Laguna Dulce, Near Campillos, Laguna Dulce, Laguna Salada, Laguna de Capacete and Cerro del Búho in Malaga Province, Spain.

Out in Malaga Province with Paqui, Derek Etherton and Andy Paterson.

Ebird List for Laguna Dulce 1.

Ebird List for Laguna Dulce 2.

Ebird List for Salada.

Ebird List for Laguna Capacete.

Ebird List for Cerro del Búho.

Laguna Dulce.

Paqui and I headed out early to meet up with Derek and Andy at a spot near Campillos, we were there early so had a look from the hide at Laguna Dulce where we saw Common Shelduck (Tarro Blanco / Tadoma tadorna), Gadwall (Anade Friso / Mareca strepera), Mallard (Anade Azulón / Anas platyrhynchos), Marbled Duck (Cerceta pardilla / Marmaronetta angustirostris), Common Pochard (Porrón Europeo / Aythya ferina), Common Woodpigeon (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus), Eurasian Collared Dove (Tórtola Turca / Streptopelia decaocto), Common Moorhen (Gallineta Común / Gallinulas chloropus), Eurasian Coot (Focha Común / Fulica atra), Black-winged Stilt (Ciguenuela Común / Himantopus himantopus), Little Ringed Plover (Chorlitejo Chico / Thinornis dubius), Common Snipe (Agachadiza Común / Gallinago gallinago), Common (Andarrios Chico / Actitis hypoleucos) and Green Sandpiper (Andarrios Grande / Tringa ochropus),  

Paqui in the hide.

Greater Flamingo (Flamenco Común / Phoenicopterus roseus), Little (Zampullín Común / Tachybaptus ruficollis), Black-necked Grebe (Zampullín Cuellinegro / Podiceps nigricollis) and Great Crested Grebe (Somormujo Lavanco / Podiceps cristatus), Eurasian Coot (Focha Común / Fulica atra), Glossy Ibis (Morito Común / Plegadis falcinellus), a cracking Black-winged Kite (Elanio Común / Elanus caeruleus) which was hoovering on the far side of the Laguna, Common Reed Warbler (Carricero Común / Acrocephalus scrpaceus), Barn Swallow (Golondrina Común / Hirundo rustica), Willow Warbler (Mosquitero Musical / Phylloscopus trochillus), Cetti's Warbler (Cetia Ruiseñor / Cettia cetti), Spotless Starling (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor) and Spanish (Yellow) Wagtail (Lavandera Boyera / Motacilla flava iberiae).

Long-eared Owl (Búho Chico / Asio otus).

Long-eared Owl (Búho Chico / Asio otus).

We met Derek and Andy near Campillos where we had amazing views of 4 Long-eared Owls (Búho Chico / Asio otus), they were great to get good views of but what made it better was that the locals at the site were soon out and checking on us, once they realised we meant not harm to the birds they chatted with us about them.

Eurasian Hoopoe (Abubilla Común / Upupa epops).

Immature Montagu's Harrier (Aguilucho Cenizo / Circus pygargus).

Immature Montagu's Harrier (Aguilucho Cenizo / Circus pygargus).

Immature Montagu's Harrier (Aguilucho Cenizo / Circus pygargus) with a grasshopper and some grass.

Immature Montagu's Harrier (Aguilucho Cenizo / Circus pygargus).

The next stop was breakfast and then we took the back track around Laguna Dulce which was productive, we saw 64 species along the track and around at the hide in total, new species for the day were Red-legged Partridge (Perdiz Roja / Alectoris rufa), European Turtle Dove (Tórtola Europea / Streptopelia turtur), Little Stint (Correlimos Menudo / Calidris minuta), Whiskered Tern (Fumarel Cariblanca / Chilidonias hybridus), Purple Heron (Garza Imperial / Ardea purpurea), Western Cattle Egret (Garcilla Bueyera / Bubulcus ibis), Griffon Vulture (Bultre Leonado / Gyps fulvus), Short-toed Snake (Culebrera Europeo / Circaetus gallicus), Booted (Aguila Calzada / Aquila penntuas) and an immature Iberian Imperial Eagle (Aguila Imperial Ibérica / Aguila adalberti), Western Marsh (Aguilucho Lagunero Occidental / Circus aeruginosus) and a couple of immature Montagu's Harriers (Aguilucho Cenizo / Circus pygargus), Black Kite (Milano Negro / Milvus migrans), Common Buzzard (Busardo Ratonero / Buteo buteo), Eurasian Hoopoe (Abubilla Común / Upupa epops), Common Kestrel (Cernicalo Vulgar / Falco tinnunculus), Iberian Grey (Alcaudón Real / Lanius meridionalis) and Woodchat Shrike (Alcaudón Común / Lanius senator), Calandra (Calandria Común / Melanocorypha calandra), Crested (Cogujada Común / Galerida cristata) and Greater Short-toed Lark (Terrera Común / Calandrella brachydactyla), Zitting Cisticola (Cistícola Buitrón / Cisticola juncidis), Sand Martin (Avión Zapador / Riparia riparia), Western House Martin (Avión Común Occidental / Delichon urbicum), Common Redstart (Colirroja Real / Phoenicurus phoenicurus) x2, Whinchat (Tarabilla Norteña / Saxicola rubetra), Northern Wheatear (Collalba Gris / Oenanthe oenanthe), Tawny Pipit (Bisbita Camprstre / Anthus campestris), European Greenfinch (Verderón Común / Chloris chloris), European Goldfinch (Jilguero Europeo / Carduelis carduelis) and Corn Bunting (Escribano Triguero / Emberiza calandra).

