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Species index (n=3 + 24 =27) + 0 Only Canary Islands
GALLOANSERAE

NEOAVES

RARITIES ONLY FOR THE CANARY ISLANDS*

See also last month news for late updates or long-stayers

GALLOANSERAE

Whooper Swan Cygnus cygnus (1-3,4)
(1-3) Lugo There remained 3 Cygnus cygnus (2 ad. & 1 juv.) at ría de Foz, Lugo, on 5.4 ( Toño Salazar) and 6.4 (L.José Salaverri) and 7.4 (Mabel Rodríguez Armada, José Miguel Alonso Pumar)They were still around on 19.4 (Luis J.Salaverri)
(4) A Coruña The Whooper Swan found at A Frouxeira, Valdoviño, A Coruña was last seen on 1.4 8L-José Salaverri).

Pale-bellied Brent Goose Branta bernicla hrota (1,2)
(1) Cáceres On 10.4.08 a bird was found at Guadiloba reservoir, Cáceres, Cáceres (Martin McGill). On 11.04 a subspecifically unidentified Brent Goose was seen at Charo Salado, Casatejada, Cáceres (Gonzalo Núñez). Since this location is c.60 km N of the former one, it may be the same bird . It is the first record of the ssp. for Extremadura and perhaps for inland Spain (Javier Prieta pers.com.)
(2) Huelva. From 22.4 (José Manuel Méndez and others) to 25.4 at least (Paco Chiclana) a bird was seen at marismas del Odiel, Huelva where it remained the following day (P.Chiclana). See thumbnails here.

Blue-winged Teal Anas discors (1,2,3)
(1)Lugo. The drake remained at Lago, Xove, Lugo on 4.4 (L.José Salaverri).
(2)Cantabria. There was a drake at Marismas de Alday, Camargo, Cantabria, on 14.4 (Angel Cobo y Lorenzo García Puente/Fundación Naturaleza y Hombre & Felipe González y Jose Javier Fernandez Aransay/SEO/BirdLife).
(3) A Coruña. A drake was found at laguna de A Frouxeira, Valdoviño,A Coruña, on 22.4 (Ricardo Hevia y José Miguel Alonso Pumar).See a photo below. It was still around on 30.4 (Pablo Gutiérrez).

Photo above: © José Miguel Alonso Pumar

NEOAVES

Pied-billed Grebe Podylimbus podiceps (1)
(1) Lugo The bird seen at Riocaldo lagoons, Begonte, Lugo on 23.8.2007 was still present in the area now in full breeding plumage on 6.4 (José Antonio Salazar).On 17.4.2008 a full breeding plumaged bird was seen at Cospeito lagoon, Lugo (Ricardo Hevia, José Miguel Alonso Pumar). It is very probably the same bird from Begonte, now there.

Presumed Hybrid Western Reef x Little Egret Egretta gularis x garzetta (1,2,3)
(1) Tarragona. The bird from Ebro delta was seen again on 6.4 near the Tancada lagoon (Ricard Gutiérrez).
(2) Cáceres. On 4.4 a bird was seen and photographed at Puebla de Argeme, Cória, Cáceres (Ricardo Montero). A file has been sent to the CR-SEO/BirdLife. It may well be the bird seen in Badajoz in January and February (Javier Prieta pers.com.). There is a thumbnail here.
(3) Sevilla. On 26.4, a full breeding plumaged bird (either an hybrid or a pure bird) was seen at the heronry at Centro de Visitantes Jose Antonio Valverde, Doñana Nationa Park, Sevilla (Alberto Savijn)

Tricoloured Heron Egretta tricolor (1) 1ST FOR SPAIN
(1) Tenerife The bird first present from 15.11.2007 to 1.12.2007 at Gran Canaria Island then relocated at Playa de las Americas, Tenerife, on 2.2.2008 was still in the area on 1.4 (Sönke Twietmeyer). Its leg looked injured.

