A mornings birding with Nigel from Australia.
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| Hoopoe (Abubilla / Upupa epops). |
I met Nigel up in the city of Granada at 06:00 as he had to be back at the hotel for 12:00 for a transfer to Morocco so we headed straight out to our first site near Moraleda. Once we were on the fields we quickly found Black-bellied Sandgrouse (Ganga Ortega / Pterocles orientalis), Roller (Carraca / Coracias garrulus), Thekla (Cogujada Montesina / Galerida theklae), Crested (Cogujada / Galerida cristata), Calandra (Calandria / Melanocorypha calandra) and Short-toed Larks (Terrera Común / Calandrella brachydactyla), Stone Curlew (Alcaraván Común / Burhinus oedicnemus), Iberian / Iberian Grey Shrike (Alcaudón Real Meridional / Lanius meridionalis), Common Kestrel (Cernicalo Vulgar / Falco tinnunculus), Little Owl (Mochuelo Europeo / Athene noctua), Goldfinch (Jilguero / Carduelis carduelis), Greenfinch (Verderón Común / Carduelis chloris), Rock Sparrow (Gorrión Chillón / Petronia petronia), Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula), Hoopoe (Abubilla / Upupa epops), Collared (Tórtola Turca / Streptopelia decaocto) and Turtle Dove (Tórtola Europea / Streptopelia turtur), Woodpigeon (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus), Serin (Verdecillo / Serinus serinus), Barn Swallow (Golondrina Común / Hirundo rustica) and House Martin (Avión Común / Delichon urbica).
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| Hoopoe (Abubilla / Upupa epops). |
We dropped down off the fields and in to the Pine woodlands along the Rio Cacínwhere we boosted the list with Coal Tit (Carbonero Garrapinos / Parus ater), Golden Oriole (Oropéndola / Oriolus oriolus), Short-toed Treecreeper (Agateador Común / Certhia brachydactyla), Iberian Magpie (Rabilargo / Cyanopica cooki) and Bonelli's Warbler (Mosquitero Papialbo / Phylloscopus bonelli). A short way down the Rio we saw Nightingale (Ruisenor Común / Luscinia megarhynchos), Cirl Bunting (Escribano Soteno / Emberiza cirlus), Blue (Herrerillo Común / Parus caeruleus) and Great Tits (Carbonera Común / Parus major), European Bee-eater (Abejaruco Común / Merops apiaster), Red-rumped Swallow (Golondrina Dáurica / Hirudo daurica), Common Swift (Vencejo Común / Apus apus), Blackcap (Curruca Capirotada / Sylvia atricailla), White Wagtail (Lavandera Blanca / Montacilla alba), Green Sandpiper (Andarrios Grande / Tringa ochropus), Sardinian Warbler (Curruca Cabecinegra / Sylvia melanocephala) and Reed Warbler (Carricero Común / Acrocephalus scrpaceus).
We went just up the road and scanned the Contra-embalse de Bermejalis adding Grey Heron (Garza Real / Ardea cinerea) x6, Mallard (Anade Azulón / Anas platyrhynchos), Common Pochard (Porrón Común / Aythya ferina), Eurasian Coot (Focha Común / Fulica atra), Common Moorhen (Gallineta Común / Gallinulas chloropus) and Little Grebe (Zampullín Común / Tachybaptus ruficollis).
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| Hoopoe (Abubilla / Upupa epops). |
Our last area to be visited before we headed back in towards the city was the far end of the Cacín Gorge were we found Pallid Swift (Vencejo Pálido /Apus pallidus), Crag Martin (Avión Roquero / Ptyonoprogne rupestris) and Black Wheatear (Collalba Negra / Oenanthe leucura).
As we headed back to the city we only added Common Buzzard (Busardo Ratonero / Buteo buteo) to the list. I dropped Nigel off and then headed back home.
Later in the day Jayne and I did a loop of Huétor Tajar, during this walk we had a flock of three Night Herons (Marinete Común / Nycticorax nycticorax) flying west along the Rio Genil.
