Refugio de aves esteparias las Amoladeras, Punta Entinas near Roquetas de Mar, Torregarcía and Cabo de Gata, Almeria, Spain.

A Spanish Lifer on my second day down in Almeria.

 

Dawn.

I got up early and went for a look at the Esparto grass fields where in the passed there had been a small population of the rare Dupont's Lark (Alondra Ricotí / Chersophilus duponti) but as in Granada Province the very low numbers of remaining birds means it is unlike to come across one.

Collared Pratincole (Canastera Común / Glareola pratincola).

I still had a walk and did find Thekla Lark (Cogujada Montesina / Galerida theklae), European Bee-eater (Abejaruco Común / Merops apiaster), Common Kestrel (Cernicalo Vulgar / Falco tinnunculus) and Sardinian Warbler (Curruca Cabecinegra / Sylvia melanocephala).

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

I got a message from a local birder Garry Pearson to say that the Western Reef Heron (Garceta Dimorfa / Egretta gularis) I had been searching for yesterday had been seen but it was along a different track so I got back into the car and headed back to the Salinas's near to Roquetas de Mar.

Spanish (Yellow) Wagtail (Lavandera Boyera / Motacilla flava iberiae).

I drove onto the reserve and made a quick stop to look at the Collared Pratincoles (Canastera Común / Glareola pratincola) as they are just stunning birds and quickly checked through the waders and terns on the sallow track side pools finding Dunlin (Correlimos Común / Calidris alpina), Curlew Sandpiper (Correlimos Zarapitin / Calidris ferruginea), Black-winged Stilt (Ciguenela Común / Himantopus himantopus), Ringed (Chorlitejo Grande / Charadrius hiaticula) and Kentish Plover (Chorlitejo Patinegro / Charadrius alexandrinus), Little (Charrancito Común / Sterna albifrons), Black (Fumarel Común / Chlidonias niger) and Gull-billed Terns (Pagaza Piconegra / Gelochelidon nilotica), Yellow-legged Gull (Gaviota Patiamarilla / Larus Michahellis) and the same immature Greater Flamingo (Flamenco Común / Phoenicopterus roseus) which had been there yesterday.

Common Redshank (Archibebe Común / Tringa totanus).

Collared Pratincole (Canastera Común / Glareola pratincola).

Just a bit further along the track I parked and walked another one of the tracks seeing loads more Greater Flamingo's, Mallard (Anade Azulón / Anas platyrhynchos), Eurasian Coot (Focha Común / Fulica atra), the first Western Cattle Egret (Garcilla Bueyera / Bubulcus ibis) of the trip, Avocets (Avoceta Común / Recurvirostra avosetta), Red-crested Pochard (Pato Colorado / Netta rufina), Common Pochard (Porrón Común / Aythya ferina), Gadwall (Anade Friso / Anas strepera) and Great Crested Grebe (Somormujo Lavanco / Podiceps cristatus) on the pools.

Western Reef Heron (Garceta Dimorfa / Egretta gularis).

Western Reef Heron (Garceta Dimorfa / Egretta gularis).

Western Reef Heron (Garceta Dimorfa / Egretta gularis).

In the reed beds I could hear at least two reeling Savi's Warbler (Buscarla Unicolor / Locustella luscinoides), as well as Reed (Carricero Común / Acrocephalus scrpaceus) and Great Reed (Carricero Tordal / Acrocephalus arundinaceus) and more unexpected was a splendid male Penduline Tit (Pájaro Moscón / Remiz pendulinus) which sat up on a reed head for a few seconds before flying off over the lake.

Gull-billed Tern (Pagaza Piconegra / Gelochelidon nilotica).

Gull-billed Tern (Pagaza Piconegra / Gelochelidon nilotica).

I got to the pin location Garry had sent me and stood still for a while adding Western Swamp-hen (Calamon Común / Porphyrio porphyrio), Common Moorhen (Gallineta Común / Gallinulas chloropus), Whiskered Tern (Fumarel Cariblanca / Chilidonias hybridus), Black-headed Gull (Gaviota Riedora / Larus ridibundus) and then the target bird came flying in from my right, the Western Reef Heron did a flyby and then circled back and landed out of sight behind some small Tamarisk trees.

