Our Common Cranes are back in Andalucia from the North. Just a few have arrived so far and we could expect more as colder weather pushes down from the North Atlantic. Even down this way, we can feel the effect of the NNW winds cooling effect (must be getting soft!)
The downside to the appearance of our wintering cranes is their vulnerability to wind turbine strikes. Again, recommendations as to the siting of these giants in such a sensetive ornithological area and pleas to allow larger 'corridors' for migrating birds, fell on deaf ears. The dentist of Denmark, the lawyers of Germany and the rest of the so-called 'Green Investors' really had the wool pulled over their eyes when it came to selling them shares in this joke for energy. Half the time they shut them down to allow the nuclear plants of Spain to keep their waters boiling as demand during the night falls with no factories demanding energy and domestic consumption at it's 24 hour low. The wind down in SW Spain blows, the turbines stay still and everyone pretends on being 'green'. Job done.
The Bonelli's Eagle (Aquila fasciata) is a large bird of prey. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. It breeds in southern Europe, Africa both north and south of the Sahara Desert and across southern Asia to Indonesia. It is usually a resident breeder which lays 1-3 eggsin a tree or crag nest. The Bonelli's Eagle is a species of wooded, often hilly, country with some open areas. The African race prefers savannah, forest edges, cultivation, and scrub, provided there are some large trees; this is not a species of very open or densely forested habitats. This is a small to medium - sized eagle at 55-65 cm in length. The upperparts are dark brown, and the underside is white with dark streaks. The wings are relatively short and rounded. The long tail is grey on top and white below and has a single broad black
terminal band. The feet and eyes are yellow.
I took some photos of at least three, possibly four different juvenile Bonelli's Eagles last week around our local patch last week. It was rather grey and overcast but on examining some of the photos I rattled off, I came across one bird that was fitted with a radio transmitter and antenae. This particular transmitter was quite small and looked pretty modern in comparison of the larger 'backpack' typpes of old. I have to make some more enquiries as to the origins of this bird to make sure it doesn't get shot in an area full of partidges and pheasants. The Bonelli's Eagle is called the Partridge Eagle in Spanish Aguila Perdicera, and has a difficult time surviving where game keepers try to kill them.
Soaring on high, two juvenile Bonelli's Eagles ride the thermals checking each other out. The lower bird has already undergone a partial moult and looks visibly darker. The upper bird still retains much of it's original plumage and will mould through the winter.
I'm often asked about the numbers of Black-winged Kites around The Strait of Gibraltar. The honest answer is that although I feel that there are good numbers for such a rare bird, it's difficult to estimate exactly how many there are all together, during the breeding season. I know that last year there were over 35 pairs recorded in Cadiz province and you can double this number during this time with non-breeding and dispersed birds from other areas. There is of course a Northwards 'drift' of these, essentially African birds and it won't be long before a pair nests in the S of England. They frist bred in French-France in 1989.
Let's explain the change of name thing...
The Black-winged Kite (Elanus caeruleus) is a small bird of prey in the family Accipitridae raptors such as eagles, buzzards, and harriers. which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as eagles, buzzards, and harriers.
This species was formerly referred to as the Black-shouldered Kite, but this name is now only used for the Australian species, Elanus axillaris, which at one time (along with the American White-tailed Kite E. leucurus) was treated as a subspecies of E. caeruleus.
It is a species primarily of open land and semi-deserts in sub-Saharan Africa and tropical Asia, but it has a foothold in Europe in Spain and Portugal. It nests in trees.
It takes live prey such as small mammals, birds, and insects. The slow hunting flight is like a harrier, but it will hover like a Kestrel.
This bird is unmistakable. It has a white head with a black "mask", and white underparts except for black tips to its narrow falcon-like wings. Upperparts are blue-grey except for black shoulder patches.
The tail is short and square, quite unlike the more familiar Milvus kites.
Although not resembling the Black or Red Kites, they do have a rather long and fairly broad wing. Hovering, their colour and structure make them instantly identifiable in the field, even in silhouette.
