MID-NOVEMBER UPDATE

Since my last blog on the 1st of November I have spent very little time birding!!! On November 8th we set off for the UK in the car, we spent the first day driving to Zaragoza where we stayed for the first night in an hotel near Belchite. We visited the wonderful reserve at El Planeron in the morning of the 9th November. We saw Hoopoe, Lesser short toed lark, Thekla Lark, Crested Lark and a large flock of Calandra Lark also Red Kite, Common Kestrel and Raven.


VIEWS OF EL PLANERON PLAINS NEAR ZARAGOZA

From Zaragoza we travelled to the Pyrenees where we stoppe d at Astun for lunch. A large flock of Alpine Chough were eclipsed by an adult Lammergeier which drifted over us and landed about 100 meters fromus, my camera and scope were both in the car!!!

The Pyrenees at Astun on the French/Spanish border.

We made it as far as Bergerac before pulling over and finding a hotel for the night. On the 10th Nov we drove from bergerac to Calais and took an evening ferry to Dover and then drove the short distance to maidstone where we stayed for 3 days.

During our stay in Maidstone we visited Rye Harbour - it was a typical November day in the UK - no sunshine, dull, overcast, drizzling rain and cold. Oh how I love to be in England now that Novemver is here.

At Rye I was pleasantly surprised by the number of birds present - Golden Plover and Lapwing numbered in their hundreds, whilst lots of Curlew, Redshank, Grey Plover, Dunlin, Snipe and a good variety of gulls were present.









Over the last weekend we stayed in Somerset, near Dunster with friends on their Cider farm, hiccup!! Gill and Noel are birders and they took us out on Saturday when we made a visit to Steart Point in Somerset which was also dull, overcast, drizzly and cold!! Again we saw hundreds of Golden Plover and Lapwing, with Shelduck, Curlew, Wigeon, Dunlin, Grey Plover, Redshank and not a lot else.

However on the way back to the car park we stopped to look at some Curlews in afield and noticed a larger bird quartering the field behind the far hedge - it was a Short-eared Owl, fantastic. We walked nearer and the bird showed really well, a second joined it for a while before they clashed and the intruder was chased off. A superb Display and our bird of the day without a doubt.

We are now back in Crewekerne and we are off to Salisbury tomorrow to stay with more friends - who knows I may get down to the New Forest to see a Great Grey Shrike! Watch this space.