Monday 11 November
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| Female Penduline Tit Pajaro Moscon Remiz pendulinus |
I met up with my friend Micha Fager from Finland outside the Guadalmar church at 9.30 so that we could spend the morning in the Guadlahorce Reserve, Malaga. A beautiful clear and sunny morning with no breeze which certainly got hotter and hotter as the morning progressed. And what a morning it was, too, with S
poonbill,
Little Bittern and
Penduline Tit. By the time we got back to our cards and departed from the church we had recorded
49 species; not a lot of anything but a steady trickle of most of the expected birds about at the moment. Sadly, the only raptor we saw was
Kestrel with at least a quartet being observed during our stay. Similarly, waders were thin on the ground although on count back I see that we actually recorded eight species.
House Sparrow and
Collared Dove were noted as we approached the entrance and the resident
Rock Doves were in their usual place below the road bridge, despite the works going on above their heads. The first
Cormorants flew into the site and, already, we could see that a number had taken up their roosting perches at the back of the main water. There were a couple of
Coots on the river and many more on the ponds themselves, but not in the numbers to be seen at Laguna Dulce, along with a number of
Sardinian Warblers working the edges to the paths as they flitted from bush to bush. The first
Stonechat put in an appearance followed by a male
Black Redstart and then we were at the
Lugana Casillas. Very quiet with just a handful of Coots and a quartet of
Little Grebes. Overhead, a number of very high
Crag Martins were observed. Two
Mallards were located and then a very brief view of a
Little Bittern as if flew five metres across the top of the opposite reed fringe and rapidly disappeared within. Thank goodness, albeit not known at the time, we were to get another, better, view later on.
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| One of six Snipe Agachadiza Comun Gallinago gallinago of the Wader Pool |
The
Wader Pool produced a handful of
Black-winged Stilts and about a dozen small plovers, mainly juvenile
Little Ringed but also a few
Ringed Plovers. A single
Greenshank was working the waters and then a lone
Common Sandpiper was found. Meanwhile, a half-dozen
Snipe had their long beaks in the water and mud as they sort out tasty morsel for breakfast. Not only had we recorded our first
Grey Heron for the morning as it flew over and then alighted at the far end but also a trio of
Little Egrets. The main duck here was
Teal of which there were about a dozen. A
Greenfinch was moving about the trees along with a number of
Chiffchaff and the first of the
Serins and
Goldfinches to be seen. We were joined in the hide by Micky Smith for a short while and, whilst with us, a single
Spoonbill dropped in for a visit and remained the whole time including our return call on the way back from the sea; a visit that also resulted in finding a
Green Sandpiper. Finally, jut as we were about to leave, a single
Lapwing landed a the far end of the water.
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| Juvenile Spoonbill Espatula Comun Platalea leucorodia |
Very little on the old river, the
Rio Viejo, just the three juvenile Flamingos and another
Little Egret. The eastern canal behind us held a number of sheltering gulls including
Yellow-legged,
Black-headed and a couple of
Mediterranean Gulls. Closer inspection when we reached the
Sea Watch revealed that this little group also included a handful of
Mallards and two pairs of
Gadwall. Out at sea a few more gulls were resting on the calm waters and these were mainly
Lesser Black-backed with more
Black-headed Gulls. A single
Great Crested Grebe was near their company and two adult
Gannets flew over at a fair distance from the shore.
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| Little Bittern Avetorillo Comun Ixobrychus minutus hunting at the Laguna Escondida |
Eventually reaching the
Laguna Escondida we were greeted by a score or more Little Grebes. We shall have to rename this water if this happens every time I come here! Only one, female,
White-headed Duck but a few more
Shovelers and a couple of
Mallards. More
Coots and the occasional
Moorhen but then the reappearance of our, assuming it was the same bird,
Little Bittern. It posed for a while on the edge albeit mostly masked by the reeds themselves. Just to add to the fun and excitement, a male
Penduline Tit flew across the water form right left but I then proceeded to find the female. Both eventually returned from whence they had come. Finally, two appearances for the
Kingfisher that flashed across the water before we set off.
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| The solitary (female/juvenile) White-headed Duck Malvasia Cabeciblanca Oxyura leucocephala on the Laguna Escondida |
As was expected, the
Laguna Grande held the main colony of
Cormorants along with a number of
Grey Herons. Gulls were represented by
Black-headed and
Yellow-legged Gulls and we managed to find three
Black-necked Grebes. A single
Flamingo fed in the centre of the laguna whilst a quartet of
Lapwing could be seen at the far end. A
White Wagtail put in the occasional appearance and there were still
Coots and
Moorhens to be seen.
Chiffchaffs fed in the bushes and raucous
Monk Parakeets flew about overhead. We had e seen our first
Zitting Cisticola whilst walking between the last two lagunas and now we were to also record a single
Robin as we set off for the footbridge.
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| One Grey Heron Garza Real Ardea cinerea that had decided he had seen enough of one day! |
Birds seen:
Gadwall, Mallard, Shoveler, Teal, White-headed Duck, Little Grebe, Great Crested Grebe, Back-necked Grebe, Gannet, Cormorant, Little Bittern, Little Egret, Heron, Spoonbill, Flamingo, Kestrel, Moorhen, Coot, Black-winged Stilt, Little Ringed Plover, Ringed Plover, Lapwing, Snipe, Greenshank, Green Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper, Black-headed Gull, Mediterranean Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Yellow-legged Gull, Rock Dove, Collared Dove, Monk Parakeet, Kingfisher, Crag Martin, White Wagtail, Robin, Black Redstart, Stonechat, Zitting Cisticola, Sardinian Warbler, Chiffchaff, Penduline Tit, Spotless Starling, House Sparrow, Serin, Greenfinch, Goldfinch.
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| But, of course, it is always a delight to see the Little Grebes Zampullin Comun Tachybaptus ruficollis |
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