almerimartoday

Thanks to John Wi for his latest bird watching article.

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Local Birds of Prey

What exactly is a bird of prey? My books all seem agreed on the fact that they are birds that hunt and feed on living creatures but, if that were to be the only criteria, then kingfishers, bee-eaters, fly-catchers, oystercatchers, herons and shrikes, to name but a few, would all fulfil that requirement and birds of prey would form one of the largest sub-groups of birds. Clearly there has to be further definition in order to arrive at a specification that seems to meet the generally agreed ‘bird of prey’ classification prescribed in most birding literature.

By introducing two additional criteria, their size and bill shape, we can refine our list of hundreds of ‘bird of prey’ down to a mere few dozen within the European region. If we exclude most birds that are smaller than pigeons we clearly exclude the much smaller kingfishers, flycatchers and bee-eaters for example from our long list. Most of these smaller birds live on insects or small creatures that they can devour in a single gulp which excludes all of the small birds included in my original list. Herons, for instance, do catch larger fish and frogs but they also swallow their prey in a single gulp and do not rip them apart before feeding on them. The birds of prey, or ‘Raptors’ as they are known, cannot eat their catch so easily and are equipped with a hooked beak suitable for tearing flesh off the body of their prey.

We are blessed with quite a selection of birds of prey in the Almerimar area, possibly as many as 30 different species during the course of a year, and many of them are frequently visible to anyone who cares to seek them out.

Booted Eagles, Marsh Harriers, Buzzards, Sparrow Harks, Kestrel and Lesser Kestrels can be seen almost daily and a number of owls are present albeit most are nocturnal and difficult to find. Most of these have featured in previous articles of this series but a quick review of them may renew your interest and encourage to actively go out to seek them


The Booted Eagles are probably the most obvious of the larger birds of prey frequently on view. They can be seen soaring majestically over the golf course and cliffs and we currently have a family of three; father, mother and, quite probably, one of their offspring. Look for the white patches on the underside of their wings and the splayed ‘fingers’ at the ends of their wings. The photos below were taken near the hotel as the birds soared above the golf course looking for small mammals or frogs.

Another much darker bird of prey that is almost as large is the Marsh Harrier (below). Generally seen early in the morning or late afternoon this dark brown harrier may be spotted flying low above the reed beds anywhere along the string of lakes from the Puntas Entinas to Lago Vitoria. Flying just above the reeds with their wings beating a slow regular rhythm they will suddenly dive into the thick undergrowth to capture an unsuspecting frog or water-vole.

Three smaller ‘pigeon sized’ raptors are the Sparrowhawk, Kestrel and Lesser Kestrel. These may be more difficult to identify as they can look very similar from a distance. Their hunting habits are quite different though. The fantastically agile Sparrowhawk is a bird hunter and may be seen chasing smaller birds which it may take in the air or from a perch. The kestrels more usually hover in a stationary position high above the ground. They can survey a wide area of ground looking for mice, lizards or other small creatures which they swoop down on to devour.

Sparrowhawk	Lesser Kestrel
Young Kestrel	Kestrel

Owls have a unique shape that most people recognise. Most owls have a flat round face with large eyes which enable them to see well in the dark. These are essential as most owls are nocturnal and need sharp eyes as they hunt small rodents, insects and lizards.

The picture below shows a Little Owl which I spotted recently at the roadside as I drove along the cliff-top road to Roquetas.

Finally, an American raptor for you to look for if you take a walk along the cliff-top. This visitor is not here as a matter of choice but is a captive hunter that never-the-less seems to enjoy its’ life in Spain. It is a young Harris Hawk owned by a young Spaniard who exercises it daily allowing it to fly freely for several minutes at a time. At a whistle it returned to the boy who fed it a tit-bit as reward. Whilst I do not condone bird captivity, particularly in cages, I watched this couple enjoying their ‘sport’ for over thirty minutes and could not identify any element of cruelty.  So long as the boy retains an interest in the bird and does not neglect it they may enjoy each others company for a long time as the Harris Hawk could live for up to twenty years.