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Thursday 19 August 2021

Laguna Grande and Laguna Chica, Salinas, Malaga Province, Spain

A few hours getting stuck in the mud.
Steve and Lynn, Day Eleven.
 
Long Skimmer (Orthetrum trinacria) male.

Steve and I headed out to Laguna Grande just over into Malaga Province, we parked and took the track down to the pool edge where I scanned the water finding Eurasian Coot (Focha Común / Fulica atra) x152, Great Cormorant (Cormorán Grande / Phalacrocroax carbo) x2, Mallard (Anade Azulón / Anas platyrhynchos) x8, Common Pochard (Porrón Común / Aythya ferina) x2, Great Crested (Somormujo Lavanco / Podiceps cristatus) x2 and Little Grebe (Zampullín Común / Tachybaptus ruficollis) x5.
Scarlet Darter (Crocothemis erythraea) female.
Black-tailed Skimmer (Orthetrum cancellatum) male.
Black-tailed Skimmer (Orthetrum cancellatum) male.
As we walked around the margins we saw lots of Dragons including
Red-veined (Sympetrum fonscolombii) and Scarlet Darter (Crocothemis erythraea), Black-tailed Skimmer (Orthetrum cancellatum), Violet Dropwing (Trithemis annulata), the first of many Long Skimmers (Orthetrum trinacria) as well as lots of Perez's Frogs (Rana Común / Pelophylax perezi) and stunning looking young Ladder Snake (Culebra de Escalera / Etaphe scalaris).
Blue / Common Emperor (Anax imperator) female.
Red-veined Darter (Sympetrum fonscolombii) male.
Red-veined Darter (Sympetrum fonscolombii) male.
As we walked around and scanned the bushes and sky where we found Zitting Cisticola (Buitrón / Cisticola juncidis), Iberian Green (Pito Real / Picus sharpei) and Great Spotted Woodpecker (Pico Picapinos / Dendrocopos major), Common Sandpiper (Andarrios Chico / Actitis hypoleucos), Woodpigeon (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus), Sardinian Warbler (Curruca Cabecinegra / Sylvia melanocephala), Iberian  Magpie (Rabilargo / Cyanopica cooki), Goldfinch (Jilguero / Carduelis carduelis), White Wagtail (Lavandera Blanca / Montacilla alba), Dartford Warbler (Curruca Rabilarga / Sylvia undata), Reed Warbler (Carricero Común / Acrocephalus scrpaceus), House Martin (Avión Común / Delichon urbica), Red-rumped Swallow (Golondrina Dáurica / Hirundo daurica), European Bee-eater (Abejaruco Común / Merops apiaster), Long-tailed Tit (Mito / Aegithalos caudatus) and then locally the rarest birds of the day which were 3 Black-headed Gulls (Gaviota Riedora / Larus ridibundus).
Violet Dropwing (Trithemis annulata) male.
Violet Dropwing (Trithemis annulata) male.
Violet Dropwing (Trithemis annulata) female.
We continued on around the pool seeing a couple of egg laying Blue / Common and a nice male Lesser Emperor (Anax parthenope), Iberian Bluetail (Ischnura graellsii), Common Blue Damselfly (Enallagma cyathinerum) and along the last stretch of shore line we had an Orange-winged Dropwing (Trithemis kirbyi), a couple of Small Red-eye (Erythromma viridulum) Damselflies and then the one species we had hoped to find a male Black Pennant (Selysiothemis nigra).
Long Skimmer (Orthetrum trinacria) male.
Long Skimmer (Orthetrum trinacria) eating a male Red-veined Darter (Sympetrum fonscolombii).
Long Skimmer (Orthetrum trinacria) young male.
Long Skimmer (Orthetrum trinacria) Exuvia.
We spent a good while along this shoreline sinking into the mud and in the end we found 5 male Pennants, one of which sat very nicely and gave us good photo opportunities but later at home I found that the card I had swapped to just as we reached this point was corrupted and I lost all the pictures, not a happy bunny.
Ladder Snake (Culebra de Escalera / Etaphe scalaris).
Ladder Snake (Culebra de Escalera / Etaphe scalaris).
Once we had the required shots we returned to the car and drove around to Laguna Chica but there was not very much water and it was not possible to access the shoreline due to a curtain of Tamarisks and the surrounds was full of Ticks.
Red-veined Darter (Sympetrum fonscolombii) mating pair.
We walked around the area on the track and scanned the water from above seeing Mallard, Eurasian Coot, Little Grebe, European Bee-eater, Woodpigeon, Iberian Magpie, House Martin, Sardinian Warbler, Serin (Verdecillo / Serinus serinus), Barn Swallow (Golondrina Común / Hirundo rustica) and away from the water Blue / Common Emperor and Small Heath (Coenonympha pamphilus).
Orange-winged Dropwing (Trithemis kirbyi).
Back at the house later we sat up on the terrace where we saw and heard a male Epaulet Skimmer (Orthetrum chrysostigma), Stone Curlew (Alcaraván Común / Burhinus oedicnemus), Iberian Magpie, Little Owl (Mochuelo Europeo / Athene noctua) and a pale morph Booted Eagle (Aguililla Calzada / Hieraaetus pennatus).

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