 |
|
|
|
|
TRIP REPORTS. SEPTEMBER 2005. |
|
16th September.
My first tour of the new season was with a Belgian family, Johan van
Doosenlaenes, his wife Cristine and theit two teenage daughters, Els
and Tessa. We began the tour at the Arroyo de las Cañadas, near El
Rocío. As we drove along the arroyo we recorded Crested Larks, Pied and Spotted Flycatchers, numerous Hoopoes, Cattle and Little Egrets, Melodious and Willow Warblers, Stonechats, Whinchats, Black-billed Magpies and a Kingfisher.
Our
next stop was at the Dehesa de Pilas, but unfortunately we could not
find any Pin-tailed Sandgrouse and had to be satisfied with views of
Booted and Short-toed Eagles, Marsh Harriers, Common Buzzards, Yellow
Wagtails, Northern Wheatears, 6 Tawny Pipits, Little-ringed Plovers and
White Storks.
We then drove further out into the marshlands which,
sadly, are still dry due to lack of rain. However, the rice harvesting
has Now started and in one field near Hato Raton we found over a
thousand White Storks, hundreds of Little and Cattle Egrets, dozens of
Grey Herons, Ravens, Red Kites, Montagu's Harriers, Green Sandpipers,
Purple Herons and at least 7 Black Storks.
In the afternoon we
visited several sites in the Isla Mayor and added Ringed Plovers, a
Little Stint, Common Sandpipers, Black-winged Stilts, Greenshanks,
Common Kestrels, Griffon Vultures and Southern Grey shrikes to our list.
The
top site of the day was the "reedbeds", which apart from many of the
previously mentioned species, also produced Golden Bishops, Common
Waxbills, Purple Swamp-hens, Little Grebes, Snipe and a Moustached
Warbler.
17th September. Today I was guiding the same
Belgian family as yesterday. We spent the first two hours visiting
various sites around Villamanrique and along the Corredor Verde.
In
the Los Labrados y Torrejones forests we recorded numerous Hoopoes,
several flocks of Iberian Magpies, Buzzards, Booted Eagles, Pied and
Spotted Flycatchers and Southern Grey Shrikes. At the Corredor Verde we
visited both of the Mancho Zurillo lagoons and had excellent views of 2
Black-shouldered Kites, Booted Eagles, an Osprey, dozens of Turtle
Doves, Whinchats, Serins, Willow Warblers, Little and Cattle Egrets,
Grey Herons, Great Crested Grebes, Tufted Ducks, Shovelers, Common
Pochards, Little-ringed Plovers, Common Sandpipers and at least 21
Black Storks.
We then crossed the Río Guadalquivir and spent the
rest of the day at the Brazo del Este. We drove alongside the Río
Guadaira and the first birds we recorded were Black-crowned Night
Herons. These were quickly followed by a Water Rail, Black-winged
Stilts and Kestrels.
At the northern site of the Brazo del Este we
saw Ruff, Ringed Plovers, Snipe, Little Stints, Dunlins, Black-tailed
Godwits, Lapwings, Spanish Sparrows, 11 Marsh Harriers, White Storks
and a flying flock of over 100 Black Storks.
In the southern parts
of the site there were Purple Swamp-hens, Glossy Ibis, Green, Wood and
Curlew Sandpipers, Redshanks, Squacco Herons, Whiskered and Little
Terns, Kingfishers, Golden Bishops, Common Waxbills, Yellow Wagtails,
Reed Warblers, Zitting Cisticolas, Corn Buntings, Marbled Ducks, Teal,
Red-rumped Swallows, Sand Martins, Common Swifts and another Osprey.
On
the drive back to Villamanrique we were halted by a flock of over 400
Glossy Ibis that were circling over the rice fields. Close by there
were thousands of storks, herons, gulls and egrets enjoying a feeding
frenzy as a tractor ploughed the stalks in a recently harvested rice
field back into the earth. In doing so it was churning up millions of
fish, frogs, eels, crayfish, insects, grubs and larvae, which the birds
were feasting on.
Our last bird of the day was another Black-shouldered Kite, sitting on top of a dead tree, just 50 metres from the road.
18th September.
