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Friday 11 October 2013

Huétor Fields and from the terrace, Granada Province.

A new bird for the local patch.

Iberian  Magpie (Rabilargo / Cyanopica cooki).
Jayne, Barb and I were heading down to Huétor to pick up a few bits and bobs from the supermarket, on the way we spotted a largish raptor circling the fields just behind the bars at the bottom of the road. By the time we got there it had come to our side of the road and was easily Identified as a passage Red Kite (Milano Real / Milvus milvus), it circled the fields for a while giving me and Barb the chance to have nice views before it pushed off south west. On the way down we also saw Western Cattle Egret (Garcilla Bueyera / Bubulcus ibis), White Wagtail (Lavandera Blanca / Montacilla alba), Little Owl (Mochuelo Europeo / Athene noctua), Goldfinch (Jilguero / Carduelis carduelis), Serin (Verdecillo / Serinus serinus) and Grey Heron (Garza Real / Ardea cinerea).
White Wagtail (Lavandera Blanca / Montacilla alba).
Later in the day we spent some time relaxing on the back terrace and of course I had the bins with me. During this time we saw Sparrowhawk (Gavilán Común / Accipiter nisus), Woodpigeon (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus), Iberian  Magpie (Rabilargo / Cyanopica cooki), Collared Dove (Tórtola Turca / Streptopelia decaocto), Sardinian Warbler (Curruca Cabecinegra / Sylvia melanocephala), Crested Lark (Cogujada / Galerida cristata), House Sparrow (Gorrión Común / Passer domesticus),
Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula), Great Tit (Carbonera Común / Parus major), 3x Ravens (Cuervo / Corvus corax), Spotless Starling (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor), Linnet (Pardillo Común / Carduelis cannabina), 2x Short-toed Eagles (Culebrera Europeo / Circaetus gallicus) and find of the day by Barb, 28 Griffon Vultures (Bultre Leonado / Gyps fulvus)all heading West together.

Thursday 10 October 2013

Guadalhorce, Malaga Province.

A quick visit before going to the Airport.

Today I was to pick up a friend of a friend from Malaga Airport so I decided to set of a bit early and have a couple of hours birding around Guadalhorce pools. After parking near the beach and doing a quick sea watch from the end of the bank I went on to the reserve proper via the main bridge, during the sea watch I saw a few Balearic (Pardela Balear / Puffinus mauretanicus) and Cory's Shearwaters (Pardela Cenicienta / Calonectris diomedea), several Northern Gannets (Alcatraz Atlántico / Morus bassanus), Great Cormorant (Cormorán Grande / Phalacrocroax carbo), Sandwich Tern (Charrán Patinegro / Sterna sandvicensis), Yellow-legged (Gaviota Patiamarilla / Larus Michahellis), Mediterranean (Gaviota Cabecinegra / Larus melanocephalus), Lesser Black-backed (Gaviota Sombria / Larus fuscus), Black-headed (Gaviota Riedora / Larus ridibundus) and Audouin's Gulls (Gaviota de Audouin / Larus audouinii) all out to sea whilst on the beach there were a couple of Dunlin (Correlimos Común / Calidris alpina) and a small flock of winter plumaged Sanderling (Correlimos Tridáctilo / Calidris alba).
I moved down to the main reserve and went straight to the main hide over looking the largest of the pools, on the way round I had several flocks of the noisy Monk Parakeets (Cotorra Argentina / Myiopsitta monachus) which have become very common in the area, Sardinian Warbler (Curruca Cabecinegra / Sylvia melanocephala), Spotless Starling (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor), House Sparrow (Gorrión Común / Passer domesticus), Common Kestrel (Cernicalo Vulgar / Falco tinnunculus), Zitting Cisticola (Buitrón / Cisticola juncidis) and Cetti's Warbler (Ruisenor Bastardo / Cettia cetti).
From the main hide it was quite quiet but I managed to find a single Spoonbill (Espátula Común / Platalea leucorodia), Grey Heron (Garza Real / Ardea cinerea), lots of Great Cormorants, Black-winged Stilt (Ciguenela Común / Himantopus himantopus), Little Ringed (Chorlitejo Chico / Charadrius dubius) and Ringed Plovers (Chorlitejo Grande / Charadrius hiaticula), Little Egret (Garceta Común / Egreeta garzetta), Little  (Zampullín Común / Tachybaptus ruficollis) and Black-necked Grebes (Zampullín Cullinegro / Podiceps nigricollis), Mallard (Anade Azulón / Anas platyrhynchos), Northern Shoveler (Pato Cuchara / Anas clypeata), Northern Pintail (Ánade Rabudo / Anas acuta), Gadwall (Anade Friso / Anas strepera), Common Pochard (Porrón Común / Aythya ferina), Common Moorhen (Gallineta Común / Gallinulas chloropus), Eurasian Coot (Focha Común / Fulica atra), Kingfisher (Martin Pescador / Alcedo atthis), Sand Martin (Avión Zapador / Riparia riparia) and both Red-rumped (Golondrina Dáurica / Hirudo daurica) and Barn Swallows (Golondrina Común / Hirundo rustica).
From here I walked out to the beach and along the shore line to the far sea watch point, on the way I noted a rapid increase in the Northern Gannet numbers and by the time I did a quick count from the sea watch point I guessed that there were around 300 birds in the area. On the beach the far side of the watch point there were a few more Sanderlings and half a dozen or so Ruddy Turnstones (Vuelvepiedras Común / Arenaria interpres). From here I made my way inland along the bank passing the first stretch of water on my left where there were several hundred Gulls roosting and a few new wader speies for the day list including a single Bar-tailed Godwit (Aguja Colipinta / Limosa lapponica), a few Black-tails (Aguja Colinegra / Limosa limosa), Common (Andarrios Chico / Actitis hypoleucos) and Green Sandpipers (Andarrios Grande / Tringa ochropus), Greenshank (Archibebe Claro / Tringa nebularia), Common Redshank (Archibebe Común / Tringa totanus), Kentish Plover (Chorlitejo Patinegro / Charadrius alexandrinus) and a group of four Greater Flamingo's (Flamenco Común / Phoenicopterus roseus), probably a family party as there were two adults and two immatures.
The wader hide was quiet as the water level was high but I did see several Snipe (Agachadiza Común / Gallinago gallinago), Common Stonechat (Tarabilla Común / Saxicola torquata) and very bright Bluethroat (Pechiazul / Luscinia svecica) which broke cover for all of around 10 seconds before heading back into the vegetation on the margins. From the last hide I only added Spanish (Yellow) Wagtail (Lavandera Boyera / Motacilla flava iberiae), Eurasian Teal (Cerceta Común / Anas crecca) and a flying Little Bittern (Avetorillo Común / Ixobrychus minutus) which took off from under the hide and went into the reeds opposite. I then made my way back to the bridge and out to the car before going to the Airport.