Lesser Flamingo Phoenicopterus minor (1)
(1) Ciudad Real On 12.4 one was seen at Laguna del Pueblo, Pedro Muñoz and perhaps the same, or another at Lagunas de las Yeguas, Alcazar de San Juan (Sociedad Albacetense de Ornitología). All records from the trip, complete list of observers and photos, including one of the Lesser Flamingo following this link. Presumably the same bird moved to nearby Laguna de Manjavacas, Cuenca on 29.4 (Juan M.Ruiz)

Pallid Harrier Circus macrourus (1-2,3)
(1-2) Girona. On 2.4 there was a 3cy male and a female at l'estanyol, PN Aiguamolls de l'Empordà, Girona (Àlex Ollé).See thumbnails here and a photo of the male below (Àlex Ollé).

Photo above: © Àlex Ollé

(3) A Coruña. One juvenile, apparently a 2 cy female, was reported from playa de Morouzos, Ortigueira, A Coruña on 10.4 (Ricardo Hevia Barcón, David Martínez Lago, José Miguel Alonso Pumar).

Long-legged Buzzard Buteo rufinus (1)
(1-2) Cádiz There was one at Los Lances beach, Tarifa, on 12.4. Of the subspecies cirtensis, it was spiraling in a thermal, then headed north from the area (Ian Davies).

Greater Spotted Eagle Aquila clanga (1)
(1) Sevilla An adult bird was seen at Brazo del Este, Sevilla, on the 26.4.2008 (Keith Bensusan, Rhian Guillem, Ian Thompson).  The bird was first seen shortly after sunrise, when it was found sitting in a Eucalyptus tree where it had no-doubt roosted, at only a few metres from the car.  It looked at the observers, hopped onto another branch, examined them again and then flew off towards more Eucalyptus trees in the distance.  The bird was seen again about an hour and a half later, soaring over rice fields at the same location. 

Lanner Falco biarmicus (1)
(1) Huelva There was a 2nd calendar year at Lucio del Lobo, Doñana National Park, on 10.4 (Xurxo Pinheiro).

Cream-coloured Courser Cursorius cursor (1)
(1) Lleida On 22.4 a single bird was found in a confidential location in S Lleida province (Juan Fernández Gil). It was together with 6 Dotterels (Charadrius morinellus). News were not broadcasted because the area is very sensitive for the reproduction of Black-bellied Sandgrouse Pterocles orientalis and Short-toed Lark Calandrella brachydactyla. The bird has already left the area. See a photo-collage below (J.Fernández Gil)

Photo above: © Juan Fernández Gil

Broad-billed Sandpiper Limicola falcinellus (1)
(1) Tarragona One was seen at El Goleró, Delta de l'Ebre, Tarragona on 14.4 (Steve West)

Buff-breasted Sandpiper Tryngites subruficollis (1)
(1) Valencia The bird found on 31.3 at Tancat de La Pipa, Catarroja, P.N. de l'Albufera, remained there on 1.4 but not seen afterwards (Bosco Dies; Toni Alcocer, F.Javier García), the 6th for l'Albufera de València. Read more about the record and see photos at Birding Albufera here. See a thumbnail here too.

Lesser Yellowlegs Tringa flavipes (1-2,3)
(1-2) Tarragona Two birds were reported from at El Garxal, Delta de l'Ebre, Tarragona on 3-4.4 (Jari Helstola and Tea Reijomaa; communicated by Cristian Jensen/ Audouin Birding Tours).Not seen the following two days despite many waders in the area, including two Marsh Sandpipers (Tringa stagnatilis), ed. comment.
(3) A Coruña. One was found at Valdoviño, A Coruña, on 30.4 (Pablo Gutiérrez)

