Pedro does it again, 2nd Year!!

[PeterHG]

A male Pallid Harrier, wow!

[Kitsafari]

congrats on the 250th ! 

[TonyQ]

Well done on reaching 250. The Penduline Tit is a great bird for a great number.

Well done on the Harrier also!

[Dave Williams]

I wouldn't mind seeing some of your duplicates a first time Pedro! Well done on 250, no mean achievement.

 

[pedro maia]

Thanks @Peter Connan, @PeterHG, @Kitsafari, @TonyQ and @Dave Williams.

[pedro maia]

As everybody here (with the exception of @michael-ibk ), one of the things I lack the most in the present situation is travelling, and even more now that we have curfews and that it´s forbidden to leave our municipalities during the last and the next weekends because last and next tuesdays are holidays here.

 

There are two exceptions though, those limitations don´t apply to Madeira and Azores islands where covid cases are much fewer than in the mainland and visitors are encoureged, negative PCR tests made in the previous 72 hours are mandatory but regional gouvernment pay for those tests, so me and my wife we decided to go to the Azores (São Miguel) leaving Friday at dinner time and returning yesterday very early in the morning, and thus abiding all the rules.

 

The main purpose of the trip wasn´t birding but of course I took my equipment, there aren´t many resident species different to thos we have here but beeing "close" to the Americas, the Azores islands are a very good option in Europe to see rare vagrants, some of them never arrive to the European continent.

 

The weather wasn´t great, lots of rain and strog wonds, normal at this time of the year but even if that didn´t prevent us to enjoy (a lot) the trip it was very though to spot passerines and I didn´t see the one I wanted the most, the Azores bullfinch, endemic to the island os São Miguel where it only occurs in a forested area in it´s eastern part.

 

We ate well, drunk some very nice local wines and I got 5 new species for my BY so ´m ready for another of these trips .

[pedro maia]

#254 (N64), Green heron, 28/11, Porto de Povoação, São Miguel

 

 

[pedro maia]

#255 (N65), Ruddy shelduck, 29/11, Fajã de Cima, São Miguel

[pedro maia]

#256 (N66), Atlantic canary, 29/11, Serra da Tronqueira, São Miguel

 

Similar to the European serin but it´s considered a species of it´s own, Serinus canaria, occurs in the Azores, madeira and canary islands, it´s common there but I only saw 3 of them, the conditions were really bad for small birds.

 

[pedro maia]

#257 (N67), American wigeon, 30/11, Lagoa Azul, São Miguel

 

 

[pedro maia]

#258 (N68), Brant goose, 1/12, Lagoa Azul, São Miguel

 

[Galana]

A good week-end despite the weather.

Those Wigeon look like cross breeds to me sort of half way between Eurasian and American. Must be something to do with geography.

[Kitsafari]

 5 new species over a short weekend is a good haul especially during the lockdown! 

 

Hope all are safe and well meanwhile.

[michael-ibk]

Agree with Kit, a nice get-away trip. Great shots of the Green Heron, did not expect that one anywhere near Europe. Common there or a vagrant as well?

[pedro maia]

1 hour ago, michael-ibk said:

Agree with Kit, a nice get-away trip. Great shots of the Green Heron, did not expect that one anywhere near Europe. Common there or a vagrant as well?

it’s also a vagrant.

[pedro maia]

On 12/3/2020 at 2:01 PM, Galana said:

A good week-end despite the weather.

Those Wigeon look like cross breeds to me sort of half way between Eurasian and American. Must be something to do with geography.

They aren’t crossbreeds, I checked before counting them and then I forwarded your question and what I was told is that there’s no doubt on the ID, but they are in eclipse plumage.

Edited December 5, 2020 by pedro maia

[pedro maia]

Winter depressions are very good to see sea birds closer to shore and now we have depression Dora here, best days are probably today and tomorrow but we can´t leave our municipalities from today until wednesday morning so I took yesterday afternoon off and went to Peniche, and it proved to be a good decision, even if conditions were naturally difficult to take photos.

 

#259 (N69), Kittiwake, 4/12, Papoa, Peniche

 

[pedro maia]

#260 (N70), Red-breasted merganser, 4/12, Porto de Peniche

 

 

This one was inside the port.

[pedro maia]

Sometimes it pays to run through all the pictures twice, doing that I had a better look at this gulls that at first I thought they were Kittiwakes but at the same time seemed to have a different pattern:

 

 

 

They aren´t gulls .

 

#261 (N71), Red phalarope, 4/12, Papoa, Peniche

 

Same photo without crop, you can see that conditions weren´t easy...

 

 

[Galana]

Nice. It always pays to check and check again.

[PeterHG]

Well spotted, those phalaropes!

[pedro maia]

Some cool species here.

 

#262 (N72), Little gull, 11/12, Salinas Praia do Sado

 

 

 

 

[pedro maia]

This one is quite difficult to see and I couldn´t do better with the photos:

 

#263 (N73), Stock dove, 11/12, Zambujal

 

[pedro maia]

And this one is even harder to see, one of the mos difficult around here, and they are small and quick so the photos are also not the best...

 

#264 (N74), Jack snipe, 12/12, Mourisca

 

[pedro maia]

Today I didn´t get any new species but saw this guy again :