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Saturday 21 January 2017

Sierra de Loja, Granada Province.

A very frosty trip up the hill.

The View from the Sierra.
Steve and I made our way up the Sierra hoping to do some bird photography but due to the severe cold snap in the area a large number of birds had moved to lower ground but we did see several Ring Ouzels ( Mirlo Capiblanco / Turdus torquatus), Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula), Blue-rock (Roquero Solitario / Monticola solitarius), Mistle (Zorzal Charlo / Turdus viscivorus) and Song Thrushes (Zorzal Común / Turdus philomelos), Spotless Starling (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor), Wren (Chochin / Troglodytes troglodytes), Woodpigeon (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus), White Wagtail (Lavandera Blanca / Montacilla alba), Thekla Lark (Cogujada Montesina / Galerida theklae), Goldfinch (Jilguero / Carduelis carduelis), Serin (Verdecillo / Serinus serinus), Sardinian Warbler (Curruca Cabecinegra / Sylvia melanocephala), Common Stonechat (Tarabilla Común / Saxicola torquata), Black Redstart (Colirrojo Tizón / Phoenicurus ochruros), Meadow Pipit (Bisbita Pratense / Anthus pratensis), Corn (Triguero / Emberiza calandra) and Rock Buntings (Escribano Montesino / Emberiza cia), Red-legged Partridge (Perdiz Roja / Alectoris rufa), Red-billed Chough (Chova Piquirroja / Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax), Rock Sparrow (Gorrión Chillón / Petronia petronia), Little Owl (Mochuelo Europeo / Athene noctua) and Black Wheatear (Collalba Negra / Oenanthe leucura). 
A hard frost.
Down in the woodlands near the motorway we had lots of Broad-leaved Iris (Iris planifolia) and several spikes of Giant Orchids (Himantoglossum robertiana) just starting to flower.
Frost on the Hawthorns.
Icicles in the Goat Cave.
Broad-leaved Iris (Iris planifolia).
Giant Orchid (Himantoglossum robertiana).
Steve amongst the frost.

More frost on the Hawthorns.
More frost.
And more.
Icicles in the Goat Cave.
Steve in the goat cave.
View from the Sierra.
Frost again.
Frost.

Friday 20 January 2017

Sierra Morena, Jaen Province.

A day looking for the rare Iberian Lynx and what a day !!!

Iberian Lynx (lince iberico/ Lynx pardina).
Steve and I were out just on dawn and drove out to the site where we were going to look for the Iberian Lynx (lince iberico/ Lynx pardina), on the way we picked up Red Deer (Ciervo común / Cervus elaphus) in the headlights as well as Rabbit (Conejo / Oryctolagus cuniculus).
Iberian Lynx (lince iberico/ Lynx pardina) checking the scent on the bush.
Once we were on site at around 08:45 we set our selves up and started to find new species including Firecrest (Reyezuelo Listado / Regulus ignicapillus), Long-tailed (Mito / Aegithalos caudatus), Great (Carbonera Común / Parus major) and Blue Tits (Herrerillo Común / Parus caeruleus), Common Chaffinch (Pinzón Vulgar / Fringilla coelebs), Robin (Petirrojo Europeo / Erithacus rubecula),Iberian  Magpie (Rabilargo / Cyanopica cooki) and Common Magpies (Urraca / Pica pica), Red-legged Partridge (Perdiz Roja / Alectoris rufa), Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula), Sardinian (Curruca Cabecinegra / Sylvia melanocephala) and Dartford Warbler (Curruca Rabilarga / Sylvia undata), Iberian Green Woodpecker (Pito Real / Picus sharpei), Woodpigeon (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus), Blue-rock (Roquero Solitario / Monticola solitarius) and Song Thrush (Zorzal Común / Turdus philomelos). 
Steve (AKA Kermit) photographing the Crag Martins.
Just before 10:00 Steve had walked a couple of hundred meters along the road and I walked back a short way in the opposite direction to check a raucous group of Common Magpies when I picked up a male Lynx moving along a nearby ridge. 
Red-legged Partridge (Perdiz Roja / Alectoris rufa).
I managed to get Steve's attention and then went to look for it again and made sure another group got onto it as well, I rushed back to the car grabbed my camera and locked it before returning to the rest of the group. 
Fallow Deer (Gamo común / Dama dama).
What happened next was fantastic, the Lynx dropped out of sight over the ridge and then reappeared right next to us, no more than 10-15 meters away and walked past us up the hill, under the road and out onto a clear area above us where it checked a bush for scent for a few minutes, right out in the open before moving off into cover up the hill. 
Río Jándula Dam.
The whole experience was amazing and all 8 of us were over the moon with the views this stunning animal allowed us.
Otter (Nutria / Lutra lutra).
After a while we decided to go down to the dam at the far end of the track but we did not see much apart from lots of Crag Martins (Avión Roquero / Ptyonoprogne rupestris) sat on the dam wall.
Otter (Nutria / Lutra lutra).
Later we drove off the site seeing Fallow Deer (Gamo común / Dama dama) on the way and down to the Río Jándula where we ate a sandwich (a bit of a monster) we had got on the way at the picnic area near the road and added Nuthatch (Trepador Azul / Sitta europaea), Common Chiffchaff (Mosquitero Común / Phylloscopus collybita), Blackcap (Curruca Capirotada / Sylvia atricailla), Spotless Starling (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor), White (Lavandera Blanca / Montacilla alba) and Grey Wagtails (Lavandera Cascadena / Motacilla cinerea) and Grey Heron (Garza Real / Ardea cinerea).
Otter (Nutria / Lutra lutra).
After finishing the Pork monster we drove to the dam and spent some time on the bridge nearby where we had great views of a very smart Otter (Nutria / Lutra lutra) along with both European Black (Buitre Negro / Aegypius monachus) and Griffon Vulture (Bultre Leonado / Gyps fulvus), a pair of soaring Spanish Imperial Eagles (Aguila Imperial Ibérica / Aguila adalberti) and a couple of Hawfinches (Picogordo / Coccotraustes coccotrauetes).
Río Jándula.
Around mid afternoon we decided to drive south and back home but not before we found a rather hairy looking Wild Boar (Jabalí / Felis silvestris) near the bridge.
Wild Boar (Jabalí / Felis silvestris).

