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Tuesday 21 January 2014

Refugio de Juanar, Malaga Province.

A Spanish lifer and a couple of other nice species.

Blue Tit (Herrerillo Común / Parus caeruleus).
After getting some information from Micky Smith whilst we were at Cabo de Gata last week I decided to go over to Juanar to try and see a pair of Bullfinches (Camachuelo Común / Pyrrhula pyrrhula) which are regularly seen during the winter at the site. I arrived and followed the directions to the spot and sat down on a rock and waited, as the morning warmed up more and more birds started to move around in the woods including Nuthatch (Trepador Azul / Sitta europaea), Common Crossbill (Piquituerto Común / Loxia curvirostra), Blackcap (Curruca Capirotada / Sylvia atricailla), Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula), Blue (Herrerillo Común / Parus caeruleus), Coal (Carbonero Garrapinos / Parus ater), Crested  (Herrerillo Capuchino / Parus cristatus), Great (Carbonera Común / Parus major) and Long-tailed Tits (Mito / Aegithalos caudatus), Common Chiffchaffs (Mosquitero Común / Phylloscopus collybita), Common Chaffinch (Pinzón Vulgar / Fringilla coelebs), Jay (Arrendajo / Garrulus glandarius), Mistle Thrush (Zorzal Charlo / Turdus viscivorus), Wren (Chochin / Troglodytes troglodytes), Great Spotted Woodpecker (Pico Picapinos / Dendrocopos major), Robin (Petirrojo Europeo / Erithacus rubecula), Sardinian Warbler (Curruca Cabecinegra / Sylvia melanocephala), Short-toed Treecreeper (Agateador Común / Certhia brachydactyla) and in the air there were several Crag Martins (Avión Roquero / Ptyonoprogne rupestris).
I sat on the rock until most of the lower half of my body has lost all feeling so I though that its time to go for a walk further up the valley, in an area of brambles higher I heard and eventually had nice views of a Dunnock (Acentor Común / Prunella modularis), in the same area I saw Goldfinch (Jilguero / Carduelis carduelis), Greenfinch (Verderón Común / Carduelis chloris), a fly over Hawfinch (Picogordo / Coccotraustes coccotrauetes), Serin (Verdecillo / Serinus serinus) and Woodpigeon (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus). After having a good look around I headed back down to the poodle where I had bee sat and as I approached a cracking female Bullfinch flew up from the water and landed in a nearby spaling before moring into cover. I could hear a second bird some way off and guessed that it was probably the male but I could not locate it.
I again sat on the rock and waited, this time I had very nice views of a Crested Tit that came down to drink just a meter or so in front on me but the finches did not return so I again went for a walk up the valley and soon heard them calling ahead of me, this time I got good views of both birds. The male was stunning but stayed in the darker bushes and always avoided the camera. The site was in deep woodland so photography was not easy and I did not get any decent shots.

1 comment:

stiefbeen said...

zulke dagen daar doe je het toch voor.