Cacín Valley, Granada Province.

Visiting Friends in Cacín and then a mornings solitary Birding.

I drove down to the village of Cacín where I spent a while with friends Jane and Bob before working my way back up the valley doing some birding on the way. My first stop was along the Rio Cacín just out of the Village but it was quiet and I only managed to find Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula), House Sparrow (Gorrión Común / Passer domesticus), Common Crossbill (Piquituerto Común / Loxia curvirostra), Mistle Thrush (Zorzal Charlo / Turdus viscivorus), Grey Wagtail (Lavandera Cascadena / Motacilla cinerea) and Great Spotted Woodpecker (Pico Picapinos / Dendrocopos major).

 I drove North to the Embalse de Cacín where I parked and walked down towards the water, straight away I could hear a yaffling Iberian Green Woodpecker (Pito Real / Picus sharpei) on the far bank and several Corn Buntings (Triguero / Emberiza calandra) singing from the wires behind me.

Out on the water there were good numbers of wildfowl including Mallard (Anade Azulón / Anas platyrhynchos), Northern Shoveler (Pato Cuchara / Anas clypeata), Common Pochard (Porrón Común / Aythya ferina) and Eurasian Teal (Cerceta Común / Anas crecca).

Other species on the water and around the margins included Little Grebe (Zampullín Común / Tachybaptus ruficollis), Eurasian Coot (Focha Común / Fulica atra), Common Moorhen (Gallineta Común / Gallinulas chloropus), Water Rail (Rascón Europeo / Rallus aquaticus), Greenshank (Archibebe Claro / Tringa nebularia) x2, Green (Andarrios Grande / Tringa ochropus) and Common Sandpiper (Andarrios Chico / Actitis hypoleucos), Snipe (Agachadiza Común / Gallinago gallinago) and in the reeds a Common Waxbill (Estrilda Ondulada / Estrilda astrild), Common Stonechat (Tarabilla Común / Saxicola torquata), Cetti's (Ruisenor Bastardo / Cettia cetti) and Sardinian Warbler (Curruca Cabecinegra / Sylvia melanocephala), Common Chiffchaff (Mosquitero Común / Phylloscopus collybita) and White Wagtail (Lavandera Blanca / Montacilla alba).

Whilst I was at the lake I also recorded Little Owl (Mochuelo Europeo / Athene noctua), Iberian  Magpie (Rabilargo / Cyanopica cooki), Common Kestrel (Cernicalo Vulgar / Falco tinnunculus), Common Chaffinch (Pinzón Vulgar / Fringilla coelebs) and Great Spotted Woodpecker.

I drove back through the village and up to the cortijo where I spent some time scanning the fields there seeing Thekla Lark (Cogujada Montesina / Galerida theklae), Rock Dove (Paloma Bravía / Columba livia), Dartford Warbler (Curruca Rabilarga / Sylvia undata), Common Magpie (Urraca / Pica pica), Woodpigeon (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus), Goldfinch (Jilguero / Carduelis carduelis), Barn Swallow (Golondrina Común / Hirundo rustica), Red-legged Partridge (Perdiz Roja / Alectoris rufa), Meadow Pipit (Bisbita Pratense / Anthus pratensis) and Skylark (Alondra Común / Alauda arvensis).

I dropped back down to the village and made a quick stop at the river again but just checked out the area to the left of the bridge where I saw Tree Sparrow (Gorrión Molinero / Passer montanus), Great Tit (Carbonera Común / Parus major), Robin (Petirrojo Europeo / Erithacus rubecula), a calling male Cirl Bunting (Escribano Soteno / Emberiza cirlus) and a new in stunning Brambling (Pinzón Real / Fringilla montifringilla) down for the winter.