Saturday 17 February
With John and Jenny Wainwright acting as hosts, Bob Ashford and I joined them for the day to enjoy a fabulous day's birding with about twenty other members at the February field meeting of of the
Andalucia Bird Society exploring the area around Bonanza in Cadiz Province. A beautiful calm and clear day with just a little early morning thin, broken cloud making almost ideal conditions for birding albeit the heat haze for distant views was with us from almost the start.
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| Night Heron Martinete Comun Nycticorax nycticorax |
We somehow missed the first pool ending up at a new site where we found 13
Night Herons and Siskin before moving on to the sand works. Here we got our first view of all the Black-winged Stilts and
Flamingos plus our first
Barn Swallow and a small flock of
Common Waxbill. However, when joined by the rest of the group and hearing what was on view we made a quick return to catch up on Little Swift,
Greylag Goose,
Purple Swamphen and
Red-crested Pochard plus the sudden appearance of a pair of
Little Bittern.
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| Greylag Goose Ansar Cumun Anser anser |
Wandering the track between the pools provided an assortment of waders including
Black-tailed and
Bar-tailed Godwits,
Redshank,
Greenshank and
Avocet along with such lovely species as
Whimbrel,
Grey and
Ringed and
Kentish Plover.
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| Bar-tailed Godwit Aguja Colipinta Limosa lapponica |
Lovely to see all the raptors including
Osprey,
Buzzard,
Hen and
Marsh Harrier,
Booted Eagle,
Red Kite and
Common Kestrel. Ducks also included
Shelduck,
Gadwall,
White-headed and hundreds of
Shoveler. Of the larger water birds, in addition to the many
Flamingos there were
Black and
White Storks,
Spoonbill,
Cattle,
Little and
Great White Egret along with
Grey Heron plus the ever delightful
Little,
Back-necked and
Great Crested Grebes.
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| The Black Stork Ciguena Negra Ciconia nigra joined his White Stork Ciguena Blanca Ciconia ciconia cousins |
Other lovely sightings included a first
Willow Warbler,
Northern Wheatear,
Dartford and
Sardinian Warblers and
Zitting Cisticola and then we found a trio of
Common Crane. Gulls included
Slender-billed,
Yellow-legged,
Black-headed,
Lesser Black-backed along with a
Caspian Tern. Then, of course, there was a
Raven and a small party of
Spanish Sparrows by way of a change. Eventually we managed to record over
80 species on the day including a visiting
Common Starling.
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| A late sighting of a Crane Grulla Comun Grus grus family |
Birds seen:
Greylag Goose, Sghelduck, Gadwall, Mallard, Shoveler, Red-crested Pochard, Common Pochard, White-headed Duck, Little Grebe, Great Crested Grebe, Black-necked Grebe, Cormorant, Little Bittern, Night Heron, Cattle Egret, Little Egret, Great White Egret, Heron, Black Stork, White Stork, Spoonbill, Flamingo, Osprey, Red Kite, Marsh Harrier, Hen Harrier, Booted Eagle, Buzzard, Common Kestrel, Moorhen, Purple Swamphen, Coot, Crane, Black-winged Stilt, Avocet, Ringed Plover, Kentish Plover, Grey Plover, Sanderling, Dunlin, Black-tailed Godwit, Bar-tailed Godwit, Whimbrel, Redshank, Greenshank, Green Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper, Black-headed Gull, Slender-billed Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Yellow-legged Gull, Caspian Tern, Rock Dove, Collared Dove, Little Swift, Crested Lark, Crag Martin, Barn Swallow, Meadow Pipit, White Wagtail, Black redstart, Stonechat, Wheatear, Blackbird, Cetti's Warbler, Zitting Cisticola, Dartford Warbler, Sardinian Warbler, Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Magpie, Raven, Common Starling, Spotless Starling, House Spoarrow, Spanish Sparrow, Waxbill, Serin, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Siskin, Linnet and Corn Bunting.
Other Photos:
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| Avocet Avoceta Comun Recurvirostra avosetta |
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| Black-tailed Godwit Aguja Colinegra Limosa limosa |
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| Chameleon Chamaeleo chamaeleon |
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| Greenshank Archibebe Claro Tringa nebularia |
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| Very distant Red-crested Pochard Pato Colaorado Netta rufina |
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| Common Redshank Archibebe Comun Tringa totanus |
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| Slender-billed Gull Gaviota Picofina Larus genei |
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| Common Waxbill Pico de Coral Estrilda astrild |
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| Female White-headed Duck Malvasia Cabeciblanca Oxyura leucocephala |
Check out the accompanying website at http://www.birdingaxarquia.weebly.com for the latest sightings, photographs and additional information
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