Embalse de Cubillas, El Temple and the Cacín Valley, Granada Province, Spain.

A bit of Birding with Juan and the a drive back home the long way round.

Embalse de Cubillas EBird List.

Embalse de Cacín EBird List.

 

Orchid Rossette.

I arranged to met up with Juan Perez to do some birding at Cubillas Embalse just to the North of Granada, I was meeting him at 12:00 so had originally planned to go up to Granada Via El Temple area. 

Giant Orchid (Himantoglossum Robertiana) Rossette.

I went to an early appointment with the Physio and then headed for Granada but as the weather was a tad dodgy I went into the city and did a bit of shopping at the DIY store instead.

Fungi Species.

I still reach Cubillas nearly 90 minutes early so I checked an area of Pinewood land near the Dam, I parked and walked down towards the dam and run off area and on the ground all the way were lots of leaf rossettes of Orchids which looks good for the Spring and a few Fungi Species which I have no idea about names for.

Fungi Species.

Birds included Long-tailed (Mito / Aegithalos caudatus), Great (Carbonera Común / Parus major), Coal (Carbonero Garrapinos / Parus ater) and Blue Tit (Herrerillo Común / Parus caeruleus), Collared Dove (Tórtola Turca / Streptopelia decaocto), Woodpigeon (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus), Sardinian Warbler (Curruca Cabecinegra / Sylvia melanocephala), Short-toed Treecreeper (Agateador Común / Certhia brachydactyla), Common Chiffchaff (Mosquitero Común / Phylloscopus collybita), Common Chaffinch (Pinzón Vulgar / Fringilla coelebs) and Spotless Starling (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor).

Great Cormorant (Cormorán Grande / Phalacrocroax carbo).

I walked out onto the bank of the Res where I found 40 or so Great Cormorant (Cormorán Grande / Phalacrocroax carbo) roosting on the Dam tower metal work, a male Red-crested Pochard (Pato Colorado / Netta rufina) way over on the far shore and 5x Great Crested Grebes (Somormujo Lavanco / Podiceps cristatus).

Hoopoe (Abubilla / Upupa epops).

I walked out around the overflow area to some trees on the far side there and on the way I picked up Hoopoe (Abubilla / Upupa epops), Iberian  Magpie (Rabilargo / Cyanopica cooki), Mistle Thrush (Zorzal Charlo / Turdus viscivorus), Great Spotted Woodpecker (Pico Picapinos / Dendrocopos major), House Sparrow (Gorrión Común / Passer domesticus), Blackcap (Curruca Capirotada / Sylvia atricailla), Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula), Goldfinch (Jilguero / Carduelis carduelis) and Greenfinch (Verderón Común / Carduelis chloris).

Great Egret (Garceta Grande / Egretta alba).

I returned to the car and then drove around to the spot where I was going meet Juan and set up the scope and soon found a  Great Egret (Garceta Grande / Egretta alba), an Egyptian Goose (Ganso del Nilo / Alopochen aegyptiaca) but just after finding them a fisherman walked right out into the area and then flushed everything.

Egyptian Goose (Ganso del Nilo / Alopochen aegyptiaca).

At this point Juan turned and the fisherman walked off again so we spent a while going through the irds there and doing some counts, we recorded Mallard (Anade Azulón / Anas platyrhynchos) x30, Common Pochard (Porrón Común / Aythya ferina) x41, Common Moorhen (Gallineta Común / Gallinulas chloropus) x24, Eurasian Coot (Focha Común / Fulica atra) x116, more Great Crested Grebes, 80 odd Great Cormorants, Grey Heron (Garza Real / Ardea cinerea) x9, Little Egret (Garceta Común / Egreeta garzetta) x9, Common Sandpiper (Andarrios Chico / Actitis hypoleucos) x2, Serin (Verdecillo / Serinus serinus), White Wagtail (Lavandera Blanca / Montacilla alba), Cetti's Warbler (Ruisenor Bastardo / Cettia cetti), Meadow Pipit (Bisbita Pratense / Anthus pratensis), Collared Dove (Tórtola Turca / Streptopelia decaocto), Jackdaw (Grajilla / Corvus monedula) and a Robin (Petirrojo Europeo / Erithacus rubecula).

