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| Stone Curlew (Alcaraván Común / Burhinus oedicnemus). |
Juan and I set off from the Car park of the Cortijo de Tajar at 07:00 to give us plenty of time to do some birding and orchid hunting before we picked up Jacko who has been a birding friend for nearly 30 years at Malaga Airport. Our first stop was at Laguna Dulce near to Campillos, as soon as we arrived we picked up the obvious species such as
Eurasian Coot (Focha Común / Fulica atra),
Gadwall (Anade Friso / Anas strepera),
Black-winged Stilt (Ciguenuela Común / Himantopus himantopus),
Little Ringed Plover (Chorlitejo Chico / Charadrius dubius) and
Northern Shoveler (Cuchara Común / Anas clypeata) all of which were feeding close into the hide on the near shore.
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| Little Egret (Garceta Común / Egretta garzetta). |
Out on the water there were still large numbers of summer plumage
Black-necked Grebes (Zampullín Cuellinegro / Podiceps nigricollis) these birds are always nice to see and are just slightly smarter than the
Great Crested (Somormujo Lavanco / Podiceps cristatus) and
Little Grebes (Zampullín Común / Tachybaptus ruficollis) which were also seen.
The duck numbers had dropped off with the winter visitors all moving off back North, but there were still a few
Red-crested (Pato Colorado / Netta rufina) and
Common Pochards (Porrón Europeo / Aythya ferina),
Mallard (Anade Azulón / Anas platyrhynchos) and just a single female
White-headed Duck (Malvasia Cabeciblanca / Oxyura leucocephala). In the air over the pool hundreds of
Pallid (Vencejo Pálido / Apus pallidus) and
Common Swifts (Vencej o Común / Apus apus) were feeding along with lots of
Barn Swallows (Golondrina Común / Hirundo rustica),
House Martins (Avión Común / Delichon urbica) and lesser number of
Red-rumped Swallows (Golondrina Dáurica / Hirundo daurica) and
Sand Martins (Avión Zapador / Riparia riparia).
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| Serapias vomeracea. |
Lower over the water there were lots of
Gull-billed Terns (Pagaza Piconegra / Gelochelidon nilotica) coming in and dipping into the surface water before heading out onto the nearby fields to feed, they were joined by at least 5
Whiskered Terns (Fumarel Cariblanca / Chlidonias hybridus) which hawked low over the water for the whole time we were at the site. On the nears we also had a single
Purple Swamp-hen (Calamón Común / Porphyrio porphyrio) come out from the reed beds on the right hand side of the hide and walk right across In front of and disappear into the tamarisk trees on the left and later a
Stone Curlew (Alcaraván Común / Burhinus oedicnemus) wandered out of the fields and come down to the shore for a drink. In the distant fields to the rear of the pool we watch a pair of
Little Bustards (Sisón Común / Tetrax tetrax) chasing around, a
Raven (Cuervo / Corvus corax) which had found something to eat and was tearing at it for quite some time and another pair of
Stone Curlews.
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| Small Tongue Orchid (Serapias parviflora). |
Other birds seen whist we were here included
Common Redshank (Archibebe Común / Tringa totanus),
Common Sandpiper (Andarrios Chico / Actitis hypoleucos),
Common Moorhen (Gallineta Común / Gallinula Chloropus),
Corn Bunting (Triguero / Emberiza calandra),
Greenfinch (Verderón Común / Carduelis chloris),
Cetti’s Warbler (Ruisenor Bastardo / Cettia cetti),
Common Quail (Codorniz Común / Coturnix coturnix) heard only,
Black-headed (Gaviota Reidora / Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Lesser Black-backed (Gaviota Somria / Larus fuscus) and
Yellow-legged Gulls (Gaviota Patiamarilla / Larus Michahellis),
Little (Garceta Común / Egretta garzetta) and
Western Cattle Egrets (Garcilla Bueyera / Bubulcus ibis),
Greater Flamingo (Flamenco Común / Phoenicopterus ruber),
Nightingale (Ruisenor Común / Luscinia megarhynchos),
Reed Warbler (Carricero Común / Acrocephalus scirpaceus),
Hoopoe (Abubilla / Upupa epops) and
Goldfinch (Jilguero / Carduelis carduelis).
