A few hours to the South and West of Granada City.
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| Subalpine Warbler (Curruca Carrasquena / Sylvia cantillans). |
Jayne was at the hospital again for the day so I slipped away for a while and started at Padul Wetland along the board walks at the Northern end of the reserve along the rubbish and sewage filled channel.
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| Subalpine Warbler (Curruca Carrasquena / Sylvia cantillans). |
At the start of the track where I parked I stood for a while and started the list off with Spotless Starling (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor), House Sparrow (Gorrión Común / Passer domesticus), White Wagtail (Lavandera Blanca / Montacilla alba), Serin (Verdecillo / Serinus serinus), Greenfinch (Verderón Común / Carduelis chloris), Grey Heron (Garza Real / Ardea cinerea) and Cetti's Warbler (Ruisenor Bastardo / Cettia cetti).
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| Subalpine Warbler (Curruca Carrasquena / Sylvia cantillans). |
I then walked along the track and then the boardwalk down towards the hide, just past the spot where the old bridge was I sat on the track and waited to see what appeared, almost straight away I could hear my first singing Iberian Chiffchaff (Mosquitero Ibérico / Phylloscopus brehmii) of the year along with several of its commoner relative the Common Chiffchaff (Mosquitero Común / Phylloscopus collybita) and as they were singing it made it easier to work out which was which.
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| Corn Buntings (Triguero / Emberiza calandra). |
In the same area I also had singing Sardinian Warbler (Curruca Cabecinegra / Sylvia melanocephala) and Blackcap (Curruca Capirotada / Sylvia atricapilla) as well as at least 6 Water Pipits (Bisbita Alpino / Anthus spinoletta), Water Rail (Rascón Europeo / Rallus aquaticus), Mallard (Anade Azulón / Anas platyrhynchos), Common Moorhen (Gallineta Común / Gallinulas chloropus), Zitting Cisticola (Buitrón / Cisticola juncidis), Robin (Petirrojo Europeo / Erithacus rubecula), Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula) and as I started walk around to the willow scrub area further along the boardwalk I watched a Common Kestrel (Cernicalo Vulgar / Falco tinnunculus) hunting over the reeds.
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| Corn Buntings (Triguero / Emberiza calandra). |
On the far side I went up on to the raised viewing platform and soon heard the call of a displaying male Marsh Harrier (Aguilucho Lagunero Occidental / Circus aeruginosus) showing off to a female which was sat down in the reeds on a dead tree. In the willow just behind me I picked up a nice male Subalpine Warbler (Curruca Carrasquena / Sylvia cantillans) which was my first of the year.
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| Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta). |
I scanned the area seeing several Woodpigeons (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus), Collared Dove (Tórtola Turca / Streptopelia decaocto), Goldfinch (Jilguero / Carduelis carduelis), Blue Tit (Herrerillo Común / Cyanistes caeruleus) and a little further along the track Little Grebe (Zampullín Común / Tachybaptus ruficollis), Eurasian Coot (Focha Común / Fulica atra), Barn Swallow (Golondrina Común / Hirundo rustica) and a couple of butterfly species with 3x Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta), Large White (Pieris brassicae) and 2x Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria) which were chasing each other around the willows.
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| Corn Buntings (Triguero / Emberiza calandra). |
I returned to the smelly channel where I added Great Tit (Carbonera Común / Parus major), Crested Lark (Cogujada / Galerida cristata), Jackdaw (Grajilla / Corvus monedula), Green Sandpiper (Andarrios Grande / Tringa ochropus) and a couple of Snipe (Agachadiza Común / Gallinago gallinago).
I headed back towards Granada and then West out on to the fields where I checked a couple of areas out but on the way I watched a few
Lesser Kestrel (Cernicola Primilla / Falco naumanni) and a soaring
Booted Eagle (
Aguila Calzada / Aquila penntuas).
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| Woodchat Shrike (Alcaudón Común / Lanius senator). |
On the first area of fields there were loads of singing Calandra Larks (Calandria / Melanocorypha calandra), loads of singing Corn Buntings (Triguero / Emberiza calandra), Black Redstart (Colirrojo Tizón / Phoenicurus ochruros), Woodchat Shrike (Alcaudón Común / Lanius senator), Common Magpie (Urraca / Pica pica), Spanish (Yellow) Wagtail (Lavandera Boyera / Motacilla flava iberiae) and Thekla Lark (Cogujada Montesina / Galerida theklae).
On the second area I boosted the list with a pair of
Black-bellied Sandgrouse (Ganga Ortega / Pterocles orientalis), at least 4
Great Spotted Cuckoos (Crialo Europeo / Clamator gladarius), 3x
Stone Curlews (Alcaraván Común / Burhinus oedicnemus) and several
Iberian Grey Shrike (Alcaudón Real Meridional / Lanius meridionalis).
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| Great Spotted Cuckoo (Crialo Europeo / Clamator gladarius). |
I then I headed back in to the city and spent the last couple of hours of her treatment with Jayne before we headed back home.
