The first days of the new year here in Spain brought disruption, destruction and tragically death, all due to Storm Filomena. The entire country was affected – the south was hammered by gale force winds, huge waves and 20% of the usual annual rainfall in a single day. With the exception of the coastal areas, almost all of the nation was blanketed in snow. Up to 50cm fell in Madrid, resulting in hundreds of blocked roads, as well as the closure of the airport and the cancellation of rail services. In the Picos de Europa mountains in the north of Spain, records were broken for the coldest recorded temperature, with a weather station logging a nightime low of -35.6 degrees C! All of this brought huge impacts to all aspects of daily life for millions of people, much of which has been written about elsewhere. But what effects did it have on birdlife? Here in the Valencia Region we witnessed some very interesting results…
Much of the coastal region of the Comunidad Valenciana is well protected by the mountain ranges to the west. Much of the region has a flat coastal plain which is where extensive wetlands as well as the area´s farmland is located. Daytime temperatures at or close to sea-level can often be up to 10 degrees C higher than in the mountainous areas that are only around 90km away. During Storm Filomena, the coastal area of the Valencia Region saw much lower temperatures than usual and experienced a couple of days of heavy rain, but nothing compared to the conditions inland.
Perhaps the saddest bird-related tale was that of the Crag Martin, Spain´s only true resident Martin. As the name suggests, they breed in the mountains, using high crags as nest sites. Unlike their cousins the House Martin and Sand Martin who also breed in Spain, Crag Martins do not migrate to Africa in the winter. Instead, they move from their mountainous breeding grounds down to sea level. During the cooler months of the year, they are a common sight throughout the coastal wetlands, over the beaches and also in towns and cities. Here they can usually find sufficient food to comfortably survive the winter, avoiding the extremely high risks associated with migration. However, the weather conditions brought about by Storm Filomena severely impacted on the availability of food (insects and spiders) for the Crag Martin. Huge numbers of birds were found dead or dying of starvation, investigation revealing that many had lost up to 35% of their usual body weight. Thankfully, the coldest wettest days were relatively few and over the past week I´ve seen many Crag Martins feeding over the many coastal lagoons as well as in the city of Valencia. Let´s hope that the forthcoming breeding season will be a successful one and their numbers can recover. Usually, Crag Martins have two clutches, a considerable positive factor.
A small flock of Crag Martins resting on the roof of a hide at one of Valencia´s many wetland reserves
A more positive aspect of the recent weather conditions was the opportunity to see some bird species that wouldn´t usually be present. The Citril Finch is resident in our region, where its habitat is highland pine forests. As these areas were covered in snow and were hit by extremely low temperatures during Storm Filomena, the Citril Finch temporarily moved to lower altitudes and were seen in areas of scrub much closer to the coast than is usual. Another bird that was forced to move closer to the coast was the Calandra Lark. Usually a bird of high steppe, we often see this handsome lark on trips to see the Great Bustards much further inland, but last week flocks were seen on pastureland at sea level.
Calandra Lark
One of our most popular winter trips is that which takes us into the mountains where the highlight is the Alpine Accentor. They usually over-winter in the rocky mountains of the Valencia Region, and can normally be found on peaks of around 1000 metres in altitude. These too were forced to move to much lower ground during the recent extreme weather.
Alpine Accentor
Perhaps the biggest surprise sighting at our wetlands during the past week was a Dupont´s Lark that has been seen feeding in an area of scrub between the beach and coastal lagoons. The usual habitat for this species is upland plains with low bushes and at least some cover, much further inland, principally in the region of Teruel to the north west of Valencia. So it´s been a real treat to enjoy this very special bird on our doorstep.
Dupont´s Lark
The country is now in a phase of clearing up after the storms – broken trees, abandoned cars, uncollected rubbish and other such residues of the freak weather. As human life slowly returns to something approaching “normal”, the birds that have visited our region will also return to their usual territories. However, we won´t have to wait long for the next round of surprises as we see the start of Spring migration in February! We´re already on the lookout for the first Swallows and Great Spotted Cuckoos, usually the earliest “summer” visitors to arrive in the region.
Written by Dave Warrington.