hi all.....

[Jayne B]

Hi everyone, first post from me, its just a couple of questions....we first moved down here, (costa del sol, estepona area), about a year ago an took a rental in what turned out to be another empty apartment block, totaly finished but only us there..nice and quiet...the only neighbours we had were a couple of pairs of what I would describe as kestrel type birds nesting in the planters of the empty apartments...just wondered if anyone could tell me what they are...they are about the size of a pidgeon but obviously far sleeker, with what I can describe as Spitfire shaped wings, the leading edge being totaly straight from just behind the head and curving back from the tip of the wing, they are a mid tone brown colour, but the last third of the wing is much darker, almost a charcoal...
anyone..


 We have since moved from the "kestrel" apartment block to a flat which overlooks a golf course, very established course with plenty of mature trees and undergrowth...as the crow flies only a couple of hundred meters from the coast...so to the point...yesterday I saw what I think (after doing some research on here), were two Egyptian Mongoose sprinting off the fairway into the rough.  Its the second sighting in two weeks as my other half said that he saw something that resembled an over grown ferret in the same area the other week...from tip to tail they must be nearly three feet long, and very very quick. also we hear a "shrieking" noise during the night coming from the same area....Is it possible that Egyptian Mongoose could be down here living under our noses in what is a fairly "urban" area.?

[Dave]

Hi Jayne
Welcome to  from a beautiful sunny León in the Northwest.
Sounds like a kestrel either common or lesser, we have them nesting on the tower blocks here. As far as the Mongoose is concerned, someone local had better answer that.
regards
Dave

[lisa]

Hi Jayne, welcome to the  forum from even further north (and overcast, again). Egyptian mongoose is Meloncillo in Spanish if that helps 

[tonyninfas]

Hi Jayne.
Welcome to this great helpful and informative forum.
Tony

[nick]

Hi Jayne and welcome.

Interesting first post. Note sure. Will investigate. Not found anything yet on semi-urban meloncillos, but it did take me to this interesting page on fauna urbana. Check out otter scat with view of Zaragoza cathedral behind (right hand menu scroll down).

http://mamiferosurbanos.blogspot.com/

Slightly off topic: Another thing is how "urban" really is a golf course. Many are far more divese habitats than, say, fields of maize in the middle of La Mancha. The roads, homes and facilites surrounding them, and their use of the water is another issue, of course.

[Tembo]

Hi Jayne,

Welcome to the forum.

Your description of a very large ferret certainly fits with an Egyptian mongoose. They are very long (three foot is about right for an adult) and have a low-slung appearance when they run. They also have a very distinctive black tail tassel, so look for that if you see them again. They are known from that part of Spain and I imagine a golf course would provide suitable habitat for them. They can be quite noisy when they're moving in pairs or in a group (they make constant communications calls), but as far as I know they're almost entirely diurnal, so I doubt that they're responsible for the strange noises at night. That's more likely to be a fox.

Tembo

[Clive]

Hi Jayne, welcome to

yes, definately there are Egyptian mongoose on the golf courses in Estepona... Which one are you on? These great creatures are present from the beach zones and inland in the rio padron area which is where I have seen them... You will see them in the day time and dusk and dawn so I would agree the noises you hear at night could be foxes or something else.... best thing for that is to get a cheap sound recorder and upload the sounds here to the forum for us to listen to...

Looking forward to more info from your neck of the woods! 

[Sue]

Hi Jayne, welcome to the forum,
I'd love to take photos of Egyptian mongoose but as you say they are so fast, sprinting from one overgrown area to another. The only time I've ever watched one for a minute or so, I had no camera with me.
regards,
Sue

[Jayne B]

No sightings so far this weekend, but its only 10am so there is time yet...still have the nightime and early morning calls whether it be a fox or not...and last sunday we had a visit to the golf course by what i can only describe as a very large bird of prey, possibly a span of four feet...circling on the thermals at eye level only fifty yards away, then it tried to take a perch in a tree but picked the wrong branch, couldnt support its weight, nose dived a little then flew off..will try and discover what it was, hopefully it will return....back to the oversized ferretts....the black tassle at the tail end must be the deciding factor here..they definiately have them, very striking...will keep my eyes peeled....oh yeah, Portugese men of war washed up on the beach too....got some pics...

10.35 am. just heard the nightime noise again, nipped out on the terrace to have a look but nothing..only the first batch of golfers for today...possibly a warning call ??

[Technopat]

Greetings Jayne B and belated greetings from sunny cold 'n' grey Madrid 

Not only are you at the ideal height for watching soaring birds, you also seem ideally situated for taking potshots at golfers... will check with admins to see if I'm allowed to post tips on where to aim.

Looking-forward-to-reading-of-more-foxy-mongoosey-sightings regs.,
Technopat