Huétor Fields, Balsa de Regidor, Cacín Valley and Balsa de Regidor, Granada Province, Spain.

A cracking day out birding locally with Barbara and Derek Etherton.

Ebird List for Huétor Fields.

Ebird List for Balsa de Regidor.

Ebird List for Contraembalse de los Bermejales.

Ebird List for GR-4304, Cacín Pine Woods.

Greater Short-toed Larks (Terrera Común / Calandrella brachydactyla).

I started the day with a blood test in Loja Hospital and then met up with Barbara and Derek Etherton at Combustibles Gómez where we had some breakfast and then went out onto the fields nearby where we started the day list off with a group of Greater Short-toed Larks (Terrera Común / Calandrella brachydactyla) feeding with House Sparrows (Gorrión Común / Passer domesticus) and European Greenfinch (Verderón Común / Chloris chloris).

Spanish (Yellow) Wagtail (Lavandera Boyera / Motacilla flava iberiae).

We went out onto the road / track along the Lucerne fields where we heard Common Quail (Codorniz Común / Coturnix coturnix) and saw Common Woodpigeon (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus), Eurasian Collared Dove (Tórtola Turca / Streptopelia decaocto), Common Kestrel (Cernicalo Vulgar / Falco tinnunculus), Iberian  (Rabilargo Ibérico / Cyanopica cooki) and Eurasian Magpie (Urraca Común / Pica pica), Crested Lark (Cogujada Común / Galerida cristata), Zitting Cisticola (Cistícola Buitrón / Cisticola juncidis), Western House Martin (Avión Común Occidental / Delichon urbicum), Barn Swallow (Golondrina Común / Hirundo rustica), Sardinian Warbler (Curruca Cabecinegra / Curruca melanocephala), European Stonechat (Tarabilla Europea / Saxicola rubicola), Common Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula), Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Gorrión Molinero / Passer montanus), Spanish (Yellow) Wagtail (Lavandera Boyera / Motacilla flava iberiae), Common Linnet (Pardillo Común / Linaria cannabina), European Serin (Serin Verdecillo / Serinus serinus) and Corn Bunting (Escribano Triguero / Emberiza calandra).

 We left the Lucerne fields and went up to my house as I had been seeing European Turtle Doves (Tórtola Europea / Streptopelia turtur) up there regularly for a few days, on the way we also had a Little Owl (Mochuelo Europeo / Athene noctua) on a post and at the house 2 of the Doves we wanted.

 As we were driving towards Mesia we finished the sites list off with a group of at least 16 European Bee-eaters (Abejaruco Europeo / Merops apiaster).

Male Tufted Duck (Porrón Moñudo / Aythya fuligula) and a female Common Pochard (Porrón Europeo / Aythya ferina).

Male Tufted Duck (Porrón Moñudo / Aythya fuligula) and a female Common Pochard (Porrón Europeo / Aythya ferina).

Once we were through Mesia we headed towards the Motorway and took the service road down to Balsa de Regidor, we parked and straight away we found a nice male Tufted Duck (Porrón Moñudo / Aythya fuligula), a local rarity in amongst a good number of Common Pochard (Porrón Europeo / Aythya ferina).

Male Tufted Duck (Porrón Moñudo / Aythya fuligula).

Male Tufted Duck (Porrón Moñudo / Aythya fuligula).

Other species seen here included Mallard (Anade Azulón / Anas platyrhynchos), Common Swift (Vencejo Común / Apus apus), Common Moorhen (Gallineta Común / Gallinulas chloropus), Eurasian Coot (Focha Común / Fulica atra), Common Sandpiper (Andarrios Chico / Actitis hypoleucos), Little Grebe (Zampullín Común / Tachybaptus ruficollis), Common Kestrel, Sand (Avión Zapador / Riparia riparia) and Western House Martin (Avión Común Occidental / Delichon urbicum), Barn and Red-rumped Swallow (Golondrina Dáurica / Cecropis daurica), Sardinian and Cetti's Warbler (Cetia Ruiseñor / Cettia cetti), Common Nightingale (Ruisenor Común / Luscinia megarhynchos), European Goldfinch (Jilguero Europeo / Carduelis carduelis), European Serin (Serin Verdecillo / Serinus serinus) and Stripe-necked Terrapin (Mauremys leprosa).

