Huétor Fields, Granada Province.

A walk around the local patch which produce a couple of new patch species.

Northern Lapwing (Avefria Europea / Vanellus vanellus).

Jayne was heading out to Trabuco for the weekly craft group meeting and dropped me off at the bar at the bottom of the road (sounds bad!!) from where I started a walk around the local patch. I walked along the Rio Vilano following the track on the southern bank to the road and then continued on the second track down to the railway bridge.

Green Sandpiper (Andarrios Grande / Tringa ochropus).

Along the first section I had good views of a couple of Green Sandpipers (Andarrios Grande / Tringa ochropus), Hoopoe (Abubilla / Upupa epops), both White (Lavandera Blanca / Montacilla alba) and Grey Wagtails (Lavandera Cascadena / Motacilla cinerea), Linnet (Pardillo Común / Carduelis cannabina), Goldfinch (Jilguero / Carduelis carduelis), Serin (Verdecillo / Serinus serinus), Common Chaffinch (Pinzón Vulgar / Fringilla coelebs), Common Chiffchaff (Mosquitero Común / Phylloscopus collybita), Sardinian Warbler (Curruca Cabecinegra / Sylvia melanocephala) and Crested Lark (Cogujada / Galerida cristata).

Woodpigeon (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus).

Once over the road I checked out the poplar plantations and reedbeds on the far bank and soon caught up with a large flock of around 45 or so Iberian  Magpie (Rabilargo / Cyanopica cooki), Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula), Blackcap (Curruca Capirotada / Sylvia atricailla), Black Redstart (Colirrojo Tizón / Phoenicurus ochruros), Common Stonechat (Tarabilla Común / Saxicola torquata), Grey Heron (Garza Real / Ardea cinerea), Great Tit (Carbonera Común / Parus major), Corn Bunting (Triguero / Emberiza calandra), Great Spotted Woodpecker (Pico Picapinos / Dendrocopos major) and Meadow Pipit (Bisbita Pratense / Anthus pratensis). As I approached the railway bridge a group of 10 birds flitted up in front of me and crossed the rio and settled in a scrubby bush giving me the chance to ID them and the turned out to be a flock of Common Waxbills (Estrilda Ondulada / Estrilda astrild) which was a new species for the local patch and with in seconds the second patch tick appeared in the shape of a Water Rail (Rascón Europeo / Rallus aquaticus) which skulked around under the dead Iris leaves.

Common Chiffchaff (Mosquitero Común / Phylloscopus collybita).

I continued on to the end of the track before turning around and retracing my steps back to the bar, on the way I added Zitting Cisticola (Buitrón / Cisticola juncidis) in a Rush filled ditch along with a couple of Western Cattle Egrets (Garcilla Bueyera / Bubulcus ibis), also seen was a Great Cormorant (Cormorán Grande / Phalacrocroax carbo) which was roosting in a lone poplar tree along the track side, several Jackdaws (Grajilla / Corvus monedula), Spotless Starling (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor), Little Owl (Mochuelo Europeo / Athene noctua), Mistle Thrush (Zorzal Charlo / Turdus viscivorus), Northern Lapwing (Avefria Europea / Vanellus vanellus), Red-legged Partridge (Perdiz Roja / Alectoris rufa), Skylark (Alondra Común / Alauda arvensis), Woodpigeon (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus) and just as I reached the bar I picked up a Merlin (Esmerejón / Falco columbarius) sat out on a large clod of soil in the field on the far side of the river.

Great Cormorant (Cormorán Grande / Phalacrocroax carbo).

On the return journey I did call in for a swift beer before returning to the house along side the barranco, on the way I saw Greenfinch (Verderón Común / Carduelis chloris), Dartford Warbler (Curruca Rabilarga / Sylvia undata), Common Kestrel (Cernicalo Vulgar / Falco tinnunculus), Robin (Petirrojo Europeo / Erithacus rubecula) and Song Thrush (Zorzal Común / Turdus philomelos).