Embalse de Cubillas, Granada Province, Spain.

A few hours catching up with good friend Juan Perez (totals are for whole 4 hours).

Ebird List.

Purple Heron (Garza Imperial / Ardea purpurea).

I left the house just after 6 and drove to the meeting point, on the way I saw a Red-necked Nightjar (Chotacabras Cuellirrojo / Caprimulgus ruficollis) on the road and a Little Owl (Mochuelo Europeo / Athene noctua) up on a telegraph post.

I arrived about a minute before Juan, we went down to a shelf above the water and sat there for the next few hours watching the comings and going around the scrub and bushes at the Northern end.

We scanned and found the roost of Western Cattle Egrets (Garcilla Bueyera / Bubulcus ibis) and shortly after we arrived they started to leave and by the time the last one flew out Juan had reached a count of 746. 

On some logs we found adult and Immature Night Herons (Marinete Común / Nycticorax nycticorax) the first of 5 we saw in total, Other species there when we first arrived included Grey Heron (Garza Real / Ardea cinerea) x7, Little Egret (Garceta Común / Egreeta garzetta) x4, Purple Heron (Garza Imperial / Ardea purpurea) x5 in total during the morning (3 immatures and 2 adults) and just as the last of the Egrets left the roost a Glossy Ibis (Morito Común / Plegadis falcinellus) came up into the top of a tree and the flew deeper in.

Out on the water and over it we recorded Mallard (Anade Azulón / Anas platyrhynchos) x37+, Great Crested Grebe (Somormujo Lavanco / Podiceps cristatus) x6, Eurasian Coot (Focha Común / Fulica atra) x6, Common Moorhen (Gallineta Común / Gallinulas chloropus) x5 including some youngsters, Common (Vencejo Común / Apus apus) x3 and Pallid Swifts (Vencejo Pálido /Apus pallidus) x4, Western House Martin (Avión Común / Delichon urbica) x50 and Barn Swallow (Golondrina Común / Hirundo rustica) x300+.

ittle Egret (Garceta Común / Egreeta garzetta).

During the morning we also saw Common Kingfisher (Martin Pescador / Alcedo atthis) x1, Green (Andarrios Grande / Tringa ochropus) x1 and Common Sandpiper (Andarrios Chico / Actitis hypoleucos) x8, Little Ringed Plover (Chorlitejo Chico / Charadrius dubius) x1, Black-winged Stilts (Ciguenela Común / Himantopus himantopus) x2, Rock Dove (Paloma Bravía / Columba livia) x4, Common Woodpigeon (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus) x300+, European Turtle Dove (Tórtola Europea / Streptopelia turtur) x3, Eurasian Collared Dove (Tórtola Turca / Streptopelia decaocto) x2, European Bee-eater (Abejaruco Común / Merops apiaster) x2, Eurasian Golden Oriole (Oropéndola / Oriolus oriolus) x1, Common Magpie (Urraca / Pica pica) x8, a flock of Western Jackdaws (Grajilla / Corvus monedula) x18 which I missed, Great (Carbonera Común / Parus major) x1, European Crested (Herrerillo Capuchino / Parus cristatus) x1, Coal  (Carbonero Garrapinos / Parus ater) x1 and Long-tailed Tits (Mito / Aegithalos caudatus) x4, Cetti's (Ruisenor Bastardo / Cettia cetti) x2, Western Bonelli's (Mosquitero Papialbo / Phylloscopus bonelli) x1 and Sardinian Warbler (Curruca Cabecinegra / Sylvia melanocephala) x1, Eurasian Blackcap (Curruca Capirotada / Sylvia atricailla) x1, Short-toed Treecreeper (Agateador Común / Certhia brachydactyla) x1, Eurasian Wren (Chochin / Troglodytes troglodytes) x1, Spotless Starling (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor) x2, Common Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula) x2, European Robin (Petirrojo Europeo / Erithacus rubecula) x1, Common Waxbill (Estrilda Ondulada / Estrilda astrild) x2, House Sparrow (Gorrión Común / Passer domesticus) x3, White Wagtail (Lavandera Blanca / Montacilla alba) x1, European Greenfinch (Verderón Común / Carduelis chloris) x2, European Goldfinch (Jilguero / Carduelis carduelis) x7 and Common Chaffinch (Pinzón Vulgar / Fringilla coelebs) x2.

Thanks to Juan for an enjoyable few hours, my first real birding since I returned to Spain a few weeks ago.