. 

One of the most damaging implications of Britain joining the EU has been the effect on our fishing industry by the UK giving up its territorial waters and protected fishing areas to the EU. The results of this disastrous policy have been witnessed just a few miles down the road from here at Fleetwood, a once thriving fishing port. As with most policies emanating from the centralised elite in Brussels, the Common Fisheries Policy was a major disaster. After its introduction in 1970, the CFP has been synonymous with decline of our fish stocks, deterioration of the environment, wasteful discarding of fish and the destruction of Britain’s fishing industry and communities. 

I worry about the unfettered freedom of movement across Europe, mainly the movement of both legal and illegal migrants, an ongoing disaster played out on our television screens on an almost daily basis. The population of the UK has risen relentlessly until it is close to 60 million due to immigration and the inevitable baby boom. The British countryside can never ever recover from the trashing now taking place to cater for the ever growing population of this tiny island. Each day I pass more and more green fields consumed by yet more houses and roads as hedgerows and trees are destroyed to heap yet more pressure onto our beleaguered birds. 

Staying in or leaving Europe should depend on other issues. Perhaps even the notion of democracy? Britain has little or no say in decisions reached by the other 27 member states or the unelected EU Commissioners who have too much clout in deciding how the EU is run. I don’t fancy living in a huge socialist experiment called The United States of Europe. That is the next stage of the EU plan - to swallow the UK and others into an amorphous mass that can be controlled more easily by an unelected elite without due democratic process. 

Meanwhile youth unemployment in Southern Europe continues near 50%, Greek debt soars to $350 billion and other countries line up to demand a vote on leaving the failing EU.

I know the argument – better to stay and use our influence to change the EU for the better. Unfortunately, and just like the Titanic, the dying EU is heading for the rocks where it and all aboard will sink without trace. It’s time for Britain, the fifth richest nation in the world, to jump into a lifeboat and sail to calmer waters. 

The historic and important decision for each and every UK resident is one I took weeks ago by putting an “X” in the box marked “LEAVE” of my postal ballot. Yes, I have already voted in the EU Referendum. I want OUT.

The Port

Weekends are for birding but with builders in the house, there was the inevitable aftermath of the clearing up. Sunday I got stuck into the clear up operation so had to give birding a miss and now on Monday I'm painting,

So for today I’m posting pictures of the recent holiday to Menorca with a morning trip to Es Grau, the tiny fishing village on the north-east coast.  "Es Grau" is not Spanish but Catalan and means "The Port"

Es Grau is home to the well-known nature reserve of S’albufera where there’s a rich variety of bird life. Sand dunes, wetlands and scrubland make up one of Menorca’s most beautiful and peaceful locations. The reserve stretches 8km north along the coast from Cap de Favaritx and contains over 100 species of birds and animals living in their natural habitat. It’s fairly important to arrive here early with a large bottle of water for the hours ahead, not to mention beating the procession of visitors, often school parties learning about their environment.

On the way there and up on roadside wires we spotted a European Roller, the only one of the two week holiday and a much sought after species. It was just a shame that the bird was above a particularly fast piece of road with no stopping places. Despite turning the car around in a gateway and looking afresh, there was nowhere to pull in for a closer look or a picture.

So we headed for the entrance gate from where around the edges of the pool and by searching hard we found 6 or more Black-crowned Night Herons, a few feeding on the tree-lined perimeter, the others just roosting in the higher branches. Here we also found a couple of Little Egrets, Black-winged Stilts, Audouin’s Gulls and Yellow-legged Gulls.

Black-crowned Night Heron

Not far from the visitor centre and watching from screen hides found many distant waterbirds, more gulls, hundreds of Coot, dozens of Little Grebe, a dozen or more Great Crested Grebe and even two Greater Flamingos. Unfortunately most of the birds remain distant on the huge expanse of water, both open and reed fringed but it’s a peaceful and relaxed environment in which to spend a morning or longer.

