I collected Chris and Dierdre from the local train station and brought them back for breakfast. We then set off for a day identical to the one I took yesterday with John & Betty and despite Chris being a 'Spurs' fan we got on okay!
What a difference a day makes! The bird sightings were very different despite the weather being almost identical, we had beautiful sunshine all day with very little wind, just a nice cooling breeze.
At Crestellina we saw several Griffon Vultures, Stonechats and Goldfinches, at the top of the mountain we had a sighting of a superb male Spanish Ibex. Then we drove to the Laguna Camelias at Torreguadiaro where we spent a lovely hour or so walking around the pool. from the boardwalk we had good views of Little Egret, Little Bittern (2), Water Rail, Coot Moorhen, little Grebe (11), Kingfisher and both Spotless and Common Starlings together! Along the beach we found Northern Wheatear (4), Whinchat (1) and a single Chiffchaff. A small flock of Monk parakeets flew over and we had reasonable views of several gannets at sea.
We stopped at San Enrique to watch the Tree Sparrows and we were entertained by the Blackcaps and garden Warblers feeding on the figs. A couple of Common Kestrels, a Sparrowhawk and a low flying Osprey were the highlights. We walked to the river and found another Kingfisher, a Common Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper, Little Egret and a couple of Grey Herons. In the woods a jay flew across our path and both Cetti's warbler and Blackcap were in fine song!Before we left we scanned the sky for migrating raptors which were prevalent yesterday but non-existent today!
At Palmones we drove into town and parked at the rivermouth to view the sand bar, the tide was extremely high and not much sand was visible. We logged Sandwich Tern
(56), Common Tern (5), Oystercatcher (9), Bar-tailed godwit (7), Knot (1), Med gull (12), Black Headed Gull and a single Ringed Plover.
From the Municipal Park on the other side of the salt marsh we sat in lovely afternoon sunshine and enjoyed watching one of 3 Ospreys trying to catch a fish, (it gave up after 10 attempts)! We also saw Spoonbill (5), Grey Heron (44), Redshank, Greenshank, Whimbrel, Ringed Plover, Sanderling, Marsh harrier (2), Cormorant (13 and over 30 Cattle Egrets. There was no sign of the 99 White Storks present yesterday and still no raptors in the sky.
We visited the pine woods at San Roque but it was a waste of time as we only found Jay, Cirl Bunting and Chaffinches. Our last stop was at Crestellina, we spent 1/2 hour
looking for Bonelli's Eagles but failed miserably, but we did enjoy watching the vultures as they enjoyed sailing on the last thermals of the day.
At Crestellina we saw several Griffon Vultures, Stonechats and Goldfinches, at the top of the mountain we had a sighting of a superb male Spanish Ibex. Then we drove to the Laguna Camelias at Torreguadiaro where we spent a lovely hour or so walking around the pool. from the boardwalk we had good views of Little Egret, Little Bittern (2), Water Rail, Coot Moorhen, little Grebe (11), Kingfisher and both Spotless and Common Starlings together! Along the beach we found Northern Wheatear (4), Whinchat (1) and a single Chiffchaff. A small flock of Monk parakeets flew over and we had reasonable views of several gannets at sea.
We stopped at San Enrique to watch the Tree Sparrows and we were entertained by the Blackcaps and garden Warblers feeding on the figs. A couple of Common Kestrels, a Sparrowhawk and a low flying Osprey were the highlights. We walked to the river and found another Kingfisher, a Common Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper, Little Egret and a couple of Grey Herons. In the woods a jay flew across our path and both Cetti's warbler and Blackcap were in fine song!Before we left we scanned the sky for migrating raptors which were prevalent yesterday but non-existent today!
At Palmones we drove into town and parked at the rivermouth to view the sand bar, the tide was extremely high and not much sand was visible. We logged Sandwich Tern
(56), Common Tern (5), Oystercatcher (9), Bar-tailed godwit (7), Knot (1), Med gull (12), Black Headed Gull and a single Ringed Plover.
From the Municipal Park on the other side of the salt marsh we sat in lovely afternoon sunshine and enjoyed watching one of 3 Ospreys trying to catch a fish, (it gave up after 10 attempts)! We also saw Spoonbill (5), Grey Heron (44), Redshank, Greenshank, Whimbrel, Ringed Plover, Sanderling, Marsh harrier (2), Cormorant (13 and over 30 Cattle Egrets. There was no sign of the 99 White Storks present yesterday and still no raptors in the sky.
We visited the pine woods at San Roque but it was a waste of time as we only found Jay, Cirl Bunting and Chaffinches. Our last stop was at Crestellina, we spent 1/2 hour
looking for Bonelli's Eagles but failed miserably, but we did enjoy watching the vultures as they enjoyed sailing on the last thermals of the day.
No comments:
Post a Comment