On Monday 15th March we decided to give Clot de Galvany another quick look through (we were last there 4 weeks ago) to simply see what hasn’t gone north yet and with much more anticipation what could have arrived. As long as your expectations are not mountain-high it is not too much to assume that you will see something good. And we did - of course.
Looking skywards we saw hardly anything. No swathes of Hirundines going north and all we had was one single Barn Swallow - Golondrina Común.
The big hide with that expanse of water was loaded with Coot - Focha Común and the usual three species of Grebe Little - Zampullin Común, Black-necked - Zampullin Cuellinegro and Great Crested - Somormujo Lavenca. The coot had already nested and were swimming with their young. Within feet of the hide, feeding on the green weed that had drifted in, were two incredibly smart White Wagtails - Lavandera Blanca. We see plenty of them and they are worth a look.The number of ducks had significantly reduced and putting it bluntly, it was quiet and so we moved on. A quick visit to the ‘dry’ hide gave us nothing and we moved on to the smaller lake.
On the way we enjoyed the number of Sardinian Warblers - Curruca Cabecinnegrathat flitted around chasing each other. On one occasion three flew within feet of our heads. We had numerous clear views and the photographers got busy. The warblers were a joy to watch.
The smaller water and a little patience paid us back. Red-headed Pochards - Pato Colorado were numerous and the males showed very bright red beaks to go with their ‘punk’ heads. Common Pochard - Porrón Europea too, and as usual Marbled Duck - Cerceta Pardilla swam close and male Shovelers - Cuchara Europea showed the iridescent head plumage. All terrific. A pair of Gadwall - Ánade Friso were photographed and maybe they will breed here.
Red Headed Pochard
We seem to always save the best for last. A Common Snipe - Agachadiza Común flew across and back again which allowed us to confirm what it was. A female Little Bittern - Avetorrillo Común flew in and disappeared into the reeds. Then a male flew and perched in the distance. It is possible we have a breeding pair.
A species count of both seen and/or heard was 33. Yes, it could have been more and we still have many that have not arrived. So much to look forward to and the mountains on Wednesday and that will be a total change of habitat.
Photographs shown on my blog are forwarded by Bryan Thomas or from Michelle Edwards who also has an Instagram account.
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