Punta del Santo, Charca de Suárez, Tajos de los Vados, El Temple, the Cacín Valley, Huétor Fields and Balsa de Regidor, Granada Province Spain.

A morning birding with Juan Perez and the some more birds on the way home.

Ebird List for Punta del Santo, 17 Species.

Ebird List for Charca de Suárez, 41 Species.

Ebird List for Tajos de los Vados, 9 Species.

Ebird List for El Temple, 1 Species.

Ebird List for the Embalse, 14 Species.

Ebird List for Balsa de Regidor, 20 Species.

Dawn at Punta del Santo.

I started the day by driving down to Punta del Santo on the Granada Coast near to Motril where we set up the scopes and did a sea watch, new birds for the year were Balearic Shearwater (Pardela Balear / Puffinus mauretanicus) x103 and a single Great Skua (Págalo Grande / Stercorarius skua) which did a couple of flypasts one going east and then west.

Northern Gannet (Alcatraz Atlántico / Morus bassanus) Adult.

Northern Gannet (Alcatraz Atlántico / Morus bassanus) Immature.

Other species seen from here included Northern Gannet (Alcatraz Atlántico / Morus bassanus) x112, Razorbill (Alca Común / Alca torda) x4, Great Cormorant (Cormorán Grande / Phalacrocroax carbo), Black-headed (Gaviota Riedora / Larus ridibundus), Mediterranean (Gaviota Cabecinegra / Larus melanocephalus), Lesser Black-backed (Gaviota Sombria / Larus fuscus) and Yellow-legged Gull (Gaviota Patiamarilla / Larus Michahellis), Sandwich Tern (Charrán Patinegro / Sterna sandvicensis), Little Ringed Plover (Chorlitejo Chico / Charadrius dubius), Crested Lark (Cogujada / Galerida cristata), Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula), House Sparrow (Gorrión Común / Passer domesticus), Meadow Pipit (Bisbita Pratense / Anthus pratensis) and White Wagtail (Lavandera Blanca / Montacilla alba).

Moustached Warbler (Carricerin Real / Acrocephalus melanopogon).

Our next stop was at Charca, I dropped Juan and Chika off near their place and then went into the reserve and walked an anti-clockwise route around the hides starting at Laguna del Lirio where I picked up Little Grebe (Zampullín Común / Tachybaptus ruficollis), Common Chiffchaff (Mosquitero Común / Phylloscopus collybita), Grey Wagtail (Lavandera Cascadena / Motacilla cinerea), Blackcap (Curruca Capirotada / Sylvia atricailla) and Common Moorhen (Gallineta Común / Gallinulas chloropus).

Moustached Warbler (Carricerin Real / Acrocephalus melanopogon).

As I walked around to the first of the hides overlooking Laguna del Treból I picked up the first of a couple of Kingfishers (Martin Pescador / Alcedo atthis) and from the hide a female Ferruginous Duck (Porrón Pardo / Aythya nyroca), Northern Shoveler (Pato Cuchara / Anas clypeata), Mallard (Anade Azulón / Anas platyrhynchos), Eurasian (Focha Común / Fulica atra) and Red-knobbed Coot (Focha Moruna / Fulca cristata), Crag Martins (Avión Roquero / Ptyonoprogne rupestris), Water Rail (Rascón Europeo / Rallus aquaticus) and lots of Stripe-necked Terrapin (Mauremys leprosa) which we saw from all the hides.

Ferruginous Duck (Porrón Pardo / Aythya nyroca) Female.

I continued on around to the other hide over looking this pool but the light was awful as the sun was shining directly onto the water right in front of the hide, however I still managed to find the wintering Moustached Warbler (Carricerin Real / Acrocephalus melanopogon) in the reeds opposite but the photo's are horrendous, other species included Gadwall (Anade Friso / Anas strepera), Western Swamp-hen (Calamon Común / Porphyrio porphyrio), Common Snipe (Agachadiza Común / Gallinago gallinago), Marsh Harrier (Aguilucho Lagunero Occidental / Circus aeruginosus), Spotless Starling (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor), Sardinian Warbler (Curruca Cabecinegra / Sylvia melanocephala) and Siskin (Lúgano / Carduelis spinus).

Red-knobbed Coot (Focha Moruna / Fulca cristata) x Eurasian Coot (Focha Común / Fulica atra).

After a while Juan joined me again and the  Moustached Warbler showed again briefly for him and then we moved around to the main hide, unfortunately the light wasn't much better here but we did managed to add Common Pochard (Porrón Común / Aythya ferina), Greater Flamingo (Flamenco Común / Phoenicopterus roseus) x4, Yellow-legged Gull, Grey Heron (Garza Real / Ardea cinerea) and Barn Swallow (Golondrina Común / Hirundo rustica) x2.

Red-knobbed Coot (Focha Moruna / Fulca cristata) x Eurasian Coot (Focha Común / Fulica atra).

We moved on around to the northern end of the Laguna del Taraje where we saw a Hybrid between Eurasian and Red-knobbed Coots before heading to the new hide and adding just Serin (Verdecillo / Serinus serinus), Great Tit (Carbonera Común / Parus major) and Common Kestrel (Cernicalo Vulgar / Falco tinnunculus).

Red-knobbed Coot (Focha Moruna / Fulca cristata) x Eurasian Coot (Focha Común / Fulica atra).

Our last stop was at the hide at the southern end of Laguna del Taraje where we saw Greenfinch (Verderón Común / Carduelis chloris), Goldfinch (Jilguero / Carduelis carduelis), Common Waxbill (Estrilda Ondulada / Estrilda astrild), Robin (Petirrojo Europeo / Erithacus rubecula), Black Redstart (Colirrojo Tizón / Phoenicurus ochruros) and Eurasian Teal (Cerceta Común / Anas crecca).

Red-knobbed Coot (Focha Moruna / Fulca cristata).

Time was up so we made our way towards the exit where we meet Beatriz and Chika before I headed off and took the old road up towards Granada, after a few KMs I stopped on the roadside at a spot that Juan had told me about and searched the skies for Raptors and soon found a Peregrine Falcon (Halcón Peregrino / Falco peregrinus) sat on a pylon which was followed by a displaying Bonelli's Eagle (Aguila-azor Perdicera / Hieraaetus faciatus).

Common Snipe (Agachadiza Común / Gallinago gallinago).

I continued on and took to the tracks of El Temple finding 2x Long-eared Owls (Búho Chico / Asio otus), Red-legged Partridge (Perdiz Roja / Alectoris rufa), Woodpigeon (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus), Linnet (Pardillo Común / Carduelis cannabina), Hoopoe (Abubilla / Upupa epops) and my first Great Spotted Cuckoo (Crialo Europeo / Clamator gladarius) of the year and I think probably my earliest. 

Great Spotted Cuckoo (Crialo Europeo / Clamator gladarius).

I took the depresing drive over to Cacín again through all the Solar devistation seeing several Rabbits (Conejo / Oryctolagus cuniculus) and a Red Fox (Zorro / Vulpus vulpus) on the way to the village and then carried on up the valley to the Conta-embalse de Bermejalis where I saw many of the species already seen but added Green Sandpiper (Andarrios Grande / Tringa ochropus) x2, Common Stonechat (Tarabilla Común / Saxicola torquata) as well as 2 more Marsh Harriers.

Great Spotted Cuckoo (Crialo Europeo / Clamator gladarius).

Once I had finished my scan of the Lake I headed home and got the fire going and did a bit of tidying up before heading back out to survey the roost at Balsa de Regidor, on the way I drove past the Lucerne fields finding Iberian  Magpies (Rabilargo / Cyanopica cooki) and Little Bustard (Sisón Común / Tetrax tetrax) x10.

It's not much but this is the first time in nearly 2 years since none irrigation water ran along the Arroyo Vilano.

I parked by the Balsa and started to scan the lake and picked up 31 Western Cattle Egrets (Garcilla Bueyera / Bubulcus ibis) and a single Little Egret (Garceta Común / Egreeta garzetta), Glossy Ibis (Morito Común / Plegadis falcinellus) x1, Grey Heron x2, Song Thrush (Zorzal Común / Turdus philomelos), Jackdaw (Grajilla / Corvus monedula) x275 approx, Common Buzzard (Busardo Ratonero / Buteo buteo) and 19 more Common Pochards but no Great Cormarants coming into roost which was what I was there to look for.

Western Cattle Egret (Garcilla Bueyera / Bubulcus ibis), Glossy Ibis (Morito Común / Plegadis falcinellus) and Eurasian Coot (Focha Común / Fulica atra).