Great Snipe Gallinago media (1,2,3,4-6)
(1) Girona On 7.4 one was seen at Estany de Palau, Aiguamolls de l'Empordà (Sergi Sales, Jordi Martí-Aledo i Àlex Ollé). It was seen again the following day, when photographed (Sergi Sales, Jordi Martí-Aledo i Àlex Ollé). See a thumbnail here.
(2) Illes Balears On 15.4 one was seen at S'Albufera de Mallorca Natural Park, Mallorca (Maties Rebassa).
(3) Girona On 27.4 one was seen at el Matà, Aiguamolls de l'Empordà (Jordi Martí-Aledo, Teresa Montràs, Maguy Belia, L.J.Salaverri, Miguel Rouco; Clemente Álvarez-Usategui). See photos in the Ornitho-Empordà website here (opens in another browser window)
(4-6) Girona On 30.4 there were three more different from bird (3) at el Matà, Aiguamolls de l'Empordà, Girona (M.A.Fuentes, L.J.Salaverri, Jordi Martí-Aledo). See a photo below (L.J.Salaverri)

Photo above: ©L.José Salaverri. 30.4.2008

Red-necked Phalarope Phalaropus lobatus (1)
(1) Lleida One bird was found at Estany d'Ivars, Ivars d'Urgell-Vilasana, Lleida, on 11.4 (Sergi Sales). It is the 1st for the area and 2nd-3rd for Lleida. See a photo below (S.Sales).Seen on 14.4 (Gerard Bota). Last observed on 15.4 (Steve West)

Photo above: © Sergi Sales

Laughing Gull Larus atricilla (1)
(1) Asturies On 7.4 there was one at Villaviciosa, Asturies (Adolfo Villaverde)

Baltic Gull Larus fuscus fuscus (1)
(1) Madrid. On 5.4.2008 a 2w was seen at Pinto dump, Madrid (Juan M. Ruiz). It was ringed in its left tarsus with a red ring white coded C 6 3 F. From Finland it has been confirmed as a Baltic Gull and this individual had probably been present in the area since 24.3 (Delfín González).Photographed on 13.4 (Javier Marchamalo, Juan M.Ruiz, Miguel Juan, Delfín González). See a photo below (D.González).

Photo above: © Delfín González

Caspian Gull Larus cachinnans (1)
(1) Asturies. The 1w found on 22.2 at Ría de Avilés, Asturies was seen again on 4.4 (Nacho Vega, Miguel Rouco, see a thumbnail here) and 7.4 (Daniel López Velasco).

Iceland Gull Larus glaucoides (1-2,3)
(1-2) A Coruña There were 2 2nd cy birds at La Concha beach, Cariño, A Coruña on 2.4 (Ricardo Hevia). See a thumbnail here.One remained on 5.4 (Mabel Rodríguez Armada, José Miguel Alonso Pumar)
(3) Bizkaia One was seen during RAM program counts from Matxitxako cape flying E (Gorka Ocio, Ignacio García Serna, Ramón Martín, Miguel De Las Heras, Nerea Calvar y Ana sp.).

Glaucous Gull Larus hyperboreus (1)
(1)Asturies. On 11.4 the 4th summer last seen at ría de Avilés on 7.2 was seen again. It was seen between Zeluán and Avilés harbour (Daniel López Velasco, Clemente Álvarez Usategui).Photographed on 8.4 (César A.Laó). See a photo below.

Photo above: ©César A.Laó

Little Swift Apus affinis (1-5,6-7)
(1-5) Cádiz There were at least 3 adults and 2 occuppied nests in a coastal location at Cádiz province on 25.4 and three occupied nests on 30.4 (Cristian Jensen, Lionel Maumary / Audouin Birding Tours). There had been 5 on 4.4.2008 at the same place (Rafael García Costales)
(6-7) Cádiz. There were two at Sierra de la Plata, entering in a cave where they usually breed on 28.4 (David Cuenca).

Citrine Wagtail Motacilla citreola (1)
(1) Girona There was an adult male at El Matà, Parc Natural Aiguamolls de l'Empordà, Girona, on 2.4 (Jordi Martí-Aledo). See two thumbnails here.

Collared Flycatcher* Ficedula albicollis (1)
(1) Barcelona One summer-plumaged male was detected on 25.4 at Besós river, Sant Adrià de Besós, Barcelona (Xavier Larruy; Marcel Gil, Quique Carballal and others). See a sketch of the bird in the Quique Carballal Blog here.

Garden Bulbul* Pycnonotus barbatus (1)
(1) Málaga The bird from Club Miraflores, Fuengirola found on 12.3 was still around on 15.4 (Bob Hibbett).

Little Bunting Emberiza pusilla (1)
(1) A Coruña An individual was found at Valdoviño, A Coruña, on 16.4 (Pablo Gutiérrez). See a photo below and more information in his blog Travelling Birds here.See a photo below (© Pablo Gutiérrez).

Photo above: ©Pablo Gutiérrez

RARITIES ONLY FOR THE CANARY ISLANDS*
* processing of these rarities dealt by CR/SEO, hence their inclusion here. Send putative records to Juan Antonio Lorenzo at canarias@seo.org
** check out national-wide rarities also seen in the Canary islands within the main section text, written in violet colour rather than black and marked with a dot.

REPORTS OF NON RARITIES OR FORMER RARITIES
Please consider the option to send reports of former rarities or interesting concentrations of non rarities to be featured in the Birdspain Blog, also linked in the homepage of this website.

Suggested citations / Citaciones recomendadas /Citació recomanada:

• Whole document/ Documento entero/ Document sencer: Gutiérrez,R. (ed) (year, latest update), Recent Reports: [month year]. Rare Birds in Spain. Retrieved from http://www.rarebirdspain.net/arbsr000.htm 
• e.g. Gutiérrez, R. (ed) (2002, April 3). Recent Reports: April 2002. Rare Birds in Spain.Retrieved from http://www.rarebirdspain.net/arbsr000.htm 
• Single records/ Citas sueltas/ Cites aïllades: Author (year). [Species] in Gutiérrez,R. (ed) (year, latest update), Recent Reports: [month year]. Rare Birds in Spain. Retrieved from http://www.rarebirdspain.net/arbsr000.htm 
• e.g. Rebassa, M. (2002) Great White Egret Egretta alba in Gutiérrez, R. (ed) (2002, April 3). Recent Reports: April 2002.Rare Birds in Spain. Retrieved from http://www.rarebirdspain.net/arbsr000.htm

From March 2005 this webpage only includes records of birds needing homologation by CR/SEO. For other local rarities contact local bird reports or records committees. See here those rarities only for the Canary Islands also dealt by CR/SEO. Changes in application to the rarity list from January 2006. New rarities include Sylvia curruca, Crex crex, Sterna bengalensis and others. Larus delawarensis and Anthus richardi have been withdrawn from the rarity list and are not be included from 2006.

Recent reports includes the latest sightings from the whole of Spain which are both personal observations, communications or have been released in E-Mail lists. Please contact the authors before using any photo for anything else than personal reference. Any submitted news to this page will be forwarded to the Spanish RC if enough substantiated but inclusion in this page does not imply acceptance or homologation of any kind. Gibraltar news are included thanks to Gibraltar Ornithological & Natural History Society but this has no more implication than the sake of completeness given this area situation. Names of localities are featured as given by the authors of the records, that should be cited as those. Today news are marked with a icon. We would welcome to receive a spare copy of those journals using these news for commercial purposes. Contact RG at address at the front page. From April 2005 only news of rarities needing homologation by the Spanish Rarities Committee are included. Reproduction of the contents of this page in commercial websites (e.g. *.com) or for commercial purposes is forbidden if not agreed in advance.. Go back to top

