Near Cuevas Bajas, Fields north of Antequera, Laguna de Capacete, Laguna de Toro, Laguna Redonda and Laguna Dulce, Malaga Province, Spain.

Birding a new area with Garry from Almeria.

Ebird List for Observatorio de Aves, Cuevas Bajas.

Ebird List for Laguna de Capacete.

Ebird List for Laguna de Toro.

Ebird List for Laguna Dulce.

 

Eurasian Wryneck (Torcecuello / Jynx torquilla).

We started the day by heading over into Malaga Province to the Observatorio de Aves, near Cuevas Bajas which Barbara and Derek Etherton had pointed me to and I am so pleased that they did as its a wonderful spot.

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

We arrived and checked the trees by the pool and then did a walk around the pool and then across a field to a rather disused hide and then back again, In the trees around the pool we started the list off with Iberian  Magpie (Rabilargo Ibérico / Cyanopica cooki), Mallard (Anade Azulón / Anas platyrhynchos), Common Nightingale (Ruisenor Común / Luscinia megarhynchos) x3, Common Woodpigeon (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus), Eurasian Collared Dove (Tórtola Turca / Streptopelia decaocto), Eurasian Hoopoe (Abubilla Común / Upupa epops), Great Spotted Woodpecker (Pico Picapinos / Dendrocopos major), Eurasian Wryneck (Torcecuello / Jynx torquilla), Long-tailed (Mito Común / Aegithalos caudatus), Eurasian Blue (Herrerillo Común / Cyanistes caeruleus) and Great Tit (Carbonera Común / Parus major), Short-toed Treecreeper (Agateador Europeo / Certhia brachydactyla), Eurasian Blackcap (Curruca Capirotada / Curruca capirotada), European Goldfinch (Jilguero Europeo / Carduelis carduelis), European Greenfinch (Verderón Común / Chloris chloris), European Serin (Serin Verdecillo / Serinus serinus), Cetti's (Cetia Ruiseñor / Cettia cetti) and my first Common Reed Warbler (Carricero Común / Acrocephalus scrpaceus) of the year, Spotless Starling (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor),  Common Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula) and my first flock of European Bee-eater (Abejaruco Europeo / Merops apiaster) for the year.

Woodchat Shrike (Alcaudón Común / Lanius senator).

Dark Morph Booted Eagle (Aguila Calzada / Aquila penntuas).

Out on the field area we saw Woodchat Shrike (Alcaudón Común / Lanius senator), Crested Lark (Cogujada Común / Galerida cristata), Common Chaffinch (Pinzón Vulgar / Fringilla coelebs) and Common Linnet (Pardillo Común / Linaria cannabina).

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

Back around by the pool we continued to search for our target, Garry stayed by the river looking for a singing Eurasian Wren (Chochin paleártico / Troglodytes troglodytes) and I walked back to the car, 5 minutes later I heard a Drumming Lesser-spotted Woodpecker (Pico Menor / Dryobates minor) which Garry obviously heard at the same time as I heard him whistling me so I headed down to him and we searched the tree where the bird was but it flew out much lower down than we though and the landed in a sapling Poplar in the field before moving over to the big tree where I had been.

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

We moved around there but the male flew back to where it had come from but a female replaced it and gave us some nice views. 

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

In the same area we added Perez's Frog (Rana Común / Pelophylax perezi), Common Moorhen (Gallineta Común / Gallinulas chloropus), Western Swamp-hen (Calamón Común / Porphyrio porphyrio) heard, Common Buzzard (Busardo Ratonero / Buteo buteo), a dark Morph Booted Eagle (Aguila Calzada / Aquila penntuas), Western Marsh Harrier (Aguilucho Lagunero Occidental / Circus aeruginosus), Common Waxbill (Estrilda Ondulada / Estrilda astrild),  

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

We decided to head in to Cuevas Bajas and have some breakfast before we went back South to the fields to the North of Antequera via a garden center as I needed some new Geraniums, out on the fields we saw Common Kestrel (Cernicalo Vulgar / Falco tinnunculus), Green Sandpiper (Andarrios Grande / Tringa ochropus) x2, Corn Bunting (Escribano Triguero / Emberiza calandra), Woodchat Shrike and Zitting Cisticola (Cistícola Buitrón / Cisticola juncidis).

Corn Bunting (Escribano Triguero / Emberiza calandra).

Our next stop was at Laguna de Capacete where we were hoping but dipped on the Ring-necked Ducks (Porrón acollarado / Aythya collaris) I had seen a few days earlier, we did see Black-necked (Zampullín Cuellinegro / Podiceps nigricollis) and Great Crested Grebe (Somormujo Lavanco / Podiceps cristatus), Gadwall (Anade Friso / Mareca strepera), Common Pochard (Porrón Europeo / Aythya ferina), Northern Shoveler (Cuchara Común / Spatula clypeata), Common Shelduck (Tarro Blanco / Tadoma tadorna), Eurasian Coot (Focha Común / Fulica atra), Barn Swallow (Golondrina Común / Hirundo rustica), Lesser Emperor (Anax parthenope), False Mallow / Mallow Skipper (Carcharodus tripolina / alceae) x1, Clouded Yellow (Colias croceus) x2, Green-Striped (Euchloe belemia) x1 and Large White (Pieris brassicae) x1.

Great Crested Grebe (Somormujo Lavanco / Podiceps cristatus).

Large White (Pieris brassicae).

Green-Striped White (Euchloe belemia).

False Mallow / Mallow Skipper (Carcharodus tripolina / alceae).

We drove just a bit further along the road, through a small flood to Laguna de Toro seeing Black-winged Stilt (Ciguenuela Común / Himantopus himantopus), Pied Avocet (Avoceta Común / Recurvirostra avosetta), Spotted Redshank (Archibebe Oscuro / Tringa erythropus) x5 and a Common Snipe (Agachadiza Común / Gallinago gallinago).

Laguna de Toro.

Laguna de Toro.

Spotted Redshank (Archibebe Oscuro / Tringa erythropus).

We turned around and popped into a very quiet Laguna Redonda only adding Little Grebe (Zampullín Común / Tachybaptus ruficollis) before we moved on again.

Gadwall (Anade Friso / Mareca strepera).

Our final stop was at Laguna Dulce where there was still a good level of water and a few birds which included 4x Whiskered (Fumarel Cariblanca / Chilidonias hybridus) and Gull-billed Tern (Pagaza Piconegra / Gelochelidon nilotica), Greater Flamingo's (Flamenco Común / Phoenicopterus roseus), Red-crested (Pato Colorado / Netta rufina) and Common Pochard, Black-headed Gull (Gaviota Reidora / Chroicocephalus ridibundus), Common Chiffchaff (Mosquitero Común / Phylloscopus collybita), Large White and Lesser Emperor.

Whiskered Tern's (Fumarel Cariblanca / Chilidonias hybridus).

Greater Flamingo's (Flamenco Común / Phoenicopterus roseus).

We headed back to Huétor and had a coffee before Garry headed off back to Almeria and I went home.

Large White (Pieris brassicae).