Thursday
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| Black-winged Stilt |
Up early and down to the Cruise Port in Malaga to collect the family Gillaspie; Tom and Jayma with their daughter, Jayla and Tom's sister, Joanna (I trust that I have correctly spelt all the names!). Then it was straight off to the
Guadalhorce ponds as rain was promise for noon despite the hint of a hazy sun in the sky. And sure enough, the rain arrived ten minutes early and fell as a few isolated spots which we only picked up because we could see the occasional ripple on the lagoons. All in all, a very pleasant day spent in wonderful company and, hopefully some happy memories for Tom and family to take back to the west coast of Florida once they eventually get to Rome on Holland America's
Noordam, their final destination.
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| Resting Barn Swallows Golondrina Comun Hirundo rustica |
Greeted by a couple of pairs of
Collared Doves we had no sooner walked up the entrance tack to the reserve than we had a pair of
Booted Eagles in the tree immediately in front of us; what a way to start the morning! A male
Sardinian Warbler was foraging around in the bushes below whilst overhead we had the first of very many
Barn Swallows and
House Martins. Indeed, there were
Barn Swallows everywhere; seen at all the lagoons and in the majority as far as hirundines were concerned but, arriving finally at the
Laguna Grande there were probably as many
Sand Martins, certainly the most that I have seen at this wonderful site. Meanwhile, walking towards the eastern arm of the river wee had many
Goldfinches at close quarters along with
Spotless Starling and the usual
Rock Doves below the motorway bridge. A quintet of
Little Egrets in a dead tree to our right was a welcome addition and gave us the opportunity to compare these birds, complete with their "Marigolds" to the American Snowy Egret. Also seen walking the track was out first
Blackbird of the day and an over-flying
Grey Heron whilst a female
Mallard waddled along the path in front of us.
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| White-headed Ducks Malvasia Cabeciblanca Oxyura leucocephala |
Arriving at the
Laguna Casillas we were rewarded with a good number of both
White-headed Ducks and
Common Pochards. In addition, we had a few
Moorhen and a couple of
Coots then out came the two pairs of
Gadwall to see what all the fuss was about. Add on a small number of
Mallard and a pair of
Black-winged Stilts along with a well-exposed singing
Reed Warbler and we just about ready to move on to the Wader Pool. However, just as we were leaving a single
Purple Heron flew across the pool.
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| Black-winged Stilts Ciguenuela Comun Himantopus himantopus on the Wader Pool |
Other than the occasional
Moorhen, the
Wader Pool was full of
Black-winged Stilts with at least thirty present, and another forty plus on the
Rio Viejo next door. We did have another handful of
Pochards and a pair of
Gadwall along with a female
Teal but they were not the centre of attraction.
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| Gadwall Anade Friso Anas strepera |
The walk down to the
Sea Watch not only produced the above
Black-winged Stilts but also a good number of
Common Swifts to add to the
Barn Swallows feeding overhead. These were accompanied by the regular sight of the odd
Cormorant or two passing between the reserve and the sea.
Greenfinches were about in small numbers and then a quartet of
Linnets before we found the pair of "hiding"
Redshanks. A couple of
Black-headed Gulls were seen along with a small party of
Mediterranean Gulls resting at the far end of the water towards the sea. The sudden movement of the
Stilts led us to look up where we found the reason for their alarm as a
Sparrowhawk turned above us and then moved away. On the opposite bank of the river we had a good view of an Iberian race (
flava iberiae)
Yellow Wagtail which was soon joined by his partner. Meanwhile, a dozen noisy
Bee-eaters flew overhead and then we had a couple of
Crested Larks on the waste ground to our left along the first
Woodchat Shrike. Before leaving this area we had recorded at least five individuals.
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| Woodchat Shrike Alcaudon Comun Lanius senator |
At first glance the
Sea Watch seemed to produce nothing but empty beaches and lots of sea but closer inspection soon revealed a pair of
Sanderling and a couple of
Kentish Plovers to the western side. The short stretch of unkempt beach to the east then produced a single, disappearing
Common Sandpiper before a single
Whimbrel walked into view. Next up was a lone
Ringed Plover in the company of eight
Turnstones. Turning our attention towards the sea, we were able to identify a small number of
Yellow-legged Gulls along with even fewer
Lesser Black-backed Gulls. However, resting in their midst were at least twenty
Common Scoter; where had the other hundred plus from last week gone?
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| Turnstone Vuelvepiedras Comun Arenaria interpres |
Time to make our way back with, apart from more hirundines,
Woodchat Shrikes and a few screaming
Monk Parakeets, nothing else of difference was noted. Although we did pick up a single male
Stonechat on the fence. The
Laguna Escondida was disappointing producing a few
Pochard and
White-headed Ducks plus the first
Sand Martin of the day.
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| Ghost-like Glossy Ibis Morito Comun Plegadis falcinellus over the Laguna Grande |
So onto the
Laguna Grande with its remaining
Cormorants, a single
Grey Heron and a lone Black-necked Grebe. However, this was the water that contained many
Sand Martins,which almost outnumbered the
Barn Swallows. Excitement as a single (ringed)
Glossy Ibis flew around and eventually landed in the water as it appeared to be trying to pick insects off the water whilst in flight. At the back of the water a nervous flock of thirty plus
Avocets were seen to rise and fly along the edge before dropping down only to reappear again for another short flight.
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| Sand Martin Avion Zapador Riparia riparia |
A walk down the track to the path leading to beach produced a
Night Heron on the return journey along with the
Whiskered Tern that had arrived at the
Laguna Grande in our absence. Once more looking out over the water we also picked up a solitary
Little Grebe and then a female
Peregrine Falcon hiding behind crossing branches in the "Osprey Tree"; very difficult to see but we were told where to look by the Welsh birders who had recently arrived at the hide.
Cetti's Warblers were loudly singing and then our final bird at this water, a male
Blackcap feeding amongst the daisies in front of the hide.
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| Ringed Plover Chorlitejo Grande Charadrius hiaticula |
Then, as we left the reserve to return tot he car, a single wind-swept
Common Kestrel resting in a dead tree opposite the exit which managed to lift our final total for the morning to a very pleasing
57 species.
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| Whimbrel Zarapito Trinador Numenius phaeopus |
Birds seen:
Gadwall, Mallard, Shoveler, Teal, Pochard, Common Scoter, White-headed Duck, Little Grebe, Black-necked Grebe, Cormorant, Little Egret, Glossy Ibis, Grey Heron, Purple Heron, Night Heron, Booted Eagle, Sparrowhawk, Common Kestrel, Peregrine Falcon, Moorhen, Coot, Black-winged Stilt, Avocet, Ringed Plover, Kentish Plover, Sanderling, Whimbrel, Redshank, Common Sandpiper, Turnstone, Mediterranean Gull, Black-headed Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Yellow-legged Gull, Whiskered Tern, Rock Dove, Collared Dove, Monk Parakeet, Common Swift, Bee-eater, Crested Lark, Sand Martin, Barn Swallow, House Martin, Yellow Wagtail (Blue-headed Iberian race), Stonechat, Blackbird, Cetti's Warbler, Reed Warbler, Sardinian Warbler, Blackcap, Woodchat Shrike, Spotless Starling, House Sparrow, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Linnet.
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| Monk Parakeet Cotorra Argentina Mylopsitta monachus |
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