Malaga Airport, Malaga Province and Balsa de Regidor, Huétor Fields, Granada Province, Spain.

Picking up Deb and Ian and a bit of Birding on the way to the house.

Deb and Ian, Day One.

Ebird List for Balsa de Regidor.

Ebird List for the Terrace.

 

I got a few jobs done during the morning and then headed off down to Malaga Airport to meet up with Deb and Ian, my good friends who were jetting in from Australia.

After a nice smooth pickup we headed back up towards Huétor but overshoot slightly for a quick visit to Balsa de Regidor for the male Tufted Duck (Porrón Moñudo / Aythya fuligula) which is a bit of a local rarity.

We got there and couldn't find the bird but we did see Mallard (Anade Azulón / Anas platyrhynchos), Common Pochard (Porrón Europeo / Aythya ferina), Little Grebe (Zampullín Común / Tachybaptus ruficollis), Eurasian Coot (Focha Común / Fulica atra), Common Moorhen (Gallineta Común / Gallinulas chloropus), Common Woodpigeon (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus), Eurasian Collared Dove (Tórtola Turca / Streptopelia decaocto), Common Sandpiper (Andarrios Chico / Actitis hypoleucos), Black-winged Stilt (Ciguenuela Común / Himantopus himantopus), Eurasian Hoopoe (Abubilla Común / Upupa epops), Cetti's Warbler (Cetia Ruiseñor / Cettia cetti), European Goldfinch (Jilguero Europeo / Carduelis carduelis), Common Blue Damselfly (Enallagma cyathinerum) x2, Red-veined Darter (Sympetrum fonscolombii) x30+ and Small White (Pieris rapae) x1.

After making several sweeps of the pool we were about to leave when the Tufted appeared from somewhere under the trees and swam around with the Common Pochards, after a while we moved on and made for the fields near Huétor via Mesia.

We only stopped briefly at the fields where we added Black-winged Kite (Elanio Común / Elanus caeruleus), Spanish (Yellow) Wagtail (Lavandera Boyera / Motacilla flava iberiae), Crested Lark (Cogujada Común / Galerida cristata) and Corn Bunting (Escribano Triguero / Emberiza calandra) before heading to the house.

After getting settled in we went up on to the terrace, whilst up there we had some food and a few beers and also saw European Turtle Dove (Tórtola Europea / Streptopelia turtur), European Bee-eater (Abejaruco Europeo / Merops apiaster), Eurasian Blue Tit (Herrerillo Común / Cyanistes caeruleus), Barn Swallow (Golondrina Común / Hirundo rustica), Sardinian Warbler (Curruca Cabecinegra / Curruca melanocephala), Spotless Starling (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor), Common Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula), European Goldfinch, European Serin (Serin Verdecillo / Serinus serinus) and a possible new species got the garden a Great Spotted Cuckoo (Crialo Europeo / Clamator gladarius).

After many hours of travelling Deb and Ian were tiered so they turned in and I got on with a few bits on the laptop.