Padul, El Temple and Cacín Valley, Granada Province, Spain.

A mornings birding with Juan and a bit more birding on the way home.

Ebird List for Padul.

First snows on Sierra Nevada.

I made my way up to Granada, on the way I started the list with Little Owl (Mochuelo Europeo / Athene noctua), Iberian (Rabilargo / Cyanopica cooki) and Common Magpie (Urraca / Pica pica), Spotless Starling (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor), House Sparrow (Gorrión Común / Passer domesticus), Collared Dove (Tórtola Turca / Streptopelia decaocto) and lots of White Wagtails (Lavandera Blanca / Montacilla alba).

I drove out to meet Juan on the car park infront of the Restaurante Montesol near Padul, I arrived early and scanned the main lake picking up Northern Shoveler (Pato Cuchara / Anas clypeata), Mallard (Anade Azulón / Anas platyrhynchos), Eurasian Coot (Focha Común / Fulica atra), Common Moorhen (Gallineta Común / Gallinulas chloropus), Great Cormorant (Cormorán Grande / Phalacrocroax carbo), one Marsh Harrier (Aguilucho Lagunero Occidental / Circus aeruginosus) which was perched and another flying out over the reed beds, Sardinian Warbler (Curruca Cabecinegra / Sylvia melanocephala) and Woodpigeon (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus).

Common Buzzard (Busardo Ratonero / Buteo buteo).

Juan arrived and we set off around the lake to the left finding the first of lots of Blackcaps (Curruca Capirotada / Sylvia atricailla), Cetti's Warbler (Ruisenor Bastardo / Cettia cetti), Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula), Sardinian Warbler (Curruca Cabecinegra / Sylvia melanocephala), Grey Wagtail (Lavandera Cascadena / Motacilla cinerea), Robin (Petirrojo Europeo / Erithacus rubecula) and Common Chiffchaff (Mosquitero Común / Phylloscopus collybita).

Up by the visitors centre Juan showed me a spot surrounded by trees and scrub which held loads of birds including loads more Blackcaps, Common Chiffchaff, House and several Spanish Sparrows (Gorrión Moruno / Passer hispaniolensis), Serin (Verdecillo / Serinus serinus), Goldfinch (Jilguero / Carduelis carduelis), Greenfinch (Verderón Común / Carduelis chloris), Common Chaffinch (Pinzón Vulgar / Fringilla coelebs), Great Tit (Carbonera Común / Parus major), a couple of Reed Warblers (Carricero Común / Acrocephalus scrpaceus), a Sparrowhawk (Gavilán Común / Accipiter nisus) flew through trying to catch one of the Blackcaps in a fig tree but left hungry and just before we retraced our steps a Common Kestrel (Cernicalo Vulgar / Falco tinnunculus) flew over head.

Common Buzzard (Busardo Ratonero / Buteo buteo).

We walked back along the same track back to the turning to the bar but went straight on back on to the reserve and followed the boardwalk finding Water Rail (Rascón Europeo / Rallus aquaticus), Grey Heron (Garza Real / Ardea cinerea), Song Thrush (Zorzal Común / Turdus philomelos), Zitting Cisticola (Buitrón / Cisticola juncidis), Long-tailed Tit (Mito / Aegithalos caudatus), Jackdaw (Grajilla / Corvus monedula), Red-billed Chough (Chova Piquirroja / Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax) calling but not seen, a single calling Common Crossbill (Piquituerto Común / Loxia curvirostra), Common Waxbill (Estrilda Ondulada / Estrilda astrild), several more Spotless Starlings and a few Common Starlings (Estornino Pinto / Sturnus vulgaris) mixed in with the flocks and up over the mountains we also had 3 Griffon Vultures (Bultre Leonado / Gyps fulvus) and a smaller raptor but it was too distant for an ID.

At the end of the boardwalk we crossed the road and followed the newly cleared track along side the stream where we had at least 3 Water Pipits (Bisbita Alpino / Anthus spinoletta), a female Bluethroat (Pechiazul / Luscinia svecica), Collared Dove (Tórtola Turca / Streptopelia decaocto), Snipe (Agachadiza Común / Gallinago gallinago) and as we returned to the car we crossed several fields and added Crested Lark (Cogujada / Galerida cristata), Linnet (Pardillo Común / Carduelis cannabina), Iberian Grey Shrike (Alcaudón Real Meridional / Lanius meridionalis) and Meadow Pipit (Bisbita Pratense / Anthus pratensis).

Northern Goshawk (Azor Común / Accipitor gentillis) immature.

We reached the car and Juan headed off home and I took to the fields in the La Malaha area on the way home and had soon added Common Buzzard (Busardo Ratonero / Buteo buteo), Thekla Lark (Cogujada Montesina / Galerida theklae), Hoopoe (Abubilla / Upupa epops), Black-winged Kite (Elanio Común / Elanus caeruleus), Corn Buntings (Triguero / Emberiza calandra), Red-legged Partridge (Perdiz Roja / Alectoris rufa), Whinchat (Tarabilla Nortena / Saxicola rubetra), Skylark (Alondra Común / Alauda arvensis) and Northern Wheatear (Collalba Gris / Oenanthe oenanthe).

I crossed the area between Ventas de Huelma picking up Black Redstart (Colirrojo Tizón / Phoenicurus ochruros) and Jay (Arrendajo / Garrulus glandarius) on the way over, an immature Golden Eagle (Águila Real / Aquila chrysaetos) from a view point and quite a few Desert Orange-tips (Colotis evagore) around the Wild Caper (Capparis spinosa).

Northern Goshawk (Azor Común / Accipitor gentillis) immature.

I dropped through the town and then drove up to the Embalse, on the way I had a hunting juvenile Northern Goshawk (Azor Común / Accipitor gentillis) over the Olives, when I reached the lake I parked and scannedwhat was left of the water finding high numbers of Eurasian Coot (Focha Común / Fulica atra), Common Pochard (Porrón Común / Aythya ferina), Eurasian Teal (Cerceta Común / Anas crecca), Northern Shoveler (Pato Cuchara / Anas clypeata), Mallard (Anade Azulón / Anas platyrhynchos), Common Moorhen (Gallineta Común / Gallinulas chloropus), Water Rail (Rascón Europeo / Rallus aquaticus) and Little Grebe (Zampullín Común / Tachybaptus ruficollis).