la mata park volunteers: June 2016

Visit to El Hondo

Trip to El Hondo (North gate)

25 June 2016

At 0830 on a sunny Saturday morning, eight members of our group met at the North gate of the El Hondo Parque. We were joined by Stefan and Els from the Costa Blanca Bird Club who had kindly agreed to act as our guides.

The North gate of El Hondo is approximately 2 km further on from the visitor centre and can only be accessed on a Saturday morning between 0830 and 1130 and by prior arrangement with the visitor centre (access is free). This restricted access means that there is less human disturbance and therefore different bird species can be seen.

Our first stop was the tower platform which gives good views over one of the lagoons and reed beds. Here, we were fortunate enough to meet Graham, an extremely experienced and knowledgeable birder who directed our attention to various species. We then moved on to the hide at the end of the track and during a stay of approximately 1.5 hours over 40 species of bird were seen. A brief stop at one of the smaller hides on our return to the entrance revealed a variety of warblers.

At 1130 and after thanking Stefan and Els for their help we left.

Three members continued bird watching at the visitor centre where several more species were added to the list.

We hope to arrange a further visit during the migration season.

Habanera in the Park

On 21 May the world premiere of an habanera written and performed by the teachers and children of school “Cuba” in Torrevieja took place behind the Information Centre at the Parque Natural de La Mata. This was the culmination of months of work done by members of the park staff, Jose Manuel and Silvia, attending the school and the children visiting the park to learn of the importance of the salt lakes to the economy and natural history of the area. The habanera thus represents a fusion of the cultural and natural heritages of the area.

As well as their own habanera, the children and musicians performed several other more traditional habeneras.

The setting, the weather and the performances added up to a magnificent occasion and all those present were extremely appreciative.

Andouin Gulls ringing

Ringing Audouin Gull chicks

On Monday 13 June, Peter Green, Ana and I joined a group of Parque employees and other personnel at the Salinas in Torrevieja for the purpose of ringing the Audouin gull chicks.

The Audouin gull is a threatened species and the population at Torrevieja is extremely important both nationally and internationally. Ringing of these birds allows scientific data related to these birds to be collected. Two rings are placed on each bird, a metal one which has a unique number,this is registered internationally so that if any bird is captured (or found dead) all data relating to that bird can be accessed. On the other leg a plastic ring with prominent black numbers and letters on a white background is placed. These codes can be read using binoculars etc so the birds do not need to be captured, this provides information regarding age, population movement etc.

We were split into teams consisting of one qualified bird ringer, a person in charge of the rings, a recorder and two people to find the chicks (that was Peter and I in our team). Within two hours 200 birds had been found and rung. In addition our team found an adult gull injured by a fishing hook and a chick with a damaged wing, both these were taken for appropriate veterinary care.