WHAT A FANTASTIC DAY! WE RECORDED 92 SPECIES AND HOW ABOUT THIS FOR A LIST OF GOODIES FOR OUR DAY OUT:-
GREAT BUSTARD!
RED-NECKED PHALAROPE
SPANISH IMPERIAL EAGLE
RED-KNOBBED COOT
MARBLED DUCK
ALSO
BLACK WINGED KITE
BLACK TERN
BLACK STORK
GREAT EGRET
This was my fourth and last day with Ian and Sue and we decided to go for a big list. We set off in the dark at 7:30am and arrived at Laguna Medina at 8:25am. Along the autovia from the coast we drove through the huge alcornocales national park where we saw hundreds of Honey Buzzards rising from the trees in preparation for their journey down to Africa. We also saw Short-toed Eagles perched on pylons, Black Kites and Booted Eagles also in good numbers. Over the open fields we added Montagu's Harrier, Marsh Harrier, Spotless Starling and Common Buzzard.
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| IAN AND SUE PICTURED AT THE OUTFLOW IN THE BONANZA SALT PANS |
At Laguna Medina we watched a Juvenile Black-winged Kite hunting over the fields, it perched nicely for us and a little later a second bird appeared. A small flock of Red-legged Partridges were found in the sunflower fields. It was whilst we were scanning these fields that Ian asked "what is that huge bird flying over there?" A GREAT BUSTARD I shouted, wow a great find and the first I've seen in this area.
The water was quite barren, not many birds on it at all, this has been a growing trend this year, rumour has it that carp have invaded the water and are hoovering up all the food!
We did find: Great Crested Grebe, Little Grebe, Mallard, Gadwall, Shoveler, Little Egret, Grey Heron, Common Coot, Yellow Legged Gull, Osprey and a couple of Purple Swamphens, one was seen very close, directly beneath the hide!
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| RECORD SHOT OF 3 OF THE MARBLED DUCKS AT LAGUNA TARELO |
The scrub was very quiet, I expected a lot of warbler activity but very few birds were around. We did see large flocks of Greenfinches, House Sparrows and a few Zitting Cisticolas. We finally had sightings of Cetti's Warbler and we heard the contact call of Common Nightingale. Barn Swallows, House Martins and few Stonechats completed the list for the laguna visit.
We made the short trip across to the Salinas at Santa Maria where we searched for and found Stone Curlew, this is a regular wintering ground for this species with up to 200 birds arriving for the winter months, today we counted 28. Over 500 White Storks were loafing in the fields, flocks of Jackdaws flew about and many Black Kites drifted over the local rubbish tip with hundreds of Yellow-legged Gulls.
Next we made a brief stop at a small laguna near Santa Maria, unfortunately the water had gone, it was a pity because both Red-knobbed Coot and White headed Duck had bred there this year.
At Sanlucar we started our wader list, we parked just outside the town along the bank of the river Guadalquiver and quickly found Kentish Plover, Ringed Plover, Redshank, Whimbrel, Dunlin and Bar-tailed Godwit. A few Mediterranean Gulls sat with the Black-headed variety on the shore.
Bonanza salt pans were excellent as usual, what a fantastic place!! Some of the pans we barren but others were brimming with birds and to top it off we found 3 RED NECKED PHALAROPES in one of them. This was really extraordinary as I had found 3 RED NECK PHALAROPES in the same piece of water earlier this year, the birds were now in their colourless winter plumage but in the spring they were truly beautiful.
Masses of Slender-billed Gulls, Greater Flamingos, Black-winged Stilts, Pied Avocets, Redshanks, Sanderling, Dunlin and fewer numbers of Curlew Sandpipers, Little Stints, Greenshanks and a couple of Turnstone put in an appearance.
The sky always held raptors, Usually Black kites but also 2 Ospreys, Booted Eagle a single Griffon Vulture drifted over very high up.
Deeper into the pans we came to my favourite stretch of water, this 'balancing' lake is fed but a huge piped- inlet where many birds come to feed, there are always flocks of gulls and in the right time of year many terns too. Today there were about 50 Little Terns, one or two Whiskered Terns and a single Black Tern (in winter plumage). Further out in the shallow water was a flock of 350 Black-tailed Godwits, Spotted Redshank (almost swimming to feed), over 100 Little Egrets were joined by a single Great White Egret, also about 50 Redshanks were feeding in the shallows.
In deeper water many White Storks stood motionless perhaps hoping for food to jump into their mouths! A beautiful Black Stork was with them and also many Grey Herons and a few Cattle Egrets sat on the shore. On our way back out of the pans we stopped to view the river where a small flock of Whimbrel flew off and a couple of Greenshank showed well, we also found our only Ruff of the day as we scanned a channel for sandpipers 3 Ruff appeared, they mingled with another huge flock of Little Egrets, there were over 100 in the vicinity, incredible numbers.
We drove round to Laguna Tarelo and at first it looked deserted, the water colour was a very muddy light brown and it didn't smell very nice either. However after scanning for a while we found some interesting birds included 6 MARBLED DUCK, super duper! The reeds and bushes held Night Herons, :Little and Cattle Egrets and also a few Squacco Herons. On the main island we saw both Green and Common Sandpiper and further to our left at the far end a flock of ducks sat quietly. In the duck flock we sifted out Mallard, Shoveler and 5 eclipsed Red-crested Pochard, 2 Common Pochard and several Common Coot. Moorhen was also added to the day list and a Raven perched in a dead tree.
Our drive through the pine woods of Algaida was brief because we couldn't stop, the masses of flies were a complete no no. We did find Spotted Flycatcher and a Great Tit but nothing else. Above the woods many Booted Eagles and Black Kites drifted in and out of sight.
Finally we arrived at the huge expanse of the Marismas de Trebujena, these extensive very flat marshes were completely dry (as usual for September), so we concentrated our efforts on the large bodies of water that lie adjacent to the Rio Guadalquiver. We found two more excellent birds whilst we were there! First I found a RED KNOBBED COOT, not too far from the shore, its knobs were a little deflated but you could still see them, i tried to point out the blue tip of the bill to Sue but she couldn't see it.
Ian then pulled off his second great sighting of the day, he found a very high flying eagle as it drifted over the river from Coto Donana, it was a juvenile, SPANISH IMPERIAL EAGLE, we watched it for five minutes before it was lost to sight. Just after the eagle left a Griffon Vulture drifted over, it was great to compare the sizes and shapes of the two birds. We found our only Curlew of the trip and another large flock of Black-tailed Godwits, a few Bar-tails were also present. This laguna was full of birds of many species, Glossy Ibis, White Stork, Greater Flamingo, Eurasian Spoonbills, Little Egrets, Grey Herons, Black-winged Stilts, Pied Avocets and many of the waders mentioned earlier.
As we continued our drive along the river bank we found a Red Kite which alighted from a fence post, another Osprey appeared and a second Griffon Vulture. A small flock of Yellow Wagtails flew off a reedy bank and a large flock of Shoveler dropped in.
Well it was now getting late in the afternoon, we had along drive ahead of us, so we set off back for home, we made one short stop on the way back, that was for coffee not birding!!
Ian and Sue were staying at our apt on the coast, so we sat on the terrace in the evening sunshine, sipping ice cold drinks whilst we completed our checklist, ha! A Blue Rock Thrush burst into song and then landed on a chimney near us, it was determined to get onto our list and so it did....number 92 for the day.
So that was the end of our little 4 day tour, Ian and Sue had recorded 152 species with some very good sightings included on their list, a very good tally indeed, well done.
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