{"id":5621,"date":"2015-12-28T13:33:42","date_gmt":"2015-12-28T13:33:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/birdingthestrait.com\/?p=995"},"modified":"2024-03-26T12:52:42","modified_gmt":"2024-03-26T12:52:42","slug":"spotted-eagles-in-the-strait-of-gibraltar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/birdingthestrait.com\/blog\/spotted-eagles-in-the-strait-of-gibraltar\/","title":{"rendered":"Exceptional spotted eagle season in the Strait of Gibraltar"},"content":{"rendered":"

The last months of 2015 have been exceptional for spotted eagles (sensu lato<\/em>) in the Strait of Gibraltar. Over 10 putative Lesser Spotted Eagles Aquila<\/em> pomarina<\/em> (LSE) have been recorded from the 25th August, when Victor Estrada photographed in Tarifa the first bird of the autumn, to the 17th<\/sup> of November when we photographed a juvenile. Remarkably, 4-5 different individuals where observed in a two days <\/a>lapse, between the 23rd<\/sup> and 25th of September. This is probably the largest presence of LSE ever recorded in Spain, where the species is considered a rarity with only 7 records officially accepted by the national committee of rare birds up to 2013 (J.L. Cop\u00e9te in Litt<\/em>.)<\/p>\n

The plate below compiles nine records of different putative LSE photographed in the Strait of Gibraltar during the autumn of 2015. None of these records have been reviewed by the rare birds committee yet. As far as we know, 3 to 5 additional possible records took place over the same period.<\/p>\n

\"mosaico\"
Up-left:<\/strong> 25th Aug, Tarifa, Joan Estrada & Victor Estrada; Up-center:<\/strong> 23th Sept, La Janda, Javi Elorriaga \/ Birding The Strait & Hadoram Shirihai; Up-right:<\/strong> 23th Sept, La Janda, Javi Elorriaga \/Birding The Strait & Hadoram Shirihai; Center-left:<\/strong> 24th Sept, Tarifa, Karen Prisby & Alejandro Onrubia \/F.Migres; Center-center:<\/strong> 24th Sept, Tarifa, Javi Elorriaga\/Birding The Strait & Bert Savijn; Center-right:<\/strong> 10th Oct, Tarifa, Juan Sagardia et al; Bottom-left:<\/strong> 21st Oct, Tarifa, Ed Hunter, Miquel Bonet & Jorge Rojo (the same individual was photographed the same day in a different area of Tarifa by Yeray Seminario\/Birding The Strait); Bottom-center:<\/strong> 28th Oct, Tarifa, Alexandre Justo; Bottom-left:<\/strong> 17th Nov, Tarifa, Yeray Seminario & Javi Elorriaga \/Birding The Strait.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

*Update:<\/em><\/span> Carlos Torralvo\/F.Migres photographed an adult LSE on the 10th of October in Algeciras, which together with the juv seen in Cazalla, makes the second Eagle of the day.<\/p>\n

\"Sin
Two views of th same adult LSE seen in Algarrobo (Algeciras) by Carlos Torralvo \/ F.Migres on the 10th of October.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In general terms, all these records fit well within the \u201cminor migration route across the Iberian Peninsula\u201d scenario described here<\/a> for the LSE. However, there is an additional series of records that deserve special attention. These involve three presumed hybrids (or backcrosses) between LSE and Greater Spotted Eagle Aquila clanga<\/em> (GSE), including a satellite tracked juvenile from Lithuania.<\/p>\n

To put these records into perspective we recommend reading this paper<\/a>, where the widespread hybridization between the two spotted eagle species in Europe is highlighted by means of microsatellite genetic analysis.<\/p>\n

\u2022 On 29th<\/sup> October, Jose Mari Niebla photographed a striking juvenile in La Janda. As far as we know, this individual was not seen again until 20th<\/sup> December, when we got excellent views of it in the same area. Therefore, this individuals seems to be a wintering bird probably wandering over a  large range, which complicated relocating it.<\/p>\n

\"Sin
Juvenile “spotted eagle” photographed at La Janda by Jose Mari Niebla (29th October; left) and Javi Elorriaga (20th December, right). The gap in the central pair of tail feathers, the imperfections in the outter primaries of the right wing and other plumage details evidence that both pictures are from the same individual.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

From a phenological point of view, the dates when this individual was observed fit better with a short-distance migrant (GSE) rather than with a long-distance migrant (LSE), which by late December should be south of the Sahara.<\/p>\n

\"_MG_1818b\"<\/p>\n

\"_MG_1828\"<\/p>\n

\"_MG_1811\"
Different views of the same pressumed hybrid juvenile “spotted eagle” in La Janda, 20th December.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There is a general consensus on the mixed origin of this individual among the many fellows that have kindly shared their thoughts. Apparently, most plumage and structural features correspond to GSE, although the barring of the remiges suggests certain degree of LSE influence. For those interested in going deeper into the field identification hints we eagerly recommend reading Dick Forsman\u00b4s blog <\/a>and Jan Lontkowski and Grzegorz Maciorowski paper in Dutch Birding<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Between the 14th<\/sup> of October and the 24th<\/sup> of November, a hybrid LSE x GSE satellite tracked from its nest in Lithuania wandered around La Janda and beyond. The complete migration route of this individual can be tracked with outstanding detail in Movebank<\/a>. Ornitela website <\/a>provides very interesting additional information, including pictures of the nestling and its near fatal collision with a wind turbine in C\u00e1diz (a must read!). The map below shows the migration route of this juvenile hybrid eagle (in red) and another juvenile raised by the same mixed pair in 2014 (in blue).<\/p>\n

The original source and further information can be found  in http:\/\/www.ornitela.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n