Coto Donana & the Alentejo with Bird Holidays 28th April - 5th May - Part 1 El Rocio Area

I went with Bird Holidays for another trip to Spain & Portugal. Flying out to Faro on 28th April we drove to El Rocio arriving late afternoon. We then spent 4 nights at the beautifully located Hotel Toruno which over looks the flooded lake of Charco de la Boca. There has been plenty of rain over the winter so the water level was quite high. Walking the few metres from the hotel to the lake on the first evening Great Reed Warblers were singing in the reeds by the walkway but one of the first birds I saw was a male Little Bittern flying across the top of the reeds. Over the next few days I saw Little Bittern both morning and evening and must have seen at least 3 pairs. The males were calling and doing a slow flapping display flight as well as chasing each other and the females. We all had amazing views.

Littler Bittern - upper male in flight, female and male and lower male

A Ruddy Shelduck with Greylag Geese on the far side of the lake was a surprise but has apparently been present for some time. All the starling are Spotless so identification isn't a problem but in any case in spring they are all in spotless plumage with a kind of greasy sheen.

Spotless Starling

Black Kites wheeled over the lake many of them with very rufous underparts making confusion with Red Kite a strong possibility for the unwary.

Black Kite

On our first morning we drove the short distance to La Rocina, a reserve with several hides and a walkway through pines, wet woodland and scrub. Purple Gallinule was soon added to our list with several birds feeding in and around the reed beds. As well as House Martins several Red-rumped Swallow were hawking over the tree tops and, as we walked, we had good views of Serin, Melodious Warbler and Woodchat Shrike.

Serin - male in song

From La Rocina we carried on through the reserve to the Palacio del Acebron. A Wryneck was calling as we parked the car and after a short walk a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker was seen in trees close to the footpath but the most striking bird was a small male Common Waxbill which was collecting nesting material.

Common Waxbill - male

As we walked towards the palace at least three Iberian Chiffchaff were singing, distinguished by there chiff-chiff-chiff rendition of their song rather than the chiff-chaff we hear at home. They stayed in the tops of the trees but I managed a photo of one from below. They show a little more yellow streaking on the underparts but other than that can only be distinguished by the wing formula.

Iberian Chiffchaff

There were very few butterflies but this Green Hairstreak put on a good show.

Green Hairstreak

The familiar calls of a party of Long-tailed Tits could be heard in the trees, the birds here are of the Iberian race irbii, with a grey back and cheeks and often with darker markings on the upper breast.

Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus irbii)

Driving down towards the coast we stopped at the wetland reserve of Acebuche.

Watching Iberian Azure-winged Magpies at Acebuche

 
There were plenty of Iberian Azure-winged Magpies around the car park and in the neighbouring woodland but the wetlands had few birds although Stonechats were very much in evidence and Marsh Harriers were seen hunting.

Iberian Azure-winged Magpie

Back at El Rocio the Little Bitterns put on another show and a Ruddy Shelduck was a surprise find although I understand it has been there some time.
It was an early start the following morning as we returned to La Rocina where Red-necked Nightjars obliged by sitting in the middle of the road and we had decent views by flash light. 
We then drover around the Coto Donana Reserve to the Valverde Centre, a place I have not previously visited but would certainly go again. The water level was perfect and as we stopped we were greeted by a cacophony of Great Reed Warblers making so much noise it almost drowned out speech.

Great Reed Warbler

Difficult to count but there must have been dozens in the small reed bed and surrounding Tamarisk bushes. Nearby a Western Olivaceous sang insistently but I was unable to see it in the dense vegetation.
Black-necked Grebes were present in good numbers and often quite close to the track and all in beautiful summer plumage.

Black-necked Grebes

Scanning across a large open area three Pin-tailed Sandgrouse flew across the marsh before dropping in to a wet area, presumably to drink. It started to rain late morning but we had great views of Whiskered Terns before we retreated to the centre for lunch.

Whiskered Tern

One of the real delights of the Valverde Reserve are the breeding herons, egrets and ibis. We saw at least 6 pairs of Purple Heron nesting in the reedbed behind the centre and had amazing views of Squacco Heron with the most striking bill colour I have seen.

Purple Hero

Squacco Heron

A male Ferruginous Duck was a nice find as we left the reserve and headed off for Dehesa de Abajo. Here we saw the spectacle of breeding White Storks which are nesting at little more than head height. We were searching for Crested Coot but saw only one or two Common Coot but were compensated by reasonable views of a Marbled Duck which is becoming increasingly scarce in Iberia.

Marbled Duck

The following morning (1st May) we headed of for the wetlands of Brazo del Este close to Los Palacios.

Birdwatching on the road to Los Palacios

A male Montagu's Harrier welcomed us to the area but we were soon watching an incomer from Africa; Black-headed Weavers at their nests.

Black-headed Weaver

A short drive away we were heading up the track overlooking the flooded areas and soon found a group of Collared Pratincoles which duly flew directly over our heads.

Collared Pratincole

Several Woodchat Shrike were using the fence posts bordering the track as perches and giving very close views.

Woodchat Shrike

At one point we could see eight Purple Swamphen feeding around the edge, and even in the open on the marsh. Larks could be heard singing over the dryer areas and we soon identified both Crested and Short-toed.

Short-toed Lark

Whilst watching the larks a sharp eyed member of the group picked out a female Kentish Plover also on the dried mud and possibly nesting in the area.

Kentish Plover

We heard several Golden Oriole and had brief views of a female as it crossed over the embankment in front of our vehicle. On the way back to El Rocio we called in at the Zorillo pools but the weather was worsening and we had more rain but we did manage to locate three White-headed Duck before we were rained off.
The following morning we set of for Portugal where we will be staying in Mertola but more of that in the second instalment. On the way we stopped of close to Huelva at the Marismas del Odiel. Nest platforms for Osprey have been erected with some success here and we soon located a bird sitting close to one nest. The Osprey is quite scarce in SW Spain so this is one of the best places to see them. We were soon adding shorebirds to our list with some superb Curlew Sandpiper resplendent in their breeding plumage. Little Stints, Bar-tailed Godwit, Knot, Whimbrel and Grey Plover were also feeding on the marshes. We had expected Yellow-legged Gulls but they were only present in low numbers and we saw a single Audouin's Gull which is becoming increasingly common around the Spanish coast but a second summer Slender-billed Gull was a surprise.

Audouin's Gull - second summer

 Star bird for me though was a male Montagu's Harrier which circled directly over us.

Montagu's Harrier - male

Surprisingly the only White Wagtail of the trip was seen at the information centre whilst we ate our lunch. Then we headed off for Portugal.