Friday, 13th April 2012

Cabo de Palos lighthouse garden

Weather: 7-8/8 cloud cover & drizzle, wind NW F1-2, temp. 13ºC.  08:40 – 09:30.

This morning the actual lighthouse garden was very quiet, the only migrants being a single Willow/Chiff and a ‘flava’ Wagtail over, but round in the gardens next to the cliffs there were more migrants, with Robin, female Common Redstart, Subalpine Warbler and Common Whitethroat, and a relatively showy Nightingale (meaning I had it out in the open for about 30 seconds!).  Apart from that nothing out of the ordinary.

Species seen

Shag (Phalacrocorax aristotelis)

Yellow Legged Gull (Larus michahellis)

Rock Dove/Domestic Pigeon (Columba livia)

Collared Dove (Streptopelia decaocto)

‘flava’ Wagtail (Motacilla flava)

 Blackbird (Turdus merula)

Nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos)

Robin (Erithacus rubecula)

Common Redstart (Phoenicurus phoenicurus)

Sardinian Warbler (Sylvia melanocephala)

Subalpine Warbler (Sylvia cantillans)

Common Whitethroat (Sylvia communis)

Willow Warbler/Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus trochilus/collybita)

Spotless Starling (Sturnus unicolor)

Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis)

House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)

Marchamalo Salinas (La Manga)

Weather: 7-8/8 cloud cover, wind NW F1-2, temp. 14ºC.  09:40 – 10:00.

On the way back from Cabo de Palos I called in quickly at the Salinas at Marchamalo.  The only birds different to normal were a large group (of 68) Slender-billed Gulls, mostly adults in breeding plumage, and a female or immature male Marsh Harrier over the Mimosa grove.

Species seen

Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna)

Marsh Harrier (Circus aerufinosus)

Black Winged Stilt (Himantopus Himantopus)

Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta)

Redshank (Tringa totanus)

Greenshank (Tringa nebularia)

Slender-billed Gull (Larus genei)

Swift/Pallid Swift (Apus apus/pallidus)

Swallow (Hirundo rustica)

House Martin (Delichon urbicum)

Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis)

Willow Warbler (Phylloscopus trochilus)

Sardinian Warbler (Sylvia melanocephala)

Corn Bunting (Miliaria calandra)

Linnet (Carduelis cannabina)