Friday 16th October
We decided that we would stay local and do the usual sites. 31st August was the last time we had gone to El Hondon and when arriving there we quickly left due to mosquitos. This morning we had travelled our usual route and it was our last stop. It seems to be a destination for visitors to stroll around and not for ‘birders’. The vegetation restricts seeing what is out there and the water quality seems poor; it is cloudy. Fortunately, the journey was very productive.
I will quickly dispense with stops on the way. The Lagunas opposite Playa Las Brisas did not offer much and we moved on. The Salt Tower and ‘the stones’ layby yielded at least 10 Great White Egrets - Garceta Grande a good number of Grey Herons - Garza Real and on the water, but distant, a large number of Great Crested Grebe - Somormujo Lavanco, which are usual to see, Cormorants - Cormorán Grande have returned in numbers.
No waders we could watch but there were some on the smaller pools which we could not stop for. A Marsh Harrier - Aguilucho Luganero flew over.
El Pinet was a disappointment. The protective fencing in the first lagoon was down and the wire netting rolled up. Possibly storm damage and needs work. At the beach 20 Grey Herons flew over, presumably on their way inland from the fish farms. A Linnet - Pardillo Común sang in a tree.
We now went inland and there we saw Magpies - Urraca ,Common Kestrels - Cernejalo Común, Southern Grey Shrike - Alcaudón Real Meridional , both male and female Stonechats - Tarabilla Europea and not much else.
We knew that the end of the summer was just about over, but still Barn Swallows - Golondrina Común were passing through and what we want is rain. We had a little, but we knew we could rely, at some time, on a flooded field or more accurately a field that was irrigated. That's when the trumps turned up!
A field, turning green, and very wet yielded numerous Yellow Wagtails - Lavandera Boyera and the photos should show which variation? There were also 5 Wood Sandpipers - Andarrios Bastardo and that is a good result - let alone that fall of wagtails. In a corner of it one Green Sandpiper - Andarrios Grande. Add into this total Jackdaws - Grajilla, Glossy Ibis - Morito Común, Cattle Egrets - Garcilla Bueyera, and it was a wonderful sight. Bryan searched diligently for that one bird; a vagrant from afar! But without a result and strangely, not one Pipit! (Bisbita)
Santa Águeda looked different. It had been cleaned up. The scrub and scrapes had been sanitized and were wet. Maybe from the recent rain and maybe because it is being flooded. Maybe the answer is to leave it alone and let the Stints enjoy. The Tamarisk had been pruned back and everywhere had been tidied up. The main pool was having water flooded in and that is a good sign. A Kingfisher - Martin Pescador .called and flew and we counted five Blue Throats - Pechiazul around this pool. No Sandpipers or any Eagles around this part of the Marsh. I surmise that we have high hopes for Santa Águada in future.
On the way and between San Felipe and the turnoff to the information centre two more flooded fields. What a sight. Here we had Mediterranean Gulls - Gaviota Reidora with Black headed - Gaviota Cabecinegra and Glossy Ibis in many numbers, Jackdaws raucous as usual. It would have been great to see a different Gull from the normal. We did look. Now the important stuff with more Yellow Wagtails, obviously on their way south. What a result, flooded fields in two locations with other evidence of recent irrigation too. Just what we wanted.
Two Marsh Harriers - One a male and a male white morph Booted Eagle - Aguililla Calzada was our Raptor count for the day.
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