Rambla de Almanzora & Vera Playa

 Wednesday 6 December

What a fabulous morning's birding was achieved by Dave and his Arboleas Birding Group.  His 50 species was far more then my 37 species this morning when out birding along the nearby river and coast - albeit we both saw many of the same birds.  Lots of "Spanish" birds to bring back happy memories such as the White-headed Duck and Iberian Grey Shrike but then, of course even the Black Redstart is somewhat of a scarcity over here in the UK.  Maybe made up with the hundreds of Brent Geese and all those Oystercatchers seen by me this morning, nevermind feeding flocks of Carrion Crows totalling over three score!   Interesting that we should both record Kingfisher, Grey Plover, Greenshank and, both, just the single pair of Shoveler.  Great birding one and all.

Rambla de Almanzora & Vera Playa: Wednesday 6th December

The ground was damp as I left home after an overnight shower.  With the new dual carriageway from Arboleas to the Bellabona service station on the A7/E15, it didn't take me long to get to the Desert Springs golf complex end of the Rambla de Almanzora.  On the power lines I saw some Woodpigeons and a Magpie.  There was water in the first weir which provided a temporary home for some Mallard, a pair of Black-winged Stilts and a Moorhen.  Further along there were a series of shallow pools.  The first contained some more Mallard and 14 Teal.  A Chiffchaff flitted in the shrubs.  The next pool had another 10 Teal.  On the waters edge were a pair of White Wagtail and a Meadow Pipit.  The star bird was a solitary Lapwing as well as a Green Sandpiper. 

Lapwing (PHOTO: David Elliott-Binns)

On the power line was a pair of Iberian Grey Shrikes.  Also seen were a Blackbird, Jackdaw, and House Sparrow.  As I approached the ford I spotted a female Marsh Harrier not 10 metres from me, perched on the reeds.  I managed to stop before it flew off.  Unsurprisingly there was nothing on the pool.

Iberian Grey Shrike (PHOTO: David Elliott-Binns)

I parked at the meeting point and waited for the others to arrive.  I saw about half a dozen Woodpigeons on the power line near the bridge.  A Cormorant flew past along the distant beach.  Richard and Peter arrived.  They had seen a Stonechat and a Song Thrush.  A Collared Dove and a Grey Heron flew by. After Alan arrived we did a slow walk towards the sewage works.  There was a Spotless Starling on the factory roof.  After Richard had about turned we reached the small pools.  There were two Common Sandpipers on the waters edge.  A Grey Wagtail flew off.  On the large pool we had Common Pochard, a pair of Shoveler and more Mallard.  We returned to the vehicles where Richard had added a Robin and a Carrion Crow.

We made our way to the beach where 6 Cormorants were on the harbour rocks.  Out to sea Richard found some Yellow-legged Gulls.  Alan saw some Greenfinch and a Black Redstart (not out to sea!).

We adjourned to the village for a coffee.  I spotted some egrets coming into land beyond a stone wall. Having finished our coffees, we checked it out.  Beyond the wall was a small area of reeds in a depression.  Eventually I spotted some Cattle Egrets there.

We drove to the far side of the estuary.  A Grey Heron was on sentry duty below us.  There were numerous Coot swimming around.  A Little Egret was on the far bank.  Alan found a large wader.  There were dreams of Marsh Sandpiper, but we eventually concluded it was a first winter Greenshank.  I found a Grey Plover as well as a small feeding group of little waders...Dunlin, Ringed and Kentish Plover.  Alan added a Turnstone and a Sanderling.  Alan spotted a perched Kingfisher as another one flew past, seen by Richard.  He also saw a Goldfinch.

Grey Heron (PHOTO: David Elliott-Binns)

En route to the dual carriageway behind Vera Playa, Alan added a Black Wheatear.  There, we were joined by Jacky.  Scanning the shallow waters and mudflats below us we saw numerous Greater Flamingos, Moorhen, Coots, Shovelers and Mallards.  There were a few Teal as well.  We added Avocet and numerous Crag Martins.  I saw a Redshank fly in.  Alan had Little Grebe and Shelduck.  A flock of gulls arrived which contained both Black-headed and Mediterranean Gulls.  Peter and Richard saw a Great Crested Grebe.  I unexpectedly discovered a single Spoonbill.  Richard and Peter made for the far elevated viewing hide as Jacky, Alan and I went to the first.  We saw our first White-headed Duck of the day.  We heard a Cetti's Warbler.  A low flying wader turned out to be a Snipe, but the biggest surprise was seeing 5 Barn Swallows perched on a shrub just below us.  As we could only just see them through the vegetation there was no chance of a record shot!

Spoonbill (PHOTO: David Elliott-Binns)

Well, what a mornings birding.  We ended up with an incredible 58 total.  Amazing!  Thanks for the enjoyable company.  Best wishes to the Greens, Peter 2 and Kath.

regards,

Dave

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