Playa de Carchuna, Río Guadalfeo, El Temple

Day two out and about with Sonia and Ricky.

Ebird List for Playa de Carchuna.

Ebird List for Río Guadalfeo.

Ebird List for El Temple.

The thin strip of very vulnerable vegetation that a lot of wildlife depends on along Carchuna Beach.

Sonia, Ricky and I were out early and down the coast looking for the Trumpeter Finches (Camachuelo Trompetero / Bucanetes githagineus) I had seen a few days earlier with Lynn, Steve and Steve.

Audouin's Gull (Gaviota de Audouin / Larus audouinii).

We parked and walked along the sea front track scanning as we went, we started by heading East and then just passed the Tower we checked a short area of Playa Calahonda before turning back and walking west, at the eastern end we saw Audouin's (Gaviota de Audouin / Larus audouinii) and Yellow-legged Gull (Gaviota Patiamarilla / Larus Michahellis), Sandwich Tern (Charrán Patinegro / Sterna sandvicensis), Sanderling (Correlimos Tridáctilo / Calidris alba), Greenfinch (Verderón Común / Carduelis chloris), Yellow Sea Aster (Asteriscus maritimus), Yellow-horned Poppy (Glaucium flavum). Silene littorea, Sand Lotus (Lotus creticus) and Linaria pedunculata.

Sand Lotus (Lotus creticus).

Silene littorea.

Linaria pedunculata.

Yellow-horned Poppy (Glaucium flavum).

We turned back and started to walk back west and added Northern Gannet (Alcatraz Atlántico / Morus bassanus), Great Cormorant (Cormorán Grande / Phalacrocroax carbo), Crested Lark (Cogujada / Galerida cristata) and the first of several Kentish Plovers (Chorlitejo Patinegro / Charadrius alexandrinus) which are an extremely vulnerable breeding species at this site due to the number of people who ignore the signage and walk through the thin strip of vegetation between the road and the beach which these cracking little waders rely on.

Kentish Plover (Chorlitejo Patinegro / Charadrius alexandrinus).

Greenfinch (Verderón Común / Carduelis chloris).

Crimson Speckled (Utetheisa pulchella).

As we continued on we had more Greenfinches and then two of the Trumpeter Finches we had come for, they showed well until a jogger flushed them and we lost them as they flew off up the beach, we walked on and a while later when Ricky was ahead of us the two birds dropped onto the roadside wall and then dropped on to the vegetated strip and started to feed happily giving us good views until they were again flushed by a walker with a loud radio playing.

Trumpeter Finch (Camachuelo Trompetero / Bucanetes githagineus).

Trumpeter Finch (Camachuelo Trompetero / Bucanetes githagineus).

Trumpeter Finches (Camachuelo Trompetero / Bucanetes githagineus).

Trumpeter Finch (Camachuelo Trompetero / Bucanetes githagineus).

Trumpeter Finch (Camachuelo Trompetero / Bucanetes githagineus).

We also saw Goldfinch (Jilguero / Carduelis carduelis), Serin (Verdecillo / Serinus serinus), White Wagtail (Lavandera Blanca / Montacilla alba), Collared Dove (Tórtola Turca / Streptopelia decaocto), Common Kestrel (Cernicalo Vulgar / Falco tinnunculus), Barn Swallow (Golondrina Común / Hirundo rustica), House Martin (Avión Común / Delichon urbica), White Wagtail (Lavandera Blanca / Montacilla alba), Spotless Starling (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor), Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula), Ringed Plover (Chorlitejo Grande / Charadrius hiaticula), Crimson Speckled (Utetheisa pulchella), Clouded Yellow (Colias corceua) x5, Large (Pieris brassicae) x2, Small (Pieris rapae) x4 and Bath White (Pontia daplidice) x1.

Dipper (Mirlo Acuático / Cinclus cinclus).

We returned to the car and had some lunch sat at one of the shaded benches near the beach before heading back inland towards Granada, on the way up we took the old road and made a stop by the Río Guadalfeo where we had a successful look for the regular Dipper (Mirlo Acuático / Cinclus cinclus).

Orange-winged Dropwing (Trithemis kirbyi).

African Grass Blue (Zizeeia knysna).

We also saw or heard Mallard (Anade Azulón / Anas platyrhynchos), European Bee-eater (Abejaruco Común / Merops apiaster), Golden Oriole (Oropéndola / Oriolus oriolus), Turtle Dove (Tórtola Europea / Streptopelia turtur), Nightingale (Ruisenor Común / Luscinia megarhynchos), Pied Flycatcher (Papamoscas Cerrojillo / Ficedula hypoleuca), Grey Wagtail (Lavandera Cascadena / Motacilla cinerea), Orange-winged Dropwing (Trithemis kirbyi), African Grass Blue (Zizeeia knysna) x2 and Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria) x4.

Little Bustard (Sisón Común / Tetrax tetrax).

Little Bustard (Sisón Común / Tetrax tetrax).

Little Bustard (Sisón Común / Tetrax tetrax).

On the way back to the house we drove part of the way through the Eastern end of the El Temple area where we had some very nice views of a cracking male Little Bustard (Sisón Común / Tetrax tetrax), as well as Black-winged Kite (Elanio Común / Elanus caeruleus), Marsh Harrier (Aguilucho Lagunero Occidental / Circus aeruginosus), Booted Eagle (Aguililla Calzada / Hieraaetus pennatus), Great Spotted Cuckoo (Crialo Europeo / Clamator gladarius), Stone Curlew (Alcaraván Común / Burhinus oedicnemus), Iberian Grey Shrike (Alcaudón Real Meridional / Lanius meridionalis), Common Magpie (Urraca / Pica pica), Calandra Lark (Calandria / Melanocorypha calandra), Red-rumped Swallow (Golondrina Dáurica / Hirundo daurica), Northern Wheatear (Collalba Gris / Oenanthe oenanthe) and Corn Bunting (Triguero / Emberiza calandra) which were new for the day before heading back to the house and heading out for something to eat.