La Janda, Cadiz Province, Spain.

Down to Malaga and then off West.

Ebird List for La Janda / Main Canal.

Ebird List for Rio Celemin area.

Spanish Sparrow (Gorrión Moruno / Passer hispaniolensis).

I started the day by driving down to meet friend Derek before we headed off West for a few days birding, on my way through to the Motorway I checked the fields just before I reached the town and found 14 Little Bustards (Sisón Común / Tetrax tetrax) and 30 odd Eurasian Stone Curlew (Alcaraván Común / Burhinus oedicnemus).

Spanish Sparrow (Gorrión Moruno / Passer hispaniolensis).

Monarch (Danaus plexippus).

I reached Derek's and we swap my kit into his motor and we headed off down the coast around Algeciras to Tarifa and then up to Tahivilla where we stopped for a coffee and Tostarda, on this stretch of the trip we saw Common Buzzard (Busardo Ratonero / Buteo buteo), Spotless (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor) and Common Starling (Estornino Pinto / Sturnus vulgaris), Eurasian Collared Dove (Tórtola Turca / Streptopelia decaocto), Eurasian Jay (Arrendajo Euroasiático / Garrulus glandarius), Common Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula), House Sparrow (Gorrión Común / Passer domesticus), Monk Parakeet (Cotorra Argentina / Myiopsitta monachus), Black-headed (Gaviota Reidora / Chroicocephalus ridibundus), Lesser Black-backed (Gaviota Sombria / Larus fuscus) and Yellow-legged Gull (Gaviota Patiamarilla / Larus Michahellis), Common Kestrel (Cernicalo Vulgar / Falco tinnunculus), White Stork (Ciguena Blanca / Ciconia ciconia), Griffon Vulture (Bultre Leonado / Gyps fulvus), Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Gavilán Común / Accipiter nisus) x3, Western Cattle Egret (Garcilla Bueyera / Bubulcus ibis), Eurasian Crag Martin (Avión Roquero / Ptyonoprogne rupestris) and Great Cormorant (Cormorán Grande / Phalacrocroax carbo).

The flooded main Canal and fields.

We stopped at a bar in the village of Tahivilla but we think it has unfortunately changed hands and it was not as good or clean as we remembered it, after our coffee we went just up the road and entered La Janda area at the Southern end of the track, on the track down to the canal we saw Black Redstart (Colirrojo Tizón / Phoenicurus ochruros), European Stonechat (Tarabilla Europea / Saxicola rubicola), Zitting Cisticola (Cistícola Buitrón / Cisticola juncidis), Common Buzzard, Western Cattle Egret, Sardinian Warbler (Curruca Cabecinegra / Curruca melanocephala), a small flock of House Sparrows (Gorrión Común / Passer domesticus), Corn Bunting (Escribano Triguero / Emberiza calandra), lots of White Storks, Crested Lark (Cogujada Común / Galerida cristata), Meadow Pipit (Bisbita Pratense / Anthus pratensis) and the first of a few hundred Red-veined Darters (Sympetrum fonscolombii).

White Stork (Ciguena Blanca / Ciconia ciconia).

White Stork (Ciguena Blanca / Ciconia ciconia).

We turned left and spent quite a while birding the next section of the site which took us along the Canal Secundario, at the southern end it was fairly dry but further along the track towards and including the crossing point it was flooded.

Black Stork (Cigüena Negra / Ciconia nigra).

Black Stork (Cigüena Negra / Ciconia nigra).

As we drove along we added Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Gavilán Común / Accipiter nisus), Common Chiffchaff (Mosquitero Común / Phylloscopus collybita), 1500+ Spanish Sparrow (Gorrión Moruno / Passer hispaniolensis), Western Jackdaw (Grajilla occidental / Corvus monedula), White Wagtail (Lavandera Blanca / Montacilla alba), European Greenfinch (Verderón Común / Chloris chloris), Cetti's Warbler (Cetia Ruiseñor / Cettia cetti), Common Kestrel, Western Marsh Harrier (Aguilucho Lagunero Occidental / Circus aeruginosus), Eurasian Skylark (Alondra Común / Alauda arvensis), Grey Heron (Garza Real / Ardea cinerea) and Common Kingfisher (Martin Pescador Común / Alcedo atthis).

Common Crane (Grulla Común / Grus grus).

Grey Heron (Garza Real / Ardea cinerea).

