Saturday 14 January
Off nice and early so that I could be at the
Charca de Suarez reserve on the western outskirts of Motril by opening time at nine o'clock. A calm, cool and cloudy morning with just the occasional break to reveal some blue sky albeit back in Mezquitilla this afternoon it was beautiful warm and sunny with clear blue skies.
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| Chiffchaff Mosquitero Comun Phylloscopus collybita |
On arrival straight to the
Laguna del Taraje where I was rewarded with a couple of
Purple Swamphens,
Mallard,
Coot and
Little Grebe plus the odd
Moorhen or two. But all about me the ever-bust feeding
Chiffchaffs.
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| Purple Swamphen Calamon Porphyrio porphyrio |
On to the main hide overlooking the
Laguna de las Aneas where, once again, there was a good supply of
Coot,
Mallard,
Shoveler and
Pochard plus
White Wagtails,
Cormorants, the long-staying
White Stork and a "collared"
Red-knobbed Coot at the back of the water. The arrival of a small flock of
Black-headed and two
Yellow-legged Gulls added to the variety. The first raptor of the morning, a
Common Kestrel, was seen resting on the top of the adjacent radio mast. No egrets and just the single
Grey Heron a the back of the water.
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| Red-knobbed Coot Focha Moruna Fulica cristata |
Having checked out the main residents it was back to the
Laguna del Alamo Blanco so that, at least that was the intention, I could spend most of the morning watching the arrival and departure of the local waders and await a showing by the resident Water Rail. What a hope! The only wader seen all morning was a single
Black-winged Stilt and no egrets to be seen. Lots of
Chiffchaffs and about three pairs of
Teal and I did eventually locate a feeding
Cetti's Warbler. A female
Marsh Harrier made a brief and distant appearance. In addition to a handful of
Moorhen two
Purple Swamphens were observed.
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| Black-winged Stilt Ciguenuela Comun Himantopus himantopus |
So, change of plan as I looked for a rewarding, and warmer, hide for the rest of the morning and arrived at the
Laguna del Trebol. A
Red-knobbed Coot was feeding immediately below the hide and a further half-dozen were also found. In addition to the
Chiffchaffs and
Common Coots, the trio of
Wigeon were still on site and a
Robin flew across to visit the bush immediately in front of us. Over the water we began to see the arrival of many
Crag Martins to feed over the various lagoons.
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| Wigeon Silbon Europeo Anas penelope with Red-knobbed Coot behind |
Walking back towards the entrance I was entertained by first a female then a male
Black Redstart and even a male
Blackbird. Just to be on the safe side, I made a quick return visit to the hides at both the
Lagunas del Taraje and
del Alamo Blanco before deciding to call it a day and leave just after noon.
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| Black Redstart ColirrojoTizon Phoenicurus ochruros |
Both a
Robin and
Kestrel were seen driving down "Turtle Dove Alley" plus a
Crested Lark at the far end and a quick visit to the picnic area at
Velez de Benaudalla produced a good mixed flock of
Greenfinches and
Chaffinches. It also revealed the over-growth of vegetation on the far wall which, if the Dippers breed here again this year, will make them difficult to observe.
Birds seen:
Wigeon, Mallard, Shoveler, Teal, Pochard, Little Grebe, Cormorant, Heron, White Stork, Marsh Harrier, Kestrel, Moorhen, Purple Swamphen, Coot, Red-knobbed Coot, Black-winged Stilt, Black-headed Gull, Yellow-legged Gull, Collared Dove, Crested Lark, Crag Martin, White Wagtail, Robin, Black Redstart, Blackbird, Cetti's Warbler, Chiffchaff, House Sparrow, Chafinch, Greenfinch.
Check out the accompanying website at http://www.birdingaxarquia.weebly.com for the latest sightings, photographs and additional information.
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