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Monday 9 May 2022

Moraleda Fields, The Cacín Valley and El Temple, Granada Province, Spain.

Back out birding with friends Mehdi and Tatiana after a three year gap. 

Golden Oriole (Oropéndola / Oriolus oriolus).
I met Mehdi and Tatiana at El Cruze bar on the A92 and from there we headed out on to the fields nearby where we were looking for Black-bellied Sandgrouse (Ganga Ortega / Pterocles orientalis) but we were unlucky with that species today, however we did record Crested (Cogujada / Galerida cristata) and Greater Short-toed Larks (Terrera Común / Calandrella brachydactyla), Corn Bunting (Triguero / Emberiza calandra), Little Owl (Mochuelo Europeo / Athene noctua), Woodpigeon (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus), Common Quail (Codorniz Común / Coturnix coturnix), Iberian Grey Shrike (Alcaudón Real Meridional / Lanius meridionalis), Hoopoe (Abubilla / Upupa epops), Zitting Cisticola (Buitrón / Cisticola juncidis) and Spotless Starling (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor).
Golden Oriole (Oropéndola / Oriolus oriolus) Nest.
We dropped down on to the lower fields adding Jackdaw (Grajilla / Corvus monedula), Common Kestrel (Cernicalo Vulgar / Falco tinnunculus), Common Chaffinch (Pinzón Vulgar / Fringilla coelebs), Great Tit (Carbonera Común / Parus major), Common Buzzard (Busardo Ratonero / Buteo buteo), a flyover Tawny Pipit (Bisbita Camprstre / Anthus campestris) and two Great Spotted Cuckoo's (Crialo Europeo / Clamator gladarius) which almost gave us the slip by sneaking out of the back of an Olive tree.
We left the site and dropped down into the Cacín Valley, around El Turro we saw Barn Swallow (Golondrina Común / Hirundo rustica), Collared Dove (Tórtola Turca / Streptopelia decaocto), Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula) and House Martin (Avión Común / Delichon urbica).
Golden Oriole (Oropéndola / Oriolus oriolus).
A bit further on we parked in the Pines and listened to what was around and we recorded Spotted Flycatcher (Papamoscas Gris / Muscicapa striata), Iberian  Magpie (Rabilargo / Cyanopica cooki), Short-toed Treecreeper (Agateador Común / Certhia brachydactyla), Woodlark (Totovia / Lullula arborea), Turtle Dove (Tórtola Europea / Streptopelia turtur), European Bee-eater (Abejaruco Común / Merops apiaster), Nightingale (Ruisenor Común / Luscinia megarhynchos), Golden Oriole (Oropéndola / Oriolus oriolus), Serin (Verdecillo / Serinus serinus), Common Cuckoo (Cuco Común / Cuculus canorus), Jay (Arrendajo / Garrulus glandarius), Cetti's Warbler (Ruisenor Bastardo / Cettia cetti), Coal (Carbonero Garrapinos / Parus ater) and Crested Tit (Herrerillo Capuchino / Parus cristatus), Rock Sparrow (Gorrión Chillón / Petronia petronia) and a calling Wryneck (Torcecuello / Jynx torquilla).
Mistle Thrush (Zorzal Charlo / Turdus viscivorus) and Golden Oriole (Oropéndola / Oriolus oriolus).
As we drove towards the Embalse we had Grey Wagtail (Lavandera Cascadena / Motacilla cinerea), Cirl Bunting (Escribano Soteno / Emberiza cirlus), Blackcap (Curruca Capirotada / Sylvia atricailla) and by the brdge Wren (Chochin / Troglodytes troglodytes), Sardinian Warbler (Curruca Cabecinegra / Sylvia melanocephala), a female Pied Flycatcher (Papamoscas Cerrojillo / Ficedula hypoleuca), Marsh Harrier (Aguilucho Lagunero Occidental / Circus aeruginosus), Pallid Swift (Vencejo Pálido /Apus pallidus), Robin (Petirrojo Europeo / Erithacus rubecula), Blue (Herrerillo Común / Parus caeruleus) and Long-tailed Tit (Mito / Aegithalos caudatus), Mallard (Anade Azulón / Anas platyrhynchos), in the irrigation channel a Common Sandpiper (Andarrios Chico / Actitis hypoleucos) and just opposite the Irrigation channel we spotted a male Golden Oriole building a nest right out in the open..
Grey-headed Wagtail (Lavandera Boyera / Motacilla flava thunbergi).
Up the road we parked by the Embalse and scanned the water were we saw Black-winged Stilt (Ciguenela Común / Himantopus himantopus), Reed Warbler (Carricero Común / Acrocephalus scrpaceus), Common Pochard (Porrón Común / Aythya ferina), Common Moorhen (Gallineta Común / Gallinulas chloropus), Eurasian Coot (Focha Común / Fulica atra), Little Grebe (Zampullín Común / Tachybaptus ruficollis), 2x pale morph Booted Eagles  (Aguililla Calzada / Hieraaetus pennatus) and just a short way along the road a coupl of Woodchat Shrike (Alcaudón Común / Lanius senator).
Grey-headed Wagtail (Lavandera Boyera / Motacilla flava thunbergi).
We drove through Cacín and then up over the ridge towards Ventas de Huelma, on the way we stopped by the Rio Cacín finding Tree Sparrow (Gorrión Molinero / Passer montanus), Linnet (Pardillo Común / Carduelis cannabina) and Greenfinch (Verderón Común / Carduelis chloris) and at a semi-ruined Cortijo where we saw a very smart Roller (Carraca / Coracias garrulus), Thekla Lark (Cogujada Montesina / Galerida theklae), Iberian Green Woodpecker (Pito Real / Picus sharpei) and Melodious Warbler (Zarcero Común / Hippolais polyglotta).
Grey-headed Wagtail (Lavandera Boyera / Motacilla flava thunbergi).
Our final stop of the day was out on the fields of El Temple but they were quiet and we only boosted the list with Stone Curlew (Alcaraván Común / Burhinus oedicnemus), a roosting Long-eared Owl (Búho Chico / Asio otus) and a flock of migrating Western Yellow Wagtails including at least four different races, (flava iberiae, flava flava, flava flavissima and flava thunbergi).
We returned to Moraleda and I said goodbye to Mehdi and Tatiana hoping it won't be so long until we are birding together again.

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