As previously detailed, here in Spain, we´re now enjoying a little more freedom as the Covid-19 lockdown is being gradually eased. We have a short time-slot in the mornings and again in the evenings when we´re able to go for a walk within a 1km radius of home. I´m not yet able to make the short trip to my local wetlands, beach or to the mountains that I can see from home, but the new situation has given me the opportunity to look much closer at the bird life that´s on my doorstep.
Only last night, whilst strolling around the neighbourhood, I heard a singing Nightingale, saw hundreds of Swifts, a Kestrel and a Glossy Ibis in flight. But the point of this article is to outline in a little more detail my outing last Sunday morning.
Our neighbourhood of Benimaclet enjoys what you could term as the “best of both worlds” in that it was once a village, separated from the city of Valencia, so still has many of the original houses, narrow streets and church square. It´s very much a family orientated residential area, and is within a few minute´s Metro ride of the city centre of Valencia. The apartment blocks seldom extend beyond around seven storeys, and a hugely important social and cultural element of Benimaclet is its array of urban allotments where locals take pride in growing their own (very often organic) fruit and vegetables. These provide a much valued link to the agricultural origins of the area. There are also a number of patches of “waste ground” which thankfully are left to grow wild, providing some crucial green spaces in which nature can thrive. It was the allotments and waste ground that I focussed on last Sunday. I left home at around 7:15am and spent an hour and a half looking closely at what bird life these small urban oases hold.
Uncertain of what I was going to find, but ever hopeful, my morning began with quite a surprise. Within only 50 metres of my front door, I heard a vaguely familiar song, seemingly coming from a nearby bush. I kept still and carefully scanned around with my binoculars. After just a few minutes a male Whitethroat appeared, soon to be followed by the female. They didn´t remain in the open long enough to allow for a photo, but just seeing these great little birds so close to my home was somehow very special! On the same patch of waste ground I also saw Great Tit, Blackbird, House Sparrow and Goldfinch.
I then followed an old lane between allotments, enjoying the sight of Swifts, Swallows and House Martins all feeding in the sky. A small flock of noisy Ring Necked Parakeets passed over before coming to rest for a while on an overhead cable. A similar but distinct call from behind me caught my attention, and I turned to see another brightly coloured bird – this time a Monk Parakeet.
Dotted around the outskirts of the neighborhood are a few of the old farmhouses from days gone by, and one of them has a huge fig tree right next to it. I stood in the shade and checked out movement from within it. I saw the usual Collared Doves, a Wood Pigeon, a small group of Spotless Starlings and a few House Sparrows. I´ve learnt during my time in Spain always to check Sparrows more closely, and this has often resulted in a few surprises. Today, such attention rewarded me with great views of Tree Sparrows!
Sunday turned out to be an especially hot day and as the sun was climbing and more and more people were venturing out, I decided to generally head back towards home. Yellow Legged Gulls were passing overhead followed by a few Black Headed Gulls and a small group of Cattle Egrets. Walking along a street, I checked the lamp posts and noticed a male Kestrel perched on top of one. The Kestrel has been one of the birds that I´ve seen every day during the lockdown, usually from the balcony as they fly past, often below me. There´s obvioulsy a healthy local population.
A short walk across an area of waste ground gave me fabulous views of Zitting Cisticola, a bird that I´ve mentioned a lot lately and one that seems to be breeding increasingly in urban green spaces. I also saw a juvenile Serin.
As I turned into my street I had one more look around, and to my delight I spotted a Greenfinch on a palm tree in the allotments opposite our apartment. I have to say, I´d love to be in my favourite mountains right now, but my short foray around my immediate urban surroundings had been so very interesting and hugely rewarding. Nature is always around us, I guess it´s a question of taking the time to notice it.
Written by Dave Warrington.