Male Tufted Duck (Porrón Moñudo / Aythya fuligula) and a male and female Common Pochard (Porrón Europeo / Aythya ferina).

We dropped down the Cacín Valley as far as the Contraembalse de Bermejalis calling in at the two stops along the Moraleda Crags where we saw a single Spanish Ibex (Cabra montés / Capra pyrenaica hispanica) but nothing else so we moved on to the Contraembalse.

Yellow Bee Orchids (Ophrys lutea).

We turned the car and then parked and scanned the air, lake and margins finding Short-toed Snake Eagle (Culebrera Europeo / Circaetus gallicus), Booted Eagle (Aguila Calzada / Aquila penntuas), Western Marsh Harrier (Aguilucho Lagunero Occidental / Circus aeruginosus), Common Cuckoo (Cuco Común / Cuculus canorus), European Turtle Dove (Tórtola Europea / Streptopelia turtur), Common Swift (Vencejo Común / Apus apus), Eurasian Coot, Great Cormorant (Cormorán Grande / Phalacrocroax carbo), Grey Heron (Garza Real / Ardea cinerea), European Bee-eater (Abejaruco Europeo / Merops apiaster), Eurasian Hoopoe (Abubilla Común / Upupa epops), Eurasian Blue (Herrerillo Común / Cyanistes caeruleus) and Great Tit (Carbonera Común / Parus major), Melodious Warbler (Zarcero políglota / Hippolais polyglotta) year tick, Common Reed Warbler (Carricero Común / Acrocephalus scrpaceus), Sand Martin and Western House Martin, Western Bonelli's Warbler, Cetti's Warbler, European Stonechat (Tarabilla Europea / Saxicola rubicola), Common Chaffinch (Pinzón Vulgar / Fringilla coelebs), Yellow Bee (Ophrys lutea) and Mirror Orchid (Ophrys speculum), Crown Daisy (Chrysanthemum carinatum) and Rabbit (Conejo / Oryctolagus cuniculus).

Our next stop was just a short distance away on the track down to the Dam, we parked at the far end of the channel and checked the pines and poplars adding Western Bonelli's Warbler (Mosquitero Papialbo / Phylloscopus bonelli) and Willow Warbler (Mosquitero Musical / Phylloscopus trochillus), Long-tailed Tit (Mito Común / Aegithalos caudatus), Eurasian Blackcap (Curruca Capirotada / Curruca capirotada), Short-toed Treecreeper (Agateador Europeo / Certhia brachydactyla), Eurasian Wren (Chochin paleártico / Troglodytes troglodytes), European Robin (Petirrojo Europeo / Erithacus rubecula), Common Nightingale, Grey Wagtail (Lavandera Cascadena / Motacilla cinerea), Cirl Bunting (Escribano Soteño / Emberiza cirlus), Perez's Frog (Rana Común / Pelophylax perezi) and Yellow Bee Orchid.

Eurasian Eagle Owl (Búho Real / Bubo bubo).

Back up at the bridge over the Cacín we parked again and scanned the surrounding hillsides where we found a very nice roosting / sun bathing Eurasian Eagle Owl (Búho Real / Bubo bubo) on a ledge a few 100 meters away but looked amazing through the scope, initially Barbara and I watched the bird while Derek walked back to the car to get the scope and as we did this an immature Golden Eagle (Águila Real / Aquila chrysaetos) came into view and passed a little too close to the Owl which it didn't like so it flew up and saw the Eagle off which then flew off a little higher and it then got mobbed by a couple of Common Buzzards (Busardo Ratonero / Buteo buteo).

Immature Golden Eagle (Águila Real / Aquila chrysaetos).

Immature Golden Eagle (Águila Real / Aquila chrysaetos) being mobbed by a Common Buzzard (Busardo Ratonero / Buteo buteo).

Before we pushed on to our last stop we spent some time checking the trees by the bridge seeing Great Spotted Woodpecker (Pico Picapinos / Dendrocopos major), Iberian  Magpie (Rabilargo Ibérico / Cyanopica cooki), Eurasian Crag Martin (Avión Roquero / Ptyonoprogne rupestris) and Common Woodpigeon.

Our last stop of the day was a bit further up the valley where we stopped amongst the Pines finishing the day with Rock Sparrow (Gorrión Chillón / Petronia petronia), Mistle Thrush (Zorzal Charlo / Turdus viscivorus), Iberian  Magpie and Common Nightingale.