Punta del Santo, Los Moriscos Club de Golf and Playa Granada, Motril, Granada Province, Spain.

A bit of Sea Watching and a walk around the Golf Course area.

 

Ebird List for Punta del Santo.

Ebird List for Golf Los Moriscos.

Ebird List for back of Golf Course.

Ebird List for Playa Granada.

Mediterranean Gull (Gaviota Cabecinegra / Larus melanocephalus).

I drove down to the coast to meet up with Juan for a bit of sea watching at Punta del Santo, I arrived a little late due to having to go through a Guardia Civil road block but after presenting all my papers I was on my way after about 10 minutes.

Audouin's Gull (Gaviota de Audouin / Larus audouinii).

Juan, Olivia and Vanessa were already there, so I got set up and started to scan for Sea Birds but at this point it was rather quite but we had a few Balearic Shearwaters (Pardela Balear / Puffinus mauretanicus), Northern Gannets (Alcatraz Atlántico / Morus bassanus), a single Great Cormorant (Cormorán Grande / Phalacrocroax carbo), Black-headed (Gaviota Riedora / Larus ridibundus), Audouin's (Gaviota de Audouin / Larus audouinii), Mediterranean (Gaviota Cabecinegra / Larus melanocephalus), Lesser Black-backed (Gaviota Sombria / Larus fuscus) and Yellow-legged Gull (Gaviota Patiamarilla / Larus Michahellis), several Sandwich Terns (Charrán Patinegro / Sterna sandvicensis) and a pair of Little Ringed Plovers (Chorlitejo Chico / Charadrius dubius) which flew passed out to sea.

Balearic Shearwater (Pardela Balear / Puffinus mauretanicus).

In the same area we also saw Collared Dove (Tórtola Turca / Streptopelia decaocto), Grey (Lavandera Cascadena / Motacilla cinerea) and White Wagtail (Lavandera Blanca / Montacilla alba), Common Kestrel (Cernicalo Vulgar / Falco tinnunculus), Crested Lark (Cogujada / Galerida cristata), House Sparrow (Gorrión Común / Passer domesticus) and Serin (Verdecillo / Serinus serinus).

Monarch (Danaus plexippus).

Olivia and Vanessa headed off and Juan and I walked around to the Golf Course where we checked the pools and the reed beds and the first bird we heard was a singing Sedge Warbler (Carricerin Común / Acrocephalus schoenobaenus), which was followed by Barn Swallows (Golondrina Común / Hirundo rustica), Crag (Avión Roquero / Ptyonoprogne rupestris) and Sand Martin (Avión Zapador / Riparia riparia), Mallard (Anade Azulón / Anas platyrhynchos), Northern Shoveler (Pato Cuchara / Anas clypeata), Little Grebe (Zampullín Común / Tachybaptus ruficollis), Eurasian Coot (Focha Común / Fulica atra), Common Moorhen (Gallineta Común / Gallinulas chloropus), Western Swamp-hen (Calamon Común / Porphyrio porphyrio), Common Sandpiper (Andarrios Chico / Actitis hypoleucos), Grey Heron (Garza Real / Ardea cinerea), 2x Hoopoes (Abubilla / Upupa epops), Sardinian Warbler (Curruca Cabecinegra / Sylvia melanocephala), Common Chiffchaffs (Mosquitero Común / Phylloscopus collybita), Blackcap (Curruca Capirotada / Sylvia atricailla), Black Redstart (Colirrojo Tizón / Phoenicurus ochruros), Common Stonechat (Tarabilla Común / Saxicola torquata) and a good number of Meadow Pipits (Bisbita Pratense / Anthus pratensis).

Monarch (Danaus plexippus).

We were joined by Beatriz and Chika before we walked further around the paths adding 3x Cirl Buntings (Escribano Soteno / Emberiza cirlus) which was a species Juan had not seen in the area before. We also added a few butterfly species including 2 Monarchs (Danaus plexippus), Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria), Clouded Yellow (Colias corceua) and Small White (Pieris rapae). 

Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui).

Plants seen included Common Fumitory (Fumaria officinalis), Ramping Fumitory (Fumaria capreolata), Purple Bugloss (Echium plantagineum), Pitch Trefoil (Psoralea bituminosa), Hollow Stemmed Asphodel (Asphodelus fistulosus), Common Vetch (Vicia sativa) and Bermuda Buttercup (Oxalis pes-caprae).

Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui).

We looped back around to Playa Granada and sat on the benches there for a while seeing lots of movement including lots of Sandwich Terns, Balearic Shearwaters and Northern Gannets.

We walked back along the beach towards the cars, on the way we were scanning the sea and added 2x Scopoli’s Shearwaters (Calonectris diomedea) and a fast flying Arctic Skua (Págalo Parásito / Stercorarius parasiticus) which passed of West. We returned to the cars and then I headed off home.