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Thursday, 30 January 2025

Desembocadura y playa del Río Vélez, Playa y paseo marítimo in Torre del Mar, Malaga Province, Cerro Gordo and Charca de Suarez, Granada Province, Spain.

Down on the Malaga and Granada Coast with Lynn and Steve.
Day Two.
Ebird List for Desembocadura y playa del Río Vélez.
Ebird List for Torre del Mar.
Ebird List for Charca de Suárez.
 
Looking up the Rio Velez from the Hide.
We had a nice leisurely start to the day after Lynn and Steve's long day of travelling yesterday but we started by making our way down to the coast heading for the Rio Velez, on the way we went through some thick fog and once passed Zafarraya we had to put up with some very strong winds.
Black-tailed Godwit (Aguja Colinegra / Limosa limosa).
White Wagtail (Lavandera Blanca / Montacilla alba).
Black-headed (Gaviota Reidora / Chroicocephalus ridibundus), Mediterranean (Gaviota Cabecinegra / Larus melanocephalus) and Lesser Black-backed Gull (Gaviota Sombria / Larus fuscus).
As we drove we didn't see a lot apart from big numbers of White Wagtails (Lavandera Blanca / Montacilla alba) but once we reached the end of the Rio Velez we added a good number of new species, from the hide we saw Mallard (Anade Azulón / Anas platyrhynchos), Eurasian Coot (Focha Común / Fulica atra), Black-winged Stilt (Ciguenuela Común / Himantopus himantopus), Black-tailed Godwit (Aguja Colinegra / Limosa limosa), Common Sandpiper (Andarrios Chico / Actitis hypoleucos), Little Ringed Plover (Chorlitejo Chico / Thinornis dubius), Sanderling (Correlimos Tridáctilo / Calidris alba), Great Cormorant (Cormorán Grande / Phalacrocroax carbo), Black-headed (Gaviota Reidora / Chroicocephalus ridibundus), Mediterranean (Gaviota Cabecinegra / Larus melanocephalus), Lesser Black-backed (Gaviota Sombria / Larus fuscus) and Yellow-legged Gull (Gaviota Patiamarilla / Larus Michahellis), Eurasian Collared Dove (Tórtola Turca / Streptopelia decaocto), Monk Parakeet (Cotorra Argentina / Myiopsitta monachus), Barn Swallow (Golondrina Común / Hirundo rustica), Cetti's Warbler (Cetia Ruiseñor / Cettia cetti), Crested Lark (Cogujada Común / Galerida cristata), White Wagtails and Spotless Starling (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor).
Looking up the Rio Velez from the Beach.
Skeletal Remains of a Palm Tree.
Once down on the beach we had
Northern Gannet (Alcatraz Atlántico / Morus bassanus) and a distant pale morph Booted Eagle (Aguila Calzada / Aquila penntuas) before we returned to the car.
Steve photographing the Sanderlings (Correlimos Tridáctilo / Calidris alba).
Sanderling (Correlimos Tridáctilo / Calidris alba).
Sanderling (Correlimos Tridáctilo / Calidris alba).
As we were driving out we saw a nice female
Black Redstart (Colirrojo Tizón / Phoenicurus ochruros), Common Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula) and Little Egret (Garceta Común / Egretta garzetta).
Immature Male Velvet Scoter (Negrón Especulado / Melanitta fusca).
Immature Male Velvet Scoter (Negrón Especulado / Melanitta fusca).
Immature Male Velvet Scoter (Negrón Especulado / Melanitta fusca).
Our next stop was ust up the coast at the Western end of Torre del Mar where after parking we walked to the beach in front of the Lighthouse where we had nice views of the immature Male
Velvet Scoter (Negrón Especulado / Melanitta fusca) which had been around for a few day and as we walked back towards the car we also picked up a female Vagrant Emperor (Anax ephippiger) which bravely sat getting thrashed around in one of the prom palm trees.
Vagrant Emperor (Anax ephippiger).
Vagrant Emperor (Anax ephippiger).

