North to Molinaseca in El Bierzo, Castile and León, Spain.

A dip on the way further North.

Ebird List for Lagunas de Villafáfila.

Ebird List for La Bañeza.

 

We didn't light the candle in the car.

We were up and out after a very good nights sleep and made our way to Lagunas de Villafáfila where I was hoping to see a Buff-breasted Sandpiper (Playerito Canela / Calidris subruficollis), on the way we found Red Kite (Milano Real / Milvus milvus), Common Buzzard (Busardo Ratonero / Buteo buteo), Eurasian Magpie (Urraca Común / Pica pica), Carrion Crow (Corneja Negra / Corvus corone), Northern Raven (Cuervo grande / Corvus corax), Western Jackdaw (Grajilla occidental / Corvus monedula), Western House Martin (Avión Común Occidental / Delichon urbicum), Crested Lark (Cogujada Común / Galerida cristata), Spotless Starling (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor) and a flyover Great Bustard (Avutarda Euroasiática / Otis tarda).

Walk along the side of the sewage Lagoon.

We parked at a man made sewage water pool to the north of Laguna Salina Grande, here we saw Mallard (Anade Azulón / Anas platyrhynchos), Water Rail (Rascón Europeo / Rallus aquaticus), Common Moorhen (Gallineta Común / Gallinulas chloropus), Eurasian Coot (Focha Común / Fulica atra), Booted Eagle (Aguila Calzada / Aquila penntuas), Common Buzzard, Zitting Cisticola (Cistícola Buitrón / Cisticola juncidis), Common Reed Warbler (Carricero Común / Acrocephalus scrpaceus), Cetti's Warbler (Cetia Ruiseñor / Cettia cetti), Common Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula), Whinchat (Tarabilla Norteña / Saxicola rubetra), European Stonechat (Tarabilla Europea / Saxicola rubicola), Northern Wheatear (Collalba Gris / Oenanthe oenanthe), Small White (Pieris rapae), Lang's Short-tailed Blue (Leptotes pirithous), Lesser (Anax parthenope) and Blue / Common Emperor (Anax imperator), Red-veined Darter (Sympetrum fonscolombii) and Scarlet Darter (Crocothemis erythraea).

At the far end of these pools I scanned the small pool which was all that was left of the main Laguna where I picked up Common Shelduck (Tarro Blanco / Tadoma tadorna), Common Ringed Plover (Chorlitejo Grande / Charadrius hiaticula), Green (Andarrios Grande / Tringa ochropus) and Wood Sandpiper (Andarrios Bastardo / Tringa glareola), Ruff (Combatiente / Calidris pugnax),Curlew Sandpiper (Correlimos Zarapitin / Calidris ferruginea), Dunlin (Correlimos Común / Calidris alpina), Little Stint (Correlimos Menudo / Calidris minuta), Little Egret (Garceta Común / Egretta garzetta), Grey Heron (Garza Real / Ardea cinerea), Spanish (Yellow) (Lavandera Boyera / Motacilla flava iberiae) and White Wagtail (Lavandera Blanca / Montacilla alba).

Rook (Graja / Corvus frugilegus).

Rook (Graja / Corvus frugilegus).

I scanned the pool for a while but I could not locate the target as the birds were always distant and mostly into the Sun, so we walked back to the car and headed off North again, our next stop was in the town of La Bañeza, where we soon found the first of many Rooks (Graja / Corvus frugilegus) which were sitting in some of the Poplar trees around the Hospital making quiet a lot of noise.

Rook (Graja / Corvus frugilegus).

Rook (Graja / Corvus frugilegus).

Other species here were Western Jackdaw (Grajilla occidental / Corvus monedula), Carrion Crow (Corneja Negra / Corvus corone), Eurasian Blue Tit (Herrerillo Común / Cyanistes caeruleus) and a ♀ European Pied Flycatcher (Papamoscas Cerrojillo / Ficedula hypoleuca).

We again continued on North but at Astorga we went across country through several pueblo's but made a short stop in El Acebo de San Miguel before making our way to Molinaseca, where we had something in the bar before checking into the Hostal el Palacio where we were staying for the next 5 nights.

Later we went for a walk around town and had a birthday tinto de verano in a riverside bar, as we walked we recorded Western House Martin, Grey (Lavandera Cascadena / Motacilla cinerea) and White Wagtail (Lavandera Blanca / Montacilla alba), Song Thrush (Zorzal Común / Turdus philomelos) and European Robin (Petirrojo Europeo / Erithacus rubecula).

I had received a message from the hotel a week or so before we arrived telling us that there was a fiesta in the town for 3 nights of our stay which could have proved to be a noisy problem but when we asked in the bar they told us it was back in August and I had miss read the message which I was pleased about, so we had a good nights sleep.