As Dave so rightly comments, summer is not only a-coming in, it's arrived! Mind you, so has a
Slatey Junco at Algeciras, a probable hitchhiker on some vessel from the States. This, therefore, will probably be the last post for a while although there may well be two or three to cover my summer trip up to Spitsbergen and which will appear before the middle of August.
So, dear and faithful readers, have a good summer under 50 factor sunburn cream and if you're going to Britain, take your woollies. As the max. temp. in Spitsbergen a couple of days since was -5ºC (yes, minus 5), I am taking some
very warm gear!
Many thanks, Dave, for all your efforts and reports over the year and I'm so pleased to see that you've taken Gilly out! And don't force yourself in to going out too much, I'd hate to think of you tiring yourself before the autumn!
For our ultimate day out,
prior to the summer heat, we decided to make our way to Cabo de Gata. I
managed to get Gilly out of bed at the crack of dawn so we got to the
far end of the reserve by 8am. We'd already logged Jackdaw and
Southern Grey Shrike by the time we started along the sometimes bumpy
track going round the rear of the salinas. We spotted Blackbird, Crested
Lark and Red-rumped Swallow before we came to some water. Through a
break in an earth bank I could see a small number of Audouin's Gulls at
rest. In the salina after the hide we found Greater Flamingo and
Avocet. At the ternery I counted at least 15 sitting Gull-billed Terns
and a lesser number of Little Terns. The Gull-billed Terns seem to be
having a good year in our area. Gilly spotted a pair of flying Stone
Curlews. We also had Shelduck and Black-winged Stilts and Gilly found a
very bedraggled looking Raven. We saw at least 3-4 more Southern Grey
Shrikes. Further along perched on a siempre verde hedge, Gilly spotted a
Woodchat Shrike which posed superbly. We completed our early morning
list with Hoopoe and a family of Sardinian Warblers.
We
met up with John and Richard at the Pujaire cafe. After a couple of
cups of coffee we headed to the first hide. Here we saw Greater
Flamingo, Avocet and Mallard. There were no little waders round the rear
of the reserve, but here we saw a small number of Kentish Plovers. Gull-billed and Little Terns were out feeding. House Martins, Barn and
Red-rumped Swallows passed by.
There
was nothing seen out to sea. Small white horses were appearing as the
wind from the east increased in strength. We walked to the second hide from which
Gilly counted 686 Greater Flamingos. She also spotted a pair of Little
Egrets and some sheltering Redshank and I found a Shelduck.
Moving
to the public hide, Gilly was the first to see now two bedraggled
looking Ravens on the steppes! We added Slender-billed Gulls from the
hide. Gilly found 4 Black-necked Grebes and John spotted a White Wagtail.
We had a Common Swift on the way to Cabo de Gata village for a
refreshment break.
The
beach was full of children enjoying themselves. The holiday season had
also brought out the Guardia Civil in good numbers. The sign of the
times unfortunately.
We
made our way to the Rambla Morales. The wind was very strong. We found
some Kentish Plover and chicks plus a Black-winged Stilt by the
"estuary". The water in the brackish lake was choppy. A male White-headed Duck showed well despite the waves. The black on his white head
reminded us of the pure black headed one John found a few years ago.
Yes, a black headed White-headed Duck. Strange but true! There were 20
Greater Flamingos here plus a few Coots. Gilly and I left John and
Richard to it as we made our way out via the campsite. We added Moorhen,
Bee-eater and Greenfinch to complete the days list. 37 species in
all. A good day's birding despite the hot & windy weather. No group
birding trips are planned till September, but no doubt I might be forced
to go somewhere before then!
Gilly and I dropped in to see Val and Rob on the way back home. He's lost
a bit of weight as has Val. He'd like to eat much more but
his dietary restrictions don't allow it. Things are looking good.
Regards, Dave
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario