Malaga Coast and Home near Huétor Tajar, Granada Province, Spain.

An odds and ends day.

Jayne and I set off down the coast to have a look at the car-boot sale at Benalmádena on the way we picked up a dark phase Booted Eagle (Aguililla Calzada / Hieraaetus pennatus), Western Cattle Egrets (Garcilla Bueyera / Bubulcus ibis), Black-winged Stilt (Ciguenuela Común / Himantopus himantopus), Great Cormorant (Cormorán Grande / Phalacrocorax carbo) and several Monk Parakeets (Cotorra Argentina / Myiopsitta monachus).

Whilst we were browsing around the boot-sale several species were noted including a pale phase Booted which was getting loads of stick from the local Yellow-legged Gulls (Gaviota Patiamarilla / Larus Michahellis), Pallid Swift (Vencejo Pálido / Apus pallidus), Hoopoe (Abubilla / Upupa epops), Sardinian Warbler (Curruca Cabecinegra / Sylvia melanocephala) and Spotless Starling (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor). We then went into the centre of Malaga and a couple of hours later came back out picked up a few bits from Ikea and the ended the day with a visit to Plaza Mayor where I dropped Jayne off for an hour or so and went and had a quick look at the beach at Guadalhorce.

The first bird seen was a cracking male Spectacled Warbler (Curruca Tomillera / Sylvia conspicillata) which showed very well in the scrub at the side of the walk down to the watch point. On the river there was a single Greenshank (Archibebe Claro / Tringa nebularia), Common Redshank (Archibebe Común / Tringa totanus), around 10 Kentish Plovers (Chorlitejo Patinegro / Charadrius alexandrinus), 2x Common Sandpipers (Andarrios Chico / Actitis hypoleucos), 5x Black-winged Stilt and an almost summer plumaged Sanderling (Correlimos Tridáctilo / Calidris alba). On the sea a couple of Sandwich Terns (Charrán Patinegro / Sterna sandvicensis) moved past heading West, also seen were several Lesser Black-backed (Gaviota Somria / Larus fuscus), Black-headed (Gaviota Riedora / Larus ridibundus), Mediterranean (Gaviota Cabecinegra / Larus melanocephalus) and Yellow-legged Gulls.

I then sat down on one of the benches and scanned the reeds and trees on the reserve picking up 2 female Marsh Harriers (Aguilucho Lagunero Occidental / Circus aeruginosus), Barn Swallow (Golondrina Común / Hirundo rustica), Crag (Avión Roquero / Ptyonoprogne rupestris) and House Martins (Avión Común / Delichon urbica), Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula), Eurasian Coot (Focha Común / Fulica atra), Great Cormorant, Grey Heron (Garza Real / Ardea cinerea), Crested Lark (Cogujada Común / Galerida cristata), Little Egret (Garceta Común / Egretta garzetta), Serin (Verdecillo / Serinus serinus), Spotless Starling and White Wagtail (Lavandera Blanca / Montacilla alba).

We than travelled home adding Griffon Vulture (Bultre Leonado / Gyps fulvus) above the cliffs at the Antequera split in the motorway and as we were approaching home we could hear a Eurasian Scops Owl (Autillo Europeo / Otus scops) calling right out side our local bar. So I though it only right to stop for a drink just to see if we could get a glimpse of it in the car head lights but we did not see anything.