Little Stint (Correlimos Menudo / Calidris minuta) and Ringed Plover (Chorlitejo Grande / Charadrius hiaticula).

After a short while the Heron took off again and flew right passed me and then landed briefly before flying on again and out of sight.

Kentish Plover (Chorlitejo Patinegro / Charadrius alexandrinus).

I was very happy with the views I had had so I walked back towards the car and then went a short way further into the reserve and walked the track that I was on yesterday and found Audouin's Gull (Gaviota de Audouin / Larus audouinii), Eurasian Spoonbill (Espátula Común / Platalea leucorodia), Shelduck (Tarro Blanco / Tadoma tadorna), Slender-billed Gull (Gaviota Picofina / Larus genei), Spanish (Yellow) Wagtail (Lavandera Boyera / Motacilla flava iberiae), Purple (Garza Imperial / Ardea purpurea) and Squacco Heron (Garcilla Cangrejera / Ardeola ralloides) and both Pallid (Vencejo Pálido /Apus pallidus) and Common Swift (Vencejo Común / Apus apus).

Rambla Morales.

I returned to the car but just before I got there I had a couple of Ruff (Combatiente / Philomachus pugnax), Little Stint (Correlimos Menudo / Calidris minuta), Common Sandpiper (Andarrios Chico / Actitis hypoleucos), White Wagtail (Lavandera Blanca / Montacilla alba) and Barn Swallow (Golondrina Común / Hirundo rustica).

Common Tiger Blue (Tarucus theophrastus).

I got to the car and then headed back around to the Torregarcia area as I wanted a second go at the Common Tiger Blues (Tarucus theophrastus) and I was soon watching several of these smart Butterflies. 

Spanish Marbled White (Melanargia ines).

Spanish Marbled White (Melanargia ines).

Spanish Marbled White (Melanargia ines).

Before I moved on I also had Fagonia Cretica, Cynomorium (Cynomorium coccineum), Clouded Yellow (Colias croceus), Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui) and several Spiny-footed Lizards (Acanthodactylus erythrurus).

Lulworth Skipper (Thymelicus acteon).

Lulworth Skipper (Thymelicus acteon).

My next stop was on the beach at Rambler Morales where there were several roosting Little Terns, feeding Sanderling (Correlimos Tridáctilo / Calidris alba) and more Ringed and Kentish Plovers.

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The lake in the Rambler was generally quiet but I did add a Great Egret (Garceta Grande / Egretta alba) which was feeding in amongst 8 Grey Herons on the Left shore along with quite a few Black-winged Stilts. 

Other species seen before I moved on included Red-crested Pochard, Common Pochards, Gull-billed Tern, Slender-billed Gull, House Martin, Barn Swallow and Eurasian Coot and some plants that need names.

Yellow horned Poppy (Glaucium flavum) and Wavyleaf Sea Lavender (Limonium sinuatum).

Periploca laevigata.

I moved on passed the Salt Pans and down to the area around the Light House where I had a walk along the road heading East along the coast finding Spanish Marbled White (Melanargia ines), Southern Brown Argus (Aricia cramera), Lulworth Skipper (Thymelicus acteon), Yellow horned Poppy (Glaucium flavum), Wavyleaf Sea Lavender (Limonium sinuatum), Kidney Vetch (Anthyllis vulneraria), White Rockrose (Helianthemum apenninum), Sweet Alison (Lobularia maritima), Yellow Sea Aster (Asteriscus maritimus), Silene littorea, Salsola opositifolia, Lycium intricatum and Periploca laevigata.

Bird wise I only added Black Wheatear (Collalba Negra / Oenanthe leucura) to the day list before heading back to the hotel.

Punta Entinas Salinas's near Roquetas de Mar, Almeria Province.

Western Reef Heron (Garceta Dimorfa / Egretta gularis), a Spanish Lifer.

 

I had missed this stunning bird yesterday but with some extra help from local birder Garry Pearson I found the bird just a few 100 meters from where I was looking and managed to get some very nice flight views.

The bird flew in from my right and then swung round and landed behind some Tamarisk bushes but before long it was up again and flew past me again and then briefly landed in view before disappearing back the way it came.

