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Finding Iberian Chiffchaff - Two sites for those in a hurry!

20/5/2023

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Iberian Chiffchaff at El Terero April 2023 (Photo: Jason Moule)
In Irby's seminal 1875 book on the area, "The Ornithology of the Straits of Gibraltar", the 'phylosc' warblers with an odd song that inhabited the Alcornocales were regarded as a race of Willow Warbler with an unusual local dialect. This was a forgivable error in an era without recordings of bird vocalisations and in the context of the species' flourish at the end of its song. It wasn't until Hubert Lynes published a paper on them in 1914 that it was realised that the birds were a form of (Common) Chiffchaff (for more details see  here).  Lynes observed of the song that  “... if it was a poor Willow-Warbler's song, it was an impossible Chiffchaff's”. 

Unfortunately, nobody took much notice of this form, native to Europe,  which was scarcely covered, if at all, in European field guides. Ironically, Siberian Chiffchaff, a non-breeding vagrant to Europe enjoyed much fuller treatment. The excellent "MacMillan Guide to Bird Identification" (1989) hardly mentions it saying only that "Chiffchaffs of the Iberian race give an intermediate song" (i.e. between Chiffchaff & Willow Warbler) which was neither helpful nor entirely accurate. The first edition of the  "Collins Guide" was hardly much of an improvement adding only details of the call and an unconvincing description of the song. 


It wasn't until it began being treated as a distinct species in the early 2000s that Iberian Chiffchaff garnered any attention. . As far as I'm aware, the first attempt to illustrate how the plumage of Iberian birds  differed from the nominate race was by Peter Hayman in "The Complete Guide to the Birdlife of Britain & Europe" (2000 & reproduced in the pocket version in 2002). These underrated books depicted two images of this species - one bright & one dull. To my eye the brighter bird looks too much like a Wood Warbler (too green & too yellow) but the duller example is very close to the birds I see in southern Spain. Surprisingly, however, the diagnostic vocalisations were not described.  Happily, the second and subsequent editions of the Collins Guide illustrate  Iberian Chiffchaff and describe the vocalisations very well. It is also well treated in the WildGuides' "Europe's Birds". 
​For a resume of the main difference see below.  Although the song is usually diagnostic, 'mixed singers' (birds that mix the songs of both taxa) sometimes occur although a 'proper' Iberian Chiffchaff is far more likely in this area. For recordings of the song and call on Xeno-canto - see here.     
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Despite scattered breeding records across Spain, it is largely confined as a breeding species to three main areas: north-west Spain (including northern Portugal and some leakage into France), the southern Atlantic coast of Portugal and the mountains of western Andalucia (mainly the Alcornocales and Grazalema).  Broadly, this mirrors areas with higher rainfall.  
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Iberian Chiffchaff range - scattered breeding also occurs across Spain.
Lynes notes that "... singing males of this species shared the cork-oak glades in about equal proportion as Bonelli's".  Personally, however, I think that, whilst both are to be found in Cork Oak woodlands, Bonelli's Warbler is the more common of the two in such habitat. In my experience, Iberian Chiffchaff is more frequent in woodlands dominated by Algerian Oak (which resembles the familiar oak trees of the UK) which also has Bonelli's Warbler.  Iberian Chiffchaffs seem to particularly like canutos* where there's a mix of Algerian Oak, Alder, elm and ash trees. This latter habitat perhaps reflects the species' wider distribution in wetter parts of Iberia.    
* Canutos are incised valleys within valley which enjoy a moist sub-climate.   
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A cross section showing a canuto from 'The Crossbill Guide to Western Andalucia'
Iberian Chiffchaffs are a species that most birders want to find in the area even if their primary focus is witnessing raptor passage or seeing wetland birds. They can be found quite widely in the Alcornocales where I've found them in Sierra de Montecoche, Valdeinfierno, Arroyo de la Miel, El Pelayo, El Bujeo, etc.  However, several of these sites involve a short/medium walk so for birders in a hurry I suggest two sites where they can be found a few paces from the car and both no more than a few minutes off the A 381.  These sites also have other attractions which make the stop worthwhile. 
Site I - El Torero
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This site is best accessed from Exit 54 whether arriving from the north or south. It's worth pausing after leaving the A381 as the area around the junction also has a good track record for turning up White-rumped Swift. When the reservoir levels are high this is also a good spot for Osprey (although the continuing drought means the shoreline of the reservoir is a kilometre of more away).  Heading south along the service road after 3.5 km you reach the turning for El Torero on the right. This section of the old Jerez-Algeciras is shrouded by trees almost forming a tunnel. Iberian Chiffchaff can be seen and heard anywhere along the road but particularly c100-200m from the service road. Passing the track to El Torero on the left after c1 km you reach a bridge over a small stream (the track continues but is fenced off here).  Bee-eaters sometimes breed in the river bank and you have an unobstructed view of the sky to look for raptors.  This makes an ideal great place for a lunch break.      
Site II - Ojen Valley
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The Ojen valley was once a key site for visiting birders but is now infrequently visited since the track through it was closed to motor vehicles. However, it's still worth a quick stop to look for Iberian Chiffchaff at the start of the route. From Exit 77 on the A 381 it's only c550m to the turning on to the Ojen Valley track.  Park at the start of the track and follow the Corredor Verde dos Bahias downhill to the left. After c80m stepping stones take you over the Rio Palmones (here reduced to a small stream). Stop here and listen for Iberian Chiffchaff's distinctive song.  This is also a site for Monarch butterfly. For a better view across the area you can take the Corredor Verde dos Bahias   uphill.  Should you feel so inclined, you can also venture into the Ojen valley on foot. After c3.5 km a footpath on the left takes you on a 3 km circular route through woodland to an ancient necropolis (Santuario de Bacinete), making a 10 km round trip. 
I can't resist finishing by noting the charming Spanish word for all small leaf warblers is Mosquitero.  Google Translate tells me that the word means mosquito-net but in this context mosquito-catcher is more apt.  Hence, the subject of this blog has the delightful Spanish name Mosquitero Ibérico. 
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Área Recreativa Los Tornos - a sunny present but a darker past.

