The last day of Simon's short break was as good as the first with some lovely venues and great sightings. We maintained our good luck with a couple of super finds giving Simon some wonderful memories to cherish as he headed back to Littlehampton in the afternoon.
We set off at 7:30am on the road to Ronda stopping just once near the Encinas Borrrachas track in search of Rock Bunting which failed to show. We did see Black Wheatear, Rock Sparrow, Black-eared Wheatear, Red-legged Partridge and a small party of Red-billed Chough.
Our next venue was the Laguna Dulce at Campillos, we first drove around the fields at the back of the laguna in the faint hope of seeing a Little Bustard and a few other species. It was a Montagu's Harrier that we saw first as we approached the fields, a beautiful male flew over the road. Then a few Linnets, Corn Buntings and Crested larks showed up along the track.
The track then drew close to the laguna and we had good views of the water and reed beds, there must have been 2-3 thousands Common Coots spread out on the water and THE FIRST ONE I LOOKED AT WAS A RED-KNOBBED COOT!! Can you believe it? It was incredible really, the gods must have been with us (or this guide has an excellent eye?). We also noted Northern Lapwing, Black-necked Grebe, Black-winged Stilts, Great Crested Grebe, Gull-billed Tern, Greater Flamingo, WHITE HEADED DUCk, Common & Red-crested Pochard, Green Sandpiper (2) and a Great Reed Warbler.
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| the Red-knobbed Coot at Laguna Dulce this morning |
The track led us across a number of fields and ended beside a smaller laguna, we had closer views of several of the species mentioned above plus a Marsh Harrier that menaced the breeding birds. On the way back we found a small flock of Calandra Larks and 4 Lesser Kestrels. From the hide we sat and watched the White-headed Ducks at close range, there were 42 of them, a big increase in recent days. Then we found our bird of the day, FERRUGINOUS DUCK, there were two splendid males sitting out there with the Common Pochard.
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| One of the male Ferruginous Ducks seen from the hide at Laguna Dulce |
Our last stop was the small laguna just south of Campillos called Laguna Redonda. There we spent our last hour of bird watching, a good number of Greater Flamingos were very close to the hide and we also enjoyed Black-winged Stilts with their young, Little Ringed Plover, Gull Billed Terns and another couple of White headed Duck.
It was now 11:15am and we had to set off for Malaga, it took an hour to get there. Simon jumped out of the car and disappeared into the masses, safely on his way back home.
HERE IS AN E-MAIL RECEIVED TONIGHT FROM SIMON:
Hi Bob,
Just to say very many thanks for a wonderful stay at your lovely home in Gaucin You both were fantastic hosts and Dawn's meals were fantastic,the whole experience
was memorable.
The birding exceeded my wildest dreams to see over 40 new species and get superb
views was very special. The Griffin vultures on the hill side,the rock thrush ,
the ducks as you say to see the three rare species was more than could have been
expected.Also the chance to see some old favorites,as always Bee-eaters ,
little bittern and black winged stilt to name a few.
Each day was memorable for lots of reasons and they will all stay in my memory for
a long time.I will look forward to catching up with the blog when I get home and
will finish today's log with the locations.
These few days have really made me realize I need to spend more time on birds
so here's hoping our paths may cross again soon Once again many thanks to you both. Kind regards Simon
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