Citas recientes incluye las últimas novedades del conjunto del país que tanto son observaciones personales, comunicaciones al autor o noticias difundidas en listas de correo. Por favor contacten los autores para cualquier uso de las fotografias fuera del estrictamente personal.Cualquier cita que se envie a esta página sera reenviada al CR/SEO pero su inclusión aquí no implica su aceptación u homologación de ningún tipo y son responsabilidad de sus autores. Los nombres de las localidades se incluyen como son enviadas por los colaboradores, que deben ser citados como autores de las citas. Las noticias más recientes se marcan con Desde Abril de 2005 se incluyen únicamente citas de  rarezas que necesitan homologación por el Comité de Rarezas de SEO/Birdlife. La reproducción total o parcial de los contenidos de esta página está prohibida en sitios web comerciales (p.ej. *.com) si no se autoriza de antemano. Ir al inicio de la página

Cites recents inclou les darreres novetats del conjunt de l'estat que són observacions pròpies, comunicacions o noticies difoses a llistes de correu. Si us plau contacteu amb els autors de les fotos per a a qualsevol ús fora de l'estrictament personal. Qualsevol cita que sigui enviada a aquesta plana serà rebotada també al CR/SEO si bé la seva publicació aquí no implica la seva aceptació o homologació de cap mena i és responsabilitat dels seus autors. Els noms de les localitats són posats tal i com són enviats pels autors, que han de ser referenciats com a autors de les cites. Les notícies més recents són les marcades amb.Desd'Abril de 2005 únicament s'inclouen cites de rareses que necessiten homologació pel Comité de Rarezas de SEO/Birdlife.La reproducció total o parcial dels continguts d'aquesta plana és prohidia per a qualsevol lloc web de caire comercial (e.g. *.com) sinó s'ha autoritzat de forma prèvia. Tornar a l'inici de la plana.

Lamentablemente, de momento no hay versión castellana disponible. Lamentablement, de moment no hi ha versió catalana disponible.
 

Contributors this month (n=17):

Àlex Ollé, Bosco Dies, F.Javier García, Jari Helstola, Jordi Martí-Aledo, José Antonio Salazar, Luis José Salaverri, Ricard Gutiérrez, Ricardo Hevia, Sönke Twietmeyer, Tea Reijomaa, Toni Alcocer, Gorka Ocio, Ignacio García Serna, Ramón Martín, Miguel De Las Heras, Nerea Calvar, Daniel López Velasco, César A.Laó, Mabel Rodríguez Armada, José Miguel Alonso Pumar, Juan M.Ruiz, Delfín González,Nacho Vega, Miguel Rouco ,Adolfo Villaverde, Sergi Sales,Ian Davies, Gerard Bota, Bob Hibbett.

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Rarity distribution
April 2008
(only national rarities)

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Previous years
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007

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Rarity forecast
according to amount of data received per udpate

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Number of rarities individuals per month in this website in 2005 and 2006

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Latest highlights:

The Empordà marshes Citrine Wagtail as on 2.4 (Jordi Martí-Aledo)

Also at the Empordà marshes, these male and female Pallid Harriers, on 2.4 too (Àlex Ollé)

The Albufera Buff-breasted Sandpiper only lasted one day in April (Bosco Dies)

There were two 2nd cy Icelands at Cariño, A Coruña on 2.4 (Ricardo Hevia)

The Caspian Gull from Asturies as on early April (Nacho Vega)

The Great Snipe from Aiguamolls de l'Empordà, one of the best places for the species in Spain (Alex Ollé)

The Pied-billed Grebe moved from Beconte to Cospeito laggon, Lugo (J.M.Alonso Pumar).

The hybrid Egret at Cáceres (left) early this month (Ricardo Montero)

This is the Pale Brent Goose seen at Cáceres on 10.4 (Martin McGill)

Another Pale Brent Goose this time seen at Odiel marshes, Huelva, in late April (Paco Chiclana)

Only Canary islands highlights

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