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Saturday 14 November 2015

Huétor Fields, Granada Province.

Unexpected late Summer Visitors and some returning wintering birds.

During a quick run through the local patch on the way down to Huétor to get some paint I stopped a couple of times and after quite an absence I found that some of the Little Bustard (Sisón Común / Tetrax tetrax) had turned up again. I found around 55 of them on a newly cut field of Lucerne. Just before the town I stopped again to watch a couple of local farmers cut another field and was surprised to hear two Common Quail (Codorniz Común / Coturnix coturnix) calling and as the cutters got close to the area where they were three birds actually flew up and across to an uncut section of the field. Either late migrants or birds that are wintering???
Other species seen during the ride round included Little Owl (Mochuelo Europeo / Athene noctua), Northern Lapwing (Avefria Europea / Vanellus vanellus), Western Cattle Egret (Garcilla Bueyera / Bubulcus ibis), 400+ Stone Curlews (Alcaraván Común / Burhinus oedicnemus), Tree Sparrow (Gorrión Molinero / Passer montanus), Iberian  Magpie (Rabilargo / Cyanopica cooki), Meadow Pipit (Bisbita Pratense / Anthus pratensis), Common Chiffchaff (Mosquitero Común / Phylloscopus collybita), Spotless Starling (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor), Common Stonechat (Tarabilla Común / Saxicola torquata), Grey Heron (Garza Real / Ardea cinerea), Sardinian Warbler (Curruca Cabecinegra / Sylvia melanocephala), Collared Dove (Tórtola Turca / Streptopelia decaocto), Black Redstart (Colirrojo Tizón / Phoenicurus ochruros), Common Kestrel (Cernicalo Vulgar / Falco tinnunculus) and Great Cormorant (Cormorán Grande / Phalacrocroax carbo).

Monday 9 November 2015

Guadalhorce Pools, Malaga Province.

A quick sea watch and walk around the reserve.

Jayne was shopping in Malaga City so I had a quick look at the reserve at the mouth of the Guadalhorce, I started off by having a look at the sea watch point off the end of the Rio Guadalhorce. On the bank, beach and sea I saw Common Chiffchaff (Mosquitero Común / Phylloscopus collybita), Zitting Cisticola (Buitrón / Cisticola juncidis), Spotless Starling (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor), Common Stonechat (Tarabilla Común / Saxicola torquata), Black Redstart (Colirrojo Tizón / Phoenicurus ochruros), Monk Parakeet (Cotorra Argentina / Myiopsitta monachus), Cetti's (Ruisenor Bastardo / Cettia cetti), Sardinian (Curruca Cabecinegra / Sylvia melanocephala) and Dartford Warbler (Curruca Rabilarga / Sylvia undata), House Sparrow (Gorrión Común / Passer domesticus), White Wagtail (Lavandera Blanca / Montacilla alba), Robin (Petirrojo Europeo / Erithacus rubecula), Meadow Pipit (Bisbita Pratense / Anthus pratensis), Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula), Collared Dove (Tórtola Turca / Streptopelia decaocto), Common Moorhen (Gallineta Común / Gallinulas chloropus), Eurasian Coot (Focha Común / Fulica atra), Little Egret (Garceta Común / Egreeta garzetta), Northern Gannet (Alcatraz Atlántico / Morus bassanus), Sandwich Tern (Charrán Patinegro / Sterna sandvicensis) and Yellow-legged Gull (Gaviota Patiamarilla / Larus Michahellis).
I moved down the road and parked by the school before heading on to the reserve and walking to the main hide over looking Laguna Grande, on the way I had Crag Martin (Avión Roquero / Ptyonoprogne rupestris), Common Kestrel (Cernicalo Vulgar / Falco tinnunculus), some flying over Northern Shovelers (Pato Cuchara / Anas clypeata) and Red-veined Darters (Sympetrum fonscolombii), Migrant Hawker (Aeshna mixta), Small White (Artogeia rapae) and Clouded Yellow (Colias croceus).
From the main hide I had a few new species for the day including Common Pochard (Porrón Común / Aythya ferina), Barn Swallow (Golondrina Común / Hirundo rustica), a single adult Greater Flamingo (Flamenco Común / Phoenicopterus roseus), Gadwall (Anade Friso / Anas strepera), White-headed Duck (Malvasia Cabeciblanca / Oxyura leucocephala), Common Starling (Estornino Pinto / Sturnus vulg aris), Little Grebe (Zampullín Común / Tachybaptus ruficollis), Eurasian Wigeon (Sibón Europeo / Anas penelope), Booted Eagle (Aguila Calzada / Aquila pennatus), Black-winged Stilt (Ciguenuela Común / Himantopus himantopus), Mallard (Anade Azulón / Anas platyrhynchos), Serin (Verdecillo / Serinus serinus), at least 8 Greenshank (Archibebe Claro / Tringa nebularia) and a group of Mediterranean Gulls (Gaviota Cabecinegra / Larus melanocephalus) which flew over just as I started to walk back to the car and go in to the city to meet Jayne for some lunch.

Sunday 8 November 2015

Near Huétor Tajar, Granada Province, Spain.

Moth Trapping.

Over night temperatures have started to drop off and it went down to just +4 last night so mpths were thin on the ground but I did managed get a single 10226 Cerastis faceta which I think is a new species for the garden as well as 9565 (2267) Agrochola lychnidis (Beaded Chestnut) x2, 7663 (1923) Colotois pennaria (Feathered Thorn) x2 and a couple more unnamed insects.
10226 Cerastis faceta.
9565 (2267) Agrochola lychnidis (Beaded Chestnut).
9565 (2267) Agrochola lychnidis (Beaded Chestnut).
7663 (1923) Colotois pennaria (Feathered Thorn).
7663 (1923) Colotois pennaria (Feathered Thorn).
10015 (2206) Mythimna putrescens (Devonshire Wainscot) ?????
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