Spain, Almeria - Cabo de Gata, duck (1 Viewer)

ID please...

Female Teal

mmm... 21 species to check through still, without a book in this isolated spot and a crawling internet...and my bird has a pale blue speculum, not green, any comments on this...

agree with teal, the colour of the speculum is due to light refracted from the surface of the feathers, it's not pigmentation that causes the colour, at certain angles it can appear purple or blue (or black!) also in favour of teal is the small dark bill, grey legs and the white wedge on the sides of the tail

Thanks for that answer, have been trying to find out how many Teal species might be seen in Spain but no answer as yet, off out now, will check back later today.

Whats the area like for Birds, Sunbird ?
Have a friend who moved to Almeria & she's invited me over, so have been looking at the area on the internet.

osprey31 said:

Whats the area like for Birds, Sunbird ?
Have a friend who moved to Almeria & she's invited me over, so have been looking at the area on the internet.

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Cabo de Gata has a large area of salt pans by the coast north-west of the cape itself good for wintering waders and resident Flamingoes, several hides along the coastal side, set well back so a good scope needed, though I just use a long telefoto and study the pics later! A mile or so north of Cabo de Gata village, about 5 miles north of the cape, is a large lagoon, again with lots of waterbirds and many others also. 50-75 species at a guess, maybe more. Can tell you more tonight, off out now.

Sunbird24 said:

Thanks for that answer, have been trying to find out how many Teal species might be seen in Spain but no answer as yet, off out now, will check back later today.

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Normally the only teal is Eurasian Teal, Anas crecca.

Osprey31 - the Almeria area is good for birding. I only started birding again about 3 years ago and have had a few 2 week family NOT birding holidays in the Vera/Peurto Rey area (north of Cabo de Gata) with some travelling about to various places to see more of the region and have seen many different species.

Off the top of my head (I have a lousy memory btw)

Kentish Plover, Little Ringed Plover, Ringed Plover, Spotted Redshank, Avocet, Greater Flamingo, Black-winged Stilt, Black-tailed Godwit, Marbled Duck, White-headed Duck, Purple Swamphen, Coot, Slender-billed Gull, Auduoin's Gull, Yellow-legged Gull, Gull-billed Tern, Griffon Vulture, Bonelli's Eagle, Kestrel, Black Wheatear, Black-eared Wheatear, Zitting Cisticola, Great Reed Warbler, Squacco Heron, Cattle Egret, Alpine Swift, Crag Martin, Red-rumped Swallow, Blue Rock Thrush, Redstart, Hoopoe, Bee-eater, Great-spotted Cuckoo, Red-necked Nightjar.....you get the idea, plenty to see.

I usually go in June, any later and it's hotter than hell down there in Almeria, it's the only place in Europe with sub-desert habitat.

In-laws are there at the moment and they are already getting into the 20°'s.

Where to watch birds in Southern Spain(Garcia and Paterson)has 33 pages on Almeria province and 5 of these are aboiut Cabo de Gata

Thanks for the info...& apologies for hijacking your original thread Sunbird, but its always good to get first hand impressions from those who know the area.