Huétor Fields and Padul Wetlands, Granada Province.

Some new species for the year list.

I started the day with a quick look down on the fields as I drove down to Huétor, I started along the side of the Arroyo Vilano where I could see at least 3 Little Ringed Plovers (Chorlitejo Chico / Charadrius dubius), a pair of Mallard (Anade Azulón / Anas platyrhynchos), calling Corn Bunting (Triguero / Emberiza calandra) and Crested Lark (Cogujada / Galerida cristata), Woodpigeon (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus), Sardinian Warbler (Curruca Cabecinegra / Sylvia melanocephala), Spotless Starling (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor), House Sparrow (Gorrión Común / Passer domesticus), Cetti's Warbler (Ruisenor Bastardo / Cettia cetti), Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula) and the first Short-toed Larks (Terrera Común / Calandrella brachydactyla) for my year list.
I moved to the eastern end of the Arroyo adding Collared Dove (Tórtola Turca / Streptopelia decaocto), a couple of Meadow Pipits (Bisbita Pratense / Anthus pratensis), another year tick in the shape of a singing Nightingale (Ruisenor Común / Luscinia megarhynchos) in the far bank reed beds, a Snipe (Agachadiza Común / Gallinago gallinago) and Green Sandpiper (Andarrios Grande / Tringa ochropus) which did battle several times and on the way back along the track my first Woodchat Shrike (Alcaudón Común / Lanius senator) for the year.

I got sorted in town and went back home before Jayne and I went up to Granada where Jayne had a walk around the Nevada Shopping Centre whilst I went down to Padul to try and see one of the two male Little Crakes ( Polluela Bastarda / Porzana parva) which good friend Juan Pérez Contreras had seen a couple of days earlier. As I walked in there were several Common Waxbill (Estrilda Ondulada / Estrilda astrild), Blackcap (Curruca Capirotada / Sylvia atricailla), Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula), Common Chaffinch (Pinzón Vulgar / Fringilla coelebs),

I sat down on the side of the track and watched the area quietly but the silence was soon broken by a bus load of nice but noisy school kids, they moved on and I again waited picking up Great Cormorant (Cormorán Grande / Phalacrocroax carbo), Mallard (Anade Azulón / Anas platyrhynchos), Cetti's Warbler, Marsh Harrier (Aguilucho Lagunero Occidental / Circus aeruginosus), Eurasian Coot (Focha Común / Fulica atra), Common Moorhen (Gallineta Común / Gallinulas chloropus), Little Grebe (Zampullín Común / Tachybaptus ruficollis) and Sardinian Warbler (Curruca Cabecinegra / Sylvia melanocephala).

After a while I turned around and found Juan had turned up so we started to look for the Crake and it flew in after a few minutes, landed on a branch and shot into cover not even giving me chance to reach for the camera let along get any shots.

We also had Reed Warbler (Carricero Común / Acrocephalus scrpaceus), Long-tailed (Mito / Aegithalos caudatus) and Great Tit (Carbonera Común / Parus major),  Black-winged Stilt (Ciguenela Común / Himantopus himantopus), Great Crested Grebe (Somormujo Lavanco / Podiceps cristatus), Crag Martin (Avión Roquero / Ptyonoprogne rupestris), Common Chiffchaff (Mosquitero Común / Phylloscopus collybita), Serin (Verdecillo / Serinus serinus), Barn Swallow (Golondrina Común / Hirundo rustica), Northern Shoveler (Pato Cuchara / Anas clypeata) and Grey Heron (Garza Real / Ardea cinerea).

I went back to the Nevada Centre and we went and had some lunch before going into the City and then to Brico before going home.