Great Cormorant (Cormorán Grande / Phalacrocroax carbo), Grey Heron (Garza Real / Ardea cinerea), Little Egret (Garceta Común / Egreeta garzetta) and Eurasian Coot (Focha Común / Fulica atra).

After a while we walked a bit further down the road and checked out the next bay where we added Firecrest (Reyezuelo Listado / Regulus ignicapillus) in the Pines on the way and Linnet (Pardillo Común / Carduelis cannabina) down on the shoreline.

Black-bellied Sandgrouse (Ganga Ortega / Pterocles orientalis).

At around 14:00 Juan and I headed off, I went home via El Temple and then back up the Cacín Valley and as I drove there I picked up Common Buzzard (Busardo Ratonero / Buteo buteo) and Common Kestrel (Cernicalo Vulgar / Falco tinnunculus).

Spanish Sparrow (Gorrión Moruno / Passer hispaniolensis).

Once I was out on the fields I drove slowly along the tracks and found a small flock of 7 Black-bellied Sandgrouse (Ganga Ortega / Pterocles orientalis), Common Stonechat (Tarabilla Común / Saxicola torquata), Black Redstart (Colirrojo Tizón / Phoenicurus ochruros), Linnet (Pardillo Común / Carduelis cannabina), Corn Bunting (Triguero / Emberiza calandra), Iberian Grey Shrike (Alcaudón Real Meridional / Lanius meridionalis), Crested (Cogujada / Galerida cristata) and  around 50 or so Spanish Sparrows (Gorrión Moruno / Passer hispaniolensis).

Iberian Grey Shrike (Alcaudón Real Meridional / Lanius meridionalis).

I drove across the ridge between Ventas de Huelma and Cacín but only added Thekla Lark (Cogujada Montesina / Galerida theklae) before I dropped down into the Cacín Valley and drove up to the Contra Embalse.

Eurasian Teal (Cerceta Común / Anas crecca).

I got out and walked down to a point where I could see almost all of the water and I counted Eurasian Teal (Cerceta Común / Anas crecca) x71, Northern Shoveler (Pato Cuchara / Anas clypeata) x11, Mallard x44, Northern Pintail (Ánade Rabudo / Anas acuta) x1, Common Pochard x3M, Little Grebe (Zampullín Común / Tachybaptus ruficollis) x18, Eurasian Coot x47, Common Moorhen x7, Water Rail (Rascón Europeo / Rallus aquaticus) x2H and 1 seen and Great Cormorant x1.

Eurasian Teal (Cerceta Común / Anas crecca).

Around the margins I also saw 3x displaying Marsh Harriers (Aguilucho Lagunero Occidental / Circus aeruginosus), Woodpigeons, Jay (Arrendajo / Garrulus glandarius) x4, lots of Crag Martin (Avión Roquero / Ptyonoprogne rupestris) x45 feeding over the water, Common Chiffchaff, Cetti's and Sardinian Warbler, Common Waxbill (Estrilda Ondulada / Estrilda astrild), Blackcap, Meadow Pipit, White Wagtail and Reed Buntings (Escribano Palustre / Emberiza schoeniclus) in the reed beds.

Marsh Harrier (Aguilucho Lagunero Occidental / Circus aeruginosus).

I had a quick look at the Moraleda cliffs adding just a single male Blue-rock Thrush (Roquero Solitario / Monticola solitarius).

Smart looking fungi on the side of the Cacín Canal.

My last stop of the day was just before I got home on Huétor fields where I found a flock of Northern Lapwings (Avefria Europea / Vanellus vanellus) with a couple of Golden Plovers (Chorlito Dorado Europeo / Pluvialis apricaia) mixed in with them and 30 or so Little Bustards (Sisón Común / Tetrax tetrax) out on the Lucerne fields.