Mollina area and Fuente de Piedra, Malaga Province, Spain.*

Out for a mornings birding with friends Barbara and Derek Etherton.

Ebird list for Mollina.

Ebird List for Fuente de Piedra.

 

I met Barbara and Derek in the bar next to the Shell Garage on the outskirts of Mollina where we had coffee before heading to a nearby site where we looked for but dipped on the hard to see Rufous-tailed Sceub Robin (Alzacola / Cercotrichas galactotes), we first of all parked on the roadside and checked the vines and wires seeing Eurasian Collared Dove (Tórtola Turca / Streptopelia decaocto), Feral Pigeon (Paloma Bravía / Columba livia), Barn (Golondrina Común / Hirundo rustica) and Red-rumped Swallow (Golondrina Dáurica / Hirundo daurica), Western House Martin (Avión Común Occidental / Delichon urbicum), House Sparrow (Gorrión Común / Passer domesticus), European Goldfinch (Jilguero Europeo / Carduelis carduelis), Common Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula), Crested Lark (Cogujada / Galerida cristata), Eurasian Hoopoe (Abubilla Común / Upupa epops) and Spotless Starling (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor).

We then spent some more time working our way around several of the tracks nearby but still had no luck with the Robin but added Booted Eagle (Aguila Calzada / Aquila pennatus), Eurasian Stone Curlew (Alcaraván Común / Burhinus oedicnemus), European Bee-eater (Abejaruco Común / Merops apiaster), European Greenfinch (Verderón Común / Chloris chloris), Melodious Warbler (Zarcero Común / Hippolais polyglotta), Woodchat Shrike (Alcaudón Común / Lanius senator), Common Linnet (Pardillo Común / Carduelis cannabina) and European Serin (Serin Verdecillo / Serinus serinus) before heading off toward Fuente de Piedra.

On the way I saw a pair of Northern Raven (Cuervo grande / Corvus corax) sat up on a pylon and then when we arrived at Fuente we found the roadside entrance pool was completely dry except for a tiny pool at the point where the ditch from the Laguneto del Pueblo where we found singles of both Green (Andarrios Grande / Tringa ochropus) and Common Sandpiper (Andarrios Chico / Actitis hypoleucos), along with a couple of immature Little Ringed Plovers (Chorlitejo Chico / Charadrius dubius).

We parked up at the closed visitors center and walked around to the Mirador where we saw a flock of Greater Flamingo's (Flamenco Común / Phoenicopterus roseus) on the only remaining small area of water along with Black-winged Stilts (Ciguenuela Común / Himantopus himantopus), Common Redshank (Archibebe Común / Tringa totanus) x4 and some unidentifiable Gulls.

We moved around to the Hide over looking the Laguneto del Pueblo where we spent a while scanning the area finding White-headed Ducks (Malvasia Cabeciblanca / Oxyura leucocephala), Mallard (Anade Azulón / Anas platyrhynchos), Northern Shoveler (Pato Cuchara / Anas clypeata), Gadwall (Anade Friso / Anas strepera), Red-crested Pochard (Pato Colorado / Netta rufina), Common Shelduck (Tarro Blanco / Tadoma tadorna), Little (Zampullín Común / Tachybaptus ruficollis) and Black-necked Grebe (Zampullín Cuellinegro / Podiceps nigricollis), Common Moorhen (Gallineta Común / Gallinulas chloropus), Eurasian Coot (Focha Común / Fulica atra), Common Woodpigeon (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus), Eurasian Turtle Dove (Tórtola Europea / Streptopelia turtur), Common Swift (Vencejo Común / Apus apus), Cetti's Warbler (Cetia Ruiseñor / Cettia cetti), Western Jackdaw (Grajilla occidental / Corvus monedula), Western Marsh Harrier (Aguilucho Lagunero Occidental / Circus aeruginosus), Sand Martin (Avión Zapador / Riparia riparia), White Wagtail (Lavandera Blanca / Montacilla alba), Red-veined Darter (Sympetrum fonscolombii) x8, Lesser Emperor (Anax parthenope) x1 and Rabbit (Conejo / Oryctolagus cuniculus).

Our next stop was at the hide over looking the smaller pool, here we added Common Reed Warbler (Carricero Común / Acrocephalus scrpaceus), Spanish (Yellow) Wagtail (Lavandera Boyera / Motacilla flava iberiae), Sardinian Warbler (Curruca Cabecinegra / Curruca melanocephala), Scarlet Darter (Crocothemis erythraea) x3, Blue / Common Emperor (Anax imperator) x1 and Small White (Pieris rapae) x2.

By now it was getting quite warm so we walked back to the car where we said goodbye and headed off on our way home, as I drove back I picked up Iberian  Magpie (Rabilargo / Cyanopica cooki), Common Magpie (Urraca / Pica pica), Little Owl (Mochuelo Europeo / Athene noctua) and Greater Short-toed Lark (Terrera Común / Calandrella brachydactyla).