After a 5 day break from birding I was raring to go, chomping at the bit! I needed a long day out and a challenge and that is exactly what I got with my clients today. Roly and Helen are with me for three days, they are Brits living in Australia and Roly is a big lister and gave me a list of species he wished to see. I really enjoy a challenge like that, so here goes......
I collected them from their accommodation near Estapona around 8am, it was sunny and warm with a bit of a breeze. We drove a very short distance and stopped at some waste land near the main A7 dual carriageway. Within minutes we found one of Roly's target birds, the Sardinian Warbler, a whole family party of them! We also listed Hoopoe, Serin, Barn Swallow, House Martin; Blackcap and Turtle Dove were heard not seen.
A few more kilometres later and we stopped at the Casares Beach hoping for a gull roost but dog walkers had dispersed the gulls. We did see Spotless Starling, Yellow-legged Gull, Grey Heron and two Pied Avocet that flew passed us. One more stop in the area produced Monk Parakeet, another lifer for Roly and Helen.
Our first official birding stop was at San Enrique Woods which proved to be very successful, after parking the car we scanned the field adjacent to the woods and found Serin, Zitting Cisticola and a few Barn Swallows. Once we were inside the woods we immediately found a Wryneck, this bird showed extremely well, how cool was that? Next we found a Spotted Flycatcher, a few Blue Tits and a Short-toed Treecreeper.
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| Little Owl hiding at the 'smelly farm' |
At Palmones we were disappointed it was a poor turn out, a few Yellow-legged Gulls, two Yellow Wagtails, a distant Spoonbill and nothing else, what a let down.
It took about 30 minutes to drive across to Tarifa, a Black Kite was seen from the car as neared the town. We parked up and walked to the hide on Los Lances Beach, the area was full of joggers, walkers and, worst of all, dog walkers. There were dogs all over the restricted area, and so, no birds. A few Kentish Plovers, six or seven Sanderling, two Dunlin and just one Yellow-legged Gull! On the grass meadows we fared a little better with Crested, Sky and Short-toed Larks, Stonechat and Corn Bunting. Everywhere we went today we saw many Goldfinches and Linnets.
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| Bald Ibis colony at Vejer |
La Janda was a little more rewarding, the rice fields are now mostly flooded and this had attracted many White Storks, Cattle Egrets and Glossy Ibis. Our drive along the raised central track gave us excellent views of the rice paddies, we saw a single Green Sandpiper, Mallards, Common Kestrel, lots of Zitting Cisticolas, quite a few Bee-eaters, Red-legged Partridge, Common Coot and a large number of Black-winged Stilts.
A drive up to the 'smelly farm' produced the usual Little Owl and we had very good views of a Booted Eagle being mobbed by Jackdaws and several Griffon Vultures. The huge breeding colony of Cattle Egrets and Glossy Ibis was in full swing and along the same section of track we added Turtle Dove, Common Nightingale, Cetti's Warbler and another one of Roy's list, the Melodious Warbler. A Night Heron was seen as we returned along the same track back towards the main road.
Vejer provided the sightings of the Bald Ibis at the breeding colony, nearly all the chicks are fully grown and ready to fledge, I doubt of they will be there next time I visit, it has been a gold year for them.
BARBATE Marshes was our last venue and gave us tremendous views of Collared Pratincoles, they sat along the track as let us approach quite close to them, very nice too. More Short-toed Larks were seen and Kentish Plovers, we also added Greater Flamingo to the last and got much better views of Eurasian Spoonbill. Bit the best bird was another of Roy's most wanted, the Audouin's Gull, we found six of them with about 1,000 Yellow-legged Gulls.
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| BARBATE Marshes |
We arrived at Gaucin at 7pm and Dawn cooled is a delicious chicken Tajine, taken with a nice glass of Rioja, what a nice way to end the day, Roly and Helen have two more days with us.
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