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| Limodorum trabutianum. |
We were just about to leave the site when Andy Patterson and birding friend Federico arrived so we had a quick chat with them and added a single
Glossy Ibis (Morito Común / Plegadis falcinellus) to the day list. We stopped off quickly at the raptor watch point near Sierra de Teba where we added
Alpine Swift (Vencejo Real / Apus melba),
Red-billed Chough (Chova Piquirroja / Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax), a female
Pied Flycatcher (Papamoscas Cerrojillo / Ficedula hypoleuca) and
Blue Rock Thrush (Roquero Solitario / Monticola solitarius). Our next stop was at a road side Orchids site to the North of Coin where we quickly found lots of spikes of the uncommon
Serapias vomeracea growing on disused terraces. These plants were a news species for Juan so we spent some time looking for just the right plants to get the best shots of. While we were there we also found what I thought were
Tongue Orchids (Serapias lingua) but Juan was not happy with this and it seems after some work with the books when he got home with good reason.
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| Spoonbill (Espátula Común / Platalea leucorodia). |
They now look as though they may well be a hybrid between
Vomeracea and either
Lingua or
Parviflora but we are waiting on some further help with this one. We did see some past there best
Champagne Orchid (Orchis Champagneuxii),
Small Tongue Orchid (Serapias parviflora) which were in good condition and a completely dry
Sawfly Orchid (Ophrys tenthredinifera). Birds here included
Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula),
Short-toed Eagle (Culebrera Europeo / Circaetus gallicus),
Jay (Arrendajo / Garrulus glandarius) and
European Bee-eater (Abejaruco Común / Merops apiaster). Both
Provence Orange-tip (Anthocharis euphenoides) and
Spanish Festoon (Zerynthia rumina) were seen on the wildflowers also in the area which included
Spotted Rockrose (Tuberaria guttata),
Crown Daisy (Chrysanthemum carinatum),
Grey-leaved Cistis (Cistis albidus),
Narrow-leaved Cistis (Cistis monspeliensis),
Yellow Restharrow (Ononis natrix),
Phlomis purpurea and
Brown Bluebell (Dipcadi serotinum).
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| Black-winged Stilt (Ciguenuela Común / Himantopus himantopus). |
From here we moved on to have a very quick look at Refugio de Juanar on the drive up we picked up a cracking spike of
Small Woodcock Orchid (Ophrys picta) and lots of
Dense-Flowered Orchid (Neotinea maculata) but once at the main site there were only a few plants of
Barton's Orchid (Dactylorhiza insularis) which still had some way to go before they were in flower and rosettes of
Epipactis tremolsii which had even further to go and by the looks of the amount of damage that is being done by the
Wild Boar (Sus scrofa) in the whole area they my not make it. I do not like hunting but in a lot of areas in Andalucía they are becoming a great problem. Birds included
Nuthatch (Trepador Azul / Sitta europaea) and
Common Chaffinch (Pinzón Vulgar / Fringilla coelebs). We then dropped down to a site on the coast at Las Chapas but when we arrived we found the site had been covered by an outdoor adventure site and fenced in with an 8 foot high chain-link barrier. We did have a look around the perimeter and found lots of spikes of
Limodorum trabutianum in bud with just a single albino plant being in flower.
