Friday 23rd March 2012

Cabo de Palos lighthouse garden

Weather: Sky 1/8 cloud, hazy, wind NE F2, temp. 9ºC.  08:05 – 08:55.

Another early trip to the lighthouse garden, but not an awful lot to see, the most notable being a flock of 35 Slender-billed Gulls flying round the rocks at the base of the lighthouse, and going off south.

Species seen

Yellow Legged Gull (Larus michahellis)

Audouin’s Gull (Larus audouinii)

Slender-billed Gull (Larus genei)

Sardinian Warbler (Sylvia melanocephala)

Blackbird (Turdus merula)

Serin (Serinus serinus)

Robin (Erithacus rubecula)

Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus)

Spotless Starling (Sturnus unicolor)

White Wagtail (Motacilla alba alba)

Shag (Phalacrocorax aristotelis)

House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)

Collared Dove (Streptopelia decaocto)

Marchamalo Salinas, La Manga

Weather: Sky 1/8 cloud,  wind NE F2, temp. 11ºC.  09:10 – 09:45.

On the way back from Cabo de Palos, I called in at both sides of the Marchamalo Salinas.

On the La Manga side, there was a group of 42 Avocets in the centre of the first lagoon, birds resting and at least 1 pair mating.  Further down the same lagoon was a Spotted Redshank, but nothing else too notable.

Round at the ‘Playa Paraiso’ side, I counted a total of 35 Shelduck, and 3 Stone Curlews flew over low.

The hormones have kicked in – a pair of Avocet mating

 

And after those seconds of strenuous excercise, a quick kiss and back to feeding

 

A Spotted Redshank having a paddle around

Species seen

Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna)

Stone Curlew (Burhinus oedicnemus)

Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta)

Little Stint (Calidris minuta)

Spotted Redshank (Tringa erythropus)

Kentish Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus)

Little Ringed Plover (Charadrius dubius)

Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea)

Yellow Legged Gull (Larus michahellis)

White Wagtail (Motacilla alba alba)

Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis)

House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)

Swallow (Hirundo rustica)

Calblanque

Weather: Sky 1/8 cloud, wind NE F2-3, temp. 15ºC.  17:50 – 18:35.

This afternoon a quick visit to the Salinas at Calblanque to read more Audouin’s Gulls rings.  There were 174 there, and I managed to read 16 rings.  The only birds of note were Corn Bunting, of which I saw 3 all singing.

Species seen

Cetti’s Warbler (Cettia cetti)

Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis)

Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea)

Little Egret (Egretta garzetta)

Audouin’s Gull (Larus audouinii)

Yellow-legged Gull (Larus michahellis)

Corn Bunting (Miliaria calandra)

Crested/Thekla Lark (Galerida cristata/theklae)

Red-legged Partridge (Alectoris rufa)