Osuna, Sevilla Province and the Doñana, Huelva Province, Spain.

Day one of our trip to the Doñana and the Odiel.

 

Stone Curlew (Alcaraván Común / Burhinus oedicnemus).

Bob and I left his place and as we drove along the coast we started the list with Monk Parakeet (Cotorra Argentina / Myiopsitta monachus), Collared Dove (Tórtola Turca / Streptopelia decaocto), Spotless Starling (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor), Woodpigeon (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus), Feral Pigeon (Paloma Bravía / Columba livia), Common Buzzard (Busardo Ratonero / Buteo buteo), House Sparrow (Gorrión Común / Passer domesticus), Common Kestrel (Cernicalo Vulgar / Falco tinnunculus), Goldfinch (Jilguero / Carduelis carduelis) and Jackdaw (Grajilla / Corvus monedula). 

We left the motorway just to the west of Osuna and then took to the smaller roads and almost straight away we found several Stone Curlews (Alcaraván Común / Burhinus oedicnemus) which were roosting up under some small olive trees. Several of them sat nicely for the camera, we got our shots and moved just a short way along the trees finding a covey of around 15 Red-legged Partridge (Perdiz Roja / Alectoris rufa), a Hoopoe (Abubilla / Upupa epops) and the first of several Crested Larks (Cogujada / Galerida cristata).

Stone Curlew (Alcaraván Común / Burhinus oedicnemus).

Further along the road we found a smart Iberian Grey Shrike (Alcaudón Real Meridional / Lanius meridionalis) sat up on the railway side fence along with a couple of Common Redstarts (Colirroja Real / Phoenicurus phoenicurus), Common Stonechat (Tarabilla Común / Saxicola torquata), Corn Bunting (Triguero / Emberiza calandra), Linnet (Pardillo Común / Carduelis cannabina) and a Tree Sparrow (Gorrión Molinero / Passer montanus).

We turned off the road and went up on to the first ridge, in the scrub below we saw Spotted Flycatcher (Papamoscas Gris / Muscicapa striata), Sardinian Warbler (Curruca Cabecinegra / Sylvia melanocephala), Greenfinch (Verderón Común / Carduelis chloris) and from the ridge 19 Great Bustards (Avutarda Común / Otis tarda) well out on the fields.

Long-tailed Blue (Lampides boeticus).

In the same area we added Raven (Cuervo / Corvus corax), Spanish Sparrow (Gorrión Moruno / Passer hispaniolensis) and in the scrub by the next bridge Blackcap (Curruca Capirotada / Sylvia atricapilla), Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula) and Willow Warbler (Mosquitero Musical / Phylloscopus trochillus).

At the end of the road we turned left then parked where we had a view of a lake below us, we walked back along the road slightly where we set the scopes up and soon found several Greater Flamingo's (Flamenco Común / Phoenicopterus roseus), lots of White Storks (Ciguena Blanca / Ciconia ciconia), Mallard (Anade Azulón / Anas platyrhynchos), Northern Shoveler (Pato Cuchara / Anas clypeata), Eurasian Coot (Focha Común / Fulica atra), Common Moorhen (Gallineta Común / Gallinulas chloropus), Avocet (Avoceta Común / Recurvirostra avosetta), Black-winged Stilt (Ciguenuela Común / Himantopus himantopus) and Black-headed Gull (Gaviota Reidora / Chroicocephalus ridibundus).

Pied Flycatcher (Papamoscas Cerrojillo / Ficedula hypoleuca).

We set off from the pool heading for the doñana area, on the way we recorded Lesser Black-backed Gull (Gaviota Sombria / Larus fuscus), Little (Garceta Común / Egreeta garzetta) and Western Cattle Egret (Garcilla Bueyera / Bubulcus ibis) and a pale morph Booted Eagle (Aguila Calzada / Aquila pennatus).

We left Sevilla and stopped for a drink before driving through big areas of Rice Paddies passing a couple of small pools where we saw 2 Black Storks (Ciguena Negra / Ciconia nigra), Grey Heron (Garza Real / Ardea cinerea), 2x Green (Andarrios Grande / Tringa ochropus) and Common Sandpiper (Andarrios Chico / Actitis hypoleucos), Great Egret (Garceta Grande / Egretta alba), Barn Swallow (Golondrina Común / Hirundo rustica), Nightingale (Ruisenor Común / Luscinia megarhynchos), Common Waxbill (Estrilda Ondulada / Estrilda astrild) and Zitting Cisticola (Buitrón / Cisticola juncidis).

View over the fields.

Further along the road we stopped at Dehesa de Abajo but it was completely dry, however we had a female Penduline Tit (Pájaro Moscón / Remiz pendulinus) in the Tamarisks along with Cetti's Warbler (Ruisenor Bastardo / Cettia cetti), a hunting Marsh Harrier (Aguilucho Lagunero Occidental / Circus aeruginosus) out over the Paddies and Red-veined Darter (Sympetrum fonscolombii).

We drove back through to El Cruze ar and then around the rice paddies again picking up Yellow-legged Gull (Gaviota Patiamarilla / Larus Michahellis) and a Short-toed Eagle (Culebrera Europeo / Circaetus gallicus).

As we drove out towards El Rocio we found Kingfisher (Martin Pescador / Alcedo atthis), Eurasian Spoonbill (Espátula Común / Platalea leucorodia), Northern Wheatear (Collalba Gris / Oenanthe oenanthe), Great Cormorant (Cormorán Grande / Phalacrocroax carbo), Iberian  Magpie (Rabilargo / Cyanopica cooki) and Common Magpie (Urraca / Pica pica).

Red-veined Darter (Sympetrum fonscolombii).

The main pool at El Rocio was all but dry with just a very small wet area in the far end where there were a few Greater Flamingo's and several Northern Lapwing (Avefria Europea / Vanellus vanellus) and closer to us a female type Pied Flycatcher (Papamoscas Cerrojillo / Ficedula hypoleuca) and more Common Redstarts.

We called in at the woods at El Rocina where we had a walk seeing Blue Tit (Herrerillo Común / Cyanistes caeruleus), Common Chaffinch (Pinzón Vulgar / Fringilla coelebs), Robin (Petirrojo Europeo / Erithacus rubecula) and Short-toed Treecreeper (Agateador Común / Certhia brachydactyla).

Sunset from the digs.

Our last stop of the day was at Palacio del Acebrón where we did the walk around the woodlands ut we only added Wren (Chochin / Troglodytes troglodytes) and Common Chiffchaff (Mosquitero Común / Phylloscopus collybita) to the list before heading to the accommodation.

It took us a while to find it but when we did it was great and from the terrace we had our last two species of the day when both House Martins (Avión Común / Delichon urbica) and Red-rumped Swallows (Golondrina Dáurica / Hirundo daurica) did flybys.