Punta Entinas near Roquetas de Mar, Torregarcía and the Salinas del Cabo de Gata, Almeria, Spain.

Good days birding but at a price in blood, literally.

 

The Salinas's at Punta Entinas.

We were released from our municipal lock down on the Sunday at Midnight, Monday was a visit to the Solicitors in Granada, so Tuesday I took myself off over to Almeria Province just to be out and about with some wildlife to occupy me as today would have been our 30th Wedding Anniversary and for some reason I found this to be by far the hardest anniversary after Jayne's passing.

The Salinas's at Punta Entinas.

I left home at just after 05.00 and dropped down to the coast at Motril and then followed the coast to the site near to Roquetas de Mar, on the way I picked up a Nightingale (Ruisenor Común / Luscinia megarhynchos) which was singing in the garden and before I reach the parking spot Collared Dove (Tórtola Turca / Streptopelia decaocto), Spotless Starling (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor), House Sparrow (Gorrión Común / Passer domesticus), Barn Swallow (Golondrina Común / Hirundo rustica), Lesser (Cernicola Primilla / Falco naumanni) and Common Kestrel (Cernicalo Vulgar / Falco tinnunculus), Common Swift (Vencejo Común / Apus apus), Yellow-legged Gull (Gaviota Patiamarilla / Larus Michahellis), Western Cattle Egret (Garcilla Bueyera / Bubulcus ibis) and Thekla Lark (Cogujada Montesina / Galerida theklae).

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

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

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

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

I parked and before I walked out onto the area of abandoned Salinas's I plastered myself in Mosquito repellent after being warned by Garry Pearson that the Mosquito's were bad and hell he was not wrong.

Little Tern (Charrancito Común / Sterna albifrons).

Slender-billed Gull (Gaviota Picofina / Larus genei).

Gull-billed Tern (Pagaza Piconegra / Gelochelidon nilotica).

Gull-billed Tern (Pagaza Piconegra / Gelochelidon nilotica).

As soon as I started the walk out through the Tamarisk tree the insects were all around but thankfully the repellent was working well and I started to quickly to add new species to the day list including Greater Flamingo's (Flamenco Común / Phoenicopterus roseus), Little (Charrancito Común / Sterna albifrons) and Gull-billed Terns (Pagaza Piconegra / Gelochelidon nilotica), Eurasian Spoonbill (Espátula Común / Platalea leucorodia) and on a bit of mud just through the Tamarisks there were several Ringed (Chorlitejo Grande / Charadrius hiaticula) and Kentish Plover (Chorlitejo Patinegro / Charadrius alexandrinus), Little Stint (Correlimos Menudo / Calidris minuta) and the first of a great many Black-winged Stilts (Ciguenela Común / Himantopus himantopus).

Black-winged Stilts (Ciguenela Común / Himantopus himantopus).

Black-winged Stilts (Ciguenela Común / Himantopus himantopus).

Black-winged Stilt (Ciguenela Común / Himantopus himantopus).

Black-winged Stilt (Ciguenela Común / Himantopus himantopus).

Black-winged Stilt (Ciguenela Común / Himantopus himantopus).

Just a little further on I had some good views of a flock of feeding Whiskered Tern (Fumarel Cariblanca / Chilidonias hybridus), along with Black-headed (Gaviota Riedora / Larus ridibundus) and Slender-billed Gulls (Gaviota Picofina / Larus genei), Common Pochard (Porrón Común / Aythya ferina), Mallard (Anade Azulón / Anas platyrhynchos) and my first Curlew Sandpipers (Correlimos Zarapitin / Calidris ferruginea) of the year.

Common Pochard (Porrón Común / Aythya ferina) male and female.

Pallid Swift (Vencejo Pálido /Apus pallidus).

Whiskered Tern (Fumarel Cariblanca / Chilidonias hybridus).

Collared Pratincole (Canastera Común / Glareola pratincola).

Collared Pratincole (Canastera Común / Glareola pratincola).