Hide at Es Grau

Little Grebe

Black-winged Stilt

The usual raptors were in evidence – Red Kites, Booted Eagles, Marsh Harriers and Kestrels plus a bonus in the shape of a dashing Peregrine Falcon. Peregrines aren’t numerous in Menorca but they do nest around the often rocky and remote coastline.

Along the paths we heard the purring of Turtle Doves without actually getting any really exciting or prolonged views. Similalry the Nightingales, Cetti's Warblers and Sardinian Warblers stay out of sight while proclaiming their prescence.

Turtle Dove

Purple Herons mostly remain hidden from sight as they sneak through the reeds hoping to catch unwary prey. That’s a mighty big dagger of a bill than can easily despatch a good sized Coot, Moorhen, Little Grebe or an unsuspecting frog or lizard.

Purple Heron

We encountered good numbers of Spotted Flycatchers here, not unreasonable since it is a common resident of Menorca whereby by mid to late May it’s fairly certain that migrants heading for northern Europe are long gone.

The local Spotted Flycatchers Muscicapa striata balearica are smaller, noticeably paler, and less streaked than their northern counterparts as can be seen from the pictures below, my Menorca photos from early May. For comparison, the third image is the type  of Spotted Flycatcher that we see in the UK. Dutch birders are currently working on the idea that Mediterranean Spotted Flycatchers should be treated as a full and separate species, one differing from Muscicapa striata in morphology, migration and mitochondrial and nuclear DNA.

Spotted Flycatcher - Muscicapa striata balearica 

Spotted Flycatcher - Muscicapa striata balearica

Spotted Flycatcher - Muscicapa striata - Photo credit- Ian N. White via / CC BY-NC-SA

Moorish Gecko was a first for me. It’s native to the Western Mediterranean region of Europe and North Africa and widely introduced to America and Asia. It is commonly observed on walls in urban environments, mainly in warm coastal areas, though it can spread inland - especially in Spain 

Moorish Gecko

S'albufera

I hope everyone enjoyed the morning in Menorca. Come evening time we decided to try a glass of Cava and a few chocolates brought all the way from Belgium by two friends and blog fans, Ivan and Jeni. 

Belgian treats

Thanks guys. the chocs sustained a little superficial damage on their long journey but after close inspection they were just fine. A lovely ending to a perfect Menorcan day.

Linking today to World Bird Wednesday .

Where There's Muck

Two weeks today we returned from our Menorcan holiday. Since then I’ve barely got out birding due to a combination of domestics and dreary, windy and often wet weather. To put the record straight, Another Bird Blog is very much alive and well and will soon be back to normal. In the meantime, here are yet more pictures from Menorca. 

Hoopoes seemed rather scarce this year. Even the ones which feed in the hotel grounds without fail were not seen on their usual daily basis. Mostly we caught glimpses of roadside birds or heard their unmistakeable “hoop-hoop” calls from the countryside. Like lots of Menorcan birds, the Hoopoe isn't especially easy to see.

Hoopoe

Bee Eaters were scarce too. Perhaps with the fine weather the island had enjoyed for weeks beforehand we’d missed many migrant birds which pass through our regular viewing spot. Then a day or two later when we looked again there were workmen digging up the road, laying pipes alongside the breeding colony and very few Bee Eaters using the fence where they sit between feeding forays. Maybe Bee Eaters don’t have the same degree of protection as they do in the UK but even so to be undertaking major highway work adjacent to breeding Bee Eaters would seem to very irresponsible. 

Bee Eater

Happier times were had at Es Grau where a single Whiskered Tern fed over the water and Black-winged Stilts had good sized juveniles. One or two late adults were still sitting closely on eggs. 

Es Grau

Black-winged Stilt

Black-winged Stilt

Whiskered tern

Es Grau is a good place to find Pied and Spotted Flycatchers, Sardinian Warblers, Cetti's Warblers  and Turtle Doves. Our botanist and birding companions for the day, Jane and Alan were hugely excited by their find of three specimens of Sawfly orchid Ophrys tenthredinifera. “A terrible photograph - stick to birds Phil” 

Turtle Dove

 Sawfly orchid

We stopped at picturesque Fornells for the mandatory coffee where from the outdoor café we watched an Osprey circle over the shallow waters. The Osprey drifted off to look elsewhere and we set off for Addaia. 

