Birding on the Costa del Sol (Malaga) (2 Viewers)

Nice one, Luis, the light is so good you can even see the 'Gold' on the head:eek!:

Laurie:t:

Bird watching at the mouth of the Guadalhorce (2014.07.20)

The presence of the first Cormorant and Lesser Black-backed Gulls, an increased number of adult Yellow-legged Gulls, a Wood Sandpiper and some Curlew Sandpipers are symptoms that something is going on...

Despite the heat today on the coast, it is always worthwhile a walk at the mouth of the Guadalhorce. I entered the site from Sacaba and saw the Lesser Black-backed Gull and a young Cormorant in flight over the east branch of the river.

The Rio Viejo was a swarm of gulls of many different species: Yellow-legged, Lesser black-backed, Audouin’s, Black-headed, Mediterranean and even Herring Gulls if you are with me when looking at the pictures. They all have their own way to rest: Audouin’s like standing on little mounds just over the water; Yellow-legged and Lesser Black-backed like lying on little islands or the banks; and Black-headed and Mediterraneans prefer to stay swimming in the water.

The level of water at the Laguna del Rio Viejo is a little lower and the mudflat ready to receive the coming waders. I wish Black-winged Stilts have finished raising their broods and are ready to share the site with other birds!

There were two young Little Bitterns and a Wood Sandpiper at the Laguna de la Casilla and Little Grebes are still feeding their little chicks at the Laguna Escondida.

Big flocks of Black-headed Gulls with some infiltrated Mediterranean ones were resting at the Laguna Grande, where I could also spot Flamingos, a Spoonbill, Dunlins, Curlew Sandpipers and a male Ruff with some remainders of his summer plumage.

And a Booted Eagle quartering over the east branch of the river in my way out of the site was the last sign that migration is on its way...

Birding at Montes de Malaga (2014.07.27)

The pinewood shade is a fantastic option for birdwatching in summer time.

I have enjoyed an entertaining exercise of bird -watching and –hearing amongst pine trees, strawberry trees, holm and cork oaks with a wide list of species observed: Short-toed Eagle, Booted Eagle, Wood Pigeon, Swift sp., Great Spotted Woodpecker, Red-rumped Swallow, House Martin, Robin, Nightingale, Mistle Thrush, Blackbird, Blackcap, Sardinian Warbler, Melodious Warbler, Western Bonelli’s Warbler, Wren, Great Tit, Coal Tit, Blue Tit, Crested Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Nuthatch, Short-toed Treecreeper, Jay, Chaffinch, Linnet, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Serin, Common Crossbill and Cirl Bunting.

Birdfair in Rutland 2014

Dear Friends,

I will be present at the BIRDFAIR this year in Rutland, available between ANDALUCIA TOURIST BOARD (Marquee 4 Stands 9-10) and ANDALUCIA BIRDLIFE GUIDES (Marquee 8 Stand 17, thanks to my dear friend Peter Jones who is kindly sheltering me there!), both worthwhile visiting places.

I’ll be very glad to meet you all there!

Luis Alberto Rodriguez

See you there Luis Alberto....Eddy

Hope u have a gud trip Luis and that a good bird turns up whilst you are in Blighty.....

Laurie:t:

Andalucia Bird Society August field meeting at Montes de Malaga / Salida de agosto de

31 species is a nice record for a conifer woodland in the middle of August!

There were some interesting birds in the list like a flock of 20+ Black Kites that we saw early in the morning, surely after having roosted in the park, one Dartford Warbler, a gorgeous Short-toed Eagle hanging in the wind and quartering the ridge over the group for quite a long time, Crested Tits, Firecrests, Common Crossbills (kings of the day) and several Red-rumped Swallows over the Hotel Humaina and the Lagar de Torrijos.

eddy the eagle said:

See you there Luis Alberto....Eddy

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It was nice to meet you at the Birdfair, Eddy!!

And to meet you too.My regards to those in Malaga....Eddy

Birdwatching at the mouth of river Guadalhorce (2014.08.24)

First Teals, Greenshanks and... Osprey of the autumn season.

This is the list of birds as I have spotted them:

East branch of the river and beach: House Sparrow, Yellow-legged Gull, Kentish Plover, Kingfisher, Mediterranean Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Dunlin, Spotless Starling, Greenfinch, Common Sandpiper, Goldfinch, Crested Lark, Serin, Black-winged Stilt, Woodchat Shrike, Little Ringed Plover, Audouin’s Gull, Sardinian Warbler, Mallard, Barn Swallow, Little Tern, (Dolphins), House Martin, Grey Heron.