I continued on checking the pool on the right and the scrub on the left, in the scrubby areas there were good numbers of Spanish (Yellow) Wagtails (Lavandera Boyera / Motacilla flava iberiae) and a flock of feeding Collared Pratincoles (Canastera Común / Glareola pratincola) hawking over the salt marsh scrub.

Squacco Heron (Garcilla Cangrejera / Ardeola ralloides).

Along the same stretch I watched Avocet (Avoceta Común / Recurvirostra avosetta), Black-tailed Godwit (Aguja Colinegra / Limosa limosa), Common Redshank (Archibebe Común / Tringa totanus), Red-crested Pochard (Pato Colorado / Netta rufina), Shelduck (Tarro Blanco / Tadoma tadorna), Gadwall (Anade Friso / Anas strepera) and Little Egret (Garceta Común / Egreeta garzetta).

Marbled Duck (Marmaronetta angustirostris).

Little Egret (Garceta Común / Egreeta garzetta).

Squacco Heron (Garcilla Cangrejera / Ardeola ralloides).

At the far end of the track I had a single Marbled Duck (Marmaronetta angustirostris) come up from the last pool on the left which was followed by Grey Heron (Garza Real / Ardea cinerea), Grey Plover (Chorlito Gris / Pluvialis squatarola), Audouin's Gull (Gaviota de Audouin / Larus audouinii) and on the last pool on the right Eurasian Coot (Focha Común / Fulica atra), Ruddy Turnstone (Vuelvepiedras Común / Arenaria interpres), Sanderling (Correlimos Tridáctilo / Calidris alba) and both Pallid (Vencejo Pálido /Apus pallidus) and Common Swift (Vencejo Común / Apus apus).

Collared Pratincole (Canastera Común / Glareola pratincola).

Collared Pratincole (Canastera Común / Glareola pratincola).

At the junction at the end of the track I turned around and walked back towards the car, on the way I again fort through the clouds of midges and mosquitos but added 2x Glossy Ibis (Morito Común / Plegadis falcinellus), Great Crested Grebe (Somormujo Lavanco / Podiceps cristatus), Great Cormorant (Cormorán Grande / Phalacrocroax carbo), Zitting Cisticola (Buitrón / Cisticola juncidis) and singing Reed Carricero Común / Acrocephalus scrpaceus) and Great Reed Warbler (Carricero Tordal / Acrocephalus arundinaceus).

Black (Fumarel Común / Chlidonias niger) and Little Tern (Charrancito Común / Sterna albifrons).

Once back at the car I had a drink before driving around to the lake near to the main entrance to the reserve where I found both Little (Zampullín Común / Tachybaptus ruficollis) and Black-necked Grebe (Zampullín Cullinegro / Podiceps nigricollis).

Collared Pratincole (Canastera Común / Glareola pratincola).

Collared Pratincole (Canastera Común / Glareola pratincola).

Gull-billed Tern (Pagaza Piconegra / Gelochelidon nilotica).

I then moved onto the reserve checking some of the smaller pools finding many of the waders and other species I have already seen but I had stunning views of several Collared Pratincoles, a nice immature Greater Flamingo was also showing well in amongst Little, Whiskered, Gull-billed and a single Black Tern (Fumarel Común / Chlidonias niger). Also feeding on the pools were some winter plumage Curlew Sandpiper, Ringed Plovers, lots of Dunlin and on one of the deeper pools feeding Slender-billed Gulls.

Slender-billed Gull (Gaviota Picofina / Larus genei).

Slender-billed Gull (Gaviota Picofina / Larus genei).

I walked the same path as I had been on earlier adding a Little Owl (Mochuelo Europeo / Athene noctua) right at the start but nothing else so returned to the car and decided to head for Cabo de Gata where I was hoping to photograph the Common Tiger Blue (Tarucus theophrastus) butterfly which I had seen years ago but did not get any photographs.

Common Tiger Blue (Tarucus theophrastus).

Common Tiger Blue (Tarucus theophrastus).

Common Tiger Blue (Tarucus theophrastus).

I drove there and parked in alomgst the scrub not far from Torregarcia and within moments of arriving I had found the first of several of the targets and a few minutes later I got the required shots.

At this point I decided i had had enough and went to the hotel, checked in and then went to the bar where I stayed.