Thursday 19 January 2017

Miraflores Golf Course, Malaga Province and Sierra Morena, Jaen Province.

A Spanish Lifer and an afternoon Lynx chasing with Steve Jones from the UK.

Long-tailed Duck (Pato Havelda / Clangula hyemalis).
I was going down to Malaga to meet Steve Jones for four days searching for Mammals but things were somewhat nastier weather wise than expected with heavy snow at the highest points and rain lower down. I had headed off a little early so I could call in at one of the pools on the Miraflores Golf Course where an immature Long-tailed Duck (Pato Havelda / Clangula hyemalis) had been for a few days. I arrived and found the bird easily but the light was dreadful and so were the photographs that I took. In the same area I found Mallard (Anade Azulón / Anas platyrhynchos), Eurasian Coot (Focha Común / Fulica atra), Common Moorhen (Gallineta Común / Gallinulas chloropus), Black Redstart (Colirrojo Tizón / Phoenicurus ochruros) and White Wagtail (Lavandera Blanca / Montacilla alba).
I also call in at the rocky beach near El Faro where I boosted the list with Yellow-legged (Gaviota Patiamarilla / Larus Michahellis), Lesser Black-backed (Gaviota Sombria / Larus fuscus), Mediterranean (Gaviota Cabecinegra / Larus melanocephalus), Black-headed (Gaviota Riedora / Larus ridibundus) and Audouin's Gulls (Gaviota de Audouin / Larus audouinii), Northern Gannet (Alcatraz Atlántico / Morus bassanus), Ruddy Turnstone (Vuelvepiedras Común / Arenaria interpres) and Sanderling (Correlimos Tridáctilo / Calidris alba).
Spanish Imperial Eagle (Aguila Imperial Ibérica / Aguila adalberti).
I met Steve who was in a little early so we were on our way North earlier than expected and up through the snow near Antequera, around Cordoba, through Andujar and out to the site for the Lynx. On the way we saw Common Buzzard (Busardo Ratonero / Buteo buteo), Red Kite (Milano Real / Milvus milvus), Common Kestrel (Cernicalo Vulgar / Falco tinnunculus), Raven (Cuervo / Corvus corax), 100+ White Storks (Ciguena Blanca / Ciconia ciconia) in a soaring flock, Common Magpie (Urraca / Pica pica) and a flock Iberian  Magpie (Rabilargo / Cyanopica cooki).
Once we were on site for the Lynx we settled down and watched the area infront of us where we saw Green (Pito Real / Picus viridis) and Great Spotted Woodpeckers (Pico Picapinos / Dendrocopos major), Spanish Imperial Eagle (Aguila Imperial Ibérica / Aguila adalberti), Griffon Vulture (Bultre Leonado / Gyps fulvus), Dartford (Curruca Rabilarga / Sylvia undata) and Sardinian Warblers (Curruca Cabecinegra / Sylvia melanocephala), Common Chaffinch (Pinzón Vulgar / Fringilla coelebs), Woodpigeon (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus), Collared Dove (Tórtola Turca / Streptopelia decaocto), Hoopoe (Abubilla / Upupa epops), Robin (Petirrojo Europeo / Erithacus rubecula), Rock Bunting (Escribano Montesino / Emberiza cia), Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula), Corn Bunting (Triguero / Emberiza calandra), Red (Ciervo común / Cervus elaphus) and Fallow Deer (Gamo común / Dama dama) and Rabbit (Conejo / Oryctolagus cuniculus) but the Lynx which had been seen early in the day avoided us.
At dusk we drove back along the road to the accommodation at Los Pinos, where we had a good evening meal in the bar before turning in ready for our second day in the area.