19/5/2023

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Área Recreativa Los Tornos is at the western end of the Ojen Valley near Facinas.  Unless your visit coincides with a major festival day or a weekend (when it can be packed), it's a tranquil sort of place.  It's shady yet lightly enough wooded to allow you to watch passing raptors. 
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When the small bar is open it also makes a good refreshment stop for thirsty/hungry birders.  

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Most of the Área Recreativa is dotted by mature cork oaks which attract migrants like Spotted and Pied Flycatchers, Redstarts and an assortment of warblers.  The openness of the habitat also makes it easier to spot not only feeding passerines but also passing raptors which, given its location, can pass over in droves.     
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The Rio Almodóvar forms the northern and eastern edge of the Área Recreativa and the Arroyo de Cuna it's western limits. By summer the Rio Almodóvar is more a string of disconnected puddles than a river but nonetheless it supports a ribbon of riverine woodland.  Look here for Cetti's Warbler and Iberian Chiffchaff. It may also be worth checking here for Scops Owl, a very scarce bird in Cadiz province. I've not found one here but have heard them less than 2 km along the river in the same habitat (on private land). 
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History - ancient, medieaval and modern - is never far away in Spain and Área Recreativa Los Tornos is no exception.  Turnos can be translated as "lathes" but also means "work shift" which presumably hints at the site's dark and distinctly untranquil past.

A faded and rusting sign by the entrance tells the story: 
In the area of Los Tornos, the Disciplinary Battalion of Working Soldiers No. 1 was located and Battalion 46 was also located by the Venta de Ojén (halfway along the Ojen valley and still in use well into the 2000s). The camp was there during the months of August, September and October of 1941. Its Republican prisoners built this section of road during these months.

The prisoners were mustered in battalions of about 700 to 1,000 prisoners. Each battalion in turn was divided into four companies of about 200 prisoners and each company, due to the needs of the works they were carrying out, could be separated into detachments of indeterminate number, or joined with other battalions or companies.