My tour today was with Carolyn and Paul Walker from North Devon and
Dave Brassey from Newport, Wales. We began at the Lagunas de Mancho
Zurillo, but the cold wind and threatening clouds resulted in many of
the smaller birds keeping deep into cover. An Osprey showed well for 10
minutes and Booted Eagles, a Short-toed Eagle, Common Buzzards,
Kestrels and Turtle Doves kept us busy for a while. As the sun appeared
and the wind dropped we began recording more birds and recorded
Southern Grey Shrikes, Pied and Spotted Flycatchers, Whinchats, Willow
Warblers, a Sardinian Warbler, Great Tits, Hoopoes and Iberian Magpies.
On the lagoons we saw Black-winged Stilts, Little-ringed Plovers,
Common Sandpipers, Grey Herons, Little Egrets, Common Pochards and
Tufted Ducks. Two Black Storks and a few Ravens were seen circling on a
thermal and a female Hen Harrier drifted slowly by. As we drove along
the Corredor Verde toward the Isla Mayor we found the first of three
Black-shouldered Kites that were to be seen during the day.
As we
passed alongside a few recently harvested rice fields we had very good
close-up views of hundreds of White Storks, Cattle Egrets and both
Lesser Black-backed and Black-headed Gulls.
Once we reached the Isla
Mayor I parked beside a tamarisk tree that is noted as the day-roosting
site for Black-crowned Night Herons. We were not to be disappointed and
19 birds were seen in the tree.
At the "reedbeds" we saw the
resident male Golden Bishop, 10 Common Waxbills, a Squacco Heron, Green
and Wood Sandpipers, Snipe, Marsh Harriers and Reed Warblers. A Water
Rail called for almost 30 minutes but we were unable to get a view of
it.
We then drove along the east bank of the Entremuros, finding
Greenshanks, Dunlins, Curlew Sandpipers, Ringed and Kentish Plovers,
Little Stints and numerous Montagu's Harriers.
In the afternoon we
visited the Partido de Resina and although we saw many birds, we only
added a Purple Heron and a Common Quail to our list.
We ended the
day at the Dehesa de Pilas and the Arroyo de la Cigüeñas. As the others
were looking for Pin-tailed Sandgrouse, I spotted one, then two and
then four Little Bustards alongside the arroyo. These provided
excellent viewing from about 100 metres for around 30 minutes. We also
saw a Little Owl, Collared Pratincoles, Northern Wheatears, 3 Tawny
Pipits, Spotless Starlings, Barn Swallows and hundreds of Yellow
Wagtails.
22nd September. With me today were a group of 8
birders from Lancashire, led by Robin Griffiths. The group are enjoying
one of my 8 day/7 night birding packsge tours and will be with me all
week.
Rebecca and I collected the group from their hotel and
proceeded to the Arroyo de las Cañadas. At various points along the
arroyo we saw Little and Cattle Egrets, 2 Kingfishers, Crested Larks,
Pied and Spotted Flycatchers, Willow Warblers, an Iberian Chiffchaff, a
Whitethroat, Stonechats, Whinchats, Serins and Snipe.
Our next stop
was along the El Rocío - Villamanrique road, where a beautiful
Short-toed Eagle posed for over 15 minutes, before displaying his
flying skills. We also recorded several Common Buzzards and Kestrels,
Red-rumped Swallows, a few Tree Sparrows and numerous Corn Buntings.
The
Lagunas de Mancho Zurillo produced 4 Booted Eagles, two of which
circled just 30 metres above us for a few minutes. An Osprey was
perched in a tree in the centre of one of the lagoons and gave
excellent views. Other birds seen at the lagoons included Great crested
and Little Grebes, Pintails, Shovelers, Teal and Tufted Ducks.
As we
drove along the Corredor Verde we were treated to an aerial display by
a pair of Black-shouldered Kites and a female Montagu's Harriers. More
Booted Eagles, several Ravens and a lone Black Stork were also seen.
A
visit to the "reedbeds" produced some of my expected species, namely 3
male and numerous female Golden Bishop, a flock of a dozen Common
Waxbills, Zitting Cisticolas, Little-ringed Plovers, Common Redshanks,
White Storks, Grey and Black-crowned Night Herons and numerous Marsh
Harriers.
We then visited the turf growing farm alongside the
Arroyo de las Cigüeñas and saw Yellow Wagtails, Tawny Pipits, Northern
Wheatears, another Osprey and a flock of 13 Black Storks.