Tuesday 17 January 2017

Desembocadura del río Andarax, Torre Garcia, Rambla Morales, the Lighthouse and Cabo de Gata Saltpans, Almeria.

Twitching !!!! Thought I was cured but stumbled for a World Lifer just a couple of hours away.

Steppe Grey Shrike (Lanius excubitor pallidirostris).
I set off down to Almeria and then out to the Desembocadura del río Andarax right on the southern part of the city where I parked amongst hordes of German and French Camper Vans on a car park just to the East of the river bed. 
Steppe Grey Shrike (Lanius excubitor pallidirostris).
The area between the Car park and the sea was a rather rough, unfinished public garden area with a lot of people doing laps but this is where I found the main target bird for the day a Steppe Grey Shrike (Lanius excubitor pallidirostris) which is a subspecies of Great Grey Shirke from Central Asia. 
Steppe Grey Shrike (Lanius excubitor pallidirostris).
Unlike the Iberian Grey Shrike (Alcaudón Real Meridional / Lanius meridionalis) which I also saw here it did not sit up high but stayed under the branches of the Tamarisk trees or in the bushes and the only time it went up high was when it was flushed by a car and sat on a roof of one of the little huts. 
Steppe Grey Shrike (Lanius excubitor pallidirostris).
In the same area I also recorded at least two wintering Wrynecks (Torcecuello / Jynx torquilla), Sardinian (Curruca Cabecinegra / Sylvia melanocephala) and Dartford Warblers (Curruca Rabilarga / Sylvia undata), Common Chiffchaff (Mosquitero Común / Phylloscopus collybita), Spotless Starling (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor), Crested Lark (Cogujada / Galerida cristata), Black Redstart (Colirrojo Tizón / Phoenicurus ochruros), Crag Martin (Avión Roquero / Ptyonoprogne rupestris), Serin (Verdecillo / Serinus serinus), Greenfinch (Verderón Común / Carduelis chloris), Goldfinch (Jilguero / Carduelis carduelis), Yellow-legged (Gaviota Patiamarilla / Larus Michahellis) and Black-headed Gulls (Gaviota Riedora / Larus ridibundus), Robin (Petirrojo Europeo / Erithacus rubecula), Common Stonechat (Tarabilla Común / Saxicola torquata) and Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula).
Steppe Grey Shrike (Lanius excubitor pallidirostris).
After getting great views of this stunning well behaved bird I moved around the coast to Torre Garcia and out into the sea side vegetation where I searched but only found 2 of the wintering Eurasian Dotterels (Chorlito Carambolo / Eudromias morinellus) during December I had seen 20+ birds in the same area but at least a couple showed up. 
Wryneck (Torcecuello / Jynx torquilla).
In the same area I saw Thekla (Cogujada Montesina / Galerida theklae) and Skylarks (Alondra Común / Alauda arvensis), Kentish Plover (Chorlitejo Patinegro / Charadrius alexandrinus), White Wagtail (Lavandera Blanca / Montacilla alba), Meadow Pipit (Bisbita Pratense / Anthus pratensis), Linnet (Pardillo Común / Carduelis cannabina) and Great Cormorant (Cormorán Grande / Phalacrocroax carbo).
White Wagtail (Lavandera Blanca / Montacilla alba).
I again moved on and stopped off next at the hide on the Northern end of the Salinas but generally it was quiet, whoever I did add Shelduck (Tarro Blanco / Tadoma tadorna), Greater Flamingo's (Flamenco Común / Phoenicopterus roseus), Spoonbills (Espátula Común / Platalea leucorodia), Slender-billed Gull (Gaviota Picofina / Larus genei), Black-winged Stilt (Ciguenela Común / Himantopus himantopus), Common Sandpiper (Andarrios Chico / Actitis hypoleucos), Common Redshank (Archibebe Común / Tringa totanus), Ringed Plover (Chorlitejo Grande / Charadrius hiaticula), Dunlin (Correlimos Común / Calidris alpina), Black-tailed (Aguja Colinegra / Limosa limosa) and Bar-tailed Godwits (Aguja Colipinta / Limosa lapponica), Grey Plover (Chorlito Gris / Pluviali squatarola), Ruff (Combatiente / Philomachus pugnax) and Little Egret (Garceta Común / Egreeta garzetta).
Greenfinch (Verderón Común / Carduelis chloris).
I again moved on to Rambla Morales but the water level was low and the pool was virtually devoid of birds except for 3x Mallards (Anade Azulón / Anas platyrhynchos), 1x Little Stint (Correlimos Menudo / Calidris minuta) and 2x Dunlins.
Trumpeter Finch (Camachuelo Trompetero / Bucanetes githagineus).
Next I went to the Lighthouse where after a tip from Bob Wright I was very pleased to find a flock of around 40 Trumpeter Finches (Camachuelo Trompetero / Bucanetes githagineus), 3x Black Wheatears (Collalba Negra / Oenanthe leucura) and a male Blue-rock Thrush (Roquero Solitario / Monticola solitarius).
Trumpeter Finch (Camachuelo Trompetero / Bucanetes githagineus).
I retraced my steps back to the Salinas and stopped at the first hide heading back North but again things were very quiet and I only added Lesser Black-backed Gull (Gaviota Sombria / Larus fuscus), Avocet (Avoceta Común / Recurvirostra avosetta) and Sanderling (Correlimos Tridáctilo / Calidris alba).
Trumpeter Finch (Camachuelo Trompetero / Bucanetes githagineus).
As it was quiet in the area I decided to call it a day at around 13:00 and head home adding Common Kestrel (Cernicalo Vulgar / Falco tinnunculus), Common Chaffinch (Pinzón Vulgar / Fringilla coelebs), Woodpigeon (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus), Jackdaw (Grajilla / Corvus monedula) and Common Magpie (Urraca / Pica pica) on the way.
Trumpeter Finch (Camachuelo Trompetero / Bucanetes githagineus).
Trumpeter Finch (Camachuelo Trompetero / Bucanetes githagineus).