Fornells - Menorca

Amongst the Shelduck, Oystercatcher, Avocet, Greenshanks, Ringed Plovers and Little Ringed Plovers at Addaia there was a single unexciting juvenile and un-pink Flamingo. 

Greater Flamingo

The (Greater) Flamingo Phoenicopterus roseus is the most widespread species of the flamingo family. It is found in parts of Africa, southern Asia, Israel, and southern Europe. Although the species doesn’t breed in Menorca the ones that appear on the island during the winter and into Spring are probably short-distance migrants from the breeding populations of Southern Spain and the French Camargue. 

As usual there were one or two very flighty Wood Sandpipers about Addaia. But the not too good pictures below were taken at the local sewage works at Es Migjorn where a Common Sandpiper gave good comparison views. Yes folks, even on a Menorca holiday a birder must visit the sewage works. 

It’s rather like the old Northern expression “Where there’s muck there's brass” but slightly adapted to read “Where there’s muck there’s birds”. 

Wood Sandpiper and Common Sandpiper

Wood Sandpiper

Tomorrow is news and views from Oakenclough when I meet up with Andy for a peek into the nest boxes. Let’s hope the news isn’t too bad although by all accounts so far from other regions, the early season has been poor.

Linking today to Anni's Blog and Eileen's Saturday Blog.

CES Menorca Style

During my recent Menorcan fortnight I spent a morning with Javier Mendez helping out at his Constant Effort Ringing site near Mahon. It was the first visit of the 2014 Constant Effort regime whereby a comparable ringing session is carried out every 14-21 day period. The site is a working farm of crops and animals managed in an ecologically sustainable way.

Menorcan farm gate

Not only is Javier an extremely nice guy but he is very knowledgeable about Menorca and its flora and fauna. His website Menorca Walking and Birds offers tours of all sorts to experience the sights and sounds of Menorca. 

Javier Mendez

Javier Mendez

Javier and I caught 45 + birds including a good number of everyday “UK” birds like House Sparrow, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Great Tit and Chaffinch, and also included more exotic fare like Turtle Dove, Nightingale, Cetti’s Warbler and Sardinian Warbler. We didn’t catch the resident Woodchats or a Hoopoe, and certainly not the Stone Curlews which provided a backing track to the morning’s work, but we did catch a migrant Redstart and a stunning Wood Warbler. 

Redstart

Wood Warbler

There are a good number of Turtle Dove in Menorca. Generally they are a shy species and keep a very safe distance, but in some resorts where pines and gardens flourish they seem to have lost their natural aversion to man and happily walk the footpaths with almost total disregard for passing tourists. 

Turtle Dove

Turtle Dove

The Spotted Flycatcher we caught was of the subspecies Muscicapa striata balearica, paler and smaller than the nominate race that migrates a long way north of the Balearic Islands of which Menorca is part. 

It is much harder to tell the two races apart in the field in early May when large numbers of migrants pass through Menorca on their way to Northern Europe. 

Spotted Flycatcher - Muscicapa striata balearica,

Spotted Flycatcher

Pied Flycatcher

Pied Flycatchers are strictly migrants on Menorca although they have been known to hang around nest boxes in the Spring until evicted by the Great Tits. There are no Blue Tits or Long-tailed Tits on Menorca. Apart from Ravens on the rocky outcrops and the single mountain El Toro, there are no crows on Menorca and the commonest birds during the summer months may well be the Nightingale, Sardinian Warbler and Cetti’s Warbler, which inhabit every clump of suitable habitat plus more besides. Menorca’s Cetti’s Warblers are not found exclusively in their normal reed and waterside habitat, but also in very dry areas which have the necessary impenetrable cover they require. 

Nightingale

Nightingale

Sardinian Warbler

Cetti's Warbler

My thanks to Javier for inviting me along to his CES session. I hope to catch up with him and his colleagues in 2015. 

