Out on the fields and along the Cacín Valley with Steve.
Ebird List for El Temple.
Ebird List for the Contra Embalse.
Ebird List for the Moraleda Fields.
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Early morning lenticular clouds over the snows of the Sierra Nevada.
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We drove towards Granada and then went out onto the fields looking for steppe type species, as we took to the tracks we started the list with
Woodpigeon (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus),
Black Redstart (Colirrojo Tizón / Phoenicurus ochruros), Common Magpie (Urraca / Pica pica),
Blackcap (Curruca Capirotada / Sylvia atricailla),
Corn Bunting (Triguero / Emberiza calandra),
Crested Lark (Cogujada / Galerida cristata),
Common Buzzard (Busardo Ratonero / Buteo buteo), Meadow Pipit (Bisbita Pratense / Anthus pratensis),
Common Chaffinch (Pinzón Vulgar / Fringilla coelebs) and Iberian Grey Shrike (Alcaudón Real Meridional / Lanius meridionalis).
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Great Spotted Cuckoo's (Crialo Europeo / Clamator gladarius). |
Further along the track we saw the first of three
Black-winged Kites (Elanio Común / Elanus caeruleus) but it was only hoovering in the distance, Corn Bunting (Triguero / Emberiza calandra),
Common Stonechat (Tarabilla Común / Saxicola torquata),
Iberian Grey Shrike (Alcaudón Real Meridional / Lanius meridionalis),
Red-legged Partridge (Perdiz Roja / Alectoris rufa),
Little Owl (Mochuelo Europeo / Athene noctua), calling but not seen
Stone Curlews (Alcaraván Común / Burhinus oedicnemus) and as we dropped back down to the tarmac we saw a distant male
Blue-rock Thrush (Roquero Solitario / Monticola solitarius). |
Little Owl (Mochuelo Europeo / Athene noctua). |
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Little Owl (Mochuelo Europeo / Athene noctua). |
We soon turned off the road again and back on to a track but after a couple of hundred metres we stopped and scanned the fields and like muppets we both left our camera's in the car, so when a very smart Black-winged Kite flew in and landed near to us in an Almond tree we both missed the main chance but Steve did get a few flight shots.
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Great Spotted Cuckoo (Crialo Europeo / Clamator gladarius). |
In the same area we had two Great Spotted Cuckoos (Crialo Europeo / Clamator gladarius) fly over
chasing each other, a little further along another one of the tracks we had several more Cuckoo's as well as the first 4 of 8 Black-bellied Sandgrouse (Ganga Ortega / Pterocles orientalis), a couple more
Little Owls,
Calandra (Calandria / Melanocorypha calandra) and
Skylark (Alondra Común / Alauda arvensis), at least 10x Hoopoe (Abubilla / Upupa epops), Jackdaw (Grajilla / Corvus monedula),
Black Redstart (Colirrojo Tizón / Phoenicurus ochruros), Mistle Thrush (Zorzal Charlo / Turdus viscivorus), Iberian Magpie (Rabilargo / Cyanopica cooki) and
Golden Eagle (Águila Real / Aquila chrysaetos).
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Great Spotted Cuckoo (Crialo Europeo / Clamator gladarius). |
On the far side of the area we finished the list for the spot off with Song Thrush (Zorzal Común / Turdus philomelos), Zitting Cisticola (Buitrón / Cisticola juncidis), Barn Swallow (Golondrina Común / Hirundo rustica) and Sardinian Warbler (Curruca Cabecinegra / Sylvia melanocephala).
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Hoopoe (Abubilla / Upupa epops). |
We went for a sandwich in Ventas de Huelma and then headed out for the Cacín Valley, in the gorge we picked up
Blue-rock Thrush (Roquero Solitario / Monticola solitarius) but we did not see much more so we moved back up the Valley to the Contra-Embalse where we picked up Common Pochard (Porrón Común / Aythya ferina),
Mallard (Anade Azulón / Anas platyrhynchos),
Northern Shoveler (Pato Cuchara / Anas clypeata), Eurasian Teal (Cerceta Común / Anas crecca),
Little Grebe (Zampullín Común / Tachybaptus ruficollis), Eurasian Coot (Focha Común / Fulica atra),
Common Moorhen (Gallineta Común / Gallinulas chloropus), 30 odd
Crag (Avión Roquero / Ptyonoprogne rupestris) and 60+
House Martins (Avión Común / Delichon urbica), 2x
Red-rumped (Golondrina Dáurica / Hirundo daurica) and
Barn Swallow (Golondrina Común / Hirundo rustica),
Common Buzzard (Busardo Ratonero / Buteo buteo) and a fast moving female Merlin (Esmerejón / Falco columbarius). |
Hoopoe (Abubilla / Upupa epops). |
Whilst we were birding there a car turned up and it was good to see two friends, Jane and Bob had stopped for a chat, after a while they were on their way and we went up onto the fields near Moraleda where we drove through the site back over to the A92 adding a very smart male Hen Harrier (Aguilucho Pálido / Circus cyaneus) and another 2
Merlins, a male and female but both birds were away before we could get the camera on either of them.
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Hoopoe (Abubilla / Upupa epops). |
Other species were
Thekla Lark (Cogujada Montesina / Galerida theklae),
Linnet (Pardillo Común / Carduelis cannabina) and Meadow Pipit (Bisbita Pratense / Anthus pratensis).
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Hen Harrier (Aguilucho Pálido / Circus cyaneus) male.
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