In the case of the Disciplinary Battalion of Working Soldiers number 46, after ending up in Los Tornos they went to the Tarifa area from November to carry out the toughest jobs in the installation of the El Vigia Coastal Battery

The living conditions that these men endured were extreme and were aggravated, in the postwar context, by being the losers of the war. Hard work, lack of hygiene, hunger, cold and diseases such as exanthematic typhus or diarrhoea, ended the lives of many of them.


It's a measure of the brutality with which prisoners were treated that even Mussolini's foreign minister, Galeazzo Ciano, was shocked by what he witnessed saying "They are not prisoners of war, they are slaves of war".  

According to one historian, 90,000 Republican prisoners were sent off to 121 labour battalions and 8,000 to military workshops. Thousands of prisoners were forced to work building dams, highways, etc in a system persisted into the 1960s. Exactly how many died due to the brutality with which they were treated, the poor food they were given and the unsanitary conditions
 in which they were kept is difficult to establish but certainly runs into many tens of thousands. 
​It is something to ponder when you drive or walk along many of the tracks and minor roads in the area and elsewhere in Spain many of which were constructed using such slave labour.  
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Finding Pin-tailed Sandgrouse in Cadiz Province.

16/5/2023

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Pin-tailed Sandgrouse sites Marismas de Trebujena (note lighter yellow = tracks in a poor state)
For an embarrassingly long time, Pin-tailed Sandgrouse was something of a 'bogey bird' for me in Cadiz Province although my chagrin at failing to find them was somewhat alleviated by the fact that other birders far more skilled than me also found them tricky to find.    I confess that my efforts were somewhat hampered by the fact that, to maximise your chances of seeing them, it’s advisable to get on site either in the first or last few hours of the day. Since the species is only reliably found about an hour’s drive from my base this means getting up early or driving home in the dark, neither of which appealed to me (or even more so to Liz when she was out in Alcala with me).   
In fact, for years my only record in the province was of a small flock seen from the train as it passed the Marismas de Casablanca just north of Jerez.  Hardly a satisfactory view but their portly plover profile was just enough to list them.  Oddly, my first ever sighting of Black-bellied Sandgrouse was also from a train many years before.  This was instrumental in my exploration of the Osuna area many years later.  On that occasion the bird lifted off from near the track and obligingly flew along next to my window at close range before veering off into the distance.   If only catching up with its congener in the marshes between La Algaida (Sanlucar de Barrameda) and Trebujena was that easy! 
PictureSpectacled Warbler hiding in halophytic vegetation
My search for Pin-tailed Sandgrouse in the province began in an area of halophytic vegetation beside the Guadalquivir north of the Salinas de Bonanza.    I’d read somewhere that this area held sandgrouse and the habitat certainly appeared to be suitable.  It also helped that the same source suggested the Spanish Imperial Eagle (which I hadn’t then seen for years) sometimes occurred here.  I looked a number of times without finding my target species although I did see the eagle.  In retrospect, or rather looking at e-Bird reports, I now realise that despite looking good this area is not a prime spot for the species (although good for both short-toed larks, Spectacled Warbler, Gull-billed Terns, etc.)

