Watching a lively sea and then some Gulls and other bit later.
Ebird List for Faro de Cabo Ajo.
Ebird List for Puerto deportivo.
Ebird List for
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| The Sun just lifting over the next headland. |
I started the day up the coast at Cabo de Ajo where I had planned to do a few hour's sea watching, however the conditions were a tad lumpier than I had expected so spent most of my time there watching the sea and not seeing many birds.
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| Looking East. |
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| and again. |
On the drive there, I saw lots of
Black-headed Gulls (Gaviota Reidora / Chroicocephalus ridibundus),
Carrion Crow (Corneja Negra / Corvus corone), Common Buzzard (Busardo Ratonero / Buteo buteo), Spotless Starling (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor),
Meadow Pipits (Bisbita Pratense / Anthus pratensis) and
White Wagtails (Lavandera Blanca / Montacilla alba).
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| Looking west from Cabo de Ajo to the lighthouse. |
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| and the same again. |
From the cliffs I did see 1x
Northern Gannet (Alcatraz Atlántico / Morus bassanus), lots of Yellow-legged Gulls (Gaviota Patiamarilla / Larus Michahellis) and a very brave Ruddy Turnstone (Vuelvepiedras Común / Arenaria interpres) which I kept seeing on the rocks below me between the huge waves covering area.
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| Cueva de la Ojerada. |
In the surrounding bushes, I also was and heard
Sardinian Warbler (Curruca Cabecinegra / Curruca melanocephala),
Meadow Pipit,
White Wagtail and down on the rocks near Cueva de la Ojerada where there was also a nice blow hole in the rocks I found another
Linaria type species which still needs to be named.
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| Faro de Cabo Ajo in the sun when I first arrived. |
I popped just up the road to have a look at the brightly painted Faro de Cabo Ajo, as I walked out towards it through the grassy fields I picked up
Eurasian Skylark (Alondra Común / Alauda arvensis), Zitting Cisticola (Cistícola Buitrón / Cisticola juncidis), European Stonechat (Tarabilla Europea / Saxicola rubicola),
Meadow Pipit,
White Wagtail,
Spotless Starling,
European Goldfinch (Jilguero Europeo / Carduelis carduelis),
Common Linnet (Pardillo Común / Linaria cannabina), European Greenfinch (Verderón Común / Chloris chloris) and on some wooden poles around the area more
Common Buzzard.
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| Faro de Cabo Ajo through the sea spray. |
Down by the Lighthouse I took a few photos and then sat on a bench and scanned the waves which were still big and added a couple more Northern Gannet, Great Cormorant (Cormorán Grande / Phalacrocroax carbo), European Shag (Cormorán Moñudo / Phalacrocorax aristotelis), Yellow-legged and Lesser Black-backed Gull (Gaviota Sombria / Larus fuscus), Black Redstart (Colirrojo Tizón / Phoenicurus ochruros) and Common Chaffinch (Pinzón Vulgar / Fringilla coelebs).
After getting back to the car, I decided to head around to the Port at Laredao again after seeing that the two German guys had reported a 1st winter European Herring Gull (Gaviota Argéntea Europea / Larus argentatus) yesterday after I had left, I went straight down into the port today as I could see there were no gulls up on the seawall.
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| Kelp / Cape Gull (Gaviota cocinera / Larus dominicanus vetula). |
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| Kelp / Cape Gull (Gaviota cocinera / Larus dominicanus vetula). |
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| Kelp / Cape Gull (Gaviota cocinera / Larus dominicanus vetula). |
The
Kelp / Cape Gull (Gaviota cocinera / Larus dominicanus vetula) was up on its usual roof but came down to mop up scrapes left behind as the fisherman left one by one, I also saw the usual
Yellow-legged of the northern race lusitanius, a single
Great Black-backed Gull (Gavión Atlántico / Larus marinus) but had no luck with the
European Herring.
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| Kelp / Cape Gull (Gaviota cocinera / Larus dominicanus vetula). |
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| Kelp / Cape Gull (Gaviota cocinera / Larus dominicanus vetula). |
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| Kelp / Cape Gull (Gaviota cocinera / Larus dominicanus vetula). |
Other species were
Ruddy Turnstone,
Sandwich Tern (Charrán Patinegro / Thalasseus sandvicensis),
Great Cormorant,
European Robin,
Black Redstart, House Sparrow (Gorrión Común / Passer domesticus) and
White Wagtail.
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| Looking across the estuary from El Puntal, better in the sun. |
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| Dark-bellied Brent Geese (Barnacla Carinegra / Branta bernicla). |
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| Dark-bellied Brent Geese (Barnacla Carinegra / Branta bernicla). |
I arrived and scanned the area, the direction of the sun made things difficult, however I did manage to add Eurasian Wigeon
(Sibón Europeo / Mareca penelope),
Eurasian Teal (Cerceta Común / Anas crecca),
Eurasian Curlew (Zarapito Real /
Numenius arquata), a decent sized flock of Black-tailed Godwit (Aguja Colinegra / Limosa limosa) which did the decent thing and all took off and showed their nice white wing-bars, Common Greenshank (Archibebe Claro / Tringa nebularia),
Common Redshank (Archibebe Común / Tringa totanus),
Little Grebe (Zampullín Común /
Tachybaptus ruficollis), Eurasian Spoonbill (Espátula Común / Platalea leucorodia),
Little (Garceta Común / Egretta garzetta) and Western Cattle Egret (Garcilla Bueyera / Bubulcus ibis),
Grey Heron (Garza Real / Ardea cinerea), Red Kite (Milano Real / Milvus milvus),
Eurasian Blue Tit (Herrerillo Común / Cyanistes caeruleus) and Common Chiffchaff (Mosquitero Común / Phylloscopus collybita). |
| Whimbrel (Zarapito Trinador / Numenius phaeopus). |
On my way to Santoña I popped into the Observatorio de La Arenilla hoping for the Common Eider (Eider Común / Somateria mollissima) but couldn't find it, I did pick up Eurasian Oystercatcher (Ostrero Euroasiático / Haematopus ostralegus), Whimbrel (Zarapito Trinador / Numenius phaeopus),
Great Crested Grebe (Somormujo Lavanco / Podiceps cristatus) and around at m
y last stop of the day, in Santoña near the Bullring.
