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.

Back to Spain 4th September - 8th October 2017 Part 1 Drive to Tarifa

I left the UK in the camper late on Monday 4th September and caught the 01:45 ferry from Dover to Calais. From Calais I headed south past Le Mans, Tours and Bordeaux stopping at Bayonne close to the Spanish border. 
The following day I drove to Villafafila and was soon watching flocks of Great Bustards, some quite close on the Villalpandol road.

Great Bustard

I stopped overnight at Otero de Sariegos where I had watched Lesser Kestrels the previous Spring. There were still one or two Lesser Kestrels around but most had already left the breeding site. Some nice Booted (including adult and juv dark phases which made a nice comparison) and Short-toed Eagles passed over and I took photos of the Spotless Starlings which now included some fairly spotty juveniles.

Booted Eagle adult (left) and juvenile (right)

Spotless Starling juv moulting to 1st winter

Parties of Bee-eaters passed overhead, mostly heard rather than seen. 

Sunset Otero de Sariegos

At dusk both Barn and Little Owls were calling and I caught up with the Little as the sun rose the following morning.

Little Owl at dawn

Rock Sparrows were coming to drink at a small pool and I counted at least 15 but they were surprisingly flighty. 
As the sun rose so did the temperature and it was 37℃ by early afternoon when I headed off for Monfrague. Several Two-tailed Pasha butterflies crossed the road in the National Park and I was soon watching large groups of Griffon Vultures (50+) and a handful of Blacks. At the Pena Falcon a pair of Black Stork still occupied a nest cave but were two far away to see whether these were adults or young. A Blue Rock Thrush  came out of the shade briefly to snatch some scraps from the footpath but the Western Subalpine Warbler feeding in the bushes stuck to the shade.

Blue Rock Thrush

I drove on to Trujillo and spent the night by the Bull Ring but this time all the Lesser Kestrels and Pallid Swifts were gone so the area was much quieter. Thousands of Spotless Starlings came in at dusk to roost much as our Starling does in the UK.
I spent a few days exploring the Steppes around Trujillo and saw several parties of both Black-bellied and Pin-tailed Sandgrouse and managed some flight photos once I had worked out which pools they were drinking at. 

Black-bellied Sandgrouse - female

Pin-tailed Sandgrouse - male

Two Little Bustards were the only ones I saw but there were more Greats. The plains were full of larks with several hundred Calandra and lesser numbers of Short-toed. A Dotterel flying over calling was unexpected.
From Trujillo I drove to Malaga where I was due to pick up Pam from the airport on 9th September. With time to spare I went to the conveniently located Guadalhorce reserve where again I had good views of White-headed Ducks plus a few migrants including a nice male Bluethroat. Pallid Swifts and Red-rumped Swallows were passing through here as were several Booted Eagles. Red Avadavats and Monk Parakeets gave the area an exotic feel.

White-headed Duck - male and female

Having collected Pam from the airport we continued south down the coast to the Meson de Sancho hotel close to Tarifa.
Tarifa in the autumn is a fantastic place for birding. There is always evidence of some birds moving south and if you are lucky with the winds the birds of prey can pass vary close. Most days started at the Cazalla watchpoint above Tarifa but then depending whether the raptors were moving and their line of flight we might move to one of the other watch points. The Trafico watchpoint where the Spanish Fundacion Migres is based can be the best for photography as birds are funnelled down the coast before starting the crossing to Morocco. Around 50 to 100 each of Booted and Short-toed Eagles were seen most days plus smaller numbers of Honey and Common Buzzards, Black Kites plus 1 or 2 Montagu's Harriers. One day we had 46 Egyptian Vulture which was amazing.

Egyptian Vultures - adult and juvenile

In addition to the raptors parties of Bee-eaters passed overhead and several groups of Black Stork.
The beach at Los Lances is covered with people flying kites but visits early morning generally produced a few Audouins's Gulls and a few waders including Kentish Plover, Sanderling and Bar-tailed Godwit.

Audouin's Gull - moulting adult

In Tarifa itself I added Common Bulbul to my European bird list where there is a small population of this North African species.
We met Mick and Viv Cunningham who are birding friends from the UK and I was pleased to get a call from Mick to say he had found a roosting Red-necked Nightjar at La Janda. This bird has roosted in more or less the same spot for several years and is quite famous but still is very difficult to locate amongst the fallen leaves.

Red-necked Nightjar

It was general windy at La Janda making birding difficult but it did help me to get some nice photos of juvenile Montagu's Harriers as the wind held them almost stationary over the track.

Montagu's Harrier  - juvenile

Part 2 covers Tarifa to the French Alps.

Villafafila

Left Fuente De on Thursday morning, returning to Potes, where we recorded our first Serin of the trip with their jingling song, then crossing the Picos on the N621 via Riano heading towards Villafafilla.

N621 between Potes and Riano

The weather and views were amazing as we crossed the snow clad Picos, a lone Griffon Vulture circled against the bluest of blue skies and we started to see more Rock Buntings.

Griffon Vulture

As we descended towards the plains we saw the first White Storks on their nests, first one pair then dozens on all available structures from trees to buildings to electricity pylons.

White Storks

 We also came across a nice party of eight Rock Sparrows at Los Espejos De La Reina and Crag Martins were starting to appear.

Rock Sparrow

The bushes held many Chiffchaff but none were singing so I couldn't be sure of the species but probably our nominate race.
The weather started to deteriorate and soon we had rain but there were still birds to be seen, a confiding Little Owl, why don't they sit like this at home?

Little Owl up close

Finally we neared Villafafilla a species stronghold for the Great Bustard. We saw several hundred during the evening and following morning but the area holds up to 2000 birds which could be around 5% of the world population, so a very important area. I took some record photos and had superb views.

Great Bustard

This morning we visited the Lesser Kestrel colony at Otero De Sariegos. There were at least 5 pairs back around the old buildings and in the provided nest boxes on the road across the marsh. Fantastic birds and even though we had rain on and off for most of the day the Lesser Kestrels looked superb.

Lesser Kestrel - male

All the starlings we have been seeing are Spotless Starlings and they appear to fair worse in the damp weather, looking rather unkempt at best but still nice to see.

Spotless Starling - duet

We are heading to Extremadura and the Monfrague National Park next and hoping for some better weather. This is our route so far.

The route so far