The enigmatic Dupont’s lark is extremely range-restricted in our region. Some friends and I try to track down them at their habitat, and end up having a fantastic migration day with 13 raptor species seen.

Two days birding l’Albufera finished with terrific sunsets. Highlights included a mega greater yellowlegs, wintering jack snipes, a common scoter, the local sacred ibis, and numerous waders and waterfowl.

An intense full day watching birds in Alicante delivers a great final count for our party of three. Different migrant birds seen include four different Eurasian hobbies, definitely the top species of the day.

September brought the opportunity to look for long-awaited species: dotterel and northern bald ibis. Bee-eaters, wheatears, flycatchers, honey-buzzards, and whinchats showed up everywhere.

Palawan island is a paradise of dreamy beaches and rainforest endemics. Despite several inconveniences, we connect with great specialties of the island. I reached my 1000th lifer in Palawan with an unexpected species.