56 species were seen in the Alcossebre area in February 2018. Highlights were the first February record for Osprey. Green Sandpiper continued to over winter. The first Great Spotted Cuckoo of spring arrived on the 15th February. A full list with comments follows. Up to three Northern Gannets were seen throughout the month. A maximum of seven Great Cormorants were seen daily. Only one Grey Heron passed through, on the 20th February. Two Great Egrets flew south over the sea on the 12th February. One or two Little Egrets were seen daily, either at the coast,Capicorp lagoon or the Torre estate pond. Up to three Cattle Egrets were seen, mainly in the newly ploughed rural farmlands. There were five birds of prey seen this month. The first of spring Osprey, seen along the Rio San Miquel river bed, on the 25th February, being mobbed by Magpies. A passage female Hen Harrier on the 14th February. Single wintering Eurasian Sparrowhawks were seen, mainly harassing the small bird flocks in the rural farmlands. There were still at least two Eurasian Buzzards wintering, mainly seen on the electric pylons. Resident Eurasian Kestrels were seen displaying on the few milder days we had. With the sewage pond still dry there was only one place to see Common Moorhens, the Torre estate pond with up to 12 birds daily. Only two species of wading bird were seen this month. The wintering Green Sandpiper at the Torre estate pond, and three passage Stone Curlew in the rural farmlands, on the 19th February. Gull numbers remained low. Only single Black-headed Gulls. Up to 11 Mediterranan Gulls. 20 each of Audouin´s and Yellow- legged Gulls. Wintering Sandwich Terns were in better numbers with up to 50 birds seen. Common Woodpigeon (up to 76 birds) and Collared Doves (up to 94 birds) were surviving the winter and the attentions of the hunters. Both species were seen displaying on milder mornings. The first spring Great Spotted Cuckoo arrived on the 15th, and singles thereafter. The resident Common Magpies were in good numbers with up 30 birds seen daily. Although the resident Crested Larks (seven birds max.) were outnumbered by wintering Eurasian Skylarks (30 birds max.), the latter species numbers were well below average. Wintering Crag Martins were also well below average numbers with only up to five birds noted. Wintering Common Chiffchaff were also in very low numbers, with only a max. of two birds seen daily. Resident Zitting Cisticola´s numbers were at their lowest in 17 years of study. A contributory factor was a loss of farmland habitat - their normal grass lands were being more and more cultivated, or mown for horse feed. Wintering Blackcap numbers were good with up to 22 birds seen daily. There were only two sightings of wintering Dartford Warblers this month. Resident Sardinian Warbler numbers were in good numbers with up to 15 birds seen daily. Wintering European Robin numbers were well down on average, with only up to five birds seen daily. Wintering Black Redstarts were doing better with up to 14 birds seen daily. Wintering Stonechat numbers were also down in numbers, with up to eight birds seen daily, but there was a reason for this, as a big part of their coastal habitat was being developed. Resident Common Blackbird numbers were average, with one or two birds seen daily. They were starting to sing in the milder mornings. Wintering Song Thrush numbers (max.11 birds) continue to much lower than the average. In some of the milder mornings up to nine birds could be heard in sub song - getting ready for their full spring song. There were still thousands of wintering Common Starling´s. At this time of year they eat the remains of last years black Olive´s. Which means if they flew over your garden/house a number of droppings were deposited, and because they were eating the Olive´s their normal white droppings were black! hard to get off tiled areas or cars, e.g. There were still single wintering Dunnock´s seen, a rare species here. Single wintering Grey Wagtail´s were outnumbered by resident White Wagtails - up to 12 birds daily. Wintering Meadow Pipit´s were still well below in numbers, with only up to 14 birds seen daily. Three species of Bunting were seen this month. Up to four each of Cirl and Reed Bunting. Corn Bunting numbers were better with up to 30 birds seen in the rural farmlands. Cirl and Corn Bunting breed in small numbers, but the Reed Bunting doesn´t. Six species of Finch were seen this month, with only Brambling and Siskin missing. Wintering Common Chaffinch numbers peaked at 48 birds. Resident Greenfinch numbers were average with up to 28 birds seen daily.
Some were calling and displaying on milder mornings. Resident Goldfinch numbers were supplemented by wintering birds, with up to 80 birds seen daily. Up to 20 Linnets were seen daily, a rare breeding bird here. Resident Serin numbers were increased by wintering birds with a max. of 60 birds seen. Like the Greenfinch, they were seen calling and displaying on mild mornings. This has been the best winter for Hawfinch sightings with up to five birds seen daily. Both House and Tree Sparrow´s have survived in good numbers through the winter. A mixed flock of up to 60 birds come to my garden feeding station each morning. Alcossebre weather in February 2018. Normally February is the poorest month for weather in Alcossebre, and this was the case this year. We had below average temperatures, more rain than normal and a number of days with moderate to strong winds. The first week in February brought us our first ´real´ winter weather. Cold, overcast and dull days, with four days of rain, giving a total of 2.4 inches. Moderate to strong winds most days kept temperatures down. The second week in February was changeable most days, with a mix of sunshine and cloudy spells. Gentle to moderate winds kept the temperatures down. The third week in February had some good spells of sunshine most mornings, but usually cloud spread in by the afternoons. There were moderate to strong winds over four days. The fourth week in February had five days of fine and sunny weather, but still cold. The last two days gave us overcast, dull conditions with more rain. Average day temperature was 13C (55F). Average for February is 15C. Average night temperature was 5C (41F) Average for February is 7C. Highest day temperature was 20C (68F) on the 20th. Highest night temperature was 12C (53F) on the 21st. Coldest day temperature was 4C (39F) on the 27th. Coldest night temperature was 0C (32F) on the 13th. Total rainfall was 4 inches ( 102 mm) over seven days. February average is 2.7 inches.
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