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Saturday 3 November 2018

RAM and Charca Suarez, Granada Province.

Out and about on the Granada Coast.

Wintering Wryneck (Torcecuello / Jynx torquilla).
I met Juan Pérez Contreras, his wife Beatriz and Chika their dog at their place and we headed down to the coast and up on to Peñón de Jolúcar where we carried out the monthly sea bird count. Species included 5x Great (Págalo Grande / Stercorarius skua) and1x Arctic Skua (Págalo Parásito / Stercorarius parasiticus), 16x Balearic (Pardela Balear / Puffinus mauretanicus) and 53x Scopoli's / Cory's Shearwaters (Pardela Cenicienta / Calonectris diomedea / borealis), 49x Northern Gannet (Alcatraz Atlántico / Morus bassanus), 5x Sandwich Tern (Charrán Patinegro / Sterna sandvicensis), Black-headed (Gaviota Riedora / Larus ridibundus), 43x Mediterranean (Gaviota Cabecinegra / Larus melanocephalus), 1x Audouin's (Gaviota de Audouin / Larus audouinii), Lesser Black-backed (Gaviota Sombria / Larus fuscus) and Yellow-legged Gulls (Gaviota Patiamarilla / Larus Michahellis), 2x Little (Garceta Común / Egreeta garzetta) and 1x Western Cattle Egret (Garcilla Bueyera / Bubulcus ibis) and 14x Great Cormorant (Cormorán Grande / Phalacrocroax carbo).
Wintering Wryneck (Torcecuello / Jynx torquilla).
More land based birds included 1x Crag Martin (Avión Roquero / Ptyonoprogne rupestris), 2x Barn Swallows (Golondrina Común / Hirundo rustica), Black Redstart (Colirrojo Tizón / Phoenicurus ochruros), Collared Dove (Tórtola Turca / Streptopelia decaocto), Common Kestrel (Cernicalo Vulgar / Falco tinnunculus), 5x Spotless Starling (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor), House Sparrow (Gorrión Común / Passer domesticus), Serin (Verdecillo / Serinus serinus), Sardinian Warbler (Curruca Cabecinegra / Sylvia melanocephala), Common Chiffchaff (Mosquitero Común / Phylloscopus collybita), Linnet (Pardillo Común / Carduelis cannabina), Greenfinch (Verderón Común / Carduelis chloris), Goldfinch (Jilguero / Carduelis carduelis), Thekla Lark (Cogujada Montesina / Galerida theklae), Rock Pigeon (Paloma Bravia / Columba livia), 2x Hoopoe (Abubilla / Upupa epops), Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula), Meadow Pipit (Bisbita Pratense / Anthus pratensis) and White Wagtail (Lavandera Blanca / Montacilla alba).
Female Bluethroat (Pechiazul / Luscinia svecica).
Once the bird count was completed we made our way to Charca Suarez wetland where we walked out to the hide over looking Laguna Blanca, on the way we saw loads of Migrant Hawkers (Aeshna mixta)Long-tailed Blue (Lampides baeticus), Common Kestrel, Collared Dove, Black Redstart and Cetti's Warbler (Ruisenor Bastardo / Cettia cetti). Once we were in the hide we soon found several female Eurasian Teal (Cerceta Común / Anas crecca), 3x Purple / Western Swamp-hen (Calamon Común / Porphyrio porphyrio), Eurasian Coot (Focha Común / Fulica atra), Common Moorhen (Gallineta Común / Gallinulas chloropus), 2x Common Pochard (Porrón Común / Aythya ferina), in the far reed beds an Iberian / Southern Grey Shrike (Alcaudón Real Meridional / Lanius meridionalis), a couple of groups of Common Waxbill (Estrilda Ondulada / Estrilda astrild) which were flitting around the reeds, a single male Spanish Sparrow (Gorrión Moruno / Passer hispaniolensis), 5x Snipe (Agachadiza Común / Gallinago gallinago), Mallard (Anade Azulón / Anas platyrhynchos), Grey Heron (Garza Real / Ardea cinerea), Little Egret, Robin (Petirrojo Europeo / Erithacus rubecula), Common Starling (Estornino Pinto / Sturnus vulgaris), Cetti's Warbler (Ruisenor Bastardo / Cettia cetti), 2 calling Water Rails (Rascón Europeo / Rallus aquaticus), at least three wintering Wrynecks (Torcecuello / Jynx torquilla) two of which were calling loadly and a female Bluethroat (Pechiazul / Luscinia svecica) which spent quite a while feeding right infront of the hide and joined the Wryneck for a few seconds in the Pampas Grass.
Female Bluethroat (Pechiazul / Luscinia svecica).
We walked around towards the main hide over looking the largest of the Lagoons adding Zitting Cisticola (Buitrón / Cisticola juncidis), Sardinian Warbler (Curruca Cabecinegra / Sylvia melanocephala), a couple of Monarchs (Danaus plexippus), Red-veined Darter (Sympetrum fonscolombii), several Stripe-less Tree Frogs (Hyla meridionalis) and from the hide we picked out a good number of Common Pochards, 4x Northern Shovelers (Pato Cuchara / Anas clypeata), 50 or so Mallards, Eurasian Teal (Cerceta Común / Anas crecca), the first of 14 Red-knobbed Coots (Focha cornuda / Fulca cristata) but most were seen on the next pool, Kingfisher (Martin Pescador / Alcedo atthis), Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta) and Stripe-necked Terrapin (Mauremys leprosa).
Little Egret (Garceta Común / Egreeta garzetta) and Snipe (Agachadiza Común / Gallinago gallinago).
On the way to and from the next hide we had Great Tit (Carbonera Común / Parus major), Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula), Common Stonechat (Tarabilla Común / Saxicola torquata), Blackcap (Curruca Capirotada / Sylvia atricailla), Common Chaffinch (Pinzón Vulgar / Fringilla coelebs canariensis), Lesser Emperor (Anax parthenope), Clouded Yellow (Colias Común / Colias corcea), Large White (Pieris brassicae), Lang's Short-tailed Blue (Leptotes pirithous) and Perez's Frog (Rana Común / Pelophylax perezi).
Snipe (Agachadiza Común / Gallinago gallinago).
We walked back to the hide over looking Laguna Blanca but we did not find any new species so we went and checked the hide at the far end of the long pool we know as the Bittern hide, here we had brief views of a wintering Moustached Warbler (Carricerin Real / Acrocephalus melanopogon), Little Grebe (Zampullín Común / Tachybaptus ruficollis), Song Thrush (Zorzal Común / Turdus philomelos) and a single Western Willow Spreadwing (Lestres viridis).
Snipe (Agachadiza Común / Gallinago gallinago).
Juan and I went out of the reserve and met Beatriz and Chica on the beach before heading back home via Granada.
Stripe-less Tree Frogs (Hyla meridionalis).
Little Egret (Garceta Común / Egreeta garzetta).

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