Houbara Bustard
Houbara Bustard
Houbara Bustard
Conservation area
Looking for migrants
Spectacled Warbler
Just love this shot of singing Sardinian Warbler
Trumpeter Finch
Cream-coloured Courser
Cream-coloured Courser
We were out early on our first full day on the island arriving on the Tindara Plains for 7.30am. The tracks out the village were easy enough to pick up, it was just a case of picking the right one. The key is to creep along slowly and scan hard every 200 metres. This tactic worked well as we picked up our first Houbara Bustards feeding in the vegetation.
It's thought there is around 350 Bustards on the island split between the north & the south. The males have territories of 500-1000 metres whilst most courtship takes place between December & March. Their diets consist of small lizards, beetles, grasshoppers and snails. The species have habitat challenges with the expansion of quarries and building developments. Chicks have predation issues with Ravens, Barbury Falcons, Vultures and feral dogs. There are now areas that are designated for the Bustards which will hopefully help sustain the population.
At the end of the plain we record both Sardinian & Spectacled Warblers along with our first Turtle Dove, displaying Collared Doves & more Trumpeter Finches.
We then decided to try the track to the east which ran towards the coast. After about a mile we picked up our first Cream-coloured Courser quickly followed by another. The second bird was really close enabling me to get a couple of pleasing shots. We then saw two birds take flight showing their distinctive black outer wing & black underwing.
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