Huétor Fields, Granada Province.

A quick check on the Bustards.

This winter the Little Bustard (Sisón Común / Tetrax tetrax) flock on the local patch has been more fragmented than usual and I have only managed to see what I think was the complete flock together once (81 birds) which is much smaller than the 250 birds of a few years ago. Today I found two of the groups totaling 47 birds, there were just 19 on the usual Lucerne field and there were another 28 on another nearby field. I did not get out on to the middle fields to do a count but suspect the rest of the birds were there or out on the Mesia side of the site.

In the same area there were several Golden Plovers (Chorlito Dorado Europeo / Pluvialis apricaria), Northern Lapwings (Avefria Europea / Vanellus vanellus), Skylark (Alondra Común / Alauda arvensis), Crested Lark (Cogujada / Galerida cristata), Common Stonechat (Tarabilla Común / Saxicola torquata), Black Redstart (Colirrojo Tizón / Phoenicurus ochruros), Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula), Common Magpie (Urraca / Pica pica), Spotless Starling (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor), Stone Curlew (Alcaraván Común / Burhinus oedicnemus), Zitting Cisticola (Buitrón / Cisticola juncidis), Woodpigeon (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus), Collared Dove (Tórtola Turca / Streptopelia decaocto), Western Cattle Egret (Garcilla Bueyera / Bubulcus ibis), Common Moorhen (Gallineta Común / Gallinulas chloropus), Hoopoe (Abubilla / Upupa epops), Common Chiffchaff (Mosquitero Común / Phylloscopus collybita), Goldfinch (Jilguero / Carduelis carduelis), Linnet (Pardillo Común / Carduelis cannabina) and Serin (Verdecillo / Serinus serinus). On my way back towards the house I had a quick look at the Arroyo Vilano where I added White Wagtail (Lavandera Blanca / Montacilla alba), Water Pipit (Bisbita Alpino / Anthus spinoletta), Cetti's Warbler  (Ruisenor Bastardo / Cettia cetti) and Common Chaffinch (Pinzón Vulgar / Fringilla coelebs). On my way back up to the house I had good views of a group of 3 Bramblings (Pinzón Real / Fringilla montifringilla) in a roadside Walnut tree and nearby one of my regular Little Owls (Mochuelo Europeo / Athene noctua). 

Once back at the house I saw several Siskin's (Lúgano / Carduelis spinus) on the feeders along with a pair of Great Tits (Carbonera Común / Parus major), several House Sparrows (Gorrión Común / Passer domesticus) and both ♂and♀ Blackcaps (Curruca Capirotada / Sylvia atricailla).