In 2006 Lynx published the “Where to watch Birds in Doñana” written by two local experts which fortunately included this area (although not part of the Doñana National Park it’s part of the Natural Park that acts as a buffer zone).   This excellent book suggested exploring a couple of tracks running north from the A 471 (at GPS 36.7774 -6.2774 (i) and GPS 36.7948, -6.26028 (ii)). These take you several km into the Marismas de Trebujena which is useful as there are few places you can legally or safely stop along the fast A 471 .  In particular, they advised looking for sandgrouse in an area that both tracks converged upon (GPS 36.8226, -6.2671).  I explored this area a number of times (albeit not always at the optimum time of day) and it certainly looks very good but have never got lucky.  [Note that the last time I tried to reach this point from (i) the latter part of the track was in a very poor state so it’s quicker, easier and probably safer to come in from (ii)].   However, I have suggested to several people that they might give the area a try and they managed to find the sandgrouse here (sometimes after multiple attempts).  Despite my lack of success these two tracks are always worth exploring as the area attracts, depending on season and rainfall, large numbers of egrets, Glossy Ibis and waders (inc. stints, Ruff, stilts, Golden Plovers), a variety of raptors (inc. Montagu’s Harrier, Short-toed Eagle, etc), short-toed and Calandra Larks.   
PictureA Great-spotted Cuckoo Trebujena Marismas
​birdingcadizprovince.weebly.com/cadiz-birding-blog/may-2022-update-vi-trebujena-area-going-gaga-or-going-gaaa-gaaaA third track along the A 471 next to “Trebujena Motorland” (iii - ​GPS 36.8365, -6.2065) is also worth a closer inspection as it runs for c5 km and offers good views across suitable habitat. When there’s standing water here then you can see hundreds of egrets and Glossy Ibis – wonderful sight. I’ve visited the area several times and many good birds here … except, of course sandgrouse.  Unfortunately, a change in my personal circumstances and then Covid meant for over six years I was unable to give this area the time it deserved.  So, when I returned in spring 2022 tracking down the elusive bird was a priority.  I confess I was somewhat miffed when a keen Dutch birder to whom I gave details of one of the sites off the A 471 popped along and, on his first attempt, saw several sandgrouse (both in flight and on the ground).  Naturally, when I looked there at dawn the following morning, I saw none at all, but my efforts were rewarded by finding a handsome Great-spotted Cuckoo. My catalogue of failure, however, lasted less than an hour when I checked the Adventus track (iv – GPS 36.8862, -6.2202).  (Note the finca here is variously called the Cortjo Alventus or Cortijo de Adventus).  Stopping along the track to scan the marismas, I saw a small group in the distance and then had a couple of Pin-tailed Sandgrouse fly over my head (see https://birdingcadizprovince.weebly.com/cadiz-birding-blog/may-2022-update-vi-trebujena-area-going-gaga-or-going-gaaa-gaaa).

