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Wednesday 25 January 2023

Santander and Santoña, Cantabria, Spain.

Back on Dry Land and some Birding on the North Coast.
Ebird List for Dársena de Raos y puerto deportivo.
Ebird List for Marismas de Parayas. 
Ebird List for Marismas Blancas, Astillero.
Ebird List for Ría de Escalante.
Ebird List for Quarry.
Ebird List for Puerto de Santoña.
Ebird List for Observatorio de La Arenilla. 
Ebird List for Charca de Gandarias. 
 
The first of several Coffee's.
We arrived in Santander at 08.00 and due to being right up on the top deck of vehicles I was surprised to be having breakfast at Dársena de Raos y puerto deportivo on the far side of the Port by 08.50.
Looking back over to the Ferry Port.
Great Crested Grebe (Somormujo Lavanco / Podiceps cristatus).
Razorbill (Alca Común / Alca torda).
Mediterranean Gull (Gaviota Cabecinegra / Larus melanocephalus).
AY:TJ
I then went just around the corner and parked on the front looking back over the water to the spot where we had just landed, on the water there were good numbers of Great Crested (Somormujo Lavanco / Podiceps cristatus) and Black-necked Grebe (Zampullín Cullinegro / Podiceps nigricollis), a single Razorbill (Alca Común / Alca torda), as well as Mute Swan (Cisne Vulgar / Cygnus olor) x2, Great Cormorant (Cormorán Grande / Phalacrocroax carbo), Grey Heron (Garza Real / Ardea cinerea) x2, Little Egret (Garceta Común / Egreeta garzetta) x13, Dunlin (Correlimos Común / Calidris alpina) x12, Ruddy Turnstone (Vuelvepiedras Común / Arenaria interpres) x2, Black-headed (Gaviota Riedora / Larus ridibundus), Mediterranean (Gaviota Cabecinegra / Larus melanocephalus), Yellow-legged (Gaviota Patiamarilla / Larus Michahellis), Lesser Black-backed (Gaviota Sombria / Larus fuscus) and Great Black-backed Gull (Gavión Atlántico / Larus marinus), House Sparrow (Gorrión Común / Passer domesticus) and Cetti's Warbler (Ruisenor Bastardo / Cettia cetti).
Little Gull (Gaviota Enana / Larus minutus).
Tufted Ducks (Porrón Monudo / Aythya fuligula).
I popped back into the bar again for another coffee as it was so nice to get a decent one after being in the UK for 5 weeks where the coffee is far from good, anyway once I had finished a second coffee I got the bin's out again and checked the two pools along side the Airport, I started with the tidal part where I found lots of birds including an adult winter Little Gull (Gaviota Enana / Larus minutus), Gadwall (Anade Friso / Anas strepera), Mallard (Anade Azulón / Anas platyrhynchos), Common Pochard (Porrón Común / Aythya ferina), Eurasian Teal (Cerceta Común / Anas crecca), Tufted Duck (Porrón Monudo / Aythya fuligula), Mute Swan, Little Grebe (Zampullín Común / Tachybaptus ruficollis), Common Moorhen (Gallineta Común / Gallinulas chloropus), Eurasian Coot (Focha Común / Fulica atra), Dunlin (Correlimos Común / Calidris alpina), Common Redshank (Archibebe Común / Tringa totanus), Black-tailed Godwit (Aguja Colinegra / Limosa limosa), Snipe (Agachadiza Común / Gallinago gallinago), Northern Lapwing (Avefria Europea / Vanellus vanellus) and a Kingfisher (Martin Pescador / Alcedo atthis).
Peregrine Falcon (Halcón Peregrino / Falco peregrinus).
Grey / Red Phalarope (Falaropo Picogrueso / Phalaropus fulicarius).
Grey / Red Phalarope (Falaropo Picogrueso / Phalaropus fulicarius).
Grey / Red Phalarope (Falaropo Picogrueso / Phalaropus fulicarius).
Peregrine Falcon (Halcón Peregrino / Falco peregrinus).
Just a short way along the road I checked the freshwater pool where I heard a squealing Water Rail (Rascón Europeo / Rallus aquaticus) and around the margins Carrion Crow (Corneja Negra / Corvus corone), White Wagtail (Lavandera Blanca / Montacilla alba), Robin (Petirrojo Europeo / Erithacus rubecula) and Spotless Starling (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor).
Little Gull (Gaviota Enana / Larus minutus).
Little Gull (Gaviota Enana / Larus minutus).
Little Gull (Gaviota Enana / Larus minutus).
I returned to the car, then the bar and then made my way around to the freshwater pool at Marismas Blancas in El Astillero, I was hoping to find a Grey / Red Phalarope (Falaropo Picogrueso / Phalaropus fulicarius) which had been reported on Ebird for a few days and not long after arriving I was watching it paddling manically around at the shallower end of the lake.
