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Tuesday, 28 January 2014

Huétor Fields and Balsa de Rigedor, Granada Province.

On the local patch with Juan Perez.

Juan and Beatriz made their way over to our for a few hours of English work for Jayne and Beatriz whilst Juan and I went birding. We started down on the Rio Vilano behind the bar where we scanned the newly sown fields and quickly picked out a large flock of Northern Lapwings (Avefria Europea / Vanellus vanellus) with a good number of Spotless Starlings (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor) mixed in with them and a Common Buzzard (Busardo Ratonero / Buteo buteo) perched high above them all on one of the pylons. We also checked the river where we found the first of several Green Sandpipers (Andarrios Grande / Tringa ochropus), White Wagtails (Lavandera Blanca / Montacilla alba), Linnets (Pardillo Común / Carduelis cannabina), Goldfinches (Jilguero / Carduelis carduelis), Common Stonechat (Tarabilla Común / Saxicola torquata), Collared Dove (Tórtola Turca / Streptopelia decaocto) and Black Redstarts (Colirrojo Tizón / Phoenicurus ochruros).
Further on near to one of the Poplar plantations we had the first of several desent sized flocks of Iberian  (Rabilargo / Cyanopica cooki), a single Common Magpie (Urraca / Pica pica), Corn Bunting (Triguero / Emberiza calandra) and Common Chaffinch (Pinzón Vulgar / Fringilla coelebs). Our next stop was along the far section of the Rio where we parked and walked along the southern bank looking for the flock of Common Waxbills (Estrilda Ondulada / Estrilda astrild) I had seen a few days earlier but with out success, however we did find a male Bluethroat (Pechiazul / Luscinia svecica), Sardinian Warbler (Curruca Cabecinegra / Sylvia melanocephala), Zitting Cisticola (Buitrón / Cisticola juncidis), Crested Lark (Cogujada / Galerida cristata), Common Chiffchaff (Mosquitero Común / Phylloscopus collybita) and Serin (Verdecillo / Serinus serinus) in a fallow field which had become covered in Juncus and grasses.
We walked back towards the car and added Meadow Pipit (Bisbita Pratense / Anthus pratensis), Cetti's Warbler (Ruisenor Bastardo / Cettia cetti), Feral Pigeon (Columba livia), Common Kestrel (Cernicalo Vulgar / Falco tinnunculus), Woodpigeon (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus), Grey Heron (Garza Real / Ardea cinerea) and Great Spotted Woodpecker (Pico Picapinos / Dendrocopos major). We retraced out way back along the track and then headed out along the track to the Mesia road, on the way we had a second Bluethroat in a trackside ditch, Hoopoe (Abubilla / Upupa epops), Jackdaw (Grajilla / Corvus monedula), Tree Sparrow (Gorrión Molinero / Passer montanus), Great Tit (Carbonera Común / Parus major), Robin (Petirrojo Europeo / Erithacus rubecula), Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula) and Greenfinch (Verderón Común / Carduelis chloris).
We drove through Mesia and made our way to the small manmade pool on the side of the A92 called Balsa de Rigedor. On the water we soon picked out Mallard (Anade Azulón / Anas platyrhynchos), Northern Shoveler (Pato Cuchara / Anas clypeata), Common Pochard (Porrón Común / Aythya ferina), Little Grebe (Zampullín Común / Tachybaptus ruficollis), Eurasian Coot (Focha Común / Fulica atra) and Common Moorhen (Gallineta Común / Gallinulas chloropus).
On the dead trees which lay in the water we saw loads of Common Chiffchaffs, a single Grey Wagtail (Lavandera Cascadena / Motacilla cinerea) and a few early arrival Western Cattle Egrets (Garcilla Bueyera / Bubulcus ibis) which had come into roost. By the time we were leaving we had got the count up to 77 Cattle and 5 Little Egrets (Garceta Común / Egreeta garzetta), along with a fast moving Sparrowhawk (Gavilán Común / Accipiter nisus) which flashed passed and disappeared into the nearby Olive trees. As it dropped dark at just before 19:00 we drove back to the house had a warm drink to thaw our selves out before Juan and Beatriz headed off home.

1 comment:

stiefbeen said...

dit is toch wel puur genieten.