Near Alcázar de San Juan, Laguna Navaseca, Castilla la Mancha, Spain.

Travelling back home from the North.

Eurasian Dotterel (Chorlito Carambolo / Eudromias morinellus).

I left Santo Domingo de Silos at 06.00 and headed south towards Aranda de Duero and a KM or so before I reached the Motorway south I had a Tawny Owl (Cárabo Común / Strix aluco) fly across the road in front of me and as I went South around Madrid I started to see Red Kites (Milano Real / Milvus milvus), Common Buzzard (Busardo Ratonero / Buteo buteo) and Common Kestrel (Cernicalo Vulgar / Falco tinnunculus).

Eurasian Dotterel (Chorlito Carambolo / Eudromias morinellus).

My first birding stop was in a vast agricultural area in the area around Alcázar de San Juan where with the help of an Ebird report I found 4 Eurasian Dotterel (Chorlito Carambolo / Eudromias morinellus), several Calandra Larks (Calandria / Melanocorypha calandra), 2x Stock Doves (Paloma Zurita / Columba oenas) and a flock of around 40 Pin-tailed Sandgrouse (Ganga Ibérica / Pterocles alchata) but as I watched these beautiful birds I could hear more calling in flight and over the next 10 minutes I watched more arrive until there were more than 100 birds in several groups on the cereal fields around me.

Pin-tailed Sandgrouse (Ganga Ibérica / Pterocles alchata).

Pin-tailed Sandgrouse (Ganga Ibérica / Pterocles alchata).

In the same area there were a few Golden Plover (Chorlito Dorado Europeo / Pluvialis apricaia), Meadow Pipit (Bisbita Pratense / Anthus pratensis), Red-legged Partridge (Perdiz Roja / Alectoris rufa), Skylark (Alondra Común / Alauda arvensis), Spotless Starling (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor), Corn Bunting (Triguero / Emberiza calandra) and Common Stonechat (Tarabilla Común / Saxicola torquata).

Spanish Sparrow (Gorrión Moruno / Passer hispaniolensis).

After a very sucessful start to the day I hit the road again and headed to Laguna Navaseca, on the way I saw Raven (Cuervo / Corvus corax), Carrion Crow (Corneja Negra / Corvus corone), Common Magpie (Urraca / Pica pica), Little Owl (Mochuelo Europeo / Athene noctua), Marsh Harrier (Aguilucho Lagunero Occidental / Circus aeruginosus) and White Wagtail (Lavandera Blanca / Montacilla alba).

Western Swamp-hen (Calamon Común / Porphyrio porphyrio).

I parked and started the walk around the agoon by having a look from the nearby hide where I was soon watching a fine male Ring-necked Duck (Porrón acollarado / Aythya collaris) which was my second of the year, at least 4 Ferruginous Ducks (Porrón Pardo / Aythya nyroca), Greylag Geese (Ansar Común / Anser anser), Eurasian Teal (Cerceta Común / Anas crecca), Common Pochard (Porrón Común / Aythya ferina), Northern Shoveler (Pato Cuchara / Anas clypeata), Mallard (Anade Azulón / Anas platyrhynchos), Gadwall (Anade Friso / Anas strepera), Shelduck (Tarro Blanco / Tadoma tadorna), Little Grebe (Zampullín Común / Tachybaptus ruficollis), Eurasian Coot (Focha Común / Fulica atra), Common Moorhen (Gallineta Común / Gallinulas chloropus), Greater Flamingo (Flamenco Común / Phoenicopterus roseus), Avocet (Avoceta Común / Recurvirostra avosetta), Black-winged Stilt (Ciguenela Común / Himantopus himantopus), Great Cormorant (Cormorán Grande / Phalacrocroax carbo) and Lesser Black-backed Gull (Gaviota Sombria / Larus fuscus).

White-headed Duck (Malvasia Cabeciblanca / Oxyura leucocephala).

I moved from the hide and walked down the righthand side of the pool along the road where I added Reed Bunting (Escribano Palustre / Emberiza schoeniclus), Spanish Sparrow (Gorrión Moruno / Passer hispaniolensis), Zitting Cisticola (Buitrón / Cisticola juncidis), Woodpigeon (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus), Robin (Petirrojo Europeo / Erithacus rubecula), Greenfinch (Verderón Común / Carduelis chloris), a group of 6x Ruff (Combatiente / Philomachus pugnax), 1x Dunlin (Correlimos Común / Calidris alpina), Snipe (Agachadiza Común / Gallinago gallinago), Linnet (Pardillo Común / Carduelis cannabina), Cetti's Warbler (Ruisenor Bastardo / Cettia cetti) and from by the first screen on the far track I had a very vocal Penduline Tit (Pájaro Moscón / Remiz pendulinus), Western Swamp-hen (Calamon Común / Porphyrio porphyrio), Crested Lark (Cogujada / Galerida cristata), Goldfinch (Jilguero / Carduelis carduelis), White Stork (Ciguena Blanca / Ciconia ciconia), 4x White-headed Ducks (Malvasia Cabeciblanca / Oxyura leucocephala) and an elusive male Bluethroat (Ruiseñor Pechiazul / Luscinia svecica).

A camera shy Bluethroat (Ruiseñor Pechiazul / Luscinia svecica).

I returned to the car and drove back home, as I was unpacking the car a Sardinian Warbler (Curruca Cabecinegra / Sylvia melanocephala) flew into the garden and called making it 177 for the year by the time I got home.