The Furze Wren

There are some birds which I remember clearly seeing for the very first time. When I was a child I recall being taken to see Hen Harriers displaying near their nesting site in Northern Ireland. Being so young, I was amazed at seeing such large birds of prey. Since moving to Spain I have seen many more new species and my first encounters with them often remain clear in my mind. In Huelva I saw my first Osprey sitting by the water's edge. This was a bird I had spent years looking for in Northern Ireland and to finally see it, even in the distance, provoked a feeling of great excitement. Another, is the first time I saw bee-eaters. Driving along a country road near Cordoba, my attention was caught by these amazingly colourful birds swooping in the air as they caught their prey. I immediately pulled the car over to the side of the road to watch them and listen to their distinctive call. I remember thinking how exotic they looked compared to the birds I was used to seeing back home. Now, like for many people in Spain, their arrival marks the beginning of spring and warmer weather. I remember these experiences so vividly because they were birds that I had being trying to see for a long time. However, there is one first sighting which I remember for different reasons. In fact, when I first saw this bird I didn't even know of its existence.  

  

I was at the Mirador (viewpoint) in Villafranca near Cordoba watching raptors during spring migration. During a lull in birds passing overhead, one of the Spanish birdwatchers pointed out a bird in the gorse. Each time I tried to get on it with my binoculars it would hide itself deep in the shrubs or dart to another patch of vegetation. Its distinctive rattling call was almost teasing me. However, my persistence paid off and after a while I got a good view of it perched on top of heather. It had a blueish grey head and back, and red wine coloured underparts. This was a color I had not seen on any other bird and the throat was spotted with white. Its red eye-ring was also clearly visible. The Spanish birdwatcher identified it as a Curruca Rabilarga. The direct translation would be a long-tailed warbler. However, searching for it in my field guide I found the name Dartford Warbler, quite different from the more apt Spanish name.  

  

Many birds are named after where they live such as House Sparrows, Marsh Harriers and Barn Owls. Others, like the Dartford Warbler are named after certain areas. We have the Mediterranean Gull, Canada Goose, and Iberian Magpie. But I soon learned that the name Dartford Warbler is a misnomer as they don’t in fact live there. The first official recording of the species was in 1773 by an ornithologist named John Latham who shot a pair of them on Bexley Heath. He then decided to name them after the nearby town of Dartford. Interestingly, he also discovered two other species (Kentish Plover and Sandwich Tern) whose names have the same origin- the county of Kent. Maybe an old folk name for the Dartford Warbler, the Furze Wren, is better suited- furze meaning gorse. Or we could use Long-tailed Warbler like the Spanish. However, its current name gives us an insight into the interesting story of how this species was first documented.  

Dartford Warber

Southern England marks the northern edge of their breeding range, which stretches south to north-west Africa. They are relatively localised in England and are vulnerable to harsh winters, nearly dying out completely in the winter of 1962-63. In Spain they are much more common, with 1.7-3 million breeding pairs. It is largely resident, although some local migration occurs with birds abandoning colder mountainous areas in winter. 

They are insectivores, feeding on caterpillars, butterflies, beetles and spiders. Here in southern Spain they lay their eggs around the beginning of April and can raise two or even three broods a year.  

While the species appears to be benefiting from warmer winters in northern Europe, there is evidence to suggest that numbers on the Iberian peninsula are falling. Habitat loss could be a cause of this and as a result the species is now listed as 'near threatened' by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). 

They are a reasonably common sighting for me now around Cordoba, especially in the Sierra Morena and the Sierra Subbética. However, every time I see this warbler my mind is cast back to that first encounter.   

Lockdown Birding

Like much of the world right now, Cordoba is in lockdown due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Since the 14th March my birdwatching has been restricted to the confines of my garden. I have enjoyed reading other people's accounts of their garden birdwatching so I have decided to share what I have been seeing over the last three weeks.

Lizard in the garden

Although the garden does not attract a wide variety of birdlife, I can consider myself lucky that I am not trapped in a flat in the city. The cooing of Collared Doves and the melodious whistle of Spotless Starlings is almost constant except when it is drowned out by the chirping of House Sparrows, which nest in a large Palm Tree. Blackbirds, a pair of Sardinian Warblers and a Chiffchaff are frequent visitors to the fruits trees and a patch of scrub with wildflowers attracts Goldfinches, Greenfinches, Serins, Crested Larks and occasionally Waxbills in the early morning.

Sardinian Wardbler

Common Waxbill

Beyond my fence the area is a popular nesting site for White Storks and they can been seen circling overhead or heard making their clattering call in the nests. Another regular visitor is the Common Kestrel, passing overhead as it searches its prey.

Common Kestrel

The skies above are also worth watching. March and April sees groups of Black Kites making their way north on migration when the weather is good and last week I saw our first Short-Toed Eagle of the year. I have also had a couple of Booted Eagles, Buzzards and Griffon Vultures, probably from the nearby mountains. Other spring arrivals include Barn Swallows (including one that has come into the living room a few times) and Common Swifts.

Black Kite

In the evening Little Egrets, Cattle Egrets, Night Herons and Jackdaws head towards Cordoba, presumably to their roosting site by the river. Last week I saw a Black-Winged Kite hovering over nearby fields just before sundown. This was a new species on the garden list, although I have previously seen it perched on lampposts or trees nearby while driving to work.

House Sparrow

While our lives have ground to a halt, nature carries on as normal. The birds I see in the garden are busy building nests or bringing food to their young and migrants are coming back from their winter ground. I hope that as the weather warms up I will start to see more arrivals from Africa. Bee-eaters should be here soon and if I am lucky I may get some warblers stopping off in the garden. Most of all the current situation has made me appreciate even more the opportunity to observe the behaviour of birds that we often overlook or take for granted, such as the  House Sparrow or Blackbird.

"Better a sparrow, living or dead, than no birdsong at all." Catullus