IF YOU ARE LOOKING AT THE BLOG ON A PHONE PLEASE CHANGE TO WEB VIEW AT BOTTOM OF PAGE AS IT WILL LOOK BETTER, THANKS MICK.

Tuesday 31 March 2009

Another day in the mountains and valleys, Granada Province.

Starting them Young.

Red-billed Chough (Chova Piquirroja / Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax).
Bernard again joined me for a day in the country side around Loja, we were joined today by Kevin and his son a very good little birder called Matthew, who at 10 years old has already learned a lot of good identification skills and field craft and has seen some very good species. We started the day near El Turro seeing Great Spotted Cuckoo (Crialo Europeo / Clamator glandarrius), Hoopoe (Abubilla / Upupa epops), Bonelli's Eagle (Aguila Perdicera / Aquila faciatus), Rock Sparrow (Gorrión Chillón / Petronia petronia), Black Wheatear (Collalba Negra / Oenanthe leucura) and Blue Rock Thrush (Roquero Solitario / Monticola solitarius) around the embalse.
Kevin, Bernard and Mathew.
On the lake there were several Common Pochard (Porrón Europeo / Aythya ferina), Northern Shoveler (Cuchara Común / Anas clypeata), Green Sandpiper (Andarrios Grande / Tringa ochropus), Little Ringed Plover (Chorlitejo Chico / Charadrius dubius) and Water Rail (Rascón Europeo / Rallus aquaticus) heard only. In the reed beds the years first Reed Warblers (Carricero Común / Acrocephalus scirpaceus) were singing along side the resident Cetti's (Ruisenor Bastardo / Cettia cetti) and Sardinian Warblers (Curruca Cabecinegra / Sylvia melanocephala). We then moved up in to the hills and started to see more new species for Matt, including Rock Bunting (Escribano Montesino / Emberiza cia), Dartford Warbler (Curruca Rabilarga / Sylvia undata), Iberian  Magpie (Rabilargo / Cyanopica cooki), Woodchat Shrike (Alcaudón Común/ Lanius senator) and a species he had said was at the top of his wanted list a cracking Golden Eagle (Aguila Real / Aquila chrysaetos).
Rock Sparrow (Gorrión Chillón / Petronia petronia).
Later further up the sierra we picked up 4 Griffon Vultures (Bultre Leonado / Gyps fulvus), Black Redstart (Colirrojo Tizón / Phoenicurus ochruros), Little Owl (Mochuelo Europeo / Athene noctua), Black-eared Wheatear (Collalba Rubia / Oenanthe hispanica), Red-billed Chough (Chova Piquirroja / Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax) and Crag Martin (Avión Roquero / Ptyonoprogne rupestris). By the end of the day the list neared 70 species and I think Matt had see a good few new birds.

No comments: