Arctic Warbler at Laguna de Medina; Sunday morning at the Guadalhorce

Arctic Warbler at the laguna de Medina, Cádiz province
I received a message from Martin Hellin in Finland late afternoon to say that some Finnish birders had been watching an Arctic Warbler a few minutes before.

Sunday morning at the Guadalhorce
The below is from Patricia, to whom I am most grateful for her report and making me envious, who circulated it to members of our Sunday morning group - the domingueros - who were conspicuous by our absence!

What a morning you lost! Ater so long without getting out to watch birds I had to go to the Guadalhorce this morning. First I went to point where we used to go in before crossing the sandbar to see what the state of things was and saw two people crossing the beach to go in.

So, I went in my car to the school, went in by the new bridge and directly to the big pond (Laguna Grande) where I met up with Javier y África who had just seen a Squacco Heron. A Booted Eagle there all the morning. The Osprey flew all over the place searching for clean water to fish as the sea was the colour of mud and river as always these days. Later there was a Marsh Harrier. Also while we were there, there was a Kestrel hunting behind us. There were some 50 Little Grebes together, a single Black-necked Grebe, Common Teal everywhere, 3 Cormorants.... a juv. Flamingo, a few gulls - Lesser Black-backed, Black-headed, Audouin's, a lot of Grey Herons and Little Egrets.

At the laguna Escondida there were plenty of Pochards, Little Grebes, White-headed Duck, Coot, Moorhen and a single Kingfisher. With the wind (it was an easterly, known here as a levante) water was being blown into the observatory and we all got wet backs. At Casilla observatory there was nothing to be seen except a beautiful Kingfisher which sat for us.

At the next observatory there was a lot to be seen. A beautiful juv. Ruff, Dunlin, Little Stints, Curlew Sands., Common Sandpiper, Redshank, Greenshank and Spotted Redshank, Avocet and Stilts. There were more Teal, Little Tern, gulls, House Martins, Sardinian Warblers, Serins and Starlings.

At times the light was poor and we couldn't see well, but at others it was excellent. It was a great morning which I thoroughly enjoyed and when I looked at my watch for the first time it was one pm..

And it is still raining! Hurray!!! Only 1 juv. Willow Warbler and a Pied Fly. in the garden today.