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Wednesday 13 February 2013

Padul wetlands, Grandad Province.

Birding with Juan again, the weeks don't half rattle past quickly.

It only seemed to be five minutes since Juan Perez and Beatriz were at our house and Juan and I were looking for an Eagle Owl (Buho Real / Bubo bubo) on Hacho near Loja. Anyway today found us up in Granada and then a little further south down towards the coast at the Padul wetlands after Juan had heard about a Citril Finch (Verderón Serrano / Serinus citrinella) which had been ringed near the visitor centre. We arrived and parked on a bar car park just short of the centre and walked along one of the tracks towards the lake.
Chika was off like a rocket as usual while Juan and I walked steadily along the track through some willow and reed woodland, here we picked up a few Siskins (Lúgano / Carduelis spinus) feeding up in the willows, lots of Goldfinchs (Jilguero / Carduelis carduelis) where singing from the same area and Blackcaps (Curruca Capirotada / Sylvia atricailla) were every where. Further on we came to the feeding station where the ringing had taken during the morning, we found around 30 or so more Siskin's, several Reed Buntings ( Escribano Palustre / Emberiza schoeniclus), Robin (Petirrojo Europeo / Erithacus rubecula), Greenfinch (Verderón Común / Carduelis chloris), Great (Carbonera Común / Parus major) and Blue Tits (Herrerillo Común / Parus caeruleus), Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula), Collared Dove (Tórtola Turca / Streptopelia decaocto), Serin (Verdecillo / Serinus serinus), House Sparrow (Gorrión Común / Passer domesticus) and at least two Dunnocks (Acentor Común / Prunella modularis) which were pecking around below the feeding tables.
We then went up to the centre where we had a chat with one of the two ringers that had caught the Citril Finch and had a look at the photos he had taken of the cracking male. After a while we made our way back to the feeding station and saw much the same species as before but added Song Thrush (Zorzal Común / Turdus philomelos), Cetti's Warbler (Ruisenor Bastardo / Cettia cetti), Common Chiffchaff (Mosquitero Común / Phylloscopus collybita) and Common Chaffinch (Pinzón Vulgar / Fringilla coelebs). We continued on out towards the lake and the raised platform which gives good views over the reedbeds, on the way we flushed a Snipe (Agachadiza Común / Gallingao gallinago) from right beside the track and on and over the lake we recorded Great Cormorant (Cormorán Grande / Phalacrocroax carbo), Grey Heron (Garza Real / Ardea cinerea), Western Cattle Egret (Garcilla Bueyera / Bubulcus ibis), Common Moorhen (Gallineta Común / Gallinulas chloropus), Eurasian Coot (Focha Común / Fulica atra), Eurasian Teal (Cerceta Común / Anas crecca), Mallard (Anade Azulón / Anas platyrhynchos), Northern Shoveler (Cuchara Común / Anas clypeata), Common Pochard (Porrón Europeo / Aythya ferina) and Crag Martin (Avión Roquero / Ptyonoprogne rupestris).
We spent some time up on the top of the platform and waited for it to go dark before leaving, during this time we picked up House Martin (Avión Común / Delichon urbica), male and female Marsh Harriers (Aguilucho Lagunero Occidental / Circus aeruginosus) and male and female Hen Harriers (Aguilucho Pálido / Circus cyaneus), Meadow (Bisbita Pratense / Anthus pratensis) and Water Pipits (Bisbita Alpino / Anthus spinoletta), Woodpigeon (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus), Spotless Starling (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor), Sardinian Warbler (Curruca Cabecinegra / Sylvia melanocephala), Long-tailed Tit (Mito / Aegithalos caudatus), Common Stonechat (Tarabilla Común / Saxicola torquata) and Common Kestrel (Cernicalo Vulgar / Falco tinnunculus). We then went back to Juans and then home.

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