Rio Viejo: Black-headed Gull, Cetti’s Warbler, Monk Parakeet, Greenshank, Teal, Coot, Little Grebe, Little Egret, Little Bittern, Moorhen, Collared Dove, Marsh Harrier, Booted Eagle, Black-necked Grebe, Zitting Cisticola.

Laguna de la Casilla: White-headed Duck, Pochard, Red-rumped Swallow, Great Tit, Nightingale, Spotted Flycatcher, Swift.

Laguna Escondida: Reed Warbler, Black-headed Weaver, Shoveler, Hoopoe.

Laguna Grande: Cattle Egret, Spoonbill, Flamingo, Turnstone, Blackbird, Osprey, Kestrel, Crag Martin.

57 species in total.

Thank you Luis Alberto I think I will make a trip down there later this week it has been too long since I was there.....Eddy

I was at the reserve at the mouth of the Guadalhorce river today after an absence of over 12 years,how things have changed.I took your advice Luis Alberto and parked near the church and walked the rest.It was about 9 am when I arrived and already the temperature was 27 C and the sun was burning.Virtually no birds except house sparrows in the scrubland on the other side of the causeway and over the bridge.On the other side of the bridge cetti´s warbler could be heard and grey herons flew over togther with I think monk parakeets.
At the first hide were coot,white headed duck,moorhen,red crested and common pochard,little grebe,a lone marbled duck,shoveler.gadwall,kingfisher and a nice juvenile monty above the scrub.
As time moved on it was getting hotter and I welcomed the shade of the second hide overlooking laguna grande.here there was little ringed plover,two grey plover in full breeding plumage,common sandpipers,dunlin,LBB gull black headed gull,cattle and little egret barn swallows and collared doves and of course the ever present yellow legged gull.
Although I enjoyed the sight of some birds I have not seen in Cadiz the temperature was soaring over 33C when I decided to leave.I will come back again later in the year to see what else I can find.Kind regards ...Eddy

Yes, Eddy, the hot is killing us all!!

I am glad that you enjoyed the visit.

Just one point regarding safety: I do not recommend parking just near the church. Try to avoid the parking just in front of the church by getting into the streets, among the houses.

I wish we can have some rain and everything gets a bit greener!!

Luis - what's the forecast next week?

Laurie:t:

rollingthunder said:

Luis - what's the forecast next week?

Laurie:t:

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Sorry, Laurie, I'm afraid I'm a bit late with the forecast...

Still hot and no rain. Please, Rain, coooooome!!

Bird watching at Rio Grande (2014.09.13)

Rio Grande never lets you go empty handed...

Despite the level of water in the river has dropped dramatically during the summer, there are still some “oasis” in the riverbed that keep the typical species stay in the site.

I got to the river at around 7:00, with 21ºC and soon began to record quite a nice amount of species...

Little Owl, Grey Heron, Crested Lark, Blackbird, Night Heron, Spotted Flycatcher, Cetti’s Warbler, Jay, Mallard, Sardinian Warbler, Common Sandpiper, Moorhen (with very young chicks), Bee-eater, Raven, White Wagtail, Cattle Egret, Black Stork (they have already arrived!), Little Egret, Great Tit, Robin, Spotless Starling, Grey Wagtail, Blue Tit, Blackcap, Goldfinch, House Sparrow, Peregrine Falcon (I first saw a couple, later a juvenile eating a bird on the ground near the Black Storks), Hoopoe, Short-toed Treecreeper, Booted Eagle (very active in the site, possibly local individuals), Green Sandpiper (forming a flock at the end of the morning of around ten individuals), Pied Flycatcher, Red-legged Partridge, Kingfisher, Collared Dove, Barn Swallow, Swift (the only one today!), Willow Warbler, Sparrowhawk, Common Buzzard, Greenfinch, Honey Buzzard, Short-toed Eagle (two HB, the STE and a Booted Eagle flying high in migration mode), Common Waxbill, Starling, Serin (they appeared singing as if in display at midday!), House Martin, Turtle Dove, Red-rumped Swallow and Long-tailed Tit.

50 species in total!

Birdwatching at the mouth of the Guadalhorce (2014.09.16)

It has probably been the beginning of autumn today with a pretty fresh and cloudy morning and the threat of some rain coming from the west.

And also because I found some typical autumn birds like the first Cormorants resting and fishing in the site, the first Snipes at Laguna del Rio Viejo and the close presence of Booted Eagles, the Osprey and some tired Red-rumped Swallows that kindly posed for my modest camera.

