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Wednesday 27 April 2022

Osuna area, Sevilla Province and Fuente de Piedra, Malaga Province, Spain.

Out on the fields and later the wetlands at Fuente de Piedra. 
 
Stone Curlew (Alcaraván Común / Burhinus oedicnemus).
I met Viggo, Peter, Ib, Joern at the bar near Osuna where we were going to start a drive around the area looking for several species, our first stop was not far away where we checked some Olive groves and soon found a couple of Stone Curlews (Alcaraván Común / Burhinus oedicnemus) in the shade of the trees along with Red-legged Partridge (Perdiz Roja / Alectoris rufa), Crested Lark (Cogujada / Galerida cristata) and several Rabbits (Conejo / Oryctolagus cuniculus).
Great Bustard (Avutarda Común / Otis tarda), honest the white blob is a displaying male.
Corn Bunting (Triguero / Emberiza calandra).
Further along the road we went up onto the first bridge where we scanned the fields from up high and soon found a nice male Great Bustard (Avutarda Común / Otis tarda) which we had good views of through the scope whilst it was displayin to a single female.
Montagu's Harrier (Aguilucho Cenizo / Circus pygargus).
Gull-billed Tern (Pagaza Piconegra / Gelochelidon nilotica).
In the same area we saw Calandra Lark (Calandria / Melanocorypha calandra), Marsh Harrier (Aguilucho Lagunero Occidental / Circus aeruginosus), Common Kestrel (Cernicalo Vulgar / Falco tinnunculus), Corn Bunting (Triguero / Emberiza calandra), Raven (Cuervo / Corvus corax), Gull-billed Tern (Pagaza Piconegra / Gelochelidon nilotica), Hoopoe (Abubilla / Upupa epops), Common Quail (Codorniz Común / Coturnix coturnix), Spanish Sparrow (Gorrión Moruno / Passer hispaniolensis) and Spanish (Yellow) Wagtail (Lavandera Boyera / Motacilla flava iberiae).
Black Kite (Milano Negro / Milvus migrans).
Roller (Carraca / Coracias garrulus) and Crown Daisies (Chrysanthemum carinatum).
We took to the tracks and drove out to a large factory and then followed a small arroyo for a short distance, along this route we added Greater Short-toed Lark (Terrera Común / Calandrella brachydactyla), male and female Montagu's Harriers (Aguilucho Cenizo / Circus pygargus), Turtle Dove (Tórtola Europea / Streptopelia turtur), Common Stonechat (Tarabilla Común / Saxicola torquata), Melodious Warbler (Zarcero Común / Hippolais polyglotta), European Bee-eater (Abejaruco Común / Merops apiaster) and as we were about to turn around we had 5 Glossy Ibis (Morito Común / Plegadis falcinellus) fly passed distantly.
Lesser Kestrel (Cernicola Primilla / Falco naumanni).

As we drove towards the second bridge and the onto the third bridge we picked up a singing Golden Oriole (Oropéndola / Oriolus oriolus) in some Olive trees, a soaring Black Kite (Milano Negro / Milvus migrans), 2x Griffon Vultures (Bultre Leonado / Gyps fulvus), Common Buzzard (Busardo Ratonero / Buteo buteo), Red-rumped Swallow (Golondrina Dáurica / Hirundo daurica) and Woodchat Shrike (Alcaudón Común / Lanius senator).
Greater Flamingo's (Flamenco Común / Phoenicopterus roseus).
Avocets (Avoceta Común / Recurvirostra avosetta).
From the third bridge we drove to a ruin nearby where we had great views of several Rollers (Carraca / Coracias garrulus) one of which sat on a roof full of Crown Daisies (Chrysanthemum carinatum), Lesser Kestrels (Cernicola Primilla / Falco naumanni), Zitting Cisticola (Buitrón / Cisticola juncidis), Linnet (Pardillo Común / Carduelis cannabina), Goldfinch (Jilguero / Carduelis carduelis), a calling Iberian Green Woodpecker (Pito Real / Picus sharpei) and a passing flock of Collared Pratincoles (Canastera Común / Glareola pratincola). 
Greater Flamingo (Flamenco Común / Phoenicopterus roseus) immature, 2nd CY.
We drove on around to Lantejuela adding Nightingale (Ruisenor Común / Luscinia megarhynchos), White Stork (Ciguena Blanca / Ciconia ciconia) and Western Cattle Egret (Garcilla Bueyera / Bubulcus ibis) before visiting Laguna de la Ballestera where we parked and had some lunch whilst seeing Greater Flamingo (Flamenco Común / Phoenicopterus roseus), Gadwall (Anade Friso / Anas strepera), several Whiskered Terns (Fumarel Cariblanca / Chilidonias hybridus) in amonst large numbers of Gull-billeds, Curlew Sandpiper (Correlimos Zarapitin / Calidris ferruginea) x1, Common Redshank (Archibebe Común / Tringa totanus) x8, Common Sandpiper (Andarrios Chico / Actitis hypoleucos) x1, Grey Plover (Chorlito Gris / Pluvialis squatarola) x1 and a couple of singing Western Olivaceous Warblers (Iduna opaca) in the Tamarisks.
Lesser Flamingo's (Flamenco Enano / Phoenicopterus minor) x2 amongst the Greater Flamingo's (Flamenco Común / Phoenicopterus roseus).
We finished off at this site and headed for Fuente de Piedra, on the way in we checked the roadside pool finding Pallid Swifts (Vencejo Pálido /Apus pallidus), Eurasian Coot (Focha Común / Fulica atra), Common Moorhen (Gallineta Común / Gallinulas chloropus), heard a Water Rail (Rascón Europeo / Rallus aquaticus), Avocet (Avoceta Común / Recurvirostra avosetta), Ruff (Combatiente / Philomachus pugnax) and Little Stint (Correlimos Menudo / Calidris minuta).
Greater Flamingo (Flamenco Común / Phoenicopterus roseus).
Up at the Mirador we scanned the main Lake where we picked up two of the uncommon Lesser Flamingo's (Flamenco Enano / Phoenicopterus minor) which had been around for a while and then around at the hides was saw at least 7 Marbled Ducks (Marmaronetta angustirostris), Northern Shoveler (Pato Cuchara / Anas clypeata), Red-crested (Pato Colorado / Netta rufina) and Common Pochard (Porrón Común / Aythya ferina), White-headed Duck (Malvasia Cabeciblanca / Oxyura leucocephala), Black-necked (Zampullín Cullinegro / Podiceps nigricollis), Little Grebes (Zampullín Común / Tachybaptus ruficollis), Blue / Common (Anax imperator) x3, Perez's Frog (Rana Común / Pelophylax perezi), Stripe-necked Terrapin (Mauremys leprosa) and Lesser Emperor (Anax parthenope) x1, Iberian Bluetail (Ischnura graellsii) x3 and Red-veined Darter (Sympetrum fonscolombii) x1.
Whiskered Tern (Fumarel Cariblanca / Chilidonias hybridus).
We walked back around to the car and checked the main lake again find
Shelduck (Tarro Blanco / Tadoma tadorna) befor driving to a flooded field nearby, on the way the rain, thunder and lightening started so we scanned the flood from the car and added Lesser Black-backed Gull (Gaviota Sombria / Larus fuscus), Dunlin (Correlimos Común / Calidris alpina) and Ringed Plover (Chorlitejo Grande / Charadrius hiaticula) before we decided to call it a day due to the weather.

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