Huétor Fields, Granada Province, Spain.

A morning out on the patch with some migrants.

Ebird List for the Fields.

 

As with many of the birds in the fig tree they played hard to get, Eurasian Golden Oriole (Oropéndola / Oriolus oriolus) Female.

I dropped to the dry Arroyo Vilano to check the local patch, on the way I started the list off with Iberian  Magpie (Rabilargo / Cyanopica cooki), European Greenfinch (Verderón Común / Carduelis chloris), a Little Owl (Mochuelo Europeo / Athene noctua) which was hunting from a road side wire, House Sparrow (Gorrión Común / Passer domesticus), European Goldfinch (Jilguero / Carduelis carduelis), Common Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula), Eurasian Collared Dove (Tórtola Turca / Streptopelia decaocto), Great Tit (Carbonera Común / Parus major) and Barn Swallow (Golondrina Común / Hirundo rustica).

Common Whitethroat (Curruca Zarcera / Sylvia communis).

My first stop was on the side of the track looking across the Arroyo to the large Lucerne fields and whilst I was there I added Crested Lark (Cogujada / Galerida cristata), Common Stonechat (Tarabilla Común / Saxicola torquata), Common Woodpigeon (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus), Spanish (Yellow) Wagtail (Lavandera Boyera / Motacilla flava iberiae), Spotless Starling (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor), Cetti's Warbler (Ruisenor Bastardo / Cettia cetti), Zitting Cisticola (Buitrón / Cisticola juncidis), an immature Woodchat Shrike (Alcaudón Común / Lanius senator) which was sat in a Fig Tree, Eurasian Hoopoe (Abubilla / Upupa epops), Corn Bunting (Triguero / Emberiza calandra), Western House Martin (Avión Común / Delichon urbica), European Bee-eater (Abejaruco Común / Merops apiaster) and Sardinian Warbler (Curruca Cabecinegra / Sylvia melanocephala).

Common Whitethroat (Curruca Zarcera / Sylvia communis).

I crossed the road and followed on up the Arroyo to the reed filled section where the irrigation ditches put some water into the dry river bed. Here I could hear a calling Common Quail (Codorniz Común / Coturnix coturnix), on the far bank amongst the dried off vegetation I found 3 Melodious Warblers (Zarcero Común / Hippolais polyglotta) and the only Common Waxbill (Estrilda Ondulada / Estrilda astrild) of the morning and flushed a Green Sandpiper (Andarrios Grande / Tringa ochropus).

Garden Warbler (Curruca Mosquitera / Sylvia borin) another shy species.

I made my way back along the track but parked near one of the Fig Trees opposite a poplar plantation, I could hear Eurasian Golden Orioles (Oropéndola / Oriolus oriolus) calling from the Poplars and as I sat in the car a female flew into the Fig but stayed at the back of the tree.

Woodchat Shrike (Alcaudón Común / Lanius senator) immature.

Other birds were passing through the tree including several Common Whitethroats (Curruca Zarcera / Sylvia communis), a couple of Garden Warblers (Curruca Mosquitera / Sylvia borin), a Common Reed Warbler (Carricero Común / Acrocephalus scrpaceus), Eurasian Tree Sparrows (Gorrión Molinero / Passer montanus) and a female Common Chaffinch (Pinzón Vulgar / Fringilla coelebs).

Woodchat Shrike (Alcaudón Común / Lanius senator) immature.

In the fields there was a calling Red-legged Partridge (Perdiz Roja / Alectoris rufa) and in the air good numbers of hirudines including some Red-rumped Swallows (Golondrina Dáurica / Hirundo daurica), 2 Common Swifts (Vencejo Común / Apus apus) and a flyby Great Spotted Woodpecker (Pico Picapinos / Dendrocopos major).

Common Reed Warbler (Carricero Común / Acrocephalus scrpaceus).

I moved over to the Mesia road side of the area where I saw 25 Western Cattle Egrets (Garcilla Bueyera / Bubulcus ibis) which were following a tractor out on of the fields and a Common Kestrel (Cernicalo Vulgar / Falco tinnunculus) that was sat on one of the pylons.

Common Reed Warbler (Carricero Común / Acrocephalus scrpaceus).

Other species seen here were Eurasian Magpie (Urraca / Pica pica), Common Moorhen (Gallineta Común / Gallinulas chloropus), Feral Pigeon (Paloma Bravía / Columba livia) and a European Turtle Dove (Tórtola Europea / Streptopelia turtur).

Iberian Magpie (Rabilargo / Cyanopica cooki).

I turned around and returned home via the far side of the Arroyo and checked the Lucerne fields adding Western Jackdaw (Grajilla / Corvus monedula), a Short-toed Snake Eagle (Culebrera Europeo / Circaetus gallicus) which was perched up high on one of the large pylons, a female looking Northern Wheatear (Collalba Gris / Oenanthe oenanthe), European Serins (Verdecillo / Serinus serinus), White Wagtail (Lavandera Blanca / Montacilla alba) and Bath White (Pontia daplidice) before heading around to the Loja fields.

Short-toed Snake Eagle (Culebrera Europeo / Circaetus gallicus).

Here I found a large roost of Spotless Starlings in a big fig tree as well as Small White (Pieris rapae), Long-tailed (Lampides boeticus) and African Grass Blue (Zizeeia knysna) and back in the garden a mating pair of Epaulet Skimmers (Orthetrum chrysostigma) and lots of Perez's Frogs (Rana Común / Pelophylax perezi).
Evening update, a loop of Huétor added Grey Heron (Garza Real / Ardea cinerea), Eurasian Stone Curlew (Alcaraván Común / Burhinus oedicnemus) over the fields and down by the river in amongst all the domestic Greylag Geese (Ansar Común / Anser anser) and Muscovy Ducks (Cairina moschata) the long staying Barnacle Goose (Barnacla Cariblanca / Branta leucopsis) was still presant.
I finished the loop and as I drove back towards the house I had a Red-necked Nightjar (Chotacabras Cuellirrojo / Caprimulgus ruficollis) fly across the road.