More on the Migration

Having read some of the birding reports I knew that the migration had gathered impetus. So we met again at Gran Alicant, but this time the two became four with Tony from Leigh and Jeanette from North Holland. Clot de Galvany was our first stop and here two White Headed Ducks sat in the middle of the water. Two Common Sandpipers were active and we heard Little Bittern calling, then one showed on the edge of reeds and eventually we saw two fly. A Reed Warbler was in the reeds next to the hide.

We moved on to our usual stops along the N 332 and apart from the usual we were rewarded with a clear view of a juvenile Purple Heron flying over. There was a mass of Gulls on the Salinas and a good number Great Crested Grebes.
At El Pinet there was much more to see. Little Terns were active and a Sandwich Tern flew in the distance. A young Collared Pratincole was on an island. A Kentish and several Little Ringed Plovers were feeding with Dunlin, Little Stints, Black Tailed Godwits, Redshank, two Curlew Sandpipers and the occasional Avocet and Flamingo.

Heading towards San Felipe Neri we were on the look out for Rollers and Bee-eaters. We managed one lone Roller, probably a juvenile, that was perched in a tree. The Bee-eaters put on an exceptional display for us. On the electric cables they were perched in their hundreds. They flew and hawked all around. Some came over the top of us and perched alongside. They are beautiful birds and now they are on their way south. We heard them again at San Felipe and that could be the last that we see or hear of them until early summer.

Apart for an occasional Marsh Harrier any raptors were not easy to find. We had perched Common Kestrels and only one Common Buzzard. However at the far right lagoon at Hondo and as we were watching the waders, a Short-toed Eagle splashed down, stood in the shallow water, and then flew directly over us as we watched from the hide. That was close and all the underside plumage was seen.

Time was now limited and so we made a quick appraisal of the waders. Temmink’s Stint was observed along with a Wood Sandpiper. Dunlin and Little Ringed Plovers were also there. We will return and with adequate time we will see what we can locate. In a group there were seventy Glossy Ibis with twenty to thirty more elsewhere in the water. Our two visitors were keen to see both Marbled Ducks and Red-knobbed Coots. These we found and with no collars on the latter.

The scrapes around the visitor center are overgrown and there are no margins for the waders. That was disappointing and although we took the boardwalk both ways we saw nothing of note except for another juvenile Purple Heron in flight and one flying Squacco Heron and both rounded the day off nicely,

Small birds were in short supply, but Zitting Cisticolas showed frequently.

However the skies were busy with Barn Swallows (mainly), Red-rumps as well and with some House Martins and Common and Pallid Swifts. They were all heading south of course. We also especially wanted to see an Alpine Swift, but maybe next time.