A windy day here so not surprised to see that Dave and his Arboleas Birding Group seem to be blown away up at Cabo de Gata. It certainly seems far removed form his El Fondo visit last Saturday nevermind the recent Morocco visit.
Cabo de Gata & Rambla Morales: Wednesday 5th June
Kindly
Paul was press-ganged into driving myself, Reyna, Stan and new lady,
Claire in his 4x4. Five up in mine makes it too cosy in the rear! We met
up with John, Barrie and Trevor at the Pujaire cafe and were shortly
joined by Abe and Jenny. We'd seen Kestrel, House Martin, Bee Eater and Jackdaw after the motorway, but we were trumped by Barrie and
John's sighting of a Peregrine Falcon near junction 471....only a bit
away from the specified bird logging area!
After
a coffee we made our way to the first hide where we were joined by
Karen and Michael who'd dropped Michael's brother off at the airport.
On
the rocky causeway sat a Grey Heron. There were small groups of Avocet
sheltering from the predicted high winds. I counted 81 Greater Flamingos
on that first expanse of water. Little Terns were diving for fish. Also
seen were Mallard, Shelduck, Yellow-legged Gull and Kentish Plover.
Barrie spotted both Black-winged Stilt and a Greenshank. He then added
a flying Oystercatcher and a Little Ringed Plover. John, who wasn't
hunkered down in the hide(!), added Audouin's Gull and Common Swift. We
also saw Black-headed Gull and Thekla Lark.
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| Greater Flamingos Phoenicopterus roseus sheltering from the wind (PHOTO: David Elliott-Binns) |
We
then drove to the second hide. Here there was even less shelter and the
waves were crashing onto the beach. Trevor spotted a Greenfinch, whilst
Barrie found an Iberian Grey Shrike atop the hide. Once inside he then
found 2 Spoonbill and some Slender-billed Gulls in the pond to the
right. A Barn Swallow flew by. As we were leaving Paul saw a Black Tern.
In
the public hide we only added a Yellow Wagtail. It was generally agreed
a coffee was required, so we stopped in a Fish Restaurant. Peering out
the window, Barrie spotted something flying low over the water. We all
went outside and had reasonably good, but fleeting views of some passing
Cory's Shearwaters!
We
saw more when we went up to the lighthouse. There was a steady
stream....a pair would pass every few minutes or so. Barrie then spotted
one, then another Alpine Swift. Trevor later found a Raven. Paul and I
saw a Sardinian Warbler flying across the road.
 |
| White water below the lighthouse (PHOTO: David Elliott-Binns) |
On
the way to the Rambla Morales a number of Sandwich Terns were seen out
to sea. I'm sure the wind speed had increased as we egressed the
vehicles. We were definitely being sand-blasted now! Barrie spotted two
pairs of White-headed Ducks. We walked down to the "hump" which gave us
views over the reed tops. There were more White-headed Ducks. I spotted
two Shoveler. Also seen were Coot and Moorhen. John found a Little
Grebe and Abe spotted a Purple Swamphen. Barrie was first to hear, then
see a Zitting Cisticola. As we tacked back towards the vehicles a single
Gull-billed Tern was observed by John. The final bird for the list was a
juvenile Gannet spotted by Paul.
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| Windswept birders on Rambla Morales's "hump" (PHOTO: David Elliott-Binns) |
Despite
the wind, we had a great day in lovely international company.. Claire,
French. Abe and Jenny, Dutch and Rena from the Philippines.
Regards,
Dave
Check out the accompanying website at http://www.birdingaxarquia.weebly.com for the latest sightings, photographs and additional information
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