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Winged concert in the marshes of Seville
PHOTO GALLERY A great winged parade in Extremadura
With the secluded people the intensity of the traffic and the comings and goings of passers-by have decreased. And we discovered that, from our houses, we now listen to birds. In reality, urban birds have been our neighbors forever, and in incalculable numbers; we could count several million copies of sparrows only, and that their population suffers a decline. But the usual decibel volume on city streets was so high that we didn't even realize they existed. Spring provides a perfect time to observe and listen to them - by leaning out of the windows or thanks to the first measures of unconfinement - as they remain very active during the mating and breeding season. In addition, to the resident species (the aforementioned sparrows; starlings; great tit and blackbirds, blue tit, greens, greenfinches; linnets or goldfinches, in areas close to open spaces; pigeons and seagulls, in coastal populations) are added by migrants, who on Saturday May 9 they star in theWorld Migratory Bird Day . For example, swifts, swallows and storks that return to Spain after spending the winter in the Sahel (Africa).
It is also time to observe lesser kestrels, small hawks that nest in the cathedrals of Seville and Jaén, or in the church of San Esteban in Segovia, and always go in groups, forming colonies. "It is very nice to see their silhouettes silhouetted against the illuminated cathedral of Seville", describes Ana Bermejo, coordinator of the SEO / BirdLife Migra program, Spanish Ornithological Society. The scops owl, the smallest raptor on the Iberian peninsula, breeds, for its part, in the hollows of the trees, and can be seen in smaller cities or in urban parks, such as María Luisa's, in the Andalusian capital. Although it is easier to hear them now, another thing is that we urbanites know how to identify their singing, a kind of tweet with a very followed sequence that can be heard from nine or ten at night. "We got the case of a person who complained about an alarm that began to sound in his neighborhood at 9:00 pm ... But it was a scops owl," recalls Bermejo.
Elusive raptors in sight
Experts estimate that 80% of the birds that inhabit Spain are migrants. Many nest far from cities, but with the airspace free of airplanes, it is now possible to see them flying over urban centers. "This year it is not necessary to go to Tarifa or Algeciras to see them. We are observing black kites and black storks, usually very elusive, in their transit to the breeding areas, "says Bermejo. Imperial and royal eagle, black vulture. And Great Bustard, one of the heaviest flying birds known, which is not a migrant, but is rare in urban settings. "Colleagues from the north of Madrid are seeing them," he says. "Looking at the sky is richer than ever."
Sparrow or Greenfinch?
"The first step to identify the birds you see from your window is to look at them, to catch your attention," says Luis Martínez, biologist and coordinator of the SEO / BirdLife Aves de Barrio website. Observation requires binoculars and a bird guide. SEO has a list, an online identifier and the Aves de España mobile application, which allows you to hear your trill. We can start by learning the differences between the most everyday, like a sparrow and a greenfinch, which is a sparrow with greenish tones, and bigger than a verdigris; or between a common airplane and a swift, which is darker and never lands on the ground: it feeds, mates and even sleeps in the air; the swallow can be confused with the common airplane, but it has the most forked tail and a red-orange spot in the throat. "The sight and hearing are becoming", ensures Martinez.
"The rest of the year, the best hours of observation are sunrise and sunset, but in spring the birds are in motion practically all day," he adds. In addition, urban women sing louder, and at a different frequency than their peers in rural or natural areas, to overcome the noise of a city, according to various studies. And they begin to chirp earlier, at dawn, taking advantage of the artificial light and that there is still a certain silence. "It has been shown that the little green, a relative of the canary, sings more on weekends than from Monday to Friday," says Martínez.
With knowledge comes the need to help them. In winter, feeders with seeds come in handy; in spring they are breeding and feeding on insects, and it may be useful to plant ivy, blackberry or elderberry on the balcony to eat their fruits; When you turn the heat on, they will appreciate drinking fountains with water. Swallows or swifts make their nests on eaves of roofs and in holes in buildings or structures; you have to respect them and take care of them ”, asks Bermejo.
Resident storks
In recent decades, 80% of the white stork population does not emigrate, staying in Spain all year. "They have found food in winter, in large landfills and in the American red crab that lives in rice fields," explains Bermejo. They crown bell towers, chimneys or roofs in Alcalá de Henares (Madrid), Huelva, Ciudad Real, Segovia, Tarifa ... But if there are two towns where this bird is an institution, they are Malpartida de Cáceres, European town of the stork, and Alfaro , in La Rioja, with a colony settled in the collegiate church of San Miguel, whose daily life is broadcast live on YouTube.
'Aviary' paradises for urbanites
Now that adults and children can start enjoying the outdoors, here are some bird tracks for the lucky ones who have these green spaces close to home. In Madrid , only 134 species of birds live in the Casa de Campo alone , and up to 40 are easy to observe in the Retiro park , according to eBird , a platform that allows consulting nearby bird- watching areas . Barcelona has as its hot spots the Parc de la Ciutadella , the Parc Güell and the Parc Diagonal Mar , each with more than a hundred species that can be seen, the same number as in the Valencian enclave of El Palma r. And in the west of Malaga , the mouth of the Guadalhorce stretches , a paradise for the observation of waders and water birds, with up to 304 registered species, including the pink flamingo, the white-headed mallow or the cormorant.
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