Birding around Velez-Malaga with Quirri (2014.10.01)

Amazing amount and diversity of birds on passage like Dotterel, Northern Wheatear, Tawny and Tree Pipit, Whinchat, Redstart, Short-toed Lark, Yellow Wagtail, Pied Flycatcher, Sand Martin or Purple Heron.

It is worth devoting time to less frequented places, especially with those for whom they are very well known patches. And that is the case of Velez-Malaga and my friend Quirri, one of the best holistic naturalists one can find in... at least Spain.

We started at daybreak in the Campiñuelas, very humanized wide clayey plains to the east of the village, with scarce vegetation and surrounded by abandoned old olive groves. It is still hot here (23ºC by 7:00) but the day was pleasantly cloudy.

I soon could personally check Quirri’s accounts of the amount, diversity and rarity of the birds you can watch in the area.

Wheatears appear in such an amount, that you might well say “there is very much of them” instead of “there are many of them”, unbelievable. Plenty of Tawny Pipits and Short-toed Larks, also Redstarts, Whinchats, Rock Sparrows or Stone Curlews (in a flock of five) that may be very common in other latitudes and heights, but not that much so close to the sea. And also rarer friends like one Dotterel (flushed at some distance by somebody walking his dogs) and one Tree Pipit.

Another great point was the presence of seven Sylvia Warblers: Garden, Western Orphean, Sardinian, Spectacled (in quite a big amount!), Subalpine, Blackcap and Whitethroat.

List of birds observed in the Campiñuelas: Cattle Egret, Booted Eagle (dark morph), Kestrel, Stone Curlew, Dotterel, Wood Pigeon, Collared Dove, Turtle Dove, Little Owl, Hoopoe, Thekla Lark, Short-toed Lark, Barn Swallow, House Martin, Tawny Pipit, Tree Pipit, Yellow Wagtail, Grey Wagtail, Robin, Redstart, Wheatear, Whinchat, Stonechat, Blackbird, Blue Rock Thrush, Garden Warbler, Blackcap, Whitethroat, Western Orphean Warbler, Sardinian Warbler, Spectacled Warbler, Subalpine Warbler, Zitting Cisticola, Reed Warbler, Willow Warbler, Spotted Flycatcher, Pied Flycatcher, Great Tit, Iberian Grey Shrike, Spotless Starling, House Sparrow, Rock Sparrow, Chaffinch, Linnet, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Serin and Cirl Bunting (48 species in total, not bad!).

We got to eat (and drink!) something in Velez at 15:00 and then moved to the port of La Caleta to watch shearwaters following the fishing boats arriving to the harbor. Some of the boats had already arrived but we could still see two of them with very nice views of the gulls and Balearic Shearwaters approaching the ships. I could also see my first Gannets of the season.

The additional species at the port were Balearic Shearwater, Gannet, Cormorant, Little Egret, Grey Heron, Mediterranean Gull, Yellow-legged Gull and Lesser Black-backed Gull (8 more species to the list).

And visiting the mouth of Rio Velez was a must once in the area. We first tried to spot some Tree Sparrows around the green houses but we were not lucky. Instead, we could watch a flock of Little Ringed Plovers and Cattle Egrets in the farmland and hear the first Cetti’s Warblers on our way to the river.

The hide near the river gave us a wonderful big flock of Red-rumped Swallows near the mouth. We could also see the famous ringed Red-knobbed Coot, some Mallards, Grey Herons and Green Sandpipers at the banks, with Kingfishers, Nigh Herons and several Sand Martins later on.

There were many more gulls at the beach, Sanderlings and one Scopoli’s Shearwater in the sea. Black Headed, Mediterranean and Audouin’s Gulls were resting in farmlands to the west of the river.

We stayed in the hide until dusk to observe the big roosting flock of Cattle Egrets, also joined by seven Night Herons and two Purple Herons.

Additional species at Rio Velez: Mallard, Teal, Scopoli’s Shearwater, Night Heron, Purple Heron, Moorhen, Coot, Red-knobbed Coot, Little Ringed Plover, Ringed Plover, Sanderling, Green Sandpiper, Black-headed Gull, Audouin’s Gull, Kingfisher, Sand Martin, Red-rumped Swallow, White Wagtail and Cetti’s Warbler (19 more species to the list).

The number of species detected in this wonderful day ads up to 75!

Thank you, Quirri, for such a tiring but productive and enjoyable birding day.

Sounds like the perfect day Luis.

Ben Nevis said:

Sounds like the perfect day Luis.

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It really was one day I will remember for a long time, Ben!!!