Wednesday 9 October 2013

Near Parador de Golf, Malaga, Malaga Province.

In the mud then on the beach and a new Dragon for my list but not where I had expected to see it!!

Lesser Emperor (Anax parthenope).
I started off by dropping Barb and Jayne off on the the beach and then headed of to a drainage channel near the Parador de Golf where Paul Winter had seen a couple of interesting Dragonflies a few days earlier. I parked and walked along the concrete banks be fore reaching the only stretch with any water still in it down near the sea.
Lesser Emperor (Anax parthenope).


On the way to and around the water I saw several Orange-winged Dropwings (Trithemis kirbyi), Red-veined Darters (Sympetrum fonscolombii), Migrant Hawker (Aeshna mixta), Lesser (Anax parthenope) and Blue / Common Emperors (Anax imperator), Broad Scarlet (Crocothemis erythraea), Southern Skimmer (Orthetrum brunneum), Epaulet Skimmer (Orthetrum chrysostigma), Small Red-eyed (Erythromma viridulum), Blue-eye / Goblet-marked Damselfly (Erythromma lindenii) and Iberian Blue-tail (Ischnura graellsii) but dipped on the wanted Vagrant Emperor (Anax ephippiger).
Zitting Cisticola (Buitrón / Cisticola juncidis).
Whilst walking around this site I saw several species of bird including Serin (Verdecillo / Serinus serinus), Goldfinch (Jilguero / Carduelis carduelis), Little Egret (Garceta Común / Egreeta garzetta), Yellow-legged Gull (Gaviota Patiamarilla / Larus Michahellis), Monk Parakeet (Cotorra Argentina / Myiopsitta monachus), Spotless Starling (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor), Grey Wagtail (Lavandera Cascadena / Motacilla cinerea), Crested Lark (Cogujada / Galerida cristata), Sardinian Warbler (Curruca Cabecinegra / Sylvia melanocephala), Song Thrush (Zorzal Común / Turdus philomelos), Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula), Zitting Cisticola (Buitrón / Cisticola juncidis), Collared Dove (Tórtola Turca / Streptopelia decaocto), Common Stonechat (Tarabilla Común / Saxicola torquata) and Barn Swallow (Golondrina Común / Hirundo rustica). The whole time I was walking around the site the ground was alive with small Iberian Water Frogs (Rana Común / Rana Perezi) and Natterjack Toads (Sapo Corredor / Bufo calamita).
Monk Parakeet (Cotorra Argentina / Myiopsitta monachus).
I then went back to Jayne and Barb on the beach and we went and had some lunch at the nearby bar before spending the rest of the afternoon sunbathing or in my case shade chasing. Whilst I was on the beach I had my bins and scanned out to sea and picked up an immature Pomarine Skua (Stercorarius pomarinus), Sandwich Tern (Charrán Patinegro / Sterna sandvicensis), Northern Gannet (Alcatraz Atlántico / Morus bassanus), Cory's (Pardela Cenicienta / Calonectris diomedea) and Balearic Shearwater (Pardela Balear / Puffinus mauretanicus) and Great Cormorant (Cormorán Grande / Phalacrocroax carbo) and then to top the day off a Vagrant Emperor came flying along the beach and spent the next ten minutes skimming around between the nearby sunbeds which gave me the chance to get some nice views but as I thought it might be a bit dodgy getting camera out there I did not get any shots. 
Little Egret (Garceta Común / Egreeta garzetta).