Our last birds of the day were at the Dehesa de Pilas, where two Little Bustards displayed well for over 10 minutes.
23rd September. The second day with the group of 8 birders from Lancashire was spent at several sites to the west of the Donana region.
The Laguna El Portil was alive with birds, mainly ducks and gulls and we had stunning views of several Male White-headed and a pair of Ferruginous Ducks.
There were also Pintails, Gadwalls, Common Pochards and a number of
both Little and Black-necked Grebes. Numerous Black Terns and a small
number of Whiskered Terns were also present and pair of Egyptian Geese were also seen. I assume that this is the same pair that I saw there a couple of months ago.
The
water level of the lagoon is now fairly low and this has exposed the
shelving banks of the lagoon and created a suitable habitat for waders.
We recorded Snipe, Little-ringed Plovers, Redshanks and Dunlins.
We
then visited a site called La Ribera near Cartaya. This is the higher
reaches of the Río Piedras and it always produces a good selection of
birds. Feeding on the mudbanks were Ringed and Kentish Plovers,
Bar-tailed Godwits, Whimbrels, Greenshanks, Common Sandpipers,
Sanderlings, Little and Cattle Egrets, Black-winged Stilts, White
Storks and both Yellow-legged and Black-headed Gulls.
At the Marismas de Río Piedras there were Sandwich Terns, 4 Caspian Terns, over 100 Curlews, Oystercatchers, Ruddy Turnstones, Grey Plovers and Lesser Black-backed Gulls.
The
last site we visited was the Marismas de Odiel and although many of the
previous mention birds were again seen, we only managed to add Curlew
Sandpipers, Black-tailed Godwits, Cormorants, an Audouin's Gull and a Ring-billed Gull to our list.
Other
birds seen throughout the day included Stonechats, Whinchats, Crested
Larks, Iberian Chiffchaffs, Willow Warblers, Hoopoes, Iberian Magpies,
Buzzards and Marsh Harriers.
24th September. This was the
3rd day with the group of 8 people that are enjoying one of my package
holidays. Today we wanted to try for some of the forest birds si I
drove to the Algaida de Felix, between La Rocina and the Palacio de
Acebrón. It was a misty morning and for the first 20 minutes we only
saw a few Blackbirds, Sparrows and Stonechats. As the mist cleared we
began to notice more activity in the trees and a flock of about 12
Long-tailed Tits (spp irbii) started feeding in the trees above
our heads. Next came 3 Iberian Chiffchaffs and a few Chaffinches and
Goldfinches. Several Southern Grey Shrikes we seen, along with good
numbers of both Spotted and Pied Flycatchers. After about an hour I
finally found the main target bird for the day, a Crested Tit,
performing nicely just 30 metres away. This was closely followed by a
pair of Short-toed Treecreepers.
The next site visited was the La
Rocina nature reserve, where we managed to find two Black-shouldered
Kites, Common Kestrels, a Sparrowhawk, Spotless Starlings and two
Cetti's Warblers.
We had our lunch at the El Acebuche centre,
accompanied by dozens of Iberian Magpies, a few of which were bold
enough to take crumbs from beside me on the table, just half a metre
away.
We then took a four hour tour inside the National Park. As we
drove along the beach we saw an Osprey, a Peregrine Falcon, Booted
Eagles, Ravens, Kentish and Grey Plovers, Sanderlings, Ruddy
Turnstones, Oystercatchers, Lesser Black-backed, Yellow-legged and
Audouin's Gulls, Sandwich and Black Terns and a Gannet. Amongst one of
the many roosting flocks of Sandwich Terns I spotted something
different. I immediately recognized it as a Lesser-crested Tern and pointed it out to the rest of the group.
Later in the day we had a fairly good view of a juvenile Bonelli's Eagle, a scarce bird for this region.
25th September.
Today was the 4th day of 6 with the group from Lancashire and an
excellent day of birding was had. The main area to be visited today was
the Brazo del Este and the Isla de los Olivillos, but I first wanted a
chance to find some of the "steppe" birds in the area to the southeast
of Villamanrique.
As we drove from El Rocio we saw Iberian Magpies,
a Southern Grey Shrike, a Black-shouldered Kite, Common Buzzards and
Kestrels, Corn Buntings and Cattle Egrets.
