Birding on Boa Vista, Cape Verde - part 2 desert birds

This post is the second installment of some of the birds seen on Boa Vista, one of the main islands of Cape Verde.  Desert birding features prominently here.  Whilst the number of species is typically limited on a remote island, the quality makes up for the paucity of birds.  I connected with everything possible on this island.  (To see other species such as Alexanders Swift, Razo Lark and Cape Verde Warbler, you have to visit another two islands).  Cream-coloured Coursers were reasonably common in suitable semi-arable / desert habitat.  On one occasion I found a group of 12 birds feeding together.

Hoopoe Larks were common with breeding pairs and singing males within earshot of the hotel.  Within a couple hundred metres of the hotel there were many birds easily encountered.  Bar-tailed Larks were also common.  Singing males could be heard either side of the hotel but the flat area to the west seemed to be preferred.  The miniture serin-sized Black-capped Sparrow Larks were uncommon and restricted to some old arable "farmland" about one mile north of the hotel.  These inquisitive little larks have a distinctive song and flight display.  A displaying male attracts several females as they watch in awe!

Spectacled Warblers were common and had already gone past courtship and display rituals. Males and females were attending to young in the nest.  Iago Sparrow was surprisingly scarce.  I only saw one pair.  In contrast, there were hundreds of Spanish Sparrows.

Osprey was common and I saw several near the coast.  I managed to see one Cape Verde Peregrine and luckily got a few shots as well.  This is apparently quite a rare bird here. A pair of Alexanders Kestrel were breeding in the hotel grounds.  I also saw a second year male Marsh Harrier.

Black-capped Sparrow Lark - an intriguing little lark, fairly localised in suitable habitat

Adult Hoopoe Lark - a common bird.

Juv Hoopoe Lark, just fledged.

Bar-tailed Lark.

Male Iago Sparrow, one of only two seen all trip.

Male Spectacled Warbler - a common bird.

Adult Cream-coloured Courser

Cream-coloured Courser - part of a flock of 12 birds.

Cape Verde Peregrine - the only sighting.

Osprey - breeds on the island and fairly common.

Lapland Buntings at Rosenannon, Cornwall

Up to 100 Lapland Buntings have been logged at Rosenannon Downs this winter - quite an impressive count.  Today though I counted about 37 birds flying around the moor.    This number in itself is still a respectable count, though  "Lapbunts" seem to be on the increase in Cornwall.  In 2011, a massive 150+ birds were found at Port Isaac in early March. This was a Cornwall record number. 20 plus were also at the Lizard Point in January 2012.  A smaller flock of 15 birds associating with five Snow Buntings have wintered at Treen Common this year.  Historically, there has always been a handful of records annually, mostly from North Cornwall but not in such high numbers as we are finding now.

The species breeds in Arctic Europe, Greenland and Canada.  It is highly migratory and is one of the few passerines which routinely migrates back and forth across the Atlantic.

Some males today were showing signs of breeding plumage and one bird seemed to be practicing courtship display.  The three images below were taken this morning:

Female Lapland Bunting

Male Lapland Bunting skulking

Male Lapland Bunting at Rosenannon

Birding on Boa Vista, Cape Verde - waders

My wife and I visited the island of Boa Vista in the Cape Verde islands at the end of February and returned on the 12th March.  This is the second visit to the archipelago but to a different part.  We concentrated on the south east corner of the island and stayed at the Riu Touareg Hotel.  Unbelievably, this brand new hotel is located less than a couple miles from Currel Velho island, which hosts the last remaining pair of Magnificent Frgatebirds in the Western Palearctic.  In addition, three or four pairs of Red-billed Tropicbird and about 100 pairs of Brown Booby breed here as well.  Add to that reports of Masked Booby present on the island and this location suddenly looks very attractive for a winter break combined with some respectable birding.

I was pleasantly surprised to find a very sizable "lake" no more than 500 yards east of the hotel.  This is in effect the hotel sewerage treatment pond of some couple acres in size.  There were no smells or signs of the solid stuff, but just well treated water continually seaping in to the desert.  It was a magnet for waders and I was told by a local birder that this site was now the premier wader site on the island.  I counted at least 17 species of wader here, some species in good numbers.  Migration was clearly under way with 51 Curlew Sandpipers on the 10th March, some approaching summer plumage.  I was also suprised to find two Lesser Yellowlegs and an American Golden Plover (though the latter had already been found by two Belgian birders). I also missed a Temminck's Stint found by a Danish birder.  A flock of 60 Black-winged Stilts along with at least 131 Cattle Egrets added to the scene.  The place can only get better as the hotel was only opened last autumn.

Photography was not especially easy with a D SLR and 300mm lens plus TC.  The longish distance of waders here would probably suit digiscoping better.   The high temperatures (Av 30 degs) also limited birding to the early morning and later afternoon.  The heat haze was never easy to contend with.

Birding with the 'scope though was stunning and to have a reserve looking like RSPB Titchwell all to yourself was bliss. The first installment of images will concentrate on waders.

Part of a large roosting flock of Curlew Sandpipers, Sanderling and Ruff

American Golden Plover - presumably over-wintering at the site.

American Golden Plover showing the dusky underwing

Pair of Lesser Yellowlegs

Displaying Black-winged Stilts - up to 60 were present.

Adult Wood Sandpiper

Little Stint feeding by hovering over the water. More will follow on this unusual feeding technique.

Cattle Egret roost - part of a flock of 131 birds.