Long-tailed Tit (Mito / Aegithalos caudatus).
I saw many of the duck species already seen but added
Northern Shoveler (Pato Cuchara / Anas clypeata) along with Marsh Harrier (Aguilucho Lagunero Occidental / Circus aeruginosus), Peregrine Falcon (Halcón Peregrino / Falco peregrinus), Collared Dove (Tórtola Turca / Streptopelia decaocto), Common Magpie (Urraca / Pica pica), Blue (Herrerillo Común / Parus caeruleus), Great (Carbonera Común / Parus major) and Long-tailed Tit (Mito / Aegithalos caudatus), Crag Martin (Avión Roquero / Ptyonoprogne rupestris), Common Chiffchaff (Mosquitero Común / Phylloscopus collybita) and a second adult Little Gull.
Black-necked Grebes (Zampullín Cullinegro / Podiceps nigricollis).
Peregrine Falcon (Halcón Peregrino / Falco peregrinus).
Peregrine Falcon (Halcón Peregrino / Falco peregrinus).
I next drove around to the Marismas de Santoña and made my first stop in the area at the Ría de Escalante where I stood by the observatory and scanned the river, fields and woods behind me adding Greylag Geese (Ansar Común / Anser anser), Eurasian Wigeon (Sibón Europeo / Anas penelope), Eurasian Curlew (Numenius arquata), 100+ Western Cattle Egret (Garcilla Bueyera / Bubulcus ibis), 6x Glossy Ibis (Morito Común / Plegadis falcinellus), Black Redstart (Colirrojo Tizón / Phoenicurus ochruros), Jay (Arrendajo / Garrulus glandarius) and a flyover Red Kite (Milano Real / Milvus milvus).
Across the Marismas de Santoña.
After a while a Spanish Birder turned up and told me about a wintering Wallcreeper (Treparriscos / Tichodroma muraria) in a nearby quarry so I went and gave it a go for a couple of hours but did not have any luck, I did get Wren (Chochin / Troglodytes troglodytes) and good views of two Peregrines but nothing else so I moved on.
Great Northern Diver (Colimbo Grande / Gavia immer).
Great Northern Diver (Colimbo Grande / Gavia immer).
Slavonian / Horned Grebe (Zampullín Cuellirrojo / Podiceps auritus).
I drove around to Santoña where I checked out where my Hotel was for the next two nights before going to the Puerto de Santoña, set up my scope and spent some time scanning the Estuary, right in front of me there were the first two of several Great Northern Divers (Colimbo Grande / Gavia immer) and further out on the mudflats hundreds of Dark-bellied Brent Geese (Barnacla Carinegra / Branta bernicla) were feeding, reports say there were nearly a 1000 birds in the area.
Shag (Cormorán Mondudo / Phalacrocorax aristotelis) immature.
Great Cormorant (Cormorán Grande / Phalacrocroax carbo).
Common Sandpiper (Andarrios Chico / Actitis hypoleucos).
As I continued to search I had a winter plumage Red-throated Diver (Colimbo Chico / Gavia stellata), a distant Slavonian / Horned Grebe (Zampullín Cuellirrojo / Podiceps auritus), Eurasian Oystercatcher (Ostrero Euroasiatico / Haematopus ostralegus), Whimbrel (Zarapito Trinador / Numenius phaeopus), Bar-tailed Godwit (Aguja Colipinta / Limosa lapponica), Common Sandpiper (Andarrios Chico / Actitis hypoleucos), Greenshank (Archibebe Claro / Tringa nebularia) and Eurasian Spoonbill (Espátula Común / Platalea leucorodia).
Common Eider (Eider Común / Somateria mollissima) male.
Back around on the road out of town I made the next stop at the Observatorio de La Arenilla but it was closed for repairs so I set the scope up and scanned the river and mudflats finding the long staying male Common Eider (Eider Común / Somateria mollissima) as well as 2x Red-breasted Mergansers (Serreta Mediana / Mergus serrator), Grey Plover (Chorlito Gris / Pluvialis squatarola) and another 2x Great Northern Divers before moving just down the road to check some small road side pools, here I found Great Egret (Garceta Grande / Egretta alba) and Blackcap (Curruca Capirotada / Sylvia atricailla) which were new for the day / year List.
Great Egret (Garceta Grande / Egretta alba).
I returned to the car and then went to the hotel and checked in before heading out later to find something to eat and have another coffee.

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