looduskalender.ee

As we predicted ten days ago, Tõnn has made an extended stay in Spain's Valencia region's Alicante province—more precisely: in the El Hondo Nature Park. Some sources also refer to it as a National Park, but in all cases it's nearly 2,400 hectares of wetlands, where lots of waterbirds winter, including waders and ospreys. So far, we haven't been able to find any reference of a greater spotted eagle. But Tõnn has spent three weeks in El Hondo… Since the area is big enough (about 4 x 5 kilometers) and not all parts of it are accessible, then perhaps greater spotted eagles have simply gone unnoticed before. Tõnn's Christmas stopover point could look about like this:

The El Hondo Wetlands

Since Tõnn has remained relatively stationary, we won't this time publish his exact coordinates. There are some real fanatics out there—trophy hunters, nature photographers, and "twitchers" (birders who stop at nothing to see as many species as possible to add to their "life lists" and various other lists). The greater spotted eagle is rare and can draw too much interest which isn't necessarily to Tõnn's benefit. We're trying to make contact with the local nature conservation officials in order to find the optimal solutions.

Hunting is permitted in El Hondo through the end of January, though only on Sundays. Tõnn must endure four more Sundays and then he can breathe easy. Traditional fishing and reed gathering shouldn't present a danger to him.