Leicester Ladies tour of Extremadura.
Travelling and some Birding, Day Eight.
Lots of Motorways and then a good number of trip ticks to finish off with.
Grey-headed (Yellow) Wagtail (Lavandera Boyera / Motacilla flava thunbergi). |
We were up and on our way early, heading south to Malaga Airport so that we could get Rona there for her earlier flight to Glasgow. As we drove south we picked up a few new species and had views of others including Short-toed (Culebrera Europeo / Circaetus gallicus) and Golden Eagle (Águila Real / Aquila chrysaetos), Griffon Vulture (Bultre Leonado / Gyps fulvus), near La Granjuela our second Black-winged Kite (Elanio Común / Elanus caeruleus) which sat nicely on a wooden telegraph pole for us, Common Kestrel (Cernicalo Vulgar / Falco tinnunculus), a couple of Montagu's Harriers (Aguilucho Cenizo / Circus pygargus), Common (Urraca / Pica pica) and Iberian Magpie (Rabilargo / Cyanopica cooki), Hoopoe (Abubilla / Upupa epops), Calandra Lark (Calandria / Melanocorypha calandra), European Bee-eater (Abejaruco Común / Merops apiaster), White Stork (Ciguena Blanca / Ciconia ciconia) and lots of Black Kites (Milano Negro / Milvus migrans) which were searching the tarmac for roadkill.
Grey-headed (Yellow) Wagtail (Lavandera Boyera / Motacilla flava thunbergi). |
We stopped for fuel and some of the ladies heard Green Woodpecker (Pito Real / Picus viridis) whilst we were stopped and on a wooded bank opposite we saw Turtle Dove (Tórtola Europea / Streptopelia turtur), Great Tit (Carbonera Común / Parus major), Serin (Verdecillo / Serinus serinus) and heard a calling Red-legged Partridge (Perdiz Roja / Alectoris rufa).
Grey-headed (Yellow) Wagtail (Lavandera Boyera / Motacilla flava thunbergi). |
We continued south and by the time we reached the Airport we had made a lunch stop and added Common Buzzard (Busardo Ratonero / Buteo buteo), Black-winged Stilt (Ciguenela Común / Himantopus himantopus) and Black-headed Gull (Gaviota Riedora / Larus ridibundus) on some flooded rice fields, Rock Dove (Paloma Bravía / Columba livia), Woodpigeon (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus), Red-rumped Swallow (Golondrina Dáurica / Hirundo daurica), Common Stonechat (Tarabilla Común / Saxicola torquata), Jackdaw (Grajilla / Corvus monedula), Raven (Cuervo / Corvus corax), Spotless Starling (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor), Mistle Thrush (Zorzal Charlo / Turdus viscivorus), Corn Bunting (Triguero / Emberiza calandra) and down on the coast Monk Parakeet (Cotorra Argentina / Myiopsitta monachus) and Yellow-legged Gull (Gaviota Patiamarilla / Larus Michahellis).
We arrived at the airport on time and the Ladies and I said goodbye to Rona and then went back out for another couple of hours birding down at the Pools at Guadalhorce. We walked into the reserve along the beach and made for the main hide where the new species for the trip just kept coming and included Audouin's (Gaviota de Audouin / Larus audouinii) and Slender-billed Gull (Gaviota Picofina / Larus genei), Sandwich (Charrán Patinegro / Sterna sandvicensis) and Whiskered Terns (Fumarel Cariblanca / Chilidonias hybridus), Dunlin (Correlimos Común / Calidris alpina), Avocet (Avoceta Común / Recurvirostra avosetta), Kentish (Chorlitejo Patinegro / Charadrius alexandrinus) and Ringed Plover (Chorlitejo Grande / Charadrius hiaticula), Sanderling (Correlimos Tridáctilo / Calidris alba), Curlew Sandpiper (Correlimos Zarapitin / Calidris ferruginea), Shelduck (Tarro Blanco / Tadoma tadorna), White-headed Duck (Malvasia Cabeciblanca / Oxyura leucocephala), Bonelli's Warbler (Mosquitero Papialbo / Phylloscopus bonelli) and a very smart Grey-headed (Yellow) Wagtail (Lavandera Boyera / Motacilla flava thunbergi) which is one of the more northern races which pass through the area but is rarer than most.
Dunlin (Correlimos Común / Calidris alpina) and Sanderling (Correlimos Tridáctilo / Calidris alba). |
We added more species as we walked around the reserve which we had already seen and then headed to the airport again where I said goodbye to the rest of the Leicester Ladies before travelling back home.
Whiskered Terns (Fumarel Cariblanca / Chilidonias hybridus). |
Thanks to all the Ladies for making this a very successful trip, they all worked hard to find as many species as possible. Hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did.