Embalse de Cubillas and Huétor Fields, Granada Province, Spain.

A mornings birding with Juan, a new species for my Granada List and a Year tick.

Ebird List for the Embalse.

Ebird List for the Fields.

Cubillas in the Gloomy cloud.

I met Juan Pérez Contreras just before 08:00, we parked and started a few hours of successful birding which began almost instantly when we found a couple of very smart looking Brambling (Pinzón Real / Fringilla montifringilla) sat up in a Walnut tree with several Common Chaffinches (Pinzón Vulgar / Fringilla coelebs) and Spotless Starling (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor).

Brambling (Pinzón Real / Fringilla montifringilla).

In the same area we added Common Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula), European Robin (Petirrojo Europeo / Erithacus rubecula), Eurasian (Urraca Común / Pica pica) and Iberian  Magpie (Rabilargo Ibérico / Cyanopica cooki), Eurasian Collared Dove (Tórtola Turca / Streptopelia decaocto), Eurasian Blackcap (Curruca Capirotada / Curruca capirotada), Sardinian Warbler (Curruca Cabecinegra / Curruca melanocephala), Great (Carbonera Común / Parus major) and Eurasian Blue Tit (Herrerillo Común / Cyanistes caeruleus), Great Spotted Woodpecker (Pico Picapinos / Dendrocopos major) and Common Chiffchaff (Mosquitero Común / Phylloscopus collybita).

Brambling (Pinzón Real / Fringilla montifringilla).

At this point Javier Gómez González arrived and we went for a walk to another area where we found a small number of Hawfinch (Picogordo Común / Coccotraustes coccotrauetes), Western Jackdaw (Grajilla occidental / Corvus monedula), Short-toed Treecreeper (Agateador Europeo / Certhia brachydactyla), Long-tailed Tit (Mito Común / Aegithalos caudatus), Mistle (Zorzal Charlo / Turdus viscivorus) and Song Thrush (Zorzal Común / Turdus philomelos), House Sparrow (Gorrión Común / Passer domesticus), European Greenfinch (Verderón Común / Chloris chloris) and European Goldfinch (Jilguero Europeo / Carduelis carduelis).

Lesser-spotted Woodpecker (Pico Menor / Dryobates minor) Male.

We walked back towards the cars and just as we reached them we heard a call from the target species and within a minute or two we were watching a cracking male Lesser-spotted Woodpecker (Pico Menor / Dryobates minor) which was a new Granada Province species for Juan and myself but Javier had seen it a few times and was also found the first record, a female earlier in the year.

Unfortunately the bird was flushed by some cyclists and walkers that came through the area, so we went for a walk a bit further along the road into some pine trees and added Common Waxbill (Estrilda Ondulada / Estrilda astrild), Common Crossbill (Piquituerto Común / Loxia curvirostra), Common Firecrest (Reyezuelo Listado / Regulus ignicapilla) and European Serin (Serin Verdecillo / Serinus serinus).

Lesser-spotted Woodpecker (Pico Menor / Dryobates minor) Male.

We said bye to Javier and then went to another spot where we scanned the main Embalse seeing White Wagtail (Lavandera Blanca / Montacilla alba), Eurasian Teal (Cerceta Común / Anas crecca), Northern Shoveler (Cuchara Común / Spatula clypeata), Common Pochard (Porrón Europeo / Aythya ferina), Mallard (Anade Azulón / Anas platyrhynchos), Muscovy Duck (Pato criollo / Cairina moschata), Egyptian Geese (Ganso del Nilo / Alopochen aegyptiaca), Eurasian Coot (Focha Común / Fulica atra), Common Moorhen (Gallineta Común / Gallinulas chloropus), Little Egret (Garceta Común / Egretta garzetta), Grey Heron (Garza Real / Ardea cinerea), Great Cormorant (Cormorán Grande / Phalacrocroax carbo), Great Crested Grebe (Somormujo Lavanco / Podiceps cristatus) and a single Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta).

European Stonechat (Tarabilla Europea / Saxicola rubicola).

Just a little further along the margins we set up again and picked up Common Sandpiper (Andarrios Chico / Actitis hypoleucos), Meadow Pipit (Bisbita Pratense / Anthus pratensis), European Stonechat (Tarabilla Europea / Saxicola rubicola) and during a short walk to another area of Damp woodland we saw Eurasian Wren (Chochin paleártico / Troglodytes troglodytes), Eurasian Hoopoe (Abubilla Común / Upupa epops), Eurasian Crag Martin (Avión Roquero / Ptyonoprogne rupestris) and Crested Lark (Cogujada Común / Galerida cristata).

European Stonechat (Tarabilla Europea / Saxicola rubicola).

Juan stayed on at the Embalse for a while and I started to head home, on the way I saw Common Kestrel (Cernicalo Vulgar / Falco tinnunculus), Common Buzzard (Busardo Ratonero / Buteo buteo) and Peregrine Falcon (Halcón Peregrino / Falco peregrinus) sat on different Pylons during the drive and then out on the fields I picked up Northern Lapwing (Avefria Europea / Vanellus vanellus) and a good sized flock of Eurasian Skylarks (Alondra Común / Alauda arvensis), Clouded Yellow (Colias croceus) x2, Red Admiral x2, Small (Pieris rapae) x4 and Large White (Pieris brassicae) x1 but nothing else new.