80 species were seen in the Alcossebre area in April. A female Western Orphean Warbler seen on the 19th of April was a first record for Alcossebre. There were first of the year records for Peregrine Falcon, Little Ringed Plover, Common Sandpiper and Whimbrel. There were first spring records for Great Egret, Osprey, Montagu´s Harrier, Little Tern, Caspian Tern, Whiskered Tern, Turtle Dove, Scops Owl, Red-necked Nightjar, Common Swift, Pallid Swift, Bee-eater, European Roller, Woodchat Shrike, Golden Oriole, Sand Martin, Red-rumped Swallow, Western Bonelli´s Warbler, Wood Warbler, Melodious Warbler, Greater Whitethroat, Spotted Flycatcher, Pied Flycatcher, Red-necked Nightjar, Northern Wheatear, Black-eared Wheatear, Western Yellow Wagtail and Ortolan Bunting. A list of species seen with comments follows. Mallard. A pair frequented the Torre estate pond from the 1st to the 15th April – just as I expected them to nest they disappeared! Red-Legged Partridge. One or two birds were seen in the rural farmlands through out the month. Ring-necked Pheasant. At least two pairs were holding territory in the rural farmlands. Heard calling daily. Northern Gannet. One or two birds were seen offshore through out the month. Great Cormorant. Apart from regular birds on the Moors Rock, a total of 101 birds passed through. Grey Heron. A total of 19 birds passed through this month, with 8 birds flying along the coast 2nd April. Purple Heron. One bird flew south along the coast on the 16th April. Great White Egret. The first of spring were seen on the 14th April, two birds flying east. 6 birds flew east over the sea on the 19th April. Little Egret. Apart from regular birds at Capycorp lagoon and Torre estate pond, a few birds flew east along the coast. Cattle Egret. They were quite scarce in their favoured rural farmlands, with only one to three birds seen. Black-crowned Night Heron. Up to three birds frequented Torre estate pond from the 21st to the month end. Glossy Ibis. One of the commonest passage birds this month with a total of 148 birds flying east. The biggest flock was 42 birds on the 29th April. Osprey. The first of spring was seen hovering above the Capycorp lagoon on the 3rd April, then it flew east along the coast. Marsh Harrier. A total of 11 birds passed through this month, including three birds on the 11th April. Montagu´s Harrier. The first of spring was seen on the 14th April – a male flying along the dry river, Rio San Miquel. Common Kestrel. Up to four pairs were holding territory. Peregrine Falcon. A bird perched on a pylon in Rural Capycorp on 11th April was the first seen this year. Common Moorhen. There were still up to 14 birds at Torre estate pond. Normally by now a dominant pair drive off the rest and start nesting. Stone Curlew. There was a late record of one bird in the rural farmland on the 13th April. Little Ringed Plover. One in the rural farmland on 13th April was the first this spring. Common Sandpiper. One bird at the Capycorp lagoon on the 17th April was the first this year. Whimbrel. Like wise, two birds seen at Capycorp lagoon was the first this year. Black-headed Gulls. Very scarce this month, only one bird seen flying east on the 13th April. Audouin´s Gulls. Seen daily along the coast – maximum 12 birds. Yellow-legged Gulls. The commonest gull here with up to 27 birds seen daily. Little Tern. Two birds flying east along the coast on the 25th April, were the first this spring. Caspian Tern. Three birds flying east along the coast on the 1st April, were the first this spring. Whiskered Tern. Two birds flying east inland on the 16th April were the first this spring. Sandwich Tern. The commonest tern here, seen all year round. The last big winter flock was seen on the 2nd April – 140 birds. Thereafter up to 20 birds seen daily. Common Wood Pigeon. With the winter birds gone . The resident birds were nesting – maximum 16 pairs. Turtle Dove. The first bird of spring was seen on the 19th April. Thereafter numbers built up to 10 birds. How many will remain to breed? Collared Dove. Like the Wood Pigeon, winter birds had gone, but there was still good numbers remaining to nest – maximum of 68 birds. Little Owl. One or two pairs are busy nesting. Scops Owl. The first calling bird of spring was heard on the 28th April. Red-necked Nightjar. The first bird of spring was calling loudly in my garden at 06.30 on the 28th April! Common Swift and Pallid Swift. Both species were seen for the first time this spring on the 14th April. European Bee eater. The first birds of spring arrived on the 13th April. Numbers built up to 26 birds by the month end. European Roller. The first of spring was seen on the 25th April. Hoopoe. Up to seven pairs were holding territory. Woodchat Shrike. The first of spring was seen on the 2nd April. Thereafter, numbers built up to four birds. Golden Oriole. The first of spring was