Charca de Suarez

Black-wingd Stilt Himantopus himantopus still present

Sunday 12 May

Beautiful, clear, warm and sunny morning here so took a drive over to the Charca de Suarez where I met up with Steve and Elena Powell.  A good selection of birds but all seen relatively quickly and with a very keen breeze blowing decided to exit and come home at the 11.30 opening rather than stay the full morning.  As I turned into "Turtle Dove Alley" I quickly recorded Collared Dove, Spotless Starling, Blackbird and Hoopoe and, at the far end, my first of many House Martins seen during the short morning.

Entering the reserve at 10am there were Turtle Doves calling as we made our way to the Laguna del Taraje which seem occupied by cute Coot families, Mallards and Moorhen.  Very noisy Cetti's Warblers and Nightingales along with both Blackcap and Reed Warbler.  Quite a delight to see a Chiffchaff immediately in front of and much as I would have liked it be be an Iberian I am pretty sure that it was simply a long-staying Common Chifchaff.

Purple Swamphen Calamon Comun Porphyrio porphyrio

Where did that juvenile Glossy Ibis Morito Comun Plegadis falcinellus come from?

Once at the Laguna del Alamo Blanco  we noticed that both the lone Spoonbill and White Stork pair were still present along with a singe Little Heron.  A Grey Heron exposed itself at the back of the water as did a Purple Swamphen that seemed to hang around for ages.  The bird was still present when a small flock of 8 Glossy Ibis flew in.  Also on the water a pair of Back-winged Stilts with both Barn Swallow and House Martin feeding above along with a handful of Common Swift.  Then the very small dark brown "blob" dashing around which finally stopped long enough for me to identify it as an out-of-breeding-season male Red Avadavat.

Mixed Glossy Ibis Morito Comun Plegadis falcinellus group with juvenile below

Turtle Doves continued with their delightful song all morning and on reaching the main hide overlooking the Laguna de las Aneas  apart for a pair of Little Grebe and the nesting Red-knobbed Coots it was mainly Common Coot.  However, we did find another couple of Little Egret and three Grey Heron.  More feeding hirundines and noisy Cetti's Warblers before also adding Common Pochard to the morning's observations.

Little Egret Garceta Comun Egretta garzetta doing its balanxcing act in the stiff breeze

In the small spinney just beyond the hide a lovely male and a few female Serins along wit the first Spotted Flcatcher of the morning.  More Red-knobbed Coots on the Laguna del Trebol and then to the Laguna del Lirio where we, finally, got a good view of one of the many Turtle Doves.  Four more Spotted Flycatchers we made our way towards the gate and driving back down Turtle Dove Alley not so much the wandering Lesser Black-backed Gulls but the addition of Spanish Sparrow to the list for the day.  A final total of 36 species in the 90 minutes.

Spot the Turtle Dove Tortola Europea Streptopelia turtur

Birds seen:
Mallard, Pochard, Little Grebe, Little Egret, Heron, Glossy Ibis, White Stork, Spoonbill, Moorhen, Purple Swamphem, Coot, Red-knobbed Coot, Black-winged Stilt, Common Sandpiper, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Turtle Dove, Collared Dove, Common Swift, Hoopoe, Barn Swallow, House Martin, Nightingale, Blackbird, Cetti's Warbler, Reed Warbler, Blackcap. Chiffchaff, Spotted Flycatcher, Great Tit, Spotless Starling, House Sparrow, Spanish Sparrow, Red Avadavat, Serin

Mediterranean Tree Frog Hyla meridionalis on the same leaf as last week!

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