A few hours warm birding around the Local Patch.


Further along the road I took a track off to my right and followed a reed filled ditch out to the Arroyo Vilano finding Zitting Cisticola (Buitrón / Cisticola juncidis), Whinchat (Tarabilla Nortena / Saxicola rubetra), Common Stonechat (Tarabilla Común / Saxicola torquata), Goldfinch (Jilguero / Carduelis carduelis), Hoopoe (Abubilla / Upupa epops)
and the first off 100s of Yellow Wagtails (Lavandera Boyera / Motacilla flava) of three different subspecies. In the reed chocked Arroyo I heard and then saw the first of several elusive Cetti's (Ruisenor Bastardo / Cettia cetti) and Reed Warblers (Carricero Común / Acrocephalus scrpaceus), Common Moorhen (Gallineta Común / Gallinulas chloropus) and on the far fields a small flock of around 20 or so Cattle Egrets (Garcilla Bueyera / Bubulcus ibis) and a single Grey Heron (Garza Real / Ardea cinerea) were following a tractor that was ploughing in the remains of burnt off Maze stubble. I walked along the raised bank at the side of the Arroyo looping back as far as the mesia road, a Snipe (Agachadiza Común / Gallinago gallinago) flushed up from the reeds and a small band of Serins (Verdecillo / Serinus serinus) flew off from a stand of weeds and thistles with a few Goldfinches and several Greenfinches (Verderón Común / Carduelis chloris).

I walked back to the start of the track where I had turned off but this time went the opposite direction following the roadside ditch back in the direction of La Fabrica.
The ditch was quite except for a couple of Cetti's, Reed and Sardinian Warblers (Curruca Cabecinegra / Sylvia melanocephala) as were the remains of the small pools where I added just Red-veined Darter (Sympetrum fonscolombii), Stripe-necked Terrapin (Mauremys leprosa), Perez's Frog (Rana Común / Pelophylax perezi) and a fly over Barn Swallow (Golondrina Común / Hirundo rustica). Just a short way further along the track I turned off and took another track along side the railway line which paided off with in seconds when I found a good group of Caper plants (Capparis spinosa) and then several Desert Orange-tip (Colotis evagore) butterflies along with a single Large White (Pieris brassicae), Long-tailed Blue (Lampides boeticus) and Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui).

Further along this track I came to a very reedy over grown irrigation ditch which looked promising so I sat down on a concrete block and waited to see what appeared, soon I had seen Reed Warbler, Zitting Cisticola, Common Stonechat, Whinchat, Common Waxbill (Estrilda Ondulada /
Estrilda astrild), Common Redstart (Colirroja Real / Phoenicurus phoenicurus) and the bird I had hoped for a Bluethroat (Pechiazul / Luscinia svecica).




My next stop was in the bar near by where I had a drink and sandwich which was disturbed when a female Marsh Harrier (Aguilucho Lagunero Occidental / Circus aeruginosus)
flapped along the Arroyo. After lunch I walked back up to the house along the road checking the ditch all the way, new species seen before I reach home included Blackcap (Curruca Capirotada /
Sylvia atricailla), Great Tit (Carbonera Común / Parus major), Jackdaw (Grajilla / Corvus monedula), Pied Flycatcher (Papamoscas Cerrojillo / Ficedula hypoleuca), Short-toed Treecreeper (Agateador Común / Certhia brachydactyla) and a Bath White (Blanqiverdosa / Pontia daplidice).


Photographs from the top: female Red-veined Darter (Sympetrum fonscolombii), Small White (Pieris rapae), female Common Stonechat (Tarabilla Común / Saxicola torquata), male Common Stonechat, 2x Desert Orange-tip (Colotis evagore), 2x Bluethroat (Pechiazul / Luscinia svecica), Bridge Spider (Larinioides sclopetarius), Bath White (Blanqiverdosa / Pontia daplidice) and 2x Marsh Harrier (Aguilucho Lagunero Occidental / Circus aeruginosus).
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