As Britain is shivering in the cold, eleven members
of our group met up under blue skies and full sun at the "ford" above
the Rambla de Almanzora, near Villaricos. It was a bit chilly to start
with, but warmed up later. The rambla itself is beginning slowly to
regenerate after the devastating floods of late September. We quickly
signed off the usual suspects of White Wagtail, Spotless Starling,
Magpie, Collared Dove and, at this time of year, Black Redstart. We both
heard and saw Cetti's and Sardinian Warblers. We spotted a few
Chiffchaffs, but not as many as our previous visit. Below us on the
rambla were numerous large shallow pools. The male Mallard shone with
new plumage. Brian spotted a Snipe. Also seen were Cattle Egret, Ringed
Plover, Green and Common Sandpiper. The few smaller birds were
identified as Stonechat, Robin and Water Pipit. As we walked further
along we saw Serin, Hoopoe and Southern Grey Shrike.
At the sewage
works were Black-winged Stilt, a pair of Redshank and a solitary Wood
Sandpiper. In the Rambla, where there is a pool before the man-made rock
"weir", we saw a small group of Kentish Plover, Dunlin and Little
Stint. A Grey Wagtail was also seen.
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| Penduline Tit by Mary |
After a refreshment break in the village we
headed for the beach. The sea was as flat as a tack. There were
Cormorants and an Audouin's Gull on the rocks by the harbour entrance
with a Sandwich Tern fishing nearby. We saw at least 12 Black-necked
Grebe on the sea together with a Great Crested Grebe. A distant Whimbrel
was spotted on the rocks by Adrian . There were two Grey Herons on a
rocky spit as well. I have to say the estuary has great potential. There
is now an island on which birds can breed undisturbed, a narrow
entrance leading to a large pool, leading to an area of reeds. Adrian and I headed back towards the vehicles chatting about our
recent Moroccan experiences as the others followed behind. Got a text
from Gilly to retrace our steps. She'd spotted small bird movement in
the reeds. She'd only found a group of probably six Penduline Tits.
(Had previously seen some in that area many years ago with Richard
Gunn).
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| Marbled and White-headed Ducks |
On that high, we headed for the pool opposite
the Consum supermarket at Vera. We soon added Shoveler, White-headed
Duck, Little Grebe and Coot to the list. A majestic male Marsh Harrier
flew over. Gilly then spotted something in the vegetation opposite. She
needed the telescope to pinpoint the bird as none of us could pick it
up. Two Marbled Duck. Luckily they came out into the open for a swim.
Brian, Adrian and Mary later saw a Kingfisher as well.
A very good days birding with a total of 47
species. As this is the Arboleas Birding Group's last official outing
before 2013, Gilly and I would like to wish all members and readers
of Andy Paterson's blog a very Happy Christmas and New Year.
Best wishes & good birding,
Dave
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