Migrating and wintering thrushes within the Iberian Peninsula


Simply two thrushes breed throughout a lot of the Iberian Peninsula: The Eurasian Blackbird (Turdus merula) and the Mistle Thrush (Turdus viscivorus). Two others have a restricted breeding distribution within the north: Song Thrush (Turdus philomelos) throughout the Cantabrian Mountains and the Pyrenees, and Ring Ouzel (Turdus torquatus) within the Pyrenees. Come this time of 12 months and the sample adjustments radically because the peninsula is swamped with big numbers of migratory thrushes.

Eurasian Blackbird
Mistle Thrushes

Within the south, the dominant migratory thrush numerically is the Tune Thrush, arriving in massive flocks with substantial numbers crossing the Strait of Gibraltar onto Morocco. These birds are largely of Scandinavian, German, Dutch and Baltic origin. Redwings (Turdus iliacus) additionally attain the south however in smaller numbers and by no means within the massive flocks that winter additional north in Iberia. These birds additionally attain Morocco. Scandinavia is the principle supply of those Redwings. Fieldfares are a lot scarcer within the south of Iberia than the north, the place they kind big flocks, however do I see them repeatedly within the larger mountains near Gibraltar. They’re additionally of Scandinavian origin and a few attain Morocco.

Tune Thrush
Redwing
Fieldfare

Ring Ouzels inform us a special story. Of their case the mountains of the Iberian Peninsula, significantly the south and east, and Morocco kind a serious wintering stronghold. It’s fascinating that two sub-species meet right here within the wintering grounds and could also be seen alongside one another within the mountains: the darkly-coloured nominate sub-species, which breeds within the British Isles and Scandinavia, and the heavily-scaled alpestris from the mountain ranges of the Pyrenees, Alps and presumably different central European mountains.

Ring Ouzel (torquatus sub-species)
Ring Ouzel (alpestris sub-species)

The 2 species which have massive and widespread breeding populations throughout the peninsula – Blackbird and Mistle Thrush – even have their numbers augmented in winter by migrants from the north. I recall ringing thrushes within the Organic Reserve at Doñana (SW Spain) and catching Blackbirds which have been clearly migratory. Most noticeable have been their lengthy and pointed wings, which contrasted with the shorter, more-rounded, ones of the native birds. These migratory blackbirds come from central and north-western Europe – Germany, France, England, Switzerland. I typically come throughout Mistle Thrushes in uncommon places right now of 12 months and I attribute these to migratory birds on passage. These birds attain the southernmost limits of the wintering vary in Morocco the place they might combine with the native sub-species deichleri that’s reported to carry out its personal altitude actions, to decrease floor, within the winter.

Eurasian Blackbird
Fieldfare
Fieldfare
Mistle Thrush
Tune Thrush

A key function of the thrush wintering within the Iberian Peninsula is the dependence on fruiting shrubs. Within the mountains they’re typically related to stands of juniper or hawthorn. Rowan are additionally favourites. Fieldfares are a fan of apples. At Doñana, we might ring Tune Thrushes, Redwings, Blackbirds and even Ring Ouzels within the autumn and winter. They have been additionally in juniper stands, this time proper down on the coast. A number of recoveries of Redwings and Tune Thrushes confirmed the extent of the nomadic actions of those thrushes through the winter, birds ringed in Doñana in November having traveled again north to the Pyrenees by January. As soon as once more, the thought of a wintering floor, so ingrained in our minds, will not be one which the birds themselves appear to subscribe to! It appears clear that the actions comply with the ripening of the fruit, though how they know and discover them is a little bit of a thriller.



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