Huétor Fields, Granada Province.

A couple of hours on the local patch.

Western Cattle Egret (Garcilla Bueyera / Bubulcus ibis).

I spent a couple of hours on the fields just to the north of Huétor Tajar just having a look at some of the species that were about. On the track along the Arroya I was hoping for the Little Bustard (Sisón Común / Tetrax tetrax) flock we had seen a couple of days ago but found a tractor ploughng up the cut Lucerne fields. Around 30 Western Cattle Egrets (Garcilla Bueyera / Bubulcus ibis) were following his plough picking off any thing that was disturbed. 

Corn Bunting (Triguero / Emberiza calandra).

Good numbers of Crested (Cogujada Común / Galerida cristata), Calandra (Calandria / Melanocorypha calandra), Sky (Alondra Común / Alauda arvensis) and Thekla Larks (Cogujada Montesina / Galerida theklae) were joined by lots of Meadow Pipits (Bistita Común / Anthus pratensis), Linnets (Pardillo Común / Carduelis cannabina) and Tree Sparrows (Gorrión Molinero / Passer Montanus) on the rougher stubble areas. Several smal flocks of Iberian  Magpie (Rabilargo / Cyanopica cooki) and Spotless Starlings (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor) were in the Poplar plantations along with at least 25 Mistle (Zorzal Charlo / Turdus viscivorus) and equal numbers of Song Thrushes (Zorzal Común / Turdus philomelos).  

Corn Buntings (Triguero / Emberiza calandra) were everywhere and some birds were perched up high singing (well rattling) just like a spring morning. In some small drainage ditches on the side of the Mesia road Cetti’s Warblers (Ruisenor Bastardo / Cettia cetti) were also blasting out their notes and over head the songs of both Calandra and Skylarks could be heard. 

Green Sandpiper (Andarrios Grande / Tringa ochropus).

Other species seen included Blackcap (Curruca Capirotada / Sylvia atricapilla), Common Chiffchaff (Mosquitero Común / Phylloscopus collybita), Common Kestrel (Cernicalo Vulga / Falco tinnunculus), Black Redstart (Colirrojo Tizón / Phoenicurus ochruros), Dartford Warbler (Curruca Rabilarga / Sylvia undata), Green Sandpiper (Andarrios Grande / Tringa ochropus), Grey Wagtail (Lavandera Cascadena / Motacilla cinerea), Hoopoe (Abubilla / Upupa epops), Red-legged Partridge (Perdiz Roja / Alectoris rufa), Robin (Petirrrojo / Erithacus rubecula), Iberian Grey Shrike (Alcaudón Real Meridional / Lanius meridionalis) and White Wagtail (Lavandera Blanca / Montacilla alba).