A Mornings Birding, Granada Province.

Road to Alhama de Granada and the local patch.

Red-legged Partridge (Perdiz Roja / Alectoris rufa).

After getting some information from John a birder in Salar that he had seen a Black-winged Kite (Elanio Común / Elanus caeruleus) at KM18 on the Salar to Alhama, I set off not hopeful as John had said it was being pushed about by a Common Kestrel (Cernicalo Vulgar / Falco tinnunculus). I arrived at the site and picked up several Common Kestrels and as expected there was no sign of the Kite. A flock of Calandra Larks (Calandria / Melanocorypha calandra) landed nosily in a newly harvested field a hundred yards away, Skylark (Alondra Común / Alauda arvensis) and Crested Larks (Cogujada Común / Galerida cristata) were also seen along with large numbers of Corn Buntings (Triguero / Miliaria calandra) and Rock Sparrows (Gorrión Chillón / Petronia petronia). 

Little Bustard (Sisón Común / Tetrax tetrax).

Heading back towards Salar Iberian Grey Shrike (Alcaudón Real Meridional / Lanius meridionalis), Mistle Thrush (Zorzal Charlo / Turdus viscivorus), Iberian  Magpie (Rabilargo / Cyanopica cooki), Common Magpies (Urraca / Pica pica), Spotless Starlings (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor), Red-legged Partridge (Perdiz Roja / Alectoris rufa), Hoopoe (Abubilla / Upupa epops) and Sardinian Warbler (Curruca Cabecinegra / Sylvia melanocephala) were all added to the list.

Arriving back on my own patch, I soon found the Little Bustard (Sisón Común / Tetrax tetrax) flock again and with a little bit of a bouncy drive along one of the farm tracks I was able to get decent views for a count. 183 birds were in the flock along with 8 Northern Lapwings (Avefria Europea / Vanellus vanellus) and 3 Stone-curlews (Alcaraván Común / Burhinus oedicnemus).  

Little Bustards (Sisón Común / Tetrax tetrax).

Meadow Pipits (Bistita Común / Anthus pratensis) and more Skylark (Alondra Común / Alauda arvensis) were moving around the fields and at least 20 Barn Swallows (Golondrina Común / Hirundo rustica) were passing through low. In the back of the field a small group of Cattle Egrets (Garcilla Bueyera / Bubulcus ibis) were following a tractor with a hay turner, feeding on the mass of insects he was disturbing. About five minutes later he turned on to the field where the Bustards were and flushed the lot!