Loja Wildlife, Granada Province, Spain.: Huétor Fields, Granada Province, Spain.

Friday, 16 January 2026

Huétor Fields, Granada Province, Spain.

Out on the Patch where I had a new bird species for the area, later bumped into a couple of Guys from Germany as well as a new Mammal species for the Year.

Ebird List for Genil East.

Ebird List for Huétor Fields.

As it was still raining, I started the morning by going down town and doing a couple of chores before spending a little while at a spot along the Rio Genil watching the River and some dead trees from the car to stay dry, as I stopped I looked straight down onto the sandy shingle margin for the far bank of the River and was surprised but pleased to get a couple of second view of a White-throated Dipper (Mirlo Acuático Europeo / Cinclus cinclus) before it flew off up river to the east.

As I sat there I also picked up Mallard (Anade Azulón / Anas platyrhynchos), Common Woodpigeon (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus), Eurasian Collared Dove (Tórtola Turca / Streptopelia decaocto), Great Cormorant (Cormorán Grande / Phalacrocroax carbo), Great Spotted Woodpecker (Pico Picapinos / Dendrocopos major), Iberian (Rabilargo Ibérico / Cyanopica cooki) and Eurasian Magpie (Urraca Común / Pica pica), Western Jackdaw (Grajilla occidental / Corvus monedula), Eurasian Blue (Herrerillo Común / Cyanistes caeruleus) and Great Tit (Carbonera Común / Parus major), Crested Lark (Cogujada Común / Galerida cristata), Common Chiffchaff (Mosquitero Común / Phylloscopus collybita), Cetti's Warbler (Cetia Ruiseñor / Cettia cetti), Long-tailed Tit (Mito Común / Aegithalos caudatus), Eurasian Blackcap (Curruca Capirotada / Curruca capirotada), Sardinian Warbler (Curruca Cabecinegra / Curruca melanocephala), Short-toed Treecreeper (Agateador Europeo / Certhia brachydactyla), Eurasian Wren (Chochin paleártico / Troglodytes troglodytes), Spotless Starling (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor), Common Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula), European Robin (Petirrojo Europeo / Erithacus rubecula), Black Redstart (Colirrojo Tizón / Phoenicurus ochruros), House (Gorrión Común / Passer domesticus) and Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Gorrión Molinero / Passer montanus), Grey (Lavandera Cascadena / Motacilla cinerea) and White Wagtail (Lavandera Blanca / Montacilla alba), Common Chaffinch (Pinzón Vulgar / Fringilla coelebs), Common Linnet (Pardillo Común / Linaria cannabina), European Goldfinch (Jilguero Europeo / Carduelis carduelis) and European Serin (Serin Verdecillo / Serinus serinus).

The Lucerne Fields.

Little Bustard (Sisón Común / Tetrax tetrax).

I moved up to the Lucerne Fields and did a short walk along the Arroyo where I added Little Bustard (Sisón Común / Tetrax tetrax) x6, Western Cattle Egret (Garcilla Bueyera / Bubulcus ibis), Black-winged Kite (Elanio Común / Elanus caeruleus), Little Owl (Mochuelo Europeo / Athene noctua), Common Kestrel (Cernicalo Vulgar / Falco tinnunculus), Eurasian Skylark (Alondra Común / Alauda arvensis), Dartford Warbler (Curruca Rabilarga / Curruca undata), Common Starling (Estornino Pinto / Sturnus vulgaris), Mistle Thrush (Zorzal Charlo / Turdus viscivorus), European Stonechat (Tarabilla Europea / Saxicola rubicola), 2 sizeable flocks of Common Waxbills (Estrilda Ondulada / Estrilda astrild), close to 50 Eurasian Tree Sparrows (Gorrión Molinero / Passer montanus), Meadow Pipit (Bisbita Pratense / Anthus pratensis) and Corn Bunting (Escribano Triguero / Emberiza calandra).

Eurasian Tree Sparrows (Gorrión Molinero / Passer montanus).

Common Waxbill (Estrilda Ondulada / Estrilda astrild).

Common Waxbills (Estrilda Ondulada / Estrilda astrild).

Western Cattle Egret (Garcilla Bueyera / Bubulcus ibis).

I decided to head around to the Mesia irrigation channels, when I arrived I found Franz Amberger and Norbert Geisperge from Germany who were looking for a couple of species I had just seen, so I took them over to the Lucerne fields where we soon found both Little Bustard and Black-winged Kite but shortly after getting their two targets I was very happy that I had returned to the spot when I spotted an Otter (Nutria / Lutra lutra) coming upstream along the Arroyo Vilano.

Otter (Nutria / Lutra lutra).

The Otter swam around and then came out onto the mud and then swam towards us for a while, but then it became aware of our presence and turned around and after spending a while by a small weir that had been created when the Arroyo was cleared it headed back off down stream.