Continuing our northward journey we next stopped at Motril where I visited the small reserve of Charco Suarez which is still one of the best places in Spain for Crested Coot, thanks to a reintroduction programme. There was some interaction between the two species of coot and it seemed to be the Cresteds that were chasing the Eurasians. The photo shows the pale trailing edge to the wing due to the paler secondaries which is restricted to just the secondary tips in Crested, Also has Purple Swamphen, a single male Ferruginous Duck and several Spoonbill.
Crested Coot chasing Eurasian Coot |
Crested Coot |
Trumpeter Finch |
Slender-billed Gull - adult |
Subalpine Warbler juv - they yellow flowers have given this bird a yellowish cast to mantle |
Spectacled Warbler - juvenile |
Spectacled (left) and Subalpine Warblers |
Spectacled Warbler |
Black Wheatear |
Black-necked Grebe including leucistic bird |
I counted 30 on the first day but over 100 on the second but surprisingly I only saw 2 birds in first summer plumage which are pictured below.
Slender-billed Gulls - both first summer |
Kentish Plover |
Yellow-collared Lovebirds - I think the blue one is a colour morph |
We carried on the Ebro Delta, I was here in Spring 2016 and it's a fantastic area with a huge breeding colony of Audouin's Gulls but by 27th September when I arrived I only saw about a dozen birds and all adults. At least 500 Greater Flamingo were a real spectacle, especially as they left the lagoons in small groups on a morning presumably to feeding grounds on the coast.
Greater Flamingo |
In the bushes there were a few migrant Pied Flycatchers and Common Redstarts and in the evening Scops Owls called from the small wooded campsite where we stayed but day-time searches failed to reveal them. I looked for a Pacific Golden Plover which had been seen in recent days but the weather had turned and it was raining and I couldn't find it so spent some time photographing a yellow wagtail. I think this is a 1st winter male Blue-headed Wagtail.
Blue-headed Wagtail - 1st winter male |
Two-tailed Pasha |
Alpine Accentor |
Lammergier or Bearded Vulture |
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