Loja Wildlife, Granada Province, Spain.: Cadiz and Sevilla Provinces, Spain.

Tuesday, 18 August 2020

Cadiz and Sevilla Provinces, Spain.

Repeating some sites on the way home.

Slender-billed Gull (Gaviota Picofina / Larus genei) in the early light.

I left the hostel just after 07.00 and drove straight up to Lagunas de Camino Colorado near Bonanza, there was a good deal of coming and going in the dawn light as the herons and egrets headed out to their feeding areas and as yesterday the Night Herons (Marinete Común / Nycticorax nycticorax) were coming back in to rest up for the day.

Black-winged Stilt (Ciguenuela Común / Himantopus himantopus).

As I scanned the smaller of the pools I found a small wader in the far corner with a couple of Green (Andarrios Grande / Tringa ochropus) and a Common Sandpiper (Andarrios Chico / Actitis hypoleucos) which I instantly thought was a Temmincks Stint (Correlimos de Temminck / Calidris temminckii) but about 2 seconds after I got the scope on it a Sparrowhawk (Gavilán Común / Accipiter nisus) flashed in from the Pines and flushed loads of stuff including the waders.

Black-winged Stilt (Cigueneula Común / Himantopus himantopus).

One Green and the Common Sand came back but the others didn't, so not being 100% it frustratingly did not get on the trip list.

Dunlin (Correlimos Común / Calidris alpina).

I continued checking around the pool finding Black-winged Stilt (Ciguenuela Común / Himantopus himantopus), White-headed Duck (Malvasia Cabeciblanca / Oxyura leucocephala), Common Pochard (Porrón Común / Aythya ferina), Little Grebe (Zampullín Común / Tachybaptus ruficollis), Common Moorhen (Gallineta Común / Gallinulas chloropus), Western Swamp-hen (Calamon Común / Porphyrio porphyrio), Kingfisher (Martin Pescador / Alcedo atthis), House Sparrow (Gorrión Común / Passer domesticus) and Collared Dove (Tórtola Turca / Streptopelia decaocto).

Little Egret (Garceta Común / Egreeta garzetta).

As I said at the start of the post there were good numbers of herons and whilst here as well as the Night Herons I had Grey (Garza Real / Ardea cinerea), Squacco (Garcilla Cangrejera / Ardeola ralloides) and Purple Heron (Garza Imperial / Ardea purpurea), Little (Garceta Común / Egreeta garzetta) and Western Cattle Egret (Garcilla Bueyera / Bubulcus ibis) and a single Glossy Ibis (Morito Común / Plegadis falcinellus).

Curlew Sandpipers (Correlimos Zarapitin / Calidris ferruginea) x2, Dunlin (Correlimos Común / Calidris alpina) x2 and Little Stint (Correlimos Menudo / Calidris minuta) x1.

I checked the pool on the other side of the road but the water level was very low and I added nothing new and didn't manage to relocate the Stint from Earlier.

Slender-billed Gulls (Gaviota Picofina / Larus genei).

I moved around to the third much healthier looking pool on my way to the Salt pans but again there were plenty of birds but nothing new.

Green Sandpiper (Andarrios Grande / Tringa ochropus).

I arrived at the Salt Pans and checked the lagoons on my way out to the Pump house area, by the smaller pump house half way along the main central track I made a stop and took some shots of a group of Slender-billed Gulls (Gaviota Picofina / Larus genei) in the early morning light.

Common Sandpiper (Andarrios Chico / Actitis hypoleucos).

In the same area I had lots of Curlew Sandpipers (Correlimos Zarapitin / Calidris ferruginea), several Sanderlings (Correlimos Tridáctilo / Calidris alba), a single almost summer plumaged Red Knot (Correlimos Gordo / Calidris canutus), Kentish Plover (Chorlitejo Patinegro / Charadrius alexandrinus), Black-winged Stilt, Dunlin (Correlimos Común / Calidris alpina) and a Little Egret.

I continued on and by the time I reached the other pump house I had found Common Redshank (Archibebe Común / Tringa totanus), Black-tailed Godwit (Aguja Colinegra / Limosa limosa), Greenshank (Archibebe Claro / Tringa nebularia), Little Stint (Correlimos Menudo / Calidris minuta) and several Avocets (Avoceta Común / Recurvirostra avosetta).

Red-veined Darter (Sympetrum fonscolombii).

Out on the large pool in front of the pump house there were large numbers of Greater Flamingo (Flamenco Común / Phoenicopterus roseus), a single Great Egret (Garceta Grande / Egretta alba), Gull-billed (Pagaza Piconegra / Gelochelidon nilotica), Little Tern (Charrancito Común / Sterna albifrons), Whiskered (Fumarel Cariblanca / Chilidonias hybridus) and Caspian Terns (Pagaza Piquiroja / Sterna caspia), Black-headed (Gaviota Riedora / Larus ridibundus), Lesser Black-backed (Gaviota Sombria / Larus fuscus), Yellow-legged (Gaviota Patiamarilla / Larus Michahellis) and more Slender-billed Gulls.

Banded Groundling (Brachythemis leucosticta).