At the first stop, at
Casa Banco, I spotted three Stone Curlews about 150 metres away. We set
up the telescope and were able to count at least 30 in the scrubby
field, along with numerous Crested Larks, Spotted Flycatchers and
Northern Wheatears. No luck with Pin-tailed Sandgrouse at this stop so
I drove a further 2 kms and stopped again beside the Arroyo de las
Cigüeñas. Within 5 minutes we had seen 5 sandgrouse flying and
discovered 4 Little bustards. A larger flock of about 25 sandgouse flew
directly overhead and landed out in the Dehesa de Pilas, too far away
for us to get decent views, even with the telescopes. Another sizeable
flock of 40+ Stone Curlews, 7 Hoopoes, several Marsh Harriers and many
Yellow Wagtails were also seen on the dehesa.
As we drove to the
ferry to cross the Río Guadalquivir, we had very good views of a mixed
flock of White and Black Storks, Grey Herons and Little Egrets.
At
the Isla de los Olivillos there was a Woodchat Shrike, a Red Kite, an
Osprey, Zitting Cisticolas and a Cetti's Warbler. The eastern part of
the Brazo del Este provided us with a few male Golden Bishops, Booted
Eagles, Purple Swamp-hens, Squacco Herons, several flocks of Common
Waxbills, Ringed, Little-ringed and Kentish Plovers, Snipe, Ruff,
Dunlins, Little Stints, Green, Wood and Common Sandpipers, a Purple
Heron, Black and Whiskered Terns, Pallid Swifts, Barn and Red-rumped
Swallows, House and Sand Martins, Lapwings, Whinchats and Tawny Pipits.
At the northern end of the site we saw many of the previously mentioned birds, plus Spoonbills, Greater Flamingos and Avocets.
26th September.
My fifth day with the group of 8 birders from Lancashire took us again
to the west of the region. The first site visited was the Río Tinto at
San Juan del Puerto, a vast area of river and salt marsh. Not a lot of
birds were present, but 2 hunting Ospreys and a Caspian Tern kept us
interested. There were a few other birds recorded, such as Green
Sandpipers, Redshanks, Cattle Egrets, Sardinian and Willow Warblers and
a very friendly Iberian Chiffchaff.
The next stop was at the Reserva
Natural Estero de Domingo Rubio. The site here was teeming with birds
and we saw Spoonbills, White Storks, Little Egrets, Grey Herons, Snipe,
Black-tailed Godwits, Ringed, Little-ringed and Kentish Plovers,
Dunlins, Little Stints, Great Crested and Little Grebes, Teal,
Gadwalls, Shovelers, Little Terns, Reed, Cetti's and Spectacled
Warblers, Zitting Cisticolas, Stonechats, Crested Larks and another
Osprey.
After a picnic lunch we visited the lower end of the Río
Tinto at La Rábida, where waders were very much in evidence. Good
numbers of Ruddy Turnstones, Whimbrels and Sanderlinds were feeding on
the exposed mudbanks, close to our location and a solitary
Oystercatcher was also present, along with many Black-headed and
Yellow-legged Gulls.
We then stopped at the Laguna Primera de Palos, where two Red-knobbed Coots
were undoubtedly the star birds of the day. Also at the lagoon there
were numerous Purple Swamp-hens, Cormorants and a female Marsh Harrier.
Our
last stop of the day was at the Parque Dunar at Matalascañas. Most
birds were sheltering from the heat, but we did manage a Dartford
Warbler, better views of Sardinian Warblers, Northern Wheatears,
Southern Grey Shrikes and both Black-billed and Iberian Magpies.
From
the Lighthouse behind the park we saw several Gannets about a kilometre
out to sea and we were overflown by a Peregrine Falcon.
27th September.
This was my last day with the package holiday group from Lancashire.
Tomorrow I transfer them back to the airport at the end of their week.
In all, we recorded 124 species. Not a startling number, but in an area
that has been badly affected by drought for the last 18 months, I was
fairly pleased with the results and we have enjoyed some excellent
birding.
Today we visited the Dehesa de Pilas, Partido de Resina,
the Entremuros and the Isla Mayor rice fields and although we saw many
bird species, including Stone Curlews, Pin-tailed Sandgrouse, Black
Storks, Little Bustards and Black-shouldered kites, we only added Hen
Harriers and Glossy Ibis to our week's tour list.
