San Jose, Almeria Province to Tablas de Daimiel, Castilla Y La Mancha.

Granada Wildlife's Tour of Eastern Andalucia and beyond.
Day Six of Eleven, From one extreme (Deserts of Almeria) to another (Wetlands of Daimiel).

A happy Nick after seeing the Trumpeter Finches.

We started the day with a drive from our super accommodation near to San Jose in Almeria heading north through the desert like lands to a spot just off the motorway where we parked and had a walk through some of the dry ramblers looking for Trumpeter Finches (Camachuelo Trompetero / Bucanetes githagineus), we soon started to add good species including Common Whitethroat (Curruca Zarcera / Sylvia communis), Black (Collalba Negra / Oenanthe leucura) and Black-eared Wheatears (Collalba Rubia / Oenanthe hispanica), Thekla Lark (Cogujada Montesina / Galerida theklae), House Sparrow (Gorrión Común / Passer domesticus), Red-rumped Swallow (Golondrina Dáurica / Hirudo daurica), Common Kestrel (Cernicalo Vulgar / Falco tinnunculus) and then the target species, a pair of stunning Trumpeter Finches.

Kohlrauschia velutina.

They showed very well for the group but they were eventually flushed by the Common Kestrel which flew across the spot. I also saw quite a lot of Allium sphaerocephalon, Large White (Pieris brassicae), Clouded Yellow (Colias croceus) and Bath White (Pontia daplidice).

Corn Flower (Centaurea depressa).

We made our way back to the van and refueled before setting off north for the longish drive to Tablas, on the way we stopped off at a site near to Guadix and drove along a route which eventually bought us out on the northern stretch of the Murcia motorway. 

Allium sphaerocephalon,

On the is drive we stopped a couple of times, the first was at a roadside pool where we had two Stock Doves (Paloma Zurita / Columba oenas) disappear into the distance, several  Woodpigeons (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus), Raven (Cuervo / Corvus corax), Common (Vencejo Común / Apus apus) and Pallid Swifts (Vencejo Pálido /Apus pallidus), Crag Martins (Avión Roquero / Ptyonoprogne rupestris), 2x Common Buzzards (Busardo Ratonero / Buteo buteo) which were mobbing a passing Short-toed Eagle (Culebrera Europeo / Circaetus gallicus), Carrion Crow (Corneja Negra / Corvus corone), Linnet (Pardillo Común / Carduelis cannabina), European Bee-eater (Abejaruco Común / Merops apiaster), Rock Sparrow (Gorrión Chillón / Petronia petronia), Serin (Verdecillo / Serinus serinus) and Greenfinch (Verderón Común / Carduelis chloris).

Grasslands near Guadix.

Further round the site we made a stop to look at some wild flowers in a fallow field including Corn Poppy (Papaver rhoeas), Prickly Poppy (Papaver argenone), Corn Flower (Centaurea depressa), Roemeria hybrida, Red-horned Poppy (Glaucium corniculatum), Kohlrauschia velutina, Hypecoum imberbe, Eruca (Eruca sativa) and Crown Daisy (Chrysanthemum carinatum var discolor).

Roller (Carraca / Coracias garrulus).

Further on again we came to some old buildings and some very old and rough Poplar trees and found Jackdaw (Grajilla / Corvus monedula), Roller (Carraca / Coracias garrulus) and Common Magpie (Urraca / Pica pica). 

Sorry Mike.

Our last stop was to watch another couple of Rollers, one sat in a poplar with some Jackdaws and another sat on a roadside rock pile.

Pams wonderful picture she did whilst at Tablas.

We got back on to the motorway and continued on seeing Zitting Cisticola (Buitrón / Cisticola juncidis), Crested Lark (Cogujada / Galerida cristata), Corn Bunting (Triguero / Emberiza calandra), Collared Dove (Tórtola Turca / Streptopelia decaocto), Barn Swallow (Golondrina Común / Hirundo rustica), Hoopoe (Abubilla / Upupa epops) and Iberian  Magpie (Rabilargo / Cyanopica cooki) on the way.

Pam at work in Tablas.

We arrived at Tablas with enough time to have a couple of hours looking around the boardwalks which were just superb, during the walk we added Little (Zampullín Común / Tachybaptus ruficollis) and Great Crested Grebes (Somormujo Lavanco / Podiceps cristatus), Bearded Tit (Reedling) (Bigotudo / Panurus biarmicus), Penduline Tit (Pájaro Moscón / Remiz pendulinus), Savi's (Buscarla Unicolor / Locustella luscinoides), Reed (Carricero Común / Acrocephalus scrpaceus), Great Reed (Carricero Tordal / Acrocephalus arundinaceus), Western Olivaceous (Zarcero Pálido Occidental / Hippolais opaca) and Cetti's Warblers (Ruisenor Bastardo / Cettia cetti), Red-crested (Pato Colorado / Netta rufina) and Common Pochard (Porrón Común / Aythya ferina), Mallard (Anade Azulón / Anas platyrhynchos), Greylag Geese (Ansar Común / Anser anser), Eurasian Coot (Focha Común / Fulica atra),

Great White Egrets (Garceta Grande / Egretta alba).

Common Moorhen (Gallineta Común / Gallinulas chloropus), Western Cattle (Garcilla Bueyera / Bubulcus ibis), Little (Garceta Común / Egreeta garzetta) and Great White Egrets (Garceta Grande / Egretta alba), Night (Marinete Común / Nycticorax nycticorax), Grey (Garza Real / Ardea cinerea) and Purple Herons (Garza Imperial / Ardea purpurea), Nightingale (Ruisenor Común / Luscinia megarhynchos), Goldfinch (Jilguero / Carduelis carduelis), Sand (Avión Zapador / Riparia riparia) and House Martins (Avión Común / Delichon urbica), Spotless Starling (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor), White Stork (Ciguena Blanca / Ciconia ciconia), Marsh Harrier (Aguilucho Lagunero Occidental / Circus aeruginosus) and Red-veined Darter (Sympetrum fonscolombii) and Lesser Emperor (Anax parthenope) before we headed into Daimiel to our Hotel for the next two nights.

Corn Bunting (Triguero / Emberiza calandra).

Red-crested Pochard (Pato Colorado / Netta rufina).

Red-crested Pochard (Pato Colorado / Netta rufina).

Red-crested Pochard (Pato Colorado / Netta rufina).

Red-crested Pochard (Pato Colorado / Netta rufina).

Red-crested Pochard (Pato Colorado / Netta rufina).

Greylag Geese (Ansar Común / Anser anser).

Watching a Penduline Tit nest building.

Purple Heron (Garza Imperial / Ardea purpurea).