Almería started in Almerimar where Antonio and company saw a couple of migrating Rollers, as well as Slender-billed Gull, Common and Gull-billed Terns, from there to the salinas de Cerrillos for a selection of waders and on to the always productive salinas at Cabo de Gata. From there, starting the way back, they went to Rambla Morales and Antonio comments that he thoroughly enjoyed watching the Little Terns. Their final stop was Cañada de las Norias and the breeding colony of 5 spp. of herons and egrets where they enjoyed watching three families of Red-crested Pochards.
On the 23 May Antonio was back at work at the Guadalhorce ponds and was greeted by the sight of the first family of White-headed Ducks of the season, 6 of the fluff balls being first seen the day before. Slender-billed Gulls were again much in evidence with 16 being seen, some late migrant waders included Knot* and also some rather late Pratincoles and Gull-billed Terns. An odd egret was seen and is described as being all dark, with dark bill, dark legs and yellow-orange toes, which he notes that for him it is not a Western Reef Egret but a dark phase Little Egret, a morph which is not supposed to exist -I don't go along with him but will hope to see the bird when I'm down at the ponds tomorrow morning. Watch this space!Finally, I walked down by the river yesterday evening with dog and wife, the dog enjoys herself, the wife enjoys watching ducklings on the river (a female Mallard with 10!) and apart from the Cormorant which seems well content to pass the summer with us, there was a rather big female Northern Wheatear and I reckon that she was a Greenland race leucorrhoa from size, colour and date. She also had only a stump on her left leg, having lost her toes somewhere but it didn't seem to impede her, as she was feeding well and very active.
* The photo of the Knot is mine from Ekkeroy, Varangerfjord, last May, I am not a good photograher!
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