Charca Suarez and Cerro Gordo, Granada Province.

A morning in Charca and an Afternoon on the coast.

Water Rail (Rascón Europeo / Rallus aquaticus).

Lynn, Jayne, Steve and I all headed down to the Granada Coast to Charca Suarez, once there Jayne and Lynn went for a 17KM walk along the beach and back to the starting point whist Steve and I went into the reserve. 

Water Rail (Rascón Europeo / Rallus aquaticus).

We started in the new hide where we saw Green Sandpiper (Andarrios Grande / Tringa ochropus) x2, Little Ringed Plover (Chorlitejo Chico / Charadrius dubius) x3, Mallard (Anade Azulón / Anas platyrhynchos), Common Waxbills (Estrilda Ondulada / Estrilda astrild), Collared Dove (Tórtola Turca / Streptopelia decaocto), Red-rumped (Golondrina Dáurica / Hirudo daurica) and Barn Swallows (Golondrina Común / Hirundo rustica), Common Moorhen (Gallineta Común / Gallinulas chloropus), Little Stint (Correlimos Menudo / Calidris minuta) x1, Dunlin (Correlimos Común / Calidris alpina) x1, Western Swamp-hen (Calamon Común / Porphyrio porphyrio), Red Avadavat (Bengali Rojo / Amandava amandava), Water Rail (Rascón Europeo / Rallus aquaticus) and when some of the rather noisy visitors left the hide and looked further around the pool we had Night Heron (Marinete Común / Nycticorax nycticorax) and Little Egret (Garceta Común / Egreeta garzetta) which they flushed.

Common Moorhen (Gallineta Común / Gallinulas chloropus).

Once the noise had died down and all the visitors and photographers had gone we started to see some birds again and added Reed (Carricero Común / Acrocephalus scrpaceus) and Great Reed Warblers (Carricero Tordal / Acrocephalus arundinaceus), European Bee-eater (Abejaruco Común / Merops apiaster), House Martin (Avión Común / Delichon urbica), Black Kite (Milano Negro / Milvus migrans), Grey Heron (Garza Real / Ardea cinerea), Turtle Dove (Tórtola Europea / Streptopelia turtur), Hoopoe (Abubilla / Upupa epops), Serin (Verdecillo / Serinus serinus), Goldfinch (Jilguero / Carduelis carduelis), Kingfisher (Martin Pescador / Alcedo atthis) and a fly through Squacco Heron (Garcilla Cangrejera / Ardeola ralloides).

Little Stint (Correlimos Menudo / Calidris minuta).

On our way around to the main hide we had a couple of Spotted Flycatchers (Papamoscas Gris / Muscicapa striata) and in the hide Common Pochard (Porrón Común / Aythya ferina), Little Grebe (Zampullín Común / Tachybaptus ruficollis), Western Cattle Egret (Garcilla Bueyera / Bubulcus ibis), Yellow-legged Gull (Gaviota Patiamarilla / Larus Michahellis), Eurasian Coot (Focha Común / Fulica atra) along with Black Percher (Diplacodes lefebvrii), Scarlet Darter (Crocothemis erythraea), Lesser (Anax parthenope) and Blue / Common Emperors (Anax imperator). 

Little Egret (Garceta Común / Egreeta garzetta).

In the same area we also had Large Psammodromus (Lagartija colilarga / Psammodromus algirus), Stripe-necked Terrapins (Mauremys leprosa) and Perez's Frogs (Rana Común / Pelophylax perezi) before moving on around to the two hides over looking Laguna del Trébol we photographed a Blue / Common Emperor and saw a teneral Black Percher, Mediterranean skipper (Gegenes nostrodamus), Lang's Short-tailed (Leptotes pirithous), Long-tailed (Lampides baeticus) and African Grass Blues (Zizeeia knysna), Monarch (Danaus plexippus) and Small White (Pieris rapae).

Little Egret (Garceta Común / Egreeta garzetta).

From the hides on Laguna del Trébol we added just Red-knobbed Coot (Focha cornuda / Fulca cristata) and Cetti's Warbler (Ruisenor Bastardo / Cettia cetti).

Blue / Common Emperors (Anax imperator).

We did not add any new bird species at the next hide Laguna del Lirio but we did add Small Red-eyed (Erythromma viridulum) and Iberian Blue-tail (Ischnura graellsii).

Mediterranean skipper (Gegenes nostrodamus).

We moved around to the next hide over looking Laguna del Taraje and found Spanish (Yellow) Wagtail (Lavandera Boyera / Motacilla flava iberiae), Black-rumped Waxbill (Estrilda troglodytes) and another immature Night Heron which was sat in a willow at the side of the hide.

Large Psammodromus (Lagartija colilarga / Psammodromus algirus).

We left the reserve and met up with the Girls before going to Salabrena where we had our sandwiches sat on a bench by the beach, later we went on to a coast site where we had the most superb views of upto 4 White-rumped Swifts (Vencejo Cafre / Apus caffer) which were coming in so close to us we could hear the wind in their feathers. 

Western Swamp-hen (Calamon Común / Porphyrio porphyrio).

We also saw Common Swift (Vencejo Común / Apus apus), Raven (Cuervo / Corvus corax), Red-rumped Swallow, House Martin, Sardinian Warbler (Curruca Cabecinegra / Sylvia melanocephala), Two-tailed Pasha (Charaxes jasius) and Swallowtail (Papilio machaon).

Night Heron (Marinete Común / Nycticorax nycticorax).

On our way back towards the house we picked up Greater Short-toed (Culebrera Europeo / Circaetus gallicus) and Booted Eagles (Aguililla Calzada / Hieraaetus pennatus).

White-rumped Swift (Vencejo Cafre / Apus caffer).

White-rumped Swift (Vencejo Cafre / Apus caffer).

Two-tailed Pasha (Charaxes jasius).

Two-tailed Pasha (Charaxes jasius).