Blog Archives - Seawatching Estaca

Oct 30: 2 Wallcreepers!! & 3 Long-tailed ducks

10/31/2013

Wallcreeper is a very scarce species in Galicia, so watching a coplue of them arrivning to the headland from the sea was quite an experience!

The seabird passage was not as good as the previous two days. Anyway, we had some nice sightings, for example 3 Long-tailed ducks (a very scarce species in galicia too!) flying eastwards:

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Antonio Martínez Pernas

These are the numbers obtained during the 3,5 hs count:

121 Great Skuas
1 Arctic Skua
41 Pomarines
30 Grey Phalaropes
1 Great Shearwater
9 razorbills
44 Med gulls
116 Kittiwakes
3 Little Gulls
63 Balearics
1 Cory’s
181 Sooties
98 Sandwich Terns
8 “Commic” Terns
1,500 Gannets/hour
119 Common Scoters
30 Manx Shearwaters

Observers: Antonio Martínez Pernas and Amaia Alzaga

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Antonio Martínez Pernas

Oct 29: hundreds of Poms and Phalaropes

10/30/2013

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One of the very close flocks of Poms on the move today (Antonio Martínez Pernas)

Let's let the numbers talk by their own. 7,30 hs count:

178 Great Skua
21 Arctic Skua
451 Pomarines
1 Long-tailed Skua
361 Grey Phalaropes
19 Great Shearwaters
196 Razorbills
15 Pintails
1Wigeon
6 Med Gulls
15 Kittiwakes
24 Little Gulls
539 Balearics
13 Cory's
3,437 Sooty Shearwaters
35 Sandwich Terns
12 "Commic" Terns
C. 4000 Gannets/h
128 Common Scoters
696 Manx Shearwaters
2 Puffins

Observers: Antonio Martínez Pernas, Amaia Alzaga

Oct 28: Sooties galore!

10/30/2013

The change of the winds to W and NW brought great numbers for some species during the 5,30 hs count. Check them:

106 Great Skua.
13 Arctic Skua.
288 Poms
189 Balearics
45 Cory's (very-very few this autumn!)
1 Great Shearwater
5,108 Sooty Shearwater
29 Sandwich tern
C. 2000 Gannets/h
37 Razorbills
727 Manxies.
9 tridact.
1 Grey Phalarope
8 "Commic" terns
3 Med Gulls
1 Storm Petrel

Observers: Antonio Martínez Pernas, Amaia Alzaga

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Photo: Antonio Martínez Pernas

Oct 27: 1,200 Gannets/h

10/30/2013

Gannet numbers build up day after day. Today's passage was high and nice, with c. 1,200 birds/h. Other numbers worth mentioning in the 3,45 hs count were 30 Bonxies, 28 Poms, 6 Arctic Skuas, 9 Grey Phalaropes, 136 Sooties, 99 Balearics, 21 Manxies and 2 Arctic terns.

Still SW... Until tomorrow!

Observer: Antonio Sandoval Rey

Oct 26: first Puffin

10/30/2013

We don't remember any october as this, with so many days with SW winds blowing with force. Today's passage most interesting numers in 4,75 hs were 207 Scoters, 87 Sandwich terns, 126 Sooty Shearwaters, 39 Manxies, 15 Poms and the first Puffin of the season, as well as several tiny groups of different species of ducks.

Observer: Antonio Sandoval Rey

Oct 25: 1 Red-throated diver

10/30/2013

A Red-throated Diver was a nice bird to watch during the boring passage of today. Most of the usual species were seen, but all of them in little numbers during the 4 hs count. The SW wind is certainly not a good friend.... A Grey Phalarope and a nice movement of Gannets are also worth mentioning.

A late Turtle Dove was resting in a bush of the headlans.

Observers: Antonio Sandoval Rey, Antonio Martínez Pernas

Oct 20: 83 Poms and 650 Gannets/h

10/30/2013

Today's passage was much more better than yesterday's: 83 Poms, 43 Bonxies and 13 Arctic Skuas in 4,45 hs. Other interesting numbers were 650 Gannets/h, 52 Balearics, 144 Sooties and several groups of waders.

A Pallid Swift flew over the observatory in the morning. Several of the Poms were flying high.

Observer: Antonio Sandoval, Antonio Martínez Pernas, Ricardo Hevia

Oct 19: not many birds...

10/30/2013

The persisting SW winds kept the birds away from the cape. Only 7 Great Skuas, 1 Pom and 2 Arctic in 2,45 hs. Also a few Sandwich terns, 12 Balearics, 5 Sooties, 35 scoters and 711 gannets.

Observer: Antonio Sandoval

Oct 11, 12 & 13: Yellow-browed Warbler influx!

10/15/2013

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Up to 8 different Yellow-browed Warblers were watched during this weekend at the headland and very close to it.

On the left, a photograph by Antonio Martínez Pernas of a bird found very close to the observatory.

You can have a look at other atonishing images of these birds taken by Pablo Gutiérrez in THIS LINK.

The finders of the different Yellow-browed Warblers were Antonio Martínez Pernas (firs two birds at Esteiro estuary), on friday 11th), Pablo Gutiérrez, Antonio Gutiérrez, Ricardo Hevia, Antonio Sandoval and Pablo Pita (who found the bird closer to the observatory on Sunday 13th).

Meanwhile, a Subalpine Warbler, very rare at the NW extreme of Galicia, was found at Porto de Bares beach by Pablo Gutiérrez, Antonio Gutiérrezand Ricardo Hevia on Sat. 12th.

Oct 13: thousands of Gannets

10/15/2013

The Northern Gannet passage was good for most of the day, with close to 1,000/h. Common Scoters were also on the move in huge numbers, with 190/h all through the day. A few skuas were watched, most of them during the first hours of the morning and just before the rain forced us to leave the observation point in the afternoon: 40 Bonxies, 6 Poms and 12 Arctic. There were still a few flocks of Razorbill, totalling 21 birds. And again not many Shearwaters, the most numerous Sooty with only 85 watched in 4,45 hs.

Observers: Antonio Sandoval, Ricardo Hevia, Antonio Martínez Pernas

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Northern Gannets on the move (Pablo Gutiérrez)

Who we are

The main birders at Estaca de Bares cape, in alphabetical order:

- Ricardo Hevia Barcón
- Pablo Gutiérrez Varga
- Daniel López Velasco
- David Martínez Lago
- Antonio Martínez Pernas
- Pablo Pita Criado
- Antonio Sandoval Rey
- Alfonso Valderas Farfante

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