Costa Esuri, Ayamonte

Tuesday 18 October

Leaving the Odiel Marshes we stopped for a drink on the way back to the apartments and arriving at just after 5.30 called to see if it might be possible to visit the ponds before changing for dinner.  It was so with a couple of buggies we headed off to the natural lake where, whilst we did not have the sunset light the increasing cloud rather spoilt the occasion.

Wigeon Anas penelope in poor light

Indeed, there seemed to be fewer birds about and the Purple Swamphens were in amongst the reeds rather than wandering the golf course.  So in our maximum sixty minute visit we found Shoveler, Mallard and Gadwall along with Little Egrets and Heron.  Still a good number of Black-tailed Godwits present along with Coot and Moorhen.  perhaps the best sighting moment was when Linda Roberts noticed the female Marbled Duck slip quietly into a small bay behind the reeds - but not before seen by the rest of us, even if only for a very short time.  There were also a couple of Little Grebe on the water and just the one Muscovey Duck but a couple of Chiffchaff were feeding in the nearby reeds.

Moving over to the holding pool we found, again, fewer ducks, mainly Shoveler, Mallard and Gadwall but also both Common and Red-crested Pochard.  All but one of the Wigeon had moved off or on and the remaining bird spent most of its time resting on a narrow bank in front of a group of Muscovey Ducks.

Muscovey Duck Cairina moschata

Darkness, or rather very poor light, seemed to come quickly today and, on reflection, this site is probably best visited at the close of day when birds are arriving for roost and having a final feed before sleep.


Birds seen:
Wigeon, Gadwall, Mallard, Shoveler, Teal, Marbled Duck, Red-crested Pochard, Common Pochard, Little Grebe, Little Egret, Heron, Moorhen, Purple Swamphen, Coot, Black-tailed Godwit, Chiffchaff

Check out the accompanying website at http://www.birdingaxarquia.weebly.com for the latest sightings, photographs and additional information.