View from one of the hides on the Guadalhorce ReserveHouse Martins were picking up mud from a nearby puddle and many Swallows zig-zagged across the sky above us as climbed the ramp onto the reserve. We sat on a bench to admire the view and the birdlife and one of our first birds was a Booted Eagle, it flew over and then began to circle, climbing on the thermals and disappeared from view, a very good bird to start with. From the bench we saw Little Egret, Coot and Moorhen were just a short distance away on the river whilst Cormorants basked in the sunshine. We spent some time watching the antics of the squabbling Monk Parakeets at their nest colony before walking down to the river mouth.
Near the beach we found Crested Lark, Little Egret (eating a huge fish), Common Sandpiper, lots of Black Redstarts, White Wagtail and a few Goldfinches. From our vantage point on the embankment we could see thousands of gulls out to see along with many Gannets that were diving for fish. We also found a flock of Common Scoter close to the shorline which was a pleasant surprise. On the rocks along the shore we saw a flock of roosting Sanderling and a single Turnstone.
We then walked back upriver and crossed over a bridge into the reserve proper, along the way we got grips with Sardinian Warbler, Serin and Zitting Cisticola. Good views of several butterflies was also had, Small and Large White, Swallowtail, Copper Brown, Clouded Yellow and a Green Striped White.
Green Striped White
From the hides we had good views over the lagoons where we found White headed Duck, Little and Black-necked Grebes, Pond Terrapins and not much else. We walked slowly back to the car having had a lovely afternoon in warm sunshine with some great sightings.
Zitting Cisticola seen along the fence-line on the way back to the car
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