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Thursday 26 April 2018

Padul Wetlands, Granada Province.

A pleasanter than normal visit to the wetlands.

Male Marsh Harrier (Aguilucho Lagunero Occidental / Circus aeruginosus).
Jayne and I headed up into Granada and out to the new very large hospital where we made our way up to the 7th floor for Jayne's treatment. Once she was settled I headed out for a few hours birding down at Padul parking by a bar above the reserve and then walking along the wooded margins to the larger woodland near the visitors centre where Juan Pérez Contreras had seen a Wood Warbler (Mosquitero Sibador / Phylloscopus sibilatrix) the day before. On the way out I picked up Nightingale (Ruisenor Común / Luscinia megarhynchos), Serin (Verdecillo / Serinus serinus), Blackcap (Curruca Capirotada / Sylvia atricailla), Cetti's (Ruisenor Bastardo / Cettia cetti) and Reed Warbler (Carricero Común / Acrocephalus scrpaceus), Great Tit (Carbonera Común / Parus major), Woodpigeon (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus), Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula), Mallard (Anade Azulón / Anas platyrhynchos), Collared (Tórtola Turca / Streptopelia decaocto) and
Turtle Dove (Tórtola Europea / Streptopelia turtur), Common Chiffchaff (Mosquitero Común / Phylloscopus collybita) and in the over hanging Fig trees a migrating Garden Warbler (Curruca Mosquitera / Sylvia borin).
Eurasian Coot (Focha Común / Fulica atra).
In the taller trees dozens of Goldfinch (Jilguero / Carduelis carduelis) were calling and and nice male Pied Flycatcher (Papamoscas Cerrojillo / Ficedula hypoleuca) was feeding up ready to push on further North, a couple of Common Waxbills (Estrilda Ondulada / Estrilda astrild), I also picked up a warbler in the taller Poplar trees which could well have been Juan's Wood Warbler but I did not get good enough views in the brief time I saw it to be 100% sure so it will have to go down as one that got away.
Whinchat (Tarabilla Nortena / Saxicola rubetra).
However in this area and on the track back to the car I located Sardinian (Curruca Cabecinegra / Sylvia melanocephala) and Bonelli's Warbler (Mosquitero Papialbo / Phylloscopus bonelli), Greenfinch (Verderón Común / Carduelis chloris), House Martin (Avión Común / Delichon urbica), Barn Swallow (Golondrina Común / Hirundo rustica), Common Chaffinch (Pinzón Vulgar / Fringilla coelebs), Common Swift (Vencejo Común / Apus apus) and Eurasian Coot (Focha Común / Fulica atra).
Common Whitethroat (Curruca Zarcera / Sylvia communis).
Once back at the bar I had a sandwich before driving around to the smelly and normally rubbish filled channel on another part of the reserve but when  arrived I was very pleased to see that a lot of work had been done to clear the channel and surroundings of most of the rubbish and that the worst of the vegetation infront of the hide had been cleared. 
Common Whitethroat (Curruca Zarcera / Sylvia communis).
Anyway I walked around the boardwalks in the area and spent a while in the hide with company of a domestic duck adding Water Rail (Rascón Europeo / Rallus aquaticus), European Bee-eater (Abejaruco Común / Merops apiaster), Common Moorhen (Gallineta Común / Gallinulas chloropus), Common Magpie (Urraca / Pica pica), at least two displaying male Marsh Harriers (Aguilucho Lagunero Occidental / Circus aeruginosus) and a flying Purple Heron (Garza Imperial / Ardea purpurea).
Reed Warbler (Carricero Común / Acrocephalus scrpaceus).
I returned to the car and drove around the remainder of the reserve and on the far side along side some small ellotment type areas I found 5+ Whinchat (Tarabilla Nortena / Saxicola rubetra), another Purple Heron, Crested Lark (Cogujada / Galerida cristata), Corn Bunting (Triguero / Emberiza calandra), Zitting Cisticola (Buitrón / Cisticola juncidis), Sedge Warbler (Carricerin Común / Acrocephalus schoenobaenus), Common Kestrel (Cernicalo Vulgar / Falco tinnunculus), Green Sandpiper (Andarrios Grande / Tringa ochropus), Great Reed Warbler (Carricero Tordal / Acrocephalus arundinaceus), a couple of singing Common Whitethroat (Curruca Zarcera / Sylvia communis) and a calling Common Quail (Codorniz Común / Coturnix coturnix). I drove out at the far point near the visitor centre and headed back up to Jayne at the hospital.

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