29th September.
With me on my tour today were Kerry and Vaudry Booth from Cheshire,
Mathias Schaef and his girlfriend Kristina from Germany, Nick Holmes
from Northampton and Johannes Plaschegg from Austria. Kerry and Vaudry
had travelled across from Álora, in Málaga province, where they had
been staying with Keith and Sherill, at the Finca Limoneros www.fincalimoneros.com, good friends of ours who offer excellent accommodation and guided birding in that region.
We
began the birding at the Corredor Verde and saw a few Iberian Magpies,
Crested Larks and Spotted Flycatchers on the way. At the Lagunas de
Mancho Zurillo we found Common Pochards, Teal, Shovellers, Grey Herons,
Little-ringed Plovers, Black-winged Stilts, little Egrets, Hoopoes,
Serins, Goldfinches and Common Buzzards. At other points along the
"corredor" we saw about 15 Red-legged Partridges, 3 Southern Grey
Shrikes and 9 Black-shouldered Kites, two of which were "sky-dancing"
only 50 metres from us and the highlight came as they locked claws and
spiralled downwards, for about 35 metres, before dis-engaging and
flying off before they hit the ground. Truly spectacular stuff!
We
then headed for the Arroyo de las Cigüeñas and the Dehesa de Banco.
here we found numerous Stone Curlews, Whinchats, Northern Wheatears,
Whinchats, Yellow and Grey Wagtails, Cattle Egrets, an Osprey, a Red
Kite, Kestrels and Marsh Harriers.
We then drove around the Isla
Mayor rice fields and at the Cortijo de los Olivillos we discovered 8
Black Storks, Cattle Egrets and a Western Reef Heron (Egretta gularis gularis), which is a Spanish rarity and the first I have discovered since May 2004.
At
the Entremuros there were Green Sandpipers, Ringed Plovers, Lapwings,
Red and Greenshanks, Spoonbills, 100's of White Storks, 3 Montagu's
Harriers a Barn Owl and another Black-shouldered Kite, bringing our
total up to 10 for the day, just one behind my record count of 11.
Our next stop was at the "reedbeds", were 3 male Golden Bishops (Euplectes afer), plus numerous females were seen feeding with at least 15 Common Waxbills.
Our last stop was at the Dehesa de Pilas, where 4 Little Bustards were found.
30th September.
Today I had Kerry and Vaudrey Booth with me for a second day of
birding. They were joined on today's tour by Ray and Joan Sherred from
Southampton and Arnoud and Wendy Richardson from France.
The first
site visited was the Laguna Primera de Palos, to the west of the
region. Almost immediately I spotted the two resident Red-knobbed Coots
and alerted the others to their location. As they were viewing the
coots I found an Osprey perched on the far side of the lagoon. On the
water there were Common Pochards, Shovelers and Little Grebes and a
scan of the reedbeds produced at least 7 purple Swamp-hens. Numerous
Little Egrets were also seen. As we were packing up to leave, Ray
spotted a Southern Grey Shrike.
Our next stop was at the Laguna El Portil and again, almost immediately, I pin-pointed 3 male White-headed Ducks
and several females. Other duck species included Gadwalls, Teal, a
Red-crested Pochard and Pintails. Further scanning of the massed ducks
revealed a single Ferruginous Duck, just 40 metres away from
our position and 5 Black-necked Grebes. A good number of waders were
present and we recorded Black-tailed Godwits, Black-winged Stilts,
Little-ringed Plovers, Dunlins and Sanderlings.
We then moved on to the Marismas del Río Piedras where we very soon had excellent close-up views of three Caspian Terns
flying up and down the river, hunting. As we watched, a flock of more
than 100 Whimbrels flew past our viewpoint, upset from their feeding by
an Osprey. Cormorants and Sandwich Terns and a Kingfisher were seen
perched on posts along the river and Curlews, Grey Herons, Ringed and
Grey Plovers, Bar=tailed Godwits, Redshanks, Oystercatchers and an
Avocet we feeding on the marshes. On the nearby golfcourse there were
Cattle Egrets, Yellow Wagtails, Northern Wheatears, Stonechats and a
Southern Grey Shrike. | | | |
|
|
|
|
|