Monday 16 January 2017

Mouth of the Guadalhorce, Malaga Province.

A rapid visit to the sea front.

Great Skua (Págalo Grande / Stercorarius skua).
Jayne and I spent the morning in Malaga and then Jayne went and had a wander around Plaza Mayor whilst I went for a quick scan at the beach at Guadalmar but did not stay long as there were masses of people walking on the reserve beach area (a coach trip I guess) and along with all the fishermen there was little chance of seeing much.
I did however see Booted Eagle (Aguila Calzada / Aquila pennatus) x2, Grey Plover (Chorlito Gris / Pluviali squatarola) x4, Zitting Cisticola (Buitrón / Cisticola juncidis), Yellow-legged (Gaviota Patiamarilla / Larus Michahellis), Mediterranean (Gaviota Cabecinegra / Larus melanocephalus), Lesser Black-backed (Gaviota Sombria / Larus fuscus) and Black-headed Gulls (Gaviota Reidora / Chroicocephalus ridibundus), Sandwich Tern (Charrán Patinegro / Sterna sandvicensis), Common Scoter (Negrón Común / Melanitta nigra) x6, Black-necked Grebes (Zampullín Cuellinegro / Podiceps nigricollis) x8+, lots of Great Cormorants (Cormorán Grande / Phalacrocroax carbo), Great Skua (Págalo Grande / Stercorarius skua) x1, Woodpigeon (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus), Spotless Starling (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor), Serin (Verdecillo / Serinus serinus), Sardinian Warbler (Curruca Cabecinegra / Sylvia melanocephala), Monk Parakeet (Cotorra Argentina / Myiopsitta monachus), Goldfinch (Jilguero / Carduelis carduelis), Eurasian Coot (Focha Común / Fulica atra), Crested Lark (Cogujada / Galerida cristata), Crag Martin (Avión Roquero / Ptyonoprogne rupestris), Common Kestrel (Cernicalo Vulgar / Falco tinnunculus), Common Chiffchaff (Mosquitero Común / Phylloscopus collybita), Grey Heron (Garza Real / Ardea cinerea), Western Cattle Egret (Garcilla Bueyera / Bubulcus ibis), Common Stonechat (Tarabilla Común / Saxicola torquata), House Sparrow (Gorrión Común / Passer domesticus) and a single Small White (Pieris rapae).
House Sparrow (Gorrión Común / Passer domesticus).