Cream-coloured Coursers - part of a group of 12 birds seen about a mile north of the hotel. A Hoopoe Lark and Bar-tailed Lark are also shown.

Holiday details: Flight from Gatwick, six hours, direct. Hotel Riu Touareg, Boa Vista. Organised through Thompsons First Choice. Transfer to hotel included.  No requirement to hire a vehicle as most birds within walking distance of hotel. Requirements: stamina, fitness, dark sunny's, gallons of water and an understanding wife.

Trip report from Boa Vista, Cape Verde to follow soon

A trip report on a visit to the island of Boa Vista in Cape Verde will follow in the next few days.  Hence the three week gap in any blog posts recently.  For now, I have posted below a couple images as a taster!

Adult Brown Booby - I saw more boobies this month than I can remember...

Hoopoe Lark - delightfully common in most habitats on the island

Adult Wood Sandpiper - seen daily on the hotel sewerage works settlement pond - my favourite location!

Drake Goosander at St Andrew's Pool

I took these two shots late this afternoon / early evening at St Andrew's Pool near Par.  The light was stunning this evening and it enabled me to get some nice images.  The first image was taken with the exposure set to spot metering and the second image was set on centre-weighted.  Just one subtle change to the metering makes such a difference in changing light conditions.

A Day for Nature - an early notification

An exciting day has been planned by the Cornwall Bird-Watching & Preservation Society for Saturday 3rd August (evening) and Sunday 4th August.  A Day for Nature will include a combination of interesting guided walks, nature-themed fun for the kids (run by the National Trust), green woodworking and bushcraft demonstrations and a strategically positioned marquee bustling with the world's leading optics manufacturers.  And thrown in for good measure, leading local natural history artist "Griff" Griffiths will be displaying some of his exceptional talent.  More information will be publicised later, but for now, please note the date in your diaries.

There is still some limited exhibitor display space available.  If you would like to exhibit, please contact Tony Blunden conservation@cbwps.org.uk

Monarch migration at Cape May

Monarchs clustering in a pine tree (20m from the beach) just before sunset

On a recent visit to Cape May in New Jersey last September, we were treated to a very large and spectacular movement of Monarch butterflies.  On our first day on the 27th September, weather conditions were ideal with northwest breezes and high cloud.  We lost count of thousands of butterflies all moving steadily south.  By late afternoon, when the day cools down, many hundreds can be found roosting in the pine trees along the beach.  The following morning will see them all disappear as they make their way south across Delaware Bay. The image above, shows part of approx 1800 roosting together.  In another pine tree nearby, there was an estimated 3000 together.

It's quite an experience to watch as new arrivals pitch in, creating a brief flurry of orange as they jostle for position.  I've always been fascinated with the TV documentaries on Monarchs in Mexico but never thought I would witness the species in such numbers in New Jersey! 



Monarch nectaring from a Seaside Goldenrod plant.

 The movement of Monarch's in Cape May starts in early September.  By mid October, the majority have moved south towards Mexico though stragglers can still be found in early November.  By mid November, the vast majority will have arrived in Mexico.  Intense monitoring has been undertaken in Cape May since the early 1990's and I witnessed first hand the tagging process.  The stickers below are used to monitor migration movements.  Of the several thousand tagged, only a couple handfuls are recovered though.


Miniture, unique tagging stickers, are applied to the lower underwing.



A wingtagged Monarch roosting in a pine tree.



Monarchs are especially noted for their lengthy annual migration. In North America, they make massive southward migrations starting in August until the first frost. A northward migration takes place in the spring. The monarch is the only butterfly that migrates both north and south as the birds do on a regular basis, but no single individual makes the entire round trip. Female Monarchs deposit eggs for the next generation during these migrations.  More detailed information can be found here



A small section of roosting Monarchs.

Autumn 2012 will be remembered as one of the better years in Cape May.  Whilst I have nothing to compare my own experience with, it was certainly one of the highlights of the trip.


Some recent images in Cornwall

Below are some images taken over the last month around the county.  There's been some gaps in the blog posts recently, mainly because of being busy at work and some family things which take up time.  Plus it's dark in the mornings and evenings so sadly my hobby has taken a back seat!  Anyway, these shots below are a round-up of what activity there has been:

Whooper Swan at Helston boating lake - Jan 2013 - calling continuously

 

 

 

Golden Plover at Colliford, part of a flock of 50 feeding in the fields by Dozmary Pool.

 

 

Firecrest at Helston Sewerage Works. A Siberian Chiffchaff was also present but I couldn't get the right shot. Try again some sometime!

 

Black-necked Grebe at Newlyn Jan 2013. One of my favourite images of this long-stayer in the harbour.

 

Chiffchaff at Swanvale - quite a pale bird but the buff flanks rule out Siberian.



Male Black Redstart at Portscatho harbour - this individual has been wintering here.

Bittern at Marazion

I spent some time today at Marazion hoping to see a Bittern. As it happens, I was lucky as I had four flight views of two birds which flew up from the west side of the reserve. A third bird had already been seen in the north east corner. Elsewhere, I also saw the first year Whooper Swan at Helston along with a Firecrest and Siberian Chiffchaff at the sewerage works.

(The photo above was taken at Marazion in Dec 2010.)

Great Northern Divers in Newlyn Harbour

Up to three Great Northern Divers have been seen in Newlyn Harbour over Christmas though I only saw these two first year birds.  Newlyn is one of the best places around to see this species up close.  High tide is better for photography as the angle is less acute.