Fuente de Piedra, Laguna Herrera and Arroya Marin, Malaga Province.

A few hours birding in Malaga Province.

Sawfly Orchid (Ophrys tenthredinifera).

Jayne and I travelled over to a spot near Salinas looking for some Orchids which had been see by the Iznajar walking group a few days earlier, I did not find the species I had hoped to see but found several nice spikes of Sawfly (Flor de avispa / Ophrys tenthredinifera) and Somber Bee Orchid (Abejera oscura / Ophrys fusca subsp fusca) plus several Iberian  Magpie (Rabilargo / Cyanopica cooki), House Sparrow (Gorrión Común / Passer domesticus), Spotless Starling (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor) and a Grey Heron (Garza Real / Ardea cinerea).

Later whilst Jayne was at the craft group in Villanueva del Trabuco I went and had a look at a few nearby sites. I started off at Fuente de Piedra and was pleased to see some water in the wader pools along the entrance road and around the board walk.
As I drove in I checked the pool on the left of the road and soon started the list off with Snipe (Agachadiza Común / Gallinago gallinago), Ruff (Combatiente / Philomachus pugnax) x 11, Black-tailed Godwit (Aguja Colinegra / Limosa limosa) x17, Little Ringed Plover (Chorlitejo Chico / Charadrius dubius) x4, Common Redshank (Archibebe Común / Tringa totanus) x5, Green Sandpiper (Andarrios Grande / Tringa ochropus), Black-winged Stilt (Ciguenela Común / Himantopus himantopus), a single Little Stint (Correlimos Menudo / Calidris minuta), Spanish (Yellow) Wagtail (Lavandera Boyera / Motacilla flava iberiae) and the other two expected subspecies, 4+ Whiskered (Fumarel Cariblanca / Chilidonias hybridus) and quite a few flyover Gull-billed Terns (Pagaza Piconegra / Gelochelidon nilotica), Northern Shoveler (Pato Cuchara / Anas clypeata), Eurasian Teal (Cerceta Común / Anas crecca), Mallard (Anade Azulón / Anas platyrhynchos), a male Gadwall (Anade Friso / Anas strepera), Little Grebe (Zampullín Común / Tachybaptus ruficollis), Eurasian Coot (Focha Común / Fulica atra) and Common Moorhen (Gallineta Común / Gallinulas chloropus).

Snipe (Agachadiza Común / Gallinago gallinago).

I parked up and then had a walk out along the board walk and around the track towards the view point, around here I saw a couple of Wood Sandpipers (Andarrios Bastardo / Tringa glareola), Western Cattle Egrets (Garcilla Bueyera / Bubulcus ibis), a Little Egret (Garceta Común / Egreeta garzetta), White Wagtail (Lavandera Blanca / Montacilla alba), lots of Greater Flamingo's (Flamenco Común / Phoenicopterus roseus), Barn (Golondrina Común / Hirundo rustica) and Red-rumped Swallows (Golondrina Dáurica / Hirudo daurica), House Martin (Avión Común / Delichon urbica), Crested Lark (Cogujada / Galerida cristata), Corn Bunting (Triguero / Emberiza calandra), Serin (Verdecillo / Serinus serinus), Linnet (Pardillo Común / Carduelis cannabina), Jackdaw (Grajilla / Corvus monedula) and Collared Dove (Tórtola Turca / Streptopelia decaocto).

Northern Shoveler (Pato Cuchara / Anas clypeata) male.

On the board walk pool I also recorded a few Dragonflies, most were Red-veined Darters (Sympetrum fonscolombii) with a few in tandem oviposting, the rest were Lesser Emperors (Anax parthenope).

I did not bother going to the rea hides as a coach perty had just headed around there so I decided to head for Antequera and have a look at Laguna Herrera, On the way I saw a group of at least 9 Lesser Kestrels (Cernicola Primilla / Falco naumanni) hunting over a motorway side fields and just as I came off the motorway at exit 149 I added 2 Black Kites (Milano Negro / Milvus migrans), a Marsh Harrier (Aguilucho Lagunero Occidental / Circus aeruginosus) and pale phase Booted Eagle (Aguililla Calzada / Hieraaetus pennatus) all trying gain height over the fields.

Northern Shoveler (Pato Cuchara / Anas clypeata) female.

On the way in to the Lagoon on the track I had nice views of a Zitting Cisticola (Buitrón / Cisticola juncidis), Iberian Grey Shrike (Alcaudón Real Meridional / Lanius meridionalis), Red-legged Partridge (Perdiz Roja / Alectoris rufa) and a fly over Stone Curlew (Alcaraván Común / Burhinus oedicnemus). On the water there were a few Lesser Black-backed (Gaviota Sombria / Larus fuscus) and Black-headed Gulls (Gaviota Riedora / Larus ridibundus), a few more Gull-billed Terns and another single Whiskered, 20+ Grey Herons, 15+ Northern Lapwings (Avefria Europea / Vanellus vanellus) along with several wader species that I had already seen at Fuente.

Whiskered Tern (Fumarel Cariblanca / Chilidonias hybridus).

I continued on around the loop passing the pool and ending up back at the main road, along this drive I saw Calandra Lark (Calandria / Melanocorypha calandra), Raven (Cuervo / Corvus corax), a single male Little Bustard (Sisón Común / Tetrax tetrax), Woodpigeon (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus), Sardinian Warbler (Curruca Cabecinegra / Sylvia melanocephala), Common Stonechat (Tarabilla Común / Saxicola torquata), Common Buzzard (Busardo Ratonero / Buteo buteo) and two flying Great Cormorants (Cormorán Grande / Phalacrocroax carbo).

Black-winged Stilt (Ciguenela Común / Himantopus himantopus).

I started to make my way back towards Trabuco but called in at Arroya Marin for a while on the way, I parked and had a short walk throgh the riverside woodland and picked up Blackcap (Curruca Capirotada / Sylvia atricailla), Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula), Great (Carbonera Común / Parus major), Blue (Herrerillo Común / Parus caeruleus) and Long-tailed Tits (Mito / Aegithalos caudatus), Wren (Chochin / Troglodytes troglodytes), Cirl Bunting (Escribano Soteno / Emberiza cirlus), Great Spotted Woodpecker (Pico Picapinos / Dendrocopos major) and Short-toed Treecreeper (Agateador Común / Certhia brachydactyla) before heading to Trabuco and picking Jayne up and heading home.