After this we called in at Caleta de Velez where we had some lunch and a quick look at the beach but only found a single Sanderling, a couple of Great Cormorant and plenty of both Lesser Black-backed and Yellow-legged Gulls but nothing else of interest.
We again moved on and came back down to the coast at Cerro Gordo but the wind was so strong we gave up almost straight away and returned to the car and made our way further along the coast with the intent of checking the areas around Charca but when we saw that the gate was open we decided to go into the reserve, on the way along the coast road Lynn had a group of 3 Spanish Ibex (Cabra montés / Capra pyrenaica hispanica) on the roadside crags.
Mallard (Anade Azulón / Anas platyrhynchos).
Red-knobbed Coot (Focha Moruna / Fulca cristata) x Eurasian Coot (Focha Común / Fulica atra).
Red-knobbed Coot (Focha Moruna / Fulca cristata) x Eurasian Coot (Focha Común / Fulica atra).
Once in the reserve we first of all headed to the hide over looking Laguna Alamo Blanco, on the way we saw the first of 4x Monarchs (Danaus plexippus) and a couple of Plain Tiger (Danaus chrysippus).
From the hide we had Mallard, Little Grebe (Zampullín Común / Tachybaptus ruficollis), Northern Shoveler (Cuchara Común / Spatula clypeata), Eurasian Coot and the hybrid between Red-knobbed Coot (Focha Moruna / Fulca cristata) x Eurasian Coot (Focha Común / Fulica atra).
Laguna del Taraje.
We then checked the hide overlooking the northern end of Laguna del Taraje adding Eurasian Teal (Cerceta Común / Anas crecca), Gadwall (Anade Friso / Mareca strepera), Northern Shoveler, Western Swamp-hen (Calamón Común / Porphyrio porphyrio), Common Moorhen (Gallineta Común / Gallinulas chloropus), Common Chiffchaff (Mosquitero Común / Phylloscopus collybita) and from the next screen a Grey Wagtail (Lavandera Cascadena / Motacilla cinerea).
Great Cormorant (Cormorán Grande / Phalacrocroax carbo).
Great Cormorant (Cormorán Grande / Phalacrocroax carbo).
On our way to the main hide we had
Eurasian Blackcap (Curruca Capirotada / Curruca capirotada), European Robin (Petirrojo Europeo / Erithacus rubecula), Great Tit (Carbonera Común / Parus major), Common Chaffinch (Pinzón Vulgar / Fringilla coelebs), European Goldfinch (Jilguero Europeo / Carduelis carduelis) and European Greenfinch (Verderón Común / Chloris chloris).
Ferruginous Duck (Porrón Pardo / Aythya nyroca) Female.
Ferruginous Duck (Porrón Pardo / Aythya nyroca) Female.
Ferruginous Duck (Porrón Pardo / Aythya nyroca) Male.
From the main hide over looking Laguna de las Aneas we found Common Pochard (Porrón Europeo / Aythya ferina), a female Northern Pintail (Ánade Rabudo / Anas acuta), Northern Shoveler, Red-knobbed Coot (Focha Moruna / Fulca cristata), Great Cormorant, Grey Heron (Garza Real / Ardea cinerea), Little Egret (Garceta Común / Egretta garzetta), Water Rail (Rascón Europeo / Rallus aquaticus), Common Kestrel (Cernicalo Vulgar / Falco tinnunculus),  European Stonechat (Tarabilla Europea / Saxicola rubicola), Eurasian Crag (Avión Roquero / Ptyonoprogne rupestris) and Yellow-eared Slider (Trachemys scripta scripta).
Great Cormorant (Cormorán Grande / Phalacrocroax carbo).
Great Cormorant (Cormorán Grande / Phalacrocroax carbo).
Great Cormorant (Cormorán Grande / Phalacrocroax carbo).
Our next stop was at the first of the two hide at Laguna del Trébol and we had nice views of 3x Ferruginous Duck (Porrón Pardo / Aythya nyroca) and at least 3x Western House Martin (Avión Común Occidental / Delichon urbicum).
Common Moorhen (Gallineta Común / Gallinulas chloropus).
The last stop on the reserve was at the other hide over looking the same laguna where we only picked up Common Kingfisher (Martin Pescador Común / Alcedo atthis) and House Sparrow (Gorrión Común / Passer domesticus) before we left the reserve seeing a couple of Speckled Woods (Pararge aegeria) to finish things off.
Yellow-eared Slider (Trachemys scripta scripta).
We returned to the car and headed back to the house and saw one of the two regular Little Owls (Mochuelo Europeo / Athene noctua) at the bottom of the road.

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