I stood in the shade of the building and scanned the other pools with the scope for a while and found Shelduck (Tarro Blanco / Tadoma tadorna), Common Sandpiper, Glossy Ibis, Mallard, Spanish (Yellow) Wagtail (Lavandera Boyera / Motacilla flava iberiae), Black Kite (Milano Negro / Milvus migrans) and a pale morph Booted Eagle (Aguila Calzada / Aquila pennatus).

Hoopoe (Abubilla / Upupa epops).

I made my way off the site finding Crested (Cogujada / Galerida cristata) and Lesser Short-toed Lark (Terrera Marismena / Calandrella rufescens) x7, Sardinian Warbler (Curruca Cabecinegra / Sylvia melanocephala), Zitting Cisticola (Buitrón / Cisticola juncidis), Common Stonechat (Tarabilla Común / Saxicola torquata) and as with just about everywhere hundreds of Red-veined Darters (Sympetrum fonscolombii).

Night Heron (Marinete Común / Nycticorax nycticorax).

I drove over to Braza del Este again as I really enjoyed the site yesterday but it was quite the opposite to Bonanza where numbers of birds were up today, here things were much quieter.

The Rice fields.

On the way there I had a few new species including Red-rumped Swallow (Golondrina Dáurica / Hirundo daurica), White Stork (Ciguena Blanca / Ciconia ciconia) and Woodpigeon (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus).

Squacco Heron (Garcilla Cangrejera / Ardeola ralloides).

I came in to the area from Los Palacios and then took one of the tracks out through the rice fields to a canal which bought me up to the sluices at the Northern end of the main track through the area, on the way I had thousands more Red-veined Darters, Common and Green Sandpipers, Purple and Grey Heron, Little and Western Cattle Egrets, lots of Spanish (Yellow) Wagtail, a male Yellow-crowned Bishop (Euplectes afer) and quite a few Black-headed Weaver (Tejedor Cabecinegro / Ploceus melanocephalus).

Little Grebe (Zampullín Común / Tachybaptus ruficollis).

At the sluices there were the usual collection of Night Herons, Little Egrets and Whiskered Terns all sat on the barriers and gates and along the ditch near there I had a large flock of hirundines which appeared to be made up complete of Sand Martins (Avión Zapador / Riparia riparia).

Greater Flamingo (Flamenco Común / Phoenicopterus roseus) immature.

Along this ditch I had several Banded Groundlings (Brachythemis leucosticta) and Scarlet Darter (Crocothemis erythraea) in amongst the massed of Darters.

Black-tailed Godwit (Aguja Colinegra / Limosa limosa).

I went back to the main track adding another pale morph Booted Eagle, Western Olivaceous Warbler (Iduna opaca), Hoopoe (Abubilla / Upupa epops), Spanish Sparrows (Gorrión Moruno / Passer hispaniolensis) and a female / immature Penduline Tit (Pájaro Moscón / Remiz pendulinus) before heading along the big track to the first area of water which was quiet.

Avocet (Avoceta Común / Recurvirostra avosetta).

On the water there were quite a few Eurasian Coots, Common Pochard, Whiskered Tern but little else so I moved on down to the next area which was considerably better and I found half a dozen or so Collared Pratincoles (Canastera Común / Glareola pratincola), Northern Lapwing (Avefria Europea / Vanellus vanellus), Ruff (Combatiente / Philomachus pugnax), Mallard, Glossy Ibis, Squacco Heron, Gull-billed and Whiskered Terns, a female Red-crested Pochard (Pato Colorado / Netta rufina) and along the river where I had been yesterday a Black-tailed Godwit, Black-winged Stilts, Wood Sandpiper (Andarrios Bastardo / Tringa glareola), Little Ringed Plover (Chorlitejo Chico / Charadrius dubius), immature Little Grebe (Zampullín Común / Tachybaptus ruficollis), Greater Flamingo's and another Great Egret.

Greater Flamingo (Flamenco Común / Phoenicopterus roseus).

I returned to the main track and drove off the site heading for the Osuna area adding Eurasian Spoonbill (Espátula Común / Platalea leucorodia) and Marsh Harrier (Aguilucho Lagunero Occidental / Circus aeruginosus) on the way.

Great Egret (Garceta Grande / Egretta alba).

I reached the Osuna area at completely the wrong time of day which makes it highly unlike I was going to see much and I was right but I did manage a few new species as I drove from the Lantjuela end towards Osuna including Lesser (Cernicola Primilla / Falco naumanni) and Common Kestrel (Cernicalo Vulgar / Falco tinnunculus), Common Buzzard (Busardo Ratonero / Buteo buteo), Raven (Cuervo / Corvus corax), Iberian Grey Shrike (Alcaudón Real Meridional / Lanius meridionalis), European Bee-eater (Abejaruco Común / Merops apiaster) and out on a field next to the road 4 Griffon Vultures (Bultre Leonado / Gyps fulvus) and sat with them a Eurasian Black / Cinereous Vulture (Aegypius monachus) which was most unexpected, later down the road I saw what I guess was the same bird drifting over with a single Griffon.