Somewhat to my surprise, I managed to repeat this feat at the same site the following autumn when I managed to show them to an old friend.  A keen world birder (with a 7,000+ list), he’d leapfrogged Spain in pursuit of birds in more exotic destinations further afield, so the birds were lifers (as were another handful of species on that visit).  This spring keen to check whether my sudden success was a fluke, I visited the Adventus track half-a-dozen times.  To my great satisfaction, I saw Pin-tailed Sandgrouse every time including several small groups (4-5 birds) and probably had a group of c20 birds too. The latter were rapidly scuttling across the horizon as I got out of the car so it’s hard to to be 100% certain. Not only that but on three of those occasions birds flew over the track itself.  What made the experience still sweeter was that on those three visits where the birds flew over nearby I was able to show them to four friends for whom they were lifers and a fifth who had never seen them before in Andalucía.    
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Rob, Jason & Nicole scanning for sandgrouse along the Adventus track
My winning strategy has been to get there as early as possible when the birds are more active and the heat haze less of a problem, drive 200-300m along the track, stop and methodically scan the extensive marismas to the west. (Note that after rain this track can become dangerously slippery and driving along it is then inadvisable).   In this way I’ve repeatedly found groups of sandgrouse flying fast and low over the marismas with some pitching down towards the Guadalquivir,  others disappearing into cover near the small reserve and others continuing well into the distance.  The birds, of course, know my strategy which is why the birds that came close to the track were all trying to sneak past behind me!  A word of warning is needed though. Somewhat surprisingly, on all my recent visits there have been large numbers of Grey Plovers (in various plumages) doing pretty much the same thing whilst, less surprisingly, I’ve seen Golden Plover nearby in the past.  Plovers can superficially resemble sandgrouse in flight but with a decent view there shouldn’t be a problem. However, they do constitute ornithological ‘white noise’ that can distract and make it easier for the target birds to slip through unnoticed!  Even when the sandgrouse aren’t being obliging there’s still plenty to see – Little Owl, Glossy Ibis, Calandra Larks, raptors, etc.  It’s well worth exploring further along the track for sandgrouse as not only is there plenty of suitable habitat but also after c3 km handsome ceramic sign decorated with an illustration of the bird itself, useful confirmation that you’re in the right place!  The ditches here conceal a good variety of herons (I’ve had all three egrets, Grey, Purple, Night and Squacco here) and when flooded with shallow water (a rare circumstance in recent years) it attracts large numbers of Glossy Ibis and waders. Here the track bends to the left to continue all the way to Trebujena (c5 km).  This route would certainly be worth exploring further as sandgrouse-friendly habitat continues until it reaches the low hill on which Trebujena stands whereupon good Rufous Bushchat habitat takes over.  However, the condition of the track quickly deteriorates from this point on so it’s probably better to do so on foot.  If arriving from Trebujena the track (v) starts at GPS 36.8688, -6.1799 next to the far end of Parque La Toya. If you do explore this area then feedback would be very useful as I’ve only done so a couple of times and even then fairly briefly (it's easy to be distracted by the many good ‘known’ sites locally!).  
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Marisma habitat looking towards Trebujena April 2023
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The same area after a wet spring in April 2013
PictureYopu know you're in the right place when you see a sign like this!
It’s well worth exploring further along the track for sandgrouse as far as the Marismas de las Vetas. Not only is there plenty of suitable habitat for sandgrouse but also after c3 km handsome ceramic sign decorated with an illustration of the bird itself, useful confirmation that you’re in the right place!  The ditches here conceal a good variety of herons (I’ve had all three egrets, Grey, Purple, Night and Squacco here) and when flooded with shallow water (a rare circumstance in recent years) it attracts large numbers of Glossy Ibis and waders. Here the track bends to the left to continue all the way to Trebujena (c5 km).  This route would certainly be worth exploring further as sandgrouse-friendly habitat continues until it reaches the low hill on which Trebujena stands whereupon good Rufous Bushchat habitat takes over.  However, the condition of the track quickly deteriorates from this point on so it’s probably better to do so on foot.  If arriving from Trebujena the track (v) starts at GPS 36.8688, -6.1799 next to the far end of Parque La Toya. If you do explore this area then feedback would be very useful as I’ve only done so a couple of times and even then fairly briefly (it's easy to be distracted by the many good ‘known’ sites locally!).  

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Looking back towards La Algaida
Returning to where the Adventus track leaves the road down to the Guadalquivir turn left and park near the ruined tourist development (Chozas Marismeñas).  From here you have a good view across the dry halophytic vegetation.  If the reserve here is open (it rarely seems to be) then a still better spot would be the small tower in its southern corner.  Similarly scanning from the Carretera del Práctico could get results.  Personally, I’ve never seen sandgrouse from either location but others have and some of the birds I have seen appeared drop down into that area.  
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The reserve here is rarely open but if it is the tower is an excellent place to scan for sandgrouse
A final word.  I remain somewhat puzzled why I managed to miss this species in this area for so long. I’m willing to accept that it might be sheer incompetence but, that said, I’ve regularly picked them up here before some of the excellent birders who’ve come with me to search for them and back in the day my hearing was up to detecting their calls at much greater range.  The fact is that the birds seem to cover an enormous area as I've picked them up as dots on the western horizon, followed them as they rocketed past and then lost them again as they reverted to dots on the eastern horizon.  Perhaps, the alarming desiccation of the Coto Doñana has pushed more birds across the river or maybe, more optimistically, that process has increased the species’ population which is now overflowing across the Guadalquivir.
 
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    About me ...

    Hi I'm John Cantelo. I've been birding seriously  since the 1960s when I met up with some like minded folks (all of us are still birding!) at Taunton's School in Southampton.  I have lived in Kent , where I taught History and Sociology, since the late 1970s. In that time I've served on the committees of both my local RSPB group and the county ornithological society (KOS).  I have also worked as a part-time field teacher for the RSPB at Dungeness.  Having retired I now spend as much time as possible in Alcala de los Gazules in SW Spain.   When I'm not birding I edit books for the Crossbill Guides series.

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