reports 23 July

Cabo de Gata Today the Arboleas Bird Group ventured to Cabo de Gata nature reserve. Birdwatching was sometimes challenging with all the tourists, but we had a good day. 37 species seen, including 5 species of tern, Little, Sandwich, Whiskered, Common and Gull Billed. Gilly counted 881 Greater Flamingo. On the wader front we saw 30+ Curlew, 3 Oystercatchers, a Ruff, lots of Black-tailed Godwit, 100's of Avocet and a few 'black bellied' Dunlin. Not much on the LBJ front apart from a very obliging Spectacled Warbler seen from the public hide.
PS. As this is a serious report I'll add here that we searched out to sea for Brown Boobies. No luck there, but quite a few pairs were observed on the beach!!!!
(My thanks to Dave & Gilly for this and for the two photos which are Dave's. Note: a Brown Booby was reported from Cabo de Gata in early July, hence Dave's innocent comment.)

Guadalhorce After the sighting of 3 Ferruginous Ducks yesterday, Paco Rivera and myself were down there by just gone 08 this morning but of course the damned things had gone, they always have done by the time I get there! There was some consolation, with 3 Wood Sandpipers which flew over, a single Redshank heard and, of course, the hordes of Stilts, of which I counted over 70 just along the nearly dry bed of the Río Viejo, so there must have been well over 100 in the reserve, taking into account others we had seen beforehand. We had superb views of a Purple Heron, good views of a Squacco Heron and also a Little Bittern.

This evening, between 2030 and 2110,I was down along the river banks with the dog and wife and apart from 40+ Mediterranean Gulls setting off to fly SW along the coast, a normal late evening migration strategy also done by Audouin's Gulls (photo above left), and surprisingly one flock was joined by a Squacco Heron (the same one as this morning?) but which thought better of it and turned back. There were c.10 Stilts which were very nervous, and twice took off, calling loudly, gained height as though to set off but turned back each time. Next time, chaps, next time!