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The main aim in the new season is to write a book on Honey-buzzard, using my experience in British Isles, continental Europe and Africa, dating from 1993. Field work in 2025 in Northumberland will complement this task, filling in gaps and reinforcing findings. Broad headings for book are: Motivation, Historical Records, Rediscovery in Britain, Migration Patterns, Arrival and Display, Breeding Activity, Habitat, Dispersal, Wintering Grounds, Four Identification Models, Value of Field Experience, Further Studies, Bibliography. The initial costs of publishing the book in hard copy, running to perhaps 250pp, are well within my means. Some supplementary material may be published online.
Highlights of Year from Honey-buzzard home page at http://nickrossiter.org.uk/hbweb/index.html:
The last NB can be found here.
March 13th: maximum 16C, minimum 11C, sunny, fresh W breeze, approaching gale in exposed places, a few heavy squalls. Read in Portugal News that the current wet spell is doing wonders for river and reservoir levels, alleviating water shortages. Went out to W of Faro today on foot from 11:50-15:30; it was wild but fortunately the line of showers was going mainly to the E. At one point though a really threatening squall was coming straight towards me and, like a mirage, found a restaurant in the next building where they opened the door against the wind to let me in! Bird watching went surprisingly well in the conditions, getting 36 types. New types for trip included an Oystercatcher, 4 Meadow Pipit, an Avocet, a Red-rumped Swallow, a Montagu’s Harrier 1s 1 (near the Airport, a resting migrant), an LBBG adult 1 of intermedius type. In the park, which has many rough areas, had 4 Western Bonelli’s Warbler (migrants, very active in bushes), a Sardinian Warbler, 2 Crested Lark. 46 Greater Flamingo 1 were in a lagoon near the Airport along with 12 Black-winged Stilt. Yet another Osprey was in the same area as the Montagu’s Harrier, flying low-down to seek shelter from the squall. 3 Mediterranean Gull, all 2s 1, were on a bank in a lagoon. So up to 74 species now in trip. Funds are back to all square wtd with one day to go.
Had dinner in the hotel: olives and garlic bread, followed by house steak, washed down with 2 rw; very good value for €44 including tip. 2Moro weather looks good so off to Lagos by train, cost €16 return for 91km each way. Lagos in Nigeria was named by a Portuguese sailor from the Lagos I’m visiting tomorrow, pronounce La-gosch. It’s more like a typical seaside resort than Faro with a long beach and some spectacular offshore islands. Missing sadly the rendezvous 2moro: XXXXXX!!! But not the following week!
March 12th: maximum 16C, minimum 11C, light SE becoming moderate SW, dull with rain up to 15:00, then dry with brighter spells. It was a wet morning as forecast; caught up with some desk jobs, including piccies from yesterday; balcony is really useful as can still go out for breathers and have a look round. Had lunch in the hotel and dinner also with ultra thin ham for starter, a vegetable stew for main course and a beer. Made late night bar in the hotel as well: the Portuguese are more exciting than thought!
The sun came out at 15:00 as promised so got straight out for a walk. Found some scrub by harbour walls to hold a few small birds: 2 Bluethroat, a Western Bonelli’s Warbler, and also in this area had a Black Redstart and 3 Goldfinch. Waders added were a very vocal Whimbrel, a bubbling Curlew and a strident Greenshank. Interesting totals during day were 38 Dunlin, 8 Swallow, 3 Pallid Swift, 6 White Stork (3 nest-sites in progress), 8 Shag ad, 37 Little Egret at 2 roosts. Had 28 bird-types in all. No butterflies today. 2Moro weather is better so going to explore W of Faro area in walk from hotel. On Friday hoping to go to Lagos, quite a lot to the W, by train! Up to 69 species from 116 records, 3 complete lists, 7 places.
A pair of mating Kestrel in the centre of Faro by the railway station 1. Not over-romantic: the male flew by screaming loudly and dived on top of the female who was sitting on a ledge; three seconds of action; the male thought that was great with beak open 2; then off he flew; she sat there in afterglow 3. They're obviously going to breed on this old building 4. Shows what a diet of mice can do for you! Not really a lot of foreplay or afterglow!! Hope we do better as humans: XXXXXX!!!
