A quick report from John Wainwright re his visit up the Sierra Loja with wife, Jenny but it seems that they might have been bettered by the fog at lower levels and then a mixture of Sunday shooters and the massed hordes at the higher levels! But at least they managed to find some Ring Ouzels.
Sierra Loja 15th November
A chilly, foggy start, with a brisk breeze (12C).
After
coffee and toast at our regular spot we started up the mountain. Due to
the light fog, we couldn´t see anything much until we hit the tree
line. Here the fog had dissipated quite well and we saw Crossbills, Coal
and Great Tit, Chaffinches, Robins, Mistle Thrushes and a very obliging
dark-phase Red Squirrel.
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| Red Squirrel Sciurus vulgaris (PHOTO: Jenny Wainwright) |
The cliff areas were barren, not even a
Jackdaw to be seen (or heard), so we moved up to the substation valley. Here we found two Chough, Thekla Larks, Red-legged Partridges,
Stonechats, a Black Wheatear, Meadow Pipits and a Southern Grey Shrike
was noted atop the bare tree here.
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| Thekla Lark Galerida theklae (PHOTO: Jenny Wainwright) |
Lots of "shooting" about here
today so we made our way up to the Charca de Negra ponds area. This was
swamped with people and all we had here were Goldfinches. Along at the
Fossil Cave a single Crag Martin and more Meadow Pipits were spotted,
so we moved further along to the hawthorn bushes. Here we found over a
dozen Ring Ouzels, four Mistle Thrushes, Rock Buntings, Black Redstarts,
Sardinian Warblers, Robins, Blackbirds, House Sparrows, Chough, a
Dartford Warbler and a single Hoopoe.
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| Male Ring Ouzel Turdus torquatus (PHOTO: John Wainwright) |
All things worth waiting for judging by John's report. It just shows that you have to keep right on till the end of the road, or track in this case, if you want your share of the birds to be seen.
Check out the accompanying website at http://www.birdingaxarquia.weebly.com for the latest sightings, photographs and additional information.
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