Santoña area, Cantabria, Spain.

A second day around the Marismas mopping up a few more year ticks.

Ebird List for Charca de Gandarias. 

Ebird List for Ría de Escalante.

Ebird List for Canal de Boo y Marismas de Bengoa. 

Ebird List for Playa de El Regatón y Ría de Treto. 

Ebird List for the Quarry. 

Little Gull (Gaviota Enana / Larus minutus) x2.

I started the day at the last place I went to last night Charca de Gandarias where I checked the pools and the fields picking up 3x Little Gull (Gaviota Enana / Larus minutus), 2 of which were on the fields and the third was more hidden on the furthest right hand part of the pools.

Little Gull (Gaviota Enana / Larus minutus) x2.

Here I also found Gadwall (Anade Friso / Anas strepera), Mallard (Anade Azulón / Anas platyrhynchos), Little Grebe (Zampullín Común / Tachybaptus ruficollis), Great Cormorant (Cormorán Grande / Phalacrocroax carbo), 8x flyover Mute Swans (Cisne Vulgar / Cygnus olor), 3x Glossy Ibis (Morito Común / Plegadis falcinellus), 3x Great (Garceta Grande / Egretta alba), 70 odd Western Cattle (Garcilla Bueyera / Bubulcus ibis) and 2x Little Egrets (Garceta Común / Egreeta garzetta), Grey Heron (Garza Real / Ardea cinerea), 6x Common Sandpipers (Andarrios Chico / Actitis hypoleucos), Common Buzzard (Busardo Ratonero / Buteo buteo), Marsh Harrier (Aguilucho Lagunero Occidental / Circus aeruginosus) and 28 Meadow Pipit (Bisbita Pratense / Anthus pratensis) which were sat up on the wires after flushing up at the passing Harrier.

Glossy Ibis (Morito Común / Plegadis falcinellus).

I walked back to the car but checked the estuary before moving on and had my best views so far of a Red-throated Diver (Colimbo Chico / Gavia stellata) just a shame the light was so bad still.

Red-throated Diver (Colimbo Chico / Gavia stellata).

Red-throated Diver (Colimbo Chico / Gavia stellata).

I went back towards Santoña but turned down to Ría de Escalante where I parked next to the Quarry, there was already a Spanish birder on site so I stopped for a chat and as we talked mostly about the elusive Wallcreeper (Treparriscos / Tichodroma muraria) a Western Osprey (Águila Pescardora / Pandion haliaetus) and up the river and continued on up the valley, we also had Black-necked Grebe (Zampullín Cullinegro / Podiceps nigricollis), Common Redshank (Archibebe Común / Tringa totanus), Eurasian Curlew (Numenius arquata) and in the quarry 2x Peregrine Falcon (Halcón Peregrino / Falco peregrinus) and a nice male Black Redstart (Colirrojo Tizón / Phoenicurus ochruros).

Greenshank (Archibebe Claro / Tringa nebularia).

The weather started to look a bit rough so I went and sat on the side of the road over looking the Canal de Boo where I saw Northern Pintail (Ánade Rabudo / Anas acuta), Eurasian Spoonbill (Espátula Común / Platalea leucorodia) and a distant Diver species which was further up the Canal so I parked at the start of the walk which runs between the river and a collection of pools to a hide.

Whimbrel (Zarapito Trinador / Numenius phaeopus).

On my way I recorded another Little Gull, Greenshank (Archibebe Claro / Tringa nebularia), Whimbrel (Zarapito Trinador / Numenius phaeopus), Common Pochard (Porrón Común / Aythya ferina), Northern Shoveler (Pato Cuchara / Anas clypeata), Eurasian Teal (Cerceta Común / Anas crecca), Lesser Black-backed (Gaviota Sombria / Larus fuscus), Yellow-legged (Gaviota Patiamarilla / Larus Michahellis) and Black-headed Gull (Gaviota Riedora / Larus ridibundus), Shag (Cormorán Mondudo / Phalacrocorax aristotelis), Kingfisher (Martin Pescador / Alcedo atthis), Crag Martin (Avión Roquero / Ptyonoprogne rupestris), Cetti's Warbler (Ruisenor Bastardo / Cettia cetti), Song Thrush (Zorzal Común / Turdus philomelos), Sparrowhawk (Gavilán Común / Accipiter nisus) and by the hide a group of 4 Fieldfare (Zorzal Real / Turdus pilaris) which flew out of the trees behind the hide and across the river.

Black-throated Diver (Colimbo Ártico / Gavia arctica).

Black-throated Diver (Colimbo Ártico / Gavia arctica).

Black-throated Diver (Colimbo Ártico / Gavia arctica).

I did not relocated the Diver so I started to walk back and just before I reached the car I picked up the bird again right down by the bridge at the start of the Canal so I got back into the car and went back to where I had parked originally and managed to get some photo's of the third Diver species in two days a Black-throated (Colimbo Ártico / Gavia arctica).

Black-throated Diver (Colimbo Ártico / Gavia arctica).

Black-throated Diver (Colimbo Ártico / Gavia arctica).

Black-throated Diver (Colimbo Ártico / Gavia arctica).

Once the diver had drifted out in the river I decided to drive around to the other side of the Marismas where there had been reports of 3x Velvet Scoters (Negrón Especulado / Melanitta fusca), I arrived and went up onto the Dunes which over look the other side of the Estuary.

Great Cormorant (Cormorán Grande / Phalacrocroax carbo).

I set up the scope and scanned the water, first of all I found a group of 6x Common Scoters (Negrón Común / Melanitta nigra), 4x Red-throated and 2x Great Northern Diver (Colimbo Grande / Gavia immer), several hundred Dark-bellied Brent Geese (Barnacla Carinegra / Branta bernicla), Eurasian Wigeon (Sibón Europeo / Anas penelope), Eurasian Oystercatcher (Ostrero Euroasiatico / Haematopus ostralegus), Grey Plover (Chorlito Gris / Pluvialis squatarola), Mediterranean (Gaviota Cabecinegra / Larus melanocephalus) and Great Black-backed Gull (Gavión Atlántico / Larus marinus), 1x Sandwich Tern (Charrán Patinegro / Sterna sandvicensis) and then I picked up the 3 Velvets, they were distant but 2 of them did the decent thing and flapped their wings showing the nice white wing-bars.

Great Crested Grebe (Somormujo Lavanco / Podiceps cristatus).

On my way back around to Santoña picking up a pair of White Storks (Ciguena Blanca / Ciconia ciconia) at Cicero on my way to the Quarry but yet again I failed to find the Wallcreeper so I went to the port for a look but rain soon stopped play and all I saw were a Razorbill (Alca Común / Alca torda), 3 more Red-throated and 2 Great Northern Divers before heading to the hotel.