Out on one of the wetter area there were huge numbers of birds feeding including around 300 Common Cranes (Grulla Común / Grus grus), Green Sandpiper (Andarrios Grande / Tringa ochropus), masses of Starlings, half of which were Common Starling (Estornino Pinto / Sturnus vulgaris), Black-headed (Gaviota Reidora / Chroicocephalus ridibundus), Lesser Black-backed (Gaviota Sombria / Larus fuscus) and Yellow-legged Gull (Gaviota Patiamarilla / Larus Michahellis), Mallard (Anade Azulón / Anas platyrhynchos), Common Moorhen (Gallineta Común / Gallinulas chloropus) and 2 Black Stork (Cigüena Negra / Ciconia nigra) which came flying up the channel and then across the fields behind us.

Spanish Sparrow (Gorrión Moruno / Passer hispaniolensis).

Spanish Sparrows (Gorrión Moruno / Passer hispaniolensis).

Spanish Sparrows (Gorrión Moruno / Passer hispaniolensis).

Spanish Sparrows (Gorrión Moruno / Passer hispaniolensis).

We continued on and parked again, this time we got our main target bird the Atlas Long-legged Buzzard (Busardo Moro / Buteo rufinus) as well as Northern Lapwing (Avefria Europea / Vanellus vanellus), Common Linnet (Pardillo Común / Linaria cannabina), Eurasian Crag Martin, European Serin (Serin Verdecillo / Serinus serinus), Bluethroat (Ruiseñor Pechiazul / Luscinia svecica), Little Egret (Garceta Común / Egretta garzetta), Northern Raven (Cuervo grande / Corvus corax), Great Cormorant (Cormorán Grande / Phalacrocroax carbo), an unexpected late Western Yellow Wagtail (Lavandera Boyera / Motacilla flava), European Robin (Petirrojo Europeo / Erithacus rubecula), Eurasian Blackcap (Curruca Capirotada / Curruca capirotada), Common Pheasant (Faisán Vulgar / Phaisanus colchicus), Vagrant Emperor (Anax ephippiger) x1, Migrant Hawker (Aeshna mixta) x15+, Monarch (Danaus plexippus) x1, Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta) x5, Perez's Frog (Rana Común / Pelophylax perezi) and Stripe-necked Terrapin (Mauremys leprosa).

Eurasian Spoonbills (Espátula Común / Platalea leucorodia).

Eurasian Spoonbills (Espátula Común / Platalea leucorodia).

White (Lavandera Blanca / Montacilla alba) and Western Yellow Wagtail (Lavandera Boyera / Motacilla flava).

We reached the crossing point where we had planned to take the track over to the Benalup side of the area but the bridge was flooded and as we couldn't see what was under the water Derek decided we would continue on along the main track and go to the other side of the area via Benalup and come in from the top end.

The flooded Bridge.

More of the flooded fields.

As we drove to the end of the track we didn't add anything new but on the drive around to the other entrance we saw Common Woodpigeon (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus) and Eurasian Blue Tit (Herrerillo Común / Cyanistes caeruleus) before taking to the tracks again and dropping down towards the Rio Celemin, on the way we saw the first of 2 Black-winged Kites (Elanio Común / Elanus caeruleus), Western Swamp-hen (Calamón Común / Porphyrio porphyrio) and lots of Western Cattle Egret.

Common Crane (Grulla Común / Grus grus).

Black-winged Kite (Elanio Común / Elanus caeruleus).

We parked near the bridge over the Canal Celemin and walked down to the Rio and back again, during the walk we saw and heard Water Rail (Rascón Europeo / Rallus aquaticus), Barn Swallow (Golondrina Común / Hirundo rustica), Corn Bunting (Escribano Triguero / Emberiza calandra), Red-legged Partridge (Perdiz Roja / Alectoris rufa), Rabbit (Conejo / Oryctolagus cuniculus), Iberian Brown Hare (Liebre ibérica / Lepus granatensis) and quite a few Signal Crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus) which were crossing the road.

Signal Crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus).

We decided that due to the wind getting stronger and the amount of flooding it wouldn't be worth waiting to see if any Owl species showed so we headed to Alcalá de los Gazules where we stayed at friend John's house and later went out to eat down in town, during the evening the plans for tomorrow were sorted and then they changed when the news of a Red-flanked Bluetail (Ruiseñor Coliazul / Tarsiger cyanurus) broke and it was just down the road from Ricky's place so we decided that we would head there instead of Brazo del Este.