seen on the 20th April. Numbers increased to three birds by the month end. Eurasian Magpie. Resident birds were nesting with a minimum of 12 pairs. Crested Lark. In former years this species was much more common. This year there are only four pairs. The main reason is a big change in farming practice, there are now hardly any artichoke fields – a favorite nest place for Crested larks – instead there are much more almond groves. Sand Martin. The first of spring was seen on the 1st April. Never a common passage bird here – maximum of 6 birds. Barn Swallow. While local birds are nesting there are still good numbers passing through. Red-rumped Swallow. The first this spring was seen on the 11th April. Thereafter up to four birds seen daily. House Martin. Like the Barn Swallow local birds are nesting and there are still birds passing through. Great Tit. Up to five pairs holding territory and nesting. 10 species of Warbler seen this month – impressive. Willow Warbler. Up to four passage birds seen daily. Western Bonelli´s Warbler. The first of spring seen on the 27th April. Wood Warbler. The first of spring seen on the 16th April, and another on the 27th April, both birds heard singing. Melodious Warbler. The first of spring was seen on the 29th April. Zitting Cisticola. Resident Zitting Cisticolas are in very low numbers, only one or two birds noted. Blackcap. The last wintering Blackcaps were seen on the 17th April. Greater Whitethroat. The first of spring seen on the 18th April. Western Orphean Warbler. A female seen well on the 19th April was the first record for Alcossebre. Subalpine Warbler. Three single passage birds seen this month. Sardinian Warblers. Resident Sardinian Warblers were in good numbers, with at least 14 pairs holding territory. Spotted Flycatcher. The first of spring was seen 27th April. Pied Flycatcher. The first of spring was seen on the 14th April. Thereafter one to three birds daily. Robin. The last wintering Robin was seen on the 2nd April. Rufous Nightingale. The first of spring was seen on the 4th April. By the month end there were up to 8 birds singing. Common Redstart. One to two birds continue to pass through. Northern Wheatear. The first of spring was seen on the 2nd April. Thereafter one to three birds seen. Black-eared Wheatear. A male seen on the 2nd April was the first this spring, another male was seen on the 28th April. Blue-headed Wagtail. The first of spring was seen on the 27th April – only a single bird, disappointing numbers. White Wagtail. Winter birds have gone, leaving only one or two resident birds. Meadow Pipit. The last wintering birds were seen on the 11th April. Ortolan Bunting. The first of spring was seen on the 23rd April. Common Chaffinch. The last wintering Common Chaffinch was seen on the 1st April. European Greenfinch. Resident Greenfinches were nesting, with up to 10 pairs. European Goldfinch. Resident Goldfinch were nesting, with up to 18 pairs. European Serin. The commonest nesting finch, with up to 30 pairs.
Alcossebre Weather for April 2021. An unsettled month with double the average rainfall. The first week in April had plenty of sunshine. There were overcast and dull conditions the 4th and the 7th. Winds were mainly light or gentle, in two days we had moderate winds. Temperatures were average for day (21C), but 3C below the night average of (11C). The second week in April was very poor with very little sunshine. Most days were overcast and dull, we had five days with rain, albeit not torrential rain. Apart from a moderate to strong wind north east on the 12th April, the other days had light or gentle winds. Temperatures were 4C below the average day, and 3C below the average night. The third week in April had only two days with fine and sunny conditions – the 17th and 18th. The other days were a mixture of sunny/cloudy spells. The 15th of April was overcast and dull with some light rain, and there was some overnight rain on the 21st.The first four days had gentle winds, but the last three days had moderate winds. Temperatures were 1C below the day average, but still 3C below the night average. The Fourth week in April was very poor with six days of overcast conditions and rain. Winds were light or gentle. Temperatures were 2C below the day average and average for night. The last two days in April were settled, sunny and warm. The day temperature was 5C above the average. Average day temperature was 20C (68F). Average night temperature was 9C (48F). Highest day temperature was 26C (78F) on the 29th and 30th April. Highest night temperature was 14C (57F) on the 26th, 28th and 30th April. Coldest day temperature was 14C (57F) on the 9th, 10th and 22nd April. Coldest night temperature was 5C (41F) on the 17th April. Total rainfall was 6.5 inches (165mm) over 13 days. April average is 3.3 inches!
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