After the spectacle of my raptor watch and a delicious packed lunch I moved further along the N340, leaving the road at the Zahara turn. In fact I'd only just rounded the bend on the track down to the canal when the first of many
Stonechat popped up onto the fence.
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| Stonechat ~ One on every fence it seemed today |
In the distance I could already see the hoards of
White Stork along the channels, plus a distant
Marsh Harrier and when I got out of the car to check out a flock of Storks circling above I noticed several
Alpine Swifts and one or two
Common Swift in among them. The ploughed fields held
Crested Lark and when I stopped to investigate the first channel along the rice fields a
Great Egret was found, in fact my first here.
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| Juvenile Montagu's Harrier |
I lingered for a short while after reaching the canal turn to search a huge
House Sparrow flock for
Spanish Sparrow but dipped. That said I did manage at least one later in the day within the hundreds of House Sparrow that reside here.
I spent a while on the canal bridge, a
Kingfisher,
Cetti's Warbler, a dozen
Linnets and even more
Goldfinch for company but a large raptor caught the eye, a ringtail Harrier. I watched for a while and took a few records shots and I'm happy with my conclusion of juvenile
Montagu's Harrier, a nice start to the visit!
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| Another shot of Monty's |
Following the canal and not getting out of second gear I paused a number of times, recording both
Cattle and
Little Egret and of course every channel held dozens of
White Stork and one or two
Grey Heron. Four more
Marsh Harrier,
Booted Eagle and several
Common Kestrel until after a while a large exposed expanse of water within the rice paddies delivered a real treat. Well over 150 Glossy Ibis within and after a good search
Green Sandpiper,
Wood Sandpiper and
Black-winged Stilt.
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| Huge number of Glossy Ibis |
Another stop at the large sluice gate, a great place for roosting
Cattle Egret and a brief walk down to some more open water. Not wanting to get too close to spook anything, there was at least thirty
Spoonbill on the pool and even more
Glossy Ibis before I turned back to the car, where a
Woodchat Shrike made a brief appearance.
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| White Stork ~ A favourite of La Janda |
As I turned across the large irrigation ditch I paused under a shaded area for a while to take stock. In the immediate locality a single
Bee-eater and hundreds of
Woodpigeons in the air and getting out of the car to stretch the legs I spooked a
Short-toed Eagle from the pylons. From here I drove down towards Benalup checking out the fields which can hold
Little Bustard but I dipped once more, never had one here!
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| Short-toed Eagle ~ Spooked while stretching the legs! |
Another pause before turning back and checking out several areas as I returned recording:
Sand Martin,
Alpine Swift,
House Martin,
Common Swift,
Red-rumped Swallow,
Barn Swallow,
Corn Bunting,
Zitting Cisticola and
Common Buzzard.
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| This woeful record shot of a Black-winged Kite does at least give the impression of how this bird is so unmistakable when seen in flight! |
I did in fact save the best till last and this while checking out the irrigation superstructures. A
Black-winged Kite in flight, this unmistakable bird, the size of a Hobby is one of only three I've seen here during my visits, what a wonderful way to end to the day!
