Friday 20 June
Today it was take a quick, close look at the lagoon behind my hostal at El Rocio and then head off for the very long drive down the track through the National Park itself to visit the Juan Valverdes Visitors Centre. The local waters still held all of yesterday's
Flamingos and
Black-tailed Godwits but I could also see the numerous
Black-winged Stilts and
Avocets along with feeding
Barn Swallows and
House Martins. The resident
House Sparrows,
Collared Doves and
Spotless Starlings were all up and about but I did have my first
Wood Pigeon as I made my way back to the car from the SEO Cente.
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| Bee-eater Abejaruco Europeo Merops apiaster |
The long drive to the start of the track produced both
Azure-winged and common
Magpies and there were to be numerous sightings of
Black Kites along with a few
Buzzards.
Crested Larks were on the road side and
Bee-eaters on the fences and in the air as I entered the track. A single
Red Kite made a pass overhead and, naturally, there were
Cattle Egrets amongst the horses and cattle and certainly no shortage of
White Storks. Driving on a handful of
Spanish Sparrows were playing around a small bust by a water course and then the first of many
Grey Herons along with the occasional
Little Egret.
Red-rumped Swallows overhead near the bend across the first drainage channel and a single
Zitting Cisticola hove into sight. Similarly, it was a rather strange site to suddenly come across a handful of
Corn Buntings.
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| Green Sandpidper Tringa ochropus |
Opposite the retaining pools a number of
Linnets were feeding whilst on the pipes across the main stream on the other side of the track a family of
Green Sandpipers were resting. Not far on I stopped to look at a pair of
Purple Herons and noticing the small number of
Little Egrets further away put my scope up and found the single
Great White Egret. Then it was on to the main bridges where the track takes on an off-set crossroad near the reed bed. Lots of
Barn Swallows feeding overhead but no sign of the Marbled Duck see here at the beginning of May. However, both
Reed and
Great Reed Warbler were singing/calling and a
Montagu's Harrier drifted over with a few
Black Kites for company.
All the
Lesser Kestrels were away from their traditional nesting site whilst the local birders completed their studies of the nest and, presumably, ringed the youngsters. Even the
Common Kestrels seemed to keep their distance. The, approaching the end of the track and once again near the water, I could see the
Spoonbills, a number of
Glossy Ibis and, of course, more
Little Egrets. On the other hand, it was whilst taking a short detour down the "no exit" track to the right that I came across my only
Northern Wheaters of the day.
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| Magpie Urraca Pica pica |
At the Visitors centre there was still plenty of water and the local colony of breeding
Little and
Cattle Egrets along with some
Glossy Ibis were still in residence. A pair of young
Common Kestrels from the bird box above the panoramic window had fledged and seemed quite happy to sit on the path on the outside of the glass giving lovely views, especially of their large shining eyes. Also on the water were a number of
Mallards,
Flamingos and
Coots along with a pair of
Little Grebe. Eventually, the
Purple Swamphens put in an appearance and there was also a pair of
Great White Egrets to be seen.
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| Purple Heron Garza Imperial Ardea purpurea |
Eventually, having arrived back at the main road near Isla Mayor, I drove across to the pool below the
Dehesa de Abajo to see if anything different was on that water. A good number of
Mallards,
Pochards and
Great Crested Grebes but, at last, I also found two pairs of
Marbled Duck. Could these be the same two pairs that had been seen in the Donana on my last visit? There were
White Storks and
Jackdaws at the back of the water and
Barn Swallows and both
Common and
Pallid Swifts feeding over the same. Even a couple of
Collared Pratincoles put in an appearance. Nearer the road, both
Cetti's and
Great Reed Warblers were calling and then my return drive to El Rocio picked up both
Woodchat Shrike and a
Raven. Finally, a late evening call to the SEO Centre did not locate the Spanish Imperial Eagle (it had turned quite windy and cloudy so I suspect the adults were hunkered down in the foliage of their favoured tree) but a single light morph
Booted Eagle drifted overhead.
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| A lone Squacco Heron Garcilla Cangrejera Ardeola ralloides in the Egret colony |
Birds seen:
Mallard, Pochard, Marbled Duck, Little Grebe, Great Crested Grebe, Cattle Egret, Little Egret, Glossy Ibis, Great White Egret, Grey Heron, Purple Heron, White Stork, Spoonbill, Flamingo, Red Kite, Black Kite, Montagu's Harrier, Booted Eagle, Buzzard, Lesser Kestrel, Common Kestrel, Moorhen, Purple Swamphen, Coot, Black-winged Stilt, Avocet, Collared Pratincole, Black-tailed Godwit, Green Sandpiper, Rock Dove, Wood Pigeon, Collared Dove, Swift, Pallid Swift, Bee-eater, Crested Lark, Barn Swallow, House Martin, Red-rumped Swallow, Northern Wheatear, Zitting Cisticola, Reed Warbler, Great Reed Warbler, Woodchat Shrike, Azure-winged Magpie, Magpie, Jackdaw, Raven, Spotless Starling, House Sparrow, Spanish Sparrow, Linnet, Corn Bunting.
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