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And that is why the hides are where they are, not to admire the scenery (or shoot at it – hunting is prohibited in the reserve and the ban is enforced). For example, the White-headed Duck is nowadays a rarity in Europe (okay, excluding Spain, I know… that Spain …), but until some 50 years ago, it used to breed in Serbia.
So, yes, it was Spain. Specifically, rural northwestern Spain, at various points along the Camino de Santiago, an ancient pilgrimage route to the supposed burial place of Saint James the apostle and, before that, to the westernmost point in continental Europe, the supposed End of the Earth, the Finis Terra.
According to some sources, when the so-called Pilgrims settled in for the First Thanksgiving Dinner with the local Native Americans, in 1620, they dined on Turkey, and this Turkey came from the Old World, from stock that was originally brought to Spain by Columbus. They may have also had hunting dogs with them as well.
At the time of writing, my British year list stands at a modest but satisfactory 139, while my European list is on 173, thanks to a visit to southern Spain in February. Wader watching in spring is always exciting, as so many of these birds are transformed when they acquire their breeding finery.
If you see a flock of kestrels in southern Europe, then the chances are that they will be Lessers, for the Common Kestrel never flocks, though occasionally in summer you will see a family hunting together. However, in Southern Spain a small number of birds are resident. Last month in Andalucia I saw only males.
First recorded breeding on the island in 2013, this dove is now both widespread and common. Cyprus Wheatears are the easiest to find of the three endemic birds that occur on Cyprus Black Francolins once bred in Portugal, Spain and Italy, all countries from which this handsome little game bird has long been lost.
While the hunting of game with trained birds of prey can be a controversial topic among birders , falconry was a valuable early source of information on birds, and its history, culture, and imagery continue to fascinate bird lovers, as we shall see. A falconry scene from the Severa Bible, a Sephardic bible from early 14th-century Spain.
Image by Adam Riley Of the 115 African species now listed as Endangered or Critically Endangered, nearly half occur on the islands surrounding Africa or are non-breeding migrants to Africa. There has been growth in the breeding population at the colonies in Morocco (now estimated at 106 breeding pairs and approximately 500 birds in total).
Sadly, they no longer breed in Algeria, while in Turkey no free-flying birds remain. (In Intriguingly, there are far more Bald Ibises in captivity than there are in the wild, for this is a bird that breeds readily in confinement. In 1890 an estimated 3,000 pairs nested in Birecik.)
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