The Roving Plover

The extreme heat in Cordoba in August can make birdwatching quite a challenge. So to escape we decided to take a trip to the coast and meet up with members of the Andalucia Bird Society for their monthly field trip. The Guadalhorce River, the main river of Malaga Province, reaches the sea just west of the city. The site contains a number of ponds surrounded by tamarisks and reeds and the larger pools have open mud suitable for waders.

We set out just before 10 o’clock and it was already getting uncomfortably hot. Leaving Guadalmar we crossed the pedestrian bridge and spotted a male Little Bittern landing in the reeds. Arriving at the first pond we saw many Black-winged Stilts, Little-Ringed Plovers, Little Egrets and Coots. We also observed Little Grebes and Black-necked Grebes as they dived to catch their prey.

A little further along the path was the next pond with a hide. Here the first thing I saw was a Pacific Golden Plover in full summer plumage. I had read that it had been seen here in the previous few days, but I was not expecting to find it so easily. It breeds in Northern Siberia and Western Alaska and is a very rare vagrant to Spain. In appearance it is very similar to the Golden Plover, but it has longer legs and its body is slightly slimmer, although without a European Golden Plover to compare it to these differences were hard to see. We were able to observe it for some time as it fed in the shallow water alongside a Greenshank and a Redshank. There were also Black-winged Stilts and Little-Ringed Plovers as well as a few Common Sandpipers.

Pacific Golden Plover

In the trees behind us we could hear a Cetti’s Warbler calling and through the scope we had a Spotted Flycatcher sitting next to a Chameleon. A couple of White Storks flew past and as we walked to the next hide we disturbed a Common Kestrel, which promptly flew off into the distance.

Spotted Flycatcher

The pool at the next stop had quite a few Little Grebes, Coots and Moorhens, as well as Pochard and a White-Headed Duck. More ulian Dunkerton have appeared from the reeds if we had waited, but it was really starting to get hot so we continued on the path to the last hide. On the way we saw some Grey Herons flying over the reeds and Zitting Cisticolas zipping into the bushes. 

Grey Heron

The next hide overlooked a large pool with some small islands in it. It was full of Lesser Black-Backed Gulls and in amongst them were some Black-Headed Gulls and at least four or five Audouin's Gulls. Gulls do not normally get me very excited but these were an interesting find. Named after a French naturalist, Jean Victoire Audouin, they are only found off the west coast of Africa and around the Mediterranean. In the 1975 they were one of the world's rarest gulls with a global population of about 2000 birds. Currently populations are around 19,000 pairs with 90% of them to be found in Spain. This increase has been put down to the birds feeding on waste from the fishing industry, although changes in practices could lead to problems in the future. 

Black-winged Stilt

We could also observe Little-Ringed Plovers running along the muddy banks between the Common Sandpipers and Black-Winged Stilts and in the deeper water a pair of Flamingos were feeding. And with the temperatures continuing to rise it was time to walk back to the car and head to a 'Chiringuito' to rehydrate and enjoy a swim in the sea. 

Operation Margaret

The 27th July saw the longest lunar eclipse of the century, with the moon turning a reddish brown colour. And so we decided to head out into the countryside to get some photos of the astronomical event. We went to the Campiña to the east of Cordoba, a grain-growing area which is sparsely population. We took the CO-3200 towards Bujalance. With very little traffic, it would be easy to stop along the road and being outside Cordoba there would be less light pollution.

About 10km along the road we spotted a White Stork walking along the road. As we pulled up alongside it we could see that its wing was broken. As White Storks are a protected species we called 112 who sent a message through to Seprona, the environmental arm of the Guardia Civil.

We were told to wait until we received further instruction. As our stork had stopped wandering we decided to enjoy the blood moon.  After a couple of hours nobody had come and nobody had called. We rang 112 again but the operator was unable to give us any more information. We waited a little more but soon realised that no one was coming. We made the decision to rescue the stork ourselves. It was now about 1 o’clock in the morning and with the aid of the light from a mobile phone we crept towards the stork. As we approached it panicked and tried to fly away but only succeeded in crashing to the ground. Now was our chance. I grabbed the beak first to protect myself and then wrapped the bird in a blanket. She sat on my lap as we drove back to Cordoba and it was then that we decided to call her Margaret. Our initial joy of capturing her was soon replaced by the question of what to do next. Where were we going to put a large stork in our small city centre apartment?

It was decided that our small balcony was going to be Margaret’s home for the night. We built her a little house with chairs, covered it with a blanket and left her some water.

Margaret settling down for the night on the balcony

We could see that she was a juvenile as she had a duller beak than adult birds which have an orange red-beak. White Storks are a common sight around Cordoba and a SEO census shows that there are about 60,000 in Spain with the main concentrations being in the southwest of the country. They often built large stick nests on pylons or old buildings on the edge of the city. In recent weeks we have observed adults feeding their young in the nest and they can regularly be found hunting in small groups in fields or around the rubbish dump off the N-432.

White Stork hunting in the fields

Margaret rested the whole night but as the sun came up she became more active and we were glad to see she was drinking water. We called CREA, a rescue centre for protected species, run by the regional government. They told us to bring her up to their centre in Los Villares, just outside Cordoba. Margaret was assessed by a worker there. He showed us the wing and we could feel where it was broken. Opening her beak he could see that she was dehydrated as her tongue was dry, but otherwise she was quite strong which was promising. Margaret was put in a small room with some water and would later be assessed by a vet. The CREA worker was very friendly and explained the work they do and the problems they face.

Our arrival at CREA. It is important to wear gloves when handling birds as the oil on our hands can damage their feathers. It also good protection when they try to bite you! 

A few days later we called to check on Margaret’s progress. Unfortunately this story doesn’t have a happy ending. They told us that she had probably broken her wing by flying into electricity cables. She had been electrocuted and so she had been suffering from organ failure. As a result they had taken the decision to put her down. While we were very sad, we did not feel our efforts had gone to waste. We were glad that we had given Margaret a chance and most likely saved her from a much more uncomfortable death from dehydration.

White Storks like Margaret face a number of threats, such as hunting, loss of habitat, and the use of pesticides which reduce the number of animals they feed on. The dangers of electrocution on power lines are well documented and there are solutions available. I am unaware of what measures are in place around Cordoba but Margaret’s death suggests that more can be done.

White Stork