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| Audouin's Gull (Gaviota de Audouin / Larus audouinii). |
Later we gained entry to the adventure park and found three spikes of
Heart Flowered Tongue Orchid (Serapias cordigera) but they need another week or so before they were going to flower. I dropped Juan off at decathlon near Malaga and went and picked Jacko from the airport (just a bit later than planned) and found him looking for me out side as his plane had arrived early and I was late. We then grabbed a sandwich and headed out to Guadalhorce where we were going to meet Juan and a Spanish Birder who was collecting him at the shop. From the beach watch point we picked up
Little and
Western Cattle Egrets, a single
Ruddy Turnstone (Vuelvepiedras Común / Arenaria interpres) on the rocks,
Little Ringed,
Ringed and
Kentish Plovers (Chorlitejo Patinegro / Charadrius alexandrinus),
Common Sandpiper,
Yellow-legged,
Lesser Black-backed and
Black-headed Gulls,
Northern Gannet (Alcatraz Atlántico / Morus bassanus) and
House Martins. We than started to walk along the beach towards the track into the reserve, on the way we picked up
Crested Lark (Cogujada Común / Galerida cristata), several
Northern Wheatears (Collalba Gris / Oenanthe oenanthe) and a couple of
Woodchat Shrikes (Alcaudón Común / Lanius senator).
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| Audouin's Gull (Gaviota de Audouin / Larus audouinii). |
Once on the reserve birds came thick and fast, first were
Zitting Cisticola (Buitrón / Cisticola juncidis),
Cetti’s Warbler and
Spotless Starling (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor) and when we reached the first (main) hide there were many more. Out on the water there were lots of fine looking
White-headed Ducks,
Common Pochards,
Northern Shoveler and
Black-necked and
Little Grebes and on the margins/shallows we soon found 4 immature
Greater Flamingo’s, 3
Spoonbills (Espátula Común / Platalea leucorodia), several more
Cattle and
Little Egrets, a single
Grey Heron (Garza Real / Ardea cinerea) and then 2
Purple Herons (Garza Imperial / Ardea purpurea) dropped in. Waders included
Black-winged Stilt,
Redshank,
Greenshank (Archibebe Claro / Tringa nebularia) and around 40
Avocets (Avoceta Común/ Recurvirostra avosetta) which seemed to appear from nowhere. Next we went and had a look at the next hide but it was fairly quiet except for a pair of
Mallards,
Nightingale,
Serin (Verdecillo / Serinus serinus) and a distant fly over
Collared Pratincole (Canastera Común / Glareola pratincola) which was lost very quickly.
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| Slender-billed Gull (Gaviota Picofina / Larus genei). |
After a quick walk around to the raised viewing area over the next pool we headed back to the main hide adding just a singing
Bonelli’s Warbler (Mosquitero Papialbo / Phylloscopus bonelli) which stayed well out of sight,
Common Kestrel (Cernicalo Vulga / Falco tinnunculus),
Sardinian Warbler (Curruca Cabecinegra / Sylvia melanocephala),
Hoopoe (Abubilla / Upupa epops),
Collared Dove (Tórtola Turca / Streptopelia decaocto) and a male
Common Whitethroat (Curruca Zarcera / Sylvia communis). Back at the main hide we picked up a 1st summer
Audouin's Gull (Gaviota de Audouin / Larus audouinii) on the nearby island which was later joined by a very smart adult and on the water amongst a small group of roosting
Lesser Black-backs an adult
Slender-billed Gull (Gaviota Picofina / Larus genei) was also picked out.
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| Whiskered Tern (Fumarel Cariblanca / Chlidonias hybridus). |
Also seen from here were 4 more
Whiskered Terns, 3x
Shelduck (Tarro Blanco / Tadoma tadorna),
Booted Eagle (
Aguila Calzada / Aquila pennatus),
Spanish (Yellow) Wagtail (Lavandera Boyera / Motacilla flava iberiae) and
Reed Warbler. We then made our way back towards the car along the beach were we had a second
Collared Pratincole come in off the sea and a fly past from a
Grey Plover (Chorlito Gris / Pluvialis squatarola). Juan, Jacko and I then headed back towards Huetor Tajar, on the way adding
Turtle Dove (Tórtola Europea / Streptopelia turtur) and
Woodpigeon (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus) before Juan headed off back to Granada and we went to the house. Later we had a sit out on the roof terrace picking up
Common Cuckoo (Cuco Común / Cuculus canorus) and
Iberian Magpie (Rabilargo / Cyanopica cooki).
