Friday 5 July 2013

LITTLE SWIFT: BACK AGAIN IN ALANGE

Little Swift (Apus affinis) photographed in Cádiz by Ricardo Rodríguez. 
Photo taken from blog: Aves Ricardo Rodríguez. 

 Just over a year ago, on 20th June 2012, the first Little Swift (Apus affinis) was seen in Extremadura, specifically in Alange (Badajoz), the only place in the region where all of the Iberian swift species have been seen. The lucky observer was José Antonio Román. Now, in 2013 and at the same place, Little Swift has been seen again, and who knows, possibly the same individual bird is involved. It was located on 1st July by Sergio Pérez Gil and on 3rd July by José Antonio Román. The bird flew over the crags there as well as over the town and on both occasions it was seen in the evening (at about 20.00). The possibility exists that it may even be nesting there. The species is no longer considered a national rarity and these new observations, which we hope will not the only ones of the season, are considered reliable. Up until now, all breeding records in Spain have been limited to three provinces in Andalucía (mainly Cádiz, and also Sevilla and Málaga).

Translated by Martin Kelsey.