Laguna Herrera, Archidona and Salinas, Malaga Province.

Return wader migration gets under way.

Southern Skimmer (Orthetrum brunneum).

I set the alarm a bit earlier than normal to give me time to have a good look at the Laguna on the way to the Hotel. The bird numbers were well up, waders made up a good percentage of the new arrivals. On the near shore there were at least 2x Wood Sandpipers (Andarrios Bastardo / Tringa Glareola), 30+ Green Sandpiper (Andarrios Grande / Tringa ochropus), 25+ Curlew Sandpipers (Correlimos Zarapitin / Calidris ferruginea), 10+ Common Sandpiper (Andarrios Chico / Actitis hypoleucos), 100+ Black-winged Stilt (Ciguenuela Común / Himantopus himantopus), 50+ Avocets (Avoceta Común/ Recurvirostra avosetta), 1x Little Stint (Correlimos Menudo / Calidris minuta), 30+ Little Ringed Plover (Chorlitejo Chico / Charadrius dubius) and Kentish Plover (Chorlitejo Patinegro / Charadrius alexandrinus).

On the water Mallard (Anade Azulón / Anas platyrhynchos) were the commonest bird but they were joined by good numbers of Northern Shoveler (Cuchara Común / Anas clypeata), Eurasian Coot (Focha Común / Fulica atra), Common Moorhen (Gallineta Común / Gallinula Chloropus), Little Grebe (Zampullín Común / Tachybaptus ruficollis), Greater Flamingo (Flamenco Común / Phoenicopterus ruber), Yellow-legged Gull (Gaviota Patiamarilla / Larus Michahellis) and Black-headed Gull (Gaviota Riedora / Larus ridibundus).

Overhead a couple of Gull-billed Terns (Pagaza Piconegra / Gelochelidon nilotica) were feeding over the fields, along with Lesser Kestrel (Cernicola Primilla / Falco naumanni), Barn (Golondrina Común / Hirundo rustica) and Red-rumped Swallows (Golondrina Dáurica / Hirundo daurica), Pallid (Vencejo Pálido / Apus pallidus) and Common Swifts (Vencejo Común / Apus apus) and Montagu's Harrier (Aguilucho Cenizo / Circus pygargus).

Red-veined Darter (Sympetrum fonscolombii).

On the fields and in the surrounding reed beds I picked up Western Cattle Egret (Garcilla Bueyera / Bubulcus ibis), Reed Warbler (Carricero Común / Acrocephalus scirpaceus), Zitting Cisticola (Buitrón / Cisticola juncidis), Spanish (Yellow) Wagtail (Lavandera Boyera / Motacilla flava iberiae), Woodchat Shrike (Alcaudón Común / Lanius senator) and Cetti’s Warbler (Ruisenor Bastardo / Cettia cetti).

I then went to the Hotel to meet the guest and we all made our way out towards Archidona and for the usual route there around the top of Arroya Marin. Finn one of the guests had a keen interest in the local wildlife so I was all too happy to show him what was on show on the way round. We saw Iberian  Magpie (Rabilargo / Cyanopica cooki), European Bee-eater (Abejaruco Común / Merops apiaster), Turtle Dove (Tórtola Europea / Streptopelia turtur), Hawfinch (Picogordo / Coccotraustes coccotraustes) and down along the stream we saw several White Featherleg (Platycnemis latipes) Damselflies.

On the way home I called at the small pool at Salinas where I added a new species to the Dragonflies I have seen there, two male Southern Skimmers (Orthetrum brunneum). Also seen were Blue / Common Emperor (Anax imperator), Broad Scarlet (Crocothemis erythraea), Epaulet Skimmer (Orthetrum chrysostigma), Red-veined Darter (Sympetrum fonscolombii) and Iberian Bluetail (Ischnura graellsii).