In the meantime recent posts on Another Bird Blog feature Menorcan birds (click the tag "Menorca" or "Menorca birds") and there are still a number of photographs on my PC for a Menorca posting soon, so stay tuned.

Linking today to Theresa's Run A Round Ranch.

Mostly Menorca

Today was rather quiet with little to report from the local patch except for an unlikely twosome - a retreating-to-the-barn Barn Owl and a fly-over Ring-necked Parakeet at Conder Green. There are still 26 Black-tailed Godwits and the usual wildfowl, waders and brown-jobs singing from the roadside and the hedgerows. 

Barn Owl

You can’t win them all, so today I’m posting more pictures from our recent Menorca holiday. "Click the pics" to see Menorca in a colourful slide show.

In addition to birds this post features a number of photos from the historic and picturesque town of Alaior, just a mile or two inland from some of the holiday resorts frequented by large numbers of visitors to Menorca. It is such a pity that towns like Alaior, Es Mercadal, Ferreries and Sant Lluis remain unexplored by many tourists. These charming and lovely municipalities remain true to the unspoilt nature of the island; within their quiet streets there is much to discover and appreciate. 

A number of long abandoned salt workings/sea inlets of the northern coast of Menorca hold a good variety of waders in the right seasons. Our wader list from the two sites Ses Salines and Addaia included Black-winged Stilt, Greenshank, Ringed Plover, Little Ringed Plover, Little Stint, Curlew Sandpiper, Dunlin, Ruff, Wood Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper, Avocet and Greater Flamingo. Add in a few specials like Blue-headed Wagtail and Ospreys, plus the everyday Nightingale, Cetti’s Warbler, Tawny Pipit, Sardinian Warbler, Woodchat Shrike and Turtle Dove and there are enough birds to satisfy the most demanding of bird watchers. 

Ringed Plover and Little Stint

 Little Ringed Plover

Black-winged Stilt

Black-winged Stilt

Addaia

Wood Sandpiper

Unlike most places where the species occurs in Northern Europe, the five pairs of Menorcan Ospreys are residents and do not migrate to and from Africa. At Addaia salt pans we saw two Ospreys hunting close together.

Osprey

The route to and from these localities provides a picturesque and untroubled route on quiet roads, plus a reason to stop for lunch on the way back to our south coast hotel. When necessary we would stop to note roadside shrikes, Turtle Doves and Red Kites.

Woodchat Shrike

Turtle Dove

Alaior, the home of the famous Mahon Cheese, is Menorca’s third largest town after Mahon and Ciutadella. With its narrow streets and white washed houses Alaior is a simply beautiful historic town, founded in 1304 by King Jaume 11 of Mallorca. Its church Santa Eulàlia was rebuilt in the 17th century and remains a wonderful example of Menorca’s historic past.

Alaior - Menorca

Alaior - Menorca

Alaior - Menorca

 Alaior - Menorca

 Alaior - Menorca

Potential visitors to the island should note that the need for siesta is respected in all of the inland towns and the two major cities, Mahon and Ciutadella. The sacrosanct hours are usually between approximately 1330 and 1730 hours. There’s much to be said for taking an early afternoon nap in the heat of the day and then enjoying the warmth of a Menorcan late afternoon and evening with a glass of Cava to hand. 

Alaior - Menorca

Alaior - Menorca

We're on our way south through the island now where Egyptian Vultures cruise overhead all day long and can be seen almost anywhere, often at a good height, occasionally dropping into the fields to search for food on foot. In most cases the cream and black adults seem to be in the majority with just occasional sightings of younger birds like the one below.

 Egyptian Vulture

A whistle stop less than a mile from the main road north to south and it’s those Bee-eaters again, this time with a Menorcan snail thrown in. 

Bee-eater

I will try and do some local birding tomorrow but the forecast is rather poor with heavy rain predicted.

Be sure to log in soon anyway as there will always be new birds to see on Another Bird Blog. In the meantime you can see more blue skys at Sky Watch Friday or birds on fences at Theresa's Run A Round Ranch.