Costa Blanca Bird Club visits the Ebro Delta.

We met at the Gran Buffet at Sant Carles de la Repita and while standing in the car park awaiting other arrivals there were two Short-toed Eagles overhead with one being harassed by a Sparrow Hawk. We saw at least six Short-toed which we assumed were on their passage south. Then, again flying south we saw a Honey Buzzard.

We moved on to Deltebre and the Delta Hotel and there playing in a puddle were two Willow Warblers. One of our group saw a Kingfisher nearby.

The quest for the afternoon was to find a Pacific Golden Plover. We toured the rice fields with out success but what else did we see?
Marsh Harriers
Herons - Grey, juvenile Purple and Squacco
Egrets - Little, Cattle and Large White.
They have just started to harvest the rice crop and in the churned up mud we saw about 50-60 Glossy Ibis, two Curlew, about six Lesser-backed Gulls among the other gulls and a Blue-throat.
We continued our search for this elusive Plover and during this time we saw Common Terns, Whiskered Terns and one Caspian Tern. One churned up field that we passed yielded six flying Snipe and in another location we saw Green Sandpipers in flight. Also a Night Heron was spotted.
At an observation point overlooking shallow lagoons we saw Ruff, Little Stint, Little-ringed and Kentish Plovers with Red-shank and Green-shank nearby. We feasted our eyes on the birds before us and the experts saw a Pectoral Sandpiper and then two White-rumped Sandpipers were located and then flew for us. Also here I saw one Grey Plover in winter plumage and one other still in its summer attire.
In the sky twelve Purple Herons flew away from us and about two hundred Glossy Ibis did the same.
The identifications have been made with people that know their birds and hopefully tomorrow we will all get clear views of these rarities and whatever else we can see. Malcolm last view of a Pectoral was in 1975 - so he was pleased with especially as these two species were seen in out last twenty minutes before the light faded. Later the list was written up and the total was 62.
Now for the morning at sun-up.