Checking Laguna del Lóbon.

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

Scarlet Darter (Crocothemis erythraea) ♀.

Swallowtail (Papilio machaon).

Swallowtail (Papilio machaon).

Along the back track we did a short detour and checked Laguna del Lóbon where we found Scarlet Darter (Crocothemis erythraea), Swallowtail (Papilio machaon), Black-winged Stilt, Little Ringed Plover, Common Snipe, Wood (Andarrios Bastardo / Tringa glareola) and Green Sandpiper, Dunlin (Correlimos Común / Calidris alpina), Greater Flamingo and lots of Spanish Sparrows (Gorrión Moruno / Passer hispaniolensis).

Black-winged Kite (Elanio Común / Elanus caeruleus).

Black-winged Kite (Elanio Común / Elanus caeruleus).

We also had better views of the Black-winged Kite, Long Skimmer (Orthetrum trinacria), Red-veined Darter (Sympetrum fonscolombii), Bath White (Pontia daplidice), Clouded Yellow (Colias croceus), Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina) and Crimson Speckled (Utetheisa pulchella).

From the hide new species included Northern Shoveler (Cuchara Común / Spatula clypeata), Ferruginous (Porrón Pardo / Aythya nyroca) and White-headed Duck (Malvasia Cabeciblanca / Oxyura leucocephala), Common (Archibebe Común / Tringa totanus) and Spotted Redshank (Archibebe Oscuro / Tringa erythropus), Common Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula), Common Nightingale (Ruisenor Común / Luscinia megarhynchos), Blue / Common (Anax imperator) and Lesser Emperor (Anax parthenope), Black-tailed Skimmer (Orthetrum cancellatum), Violet Dropwing (Trithemis annulata) Oriental Hornet (Vespa orientalis) and Rabbit (Conejo / Oryctolagus cuniculus).

Our next stop was at Laguna Salada where we counted nearly 350 Greater Flamingo's but only added 3 Grey Herons (Garza Real / Ardea cinerea) as a new species for the day.

Around at Laguna Capacete we found Eurasian Teal (Cerceta Común / Anas crecca), Common Moorhen (Gallineta Común / Gallinulas chloropus) and White Stork (Ciguena Blanca / Ciconia ciconia) which were new for the day before heading around to the Vulture feeding station.

Cinereous  / Eurasian Black Vulture (Buitre Negro / Aegypius monachus).

Cinereous  / Eurasian Black Vulture (Buitre Negro / Aegypius monachus).

Cinereous  / Eurasian Black Vulture (Buitre Negro / Aegypius monachus).

We drove up as there were a small number of birds in the air which to our amazement included 3 Cinereous  / Eurasian Black Vultures (Buitre Negro / Aegypius monachus), a stunning adult Egyptian (Alimoche Común / Neophron percnopterus) and several of the more expected Griffon Vultures and a single immature Montagu's Harrier which was sitting in a stubble field on the way up.

Egyptian Vulture (Alimoche Común / Neophron percnopterus).

Griffon Vulture (Bultre Leonado / Gyps fulvus).

Griffon Vulture (Bultre Leonado / Gyps fulvus).

Griffon Vulture (Bultre Leonado / Gyps fulvus).

Griffon Vulture (Bultre Leonado / Gyps fulvus).

Immature Montagu's Harrier (Aguilucho Cenizo / Circus pygargus).

Back down at the bottom of the hill Paqui and I said our goodbyes to Derek and Andy after a cracking days birding and headed back to Paqui's for a later lunch.