Huetor Fields, Granada Province, Spain

Big drop in bird numbers in the cold wind.

Eird list for the mornings walk.

 

5x Golden Plover (Chorlito Dorado Europeo / Pluvialis apricaia).

I parked and walked the Lucerne fields but today it was a bit different, it was piggin cold, the wind just cut through me as I walked. Around the car there were several Meadow Pipits (Bisbita Pratense / Anthus pratensis), lots of Spotless Starlings (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor) up on the wires and in the trees around the farm buildlings.

As I walked the ridge along the side of the Arroyo and scanned the trees away across the fields seeing a Common Buzzard (Busardo Ratonero / Buteo buteo), good numbers of Skylarks (Alondra Común / Alauda arvensis), Woodpigeons (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus), Collared Dove (Tórtola Turca / Streptopelia decaocto), Common Stonechat (Tarabilla Común / Saxicola torquata), Serin (Verdecillo / Serinus serinus), Common Waxbill (Estrilda Ondulada / Estrilda astrild) x3, Black Redstart (Colirrojo Tizón / Phoenicurus ochruros), Mistle Thrush (Zorzal Charlo / Turdus viscivorus) and the first of several flocks of Iberian  Magpies (Rabilargo / Cyanopica cooki).

One of several flocks of Iberian  Magpies (Rabilargo / Cyanopica cooki) on the fields.

After the rains there was quite a decent amount of water in the arroyo and there was a Green Sandpiper (Andarrios Grande / Tringa ochropus) feeding on one of the larger pools and a couple of Common Chiffchaffs (Mosquitero Común / Phylloscopus collybita) in the reeds.

In the area between the Arroyo and the wood I added House (Gorrión Común / Passer domesticus) and Tree Sparrow (Gorrión Molinero / Passer montanus) x16 sat up on a chainlink fence, Blackcaps (Curruca Capirotada / Sylvia atricailla), Blackbirds (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula), Sardinian Warbler (Curruca Cabecinegra / Sylvia melanocephala) male and female, Greenfinch (Verderón Común / Carduelis chloris), Goldfinch (Jilguero / Carduelis carduelis), Linnet (Pardillo Común / Carduelis cannabina), Corn Bunting (Triguero / Emberiza calandra), Common Magpie (Urraca / Pica pica) and the only Hoopoe (Abubilla / Upupa epops) of the walk.

Great Spotted Woodpecker (Pico Picapinos / Dendrocopos major) male.

As I walked passed the wood the regular Great Spotted Woodpecker (Pico Picapinos / Dendrocopos major) landed on several trees, Great Tit (Carbonera Común / Parus major) and three Bramblings (Pinzón Real / Fringilla montifringilla) flew out of the trees with several Common Chaffinches.

I turned around and walked back towards the car a nice male Sparrowhawk (Gavilán Común / Accipiter nisus) zipped in low over the asparagus and took a Meadow Pipit as he flushed everything up and the went off into the Olivers for Lunch. I also added a Common Kestrel (Cernicalo Vulgar / Falco tinnunculus) to the EBird list before getting back to the car.

I decided to drive to a couple of nearby spots to look for the Little Bustards (Sisón Común / Tetrax tetrax), on the first field I found 27 more Golden Plovers and 29 Northern Lapwings (Avefria Europea / Vanellus vanellus) and on a different area several Stone Curlews (Alcaraván Común / Burhinus oedicnemus).

Great Spotted Woodpecker (Pico Picapinos / Dendrocopos major) male.

My last stop was on the way back to the house where I scanned a long thin strip of Lucerne and right down the far end I spotted 3 Bustards just on the edge of the field. I drove round to the other end of the strip and eventually counted 11 birds in the deep vegitation bit I am sure there were more in there.

I returned home and checked the garden and found the Grey Wagtail (Lavandera Cascadena / Motacilla cinerea) in residence as usual but nothing else new.