March 11th: maximum 17C, minimum 11C, moderate NW, sunny periods, one shower in morning, otherwise dry. Did get the train to Vila Real at 09:55, getting there at 11:02, cost €5.6 each way for the 53km. Installed the Portuguese Railways app; a glance around showed no-one was using it, nearly all with bits of paper. Guard on way there said that although the app claimed to hold your ticket, the real one was in the email sent to you.. On way back did it perfectly with pdf in email containing the QR code; guard was quite surprised it worked! Got lunch from a new branch of Aldi, opened near the reserve, €5.13 for a sandwich, lemon drink and a chocolate biscuit. After return had dinner in the glasshouse on the harbour front: olives with garlic bread starter, lamb chops, chips and salad, 2 rw, 1 Americano, all for €37 including tip €4. With long overdue crash on over-valued US stock exchange, would not expect my funds to rise so fall of 14k wtd is not too bad.
Had the most amazing day’s birdwatching at Castro Marim from 10:55-16:45, getting 53 different bird-types, including 4 raptor types: 1 Osprey fishing in the river on the boundary between Portugal and Spain 1 2, a Black-winged Kite hunting and displaying a little to N: one cropped image 0 with uncropped 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10, a Marsh Harrier fem/imm hunting over the marsh, 3 Kestrel, a male and 2 female hunting the marsh and near the Station; 215 Greater Flamingo; 40 Spoonbill; 11 White Stork including 3 W 1; a Purple Heron W 1; a Pallid Swift; 15 Short-toed Lark displaying; a Caspian Tern W 1 2; 2 Spotted Redshank; 6 Black-winged Stilt including a pair displaying; Swallow numbers increased; a flock of 30 Common Waxbill. Butterflies there were 1 Clouded Yellow, 1 Large White,1 Moroccan Orange-tip male, 1 Spanish Festoon, 7 Small White. On way had 6 Cattle Egret at Fuseta and a Bee-eater at Tavira. Running total for whole trip is: 61 species from 88 records, 2 complete lists, 7 places. 2Moro it’s going to rain and drizzle, so will catch-up on some old records but after that it’s looking good with wind dropping and plenty of sunshine. Today was pretty bracing at times but I’ve been in my shorts both days to keep up the NE England image! Hope the fit one’s just that: XXXXXX!!!
March 10th: maximum 16C, minimum 14C, fresh SW, sunny intervals, heavy showers. Ate very well todathe app claimed to hold your tickety with large brekfast, lunch and dinner, making up for a few days of under-eating! Don’t think I’m going to keep this up. Had a few spells of nausea at home, suspect some bug; some friends had full-blown Norovirus. Food is a lot less expensive here with dinner in hotel for 3 courses and 2 rw coming to €42, including tip, just £35. For lunch I had omelette, chips and salad for €19 in a harbour-fronting restaurant. Breakfast is ‘free’ including anything you want. Balcony is very useful allowing me to sit outside watching the bay, sitting in the sun. Did have shorts on today. I had paid for room at the front but not for a balcony. Weather was dramatic toady with each 30 min of strong sun followed by 15 min downpour and 15 min cloud. The harbour-fronting restaurant was leaking a bit! Here’s a piccie of my hotel 1 (Eva Senses): I’m on floor 3 straight ahead: plenty of room in the bed!!
Total for birds today was 25 types. Migrants were scarce, suggesting major arrival from Africa not here yet. Did have 4 White Stork, 6 Sandwich Tern, 4 Swallow, 2 Sand Martin, 2 House Martin. The only raptor was an Osprey hunting over the marismas to E at 11:32 and 11/41 1 2 3 4. Surprisingly Atlantic Yellow-legged Gulls (24: 4 ad, 4 2s, 16 1s) outnumbered Mediterranean YLG (6: 2 ad, 4 1s). A pair of AYLG were close to mating 1. LBBG were the commonest gull with 68 noted. Saw many residents including a Zitting Cisticola and a Cirl Bunting. Had one butterfly: a Large White. 2Moro looks best day of the week so taking train to Vila Real on the Spanish border, where hope to see a Black Kite or two, as well as some heathland birds. Weather looks better for next week so will leave boat trips to then. In progress is tidying-up of News and Season Summary as move home page into 2025. XXXXXX!!!
Recent relevant references: (more reading here)
Mark Mallalieu, The 2024 European Honey Buzzard season in Sussex, BirdGuides (2024).
Shaw, KD, McInerny, CJ, Little, A, Little, K, Nadin, JS, & Goater, R, An exceptional season at a central Scotland Honey-buzzard study area, Scottish Birds 37(1) 3-13 (2017).
Forsman, Dick, Separating Common Buzzard and European Honey-buzzard, at p.302, in: Flight Identification of Raptors of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, Christopher Helm (2016).
