Bird Notes From Old Iberia: Thousands of Black Kites, First Phalanx of Short-toed Snake-Eagles

[Alfred Maley]

Yesterday we went out to the reservoir at 8 AM to look for early-flying Black Kites. The temp was acrisp 7 degree C, the sky was cloudless. By 10 AM we had seen about two thousand kites, flapping slowly by in the still air, along with 16 Egyptian Vultures. As the sun rose, the thermals developed and the birds began to rise and soar. I went to walk the dog while Linda lingered and counted another thousand kites before it became too difficult against the blue sky.

The dog, a border collie named Lima, believes it can catch House Sparrows. She chases them from bush to bush (and is fast enough) but the sparrows know just how high to fly (about six feet) to escape Lima’s leaps.

By 5 PM the soaring birds were dropping down, cruising by over the house. Numbers included the first push of perhaps a hundred or so Short-toed Snake-Eagles along with the kites. In the next week or so there will be thousands of these attractive, osprey-sized raptors.

Al Maley
Hampstead NH/Los Barrios Spain