Weather: Sky 5/8 hazy cloud, wind viariable, temp. 28 - 32ºC. 08:45 – 11:00. With Mick Brewer.
We
took a trip out to various locations around the Mar Menor this morning,
starting at ‘Lo Poyo’, which is between Los Nietos and Los Urrutias. In the past I have seen numbers of terns and
waders there, but today we just had a few Kentish Plover, a single Greenshank,
a single Sandwich Tern and adult Black-headed Gull, a couple of Little Terns
and a heron sp., very high up flying east to west which I got through the
‘scope and thought was probably a Purple, but couldn’t be certain.
Our
next stop on the way to the Salinas
at San Pedro del Pinatar, was a farm reservoir on the airport road off the
A7. There are a number of reservoirs
here, but only one appeared to have any birds, with 7 Gull-billed Terns and 3
adult Black Terns flying over it feeding, and Little Grebes, Moorhens, Coots
and Black Winged Stilts on the reservoir.
On the fence on the other side were a group of 4 Cattle Egrets, and
while watching the terns, an adult Night Heron flew in and sat on one of the
fence posts.
One of the Gull-billed Terns flying over the reservoir
and another adult Gull-billed Tern
One of the three Black Terns feeding over the reservoir
While watching the terns, an adult Night Heron dropped in
...and ended up on the fence
Also on the fence, a group of four Cattle Egrets
Our
next stop were the Salinas
at San Pedro, where a lot of Greater Flamingos have recently arrived, and while
we were there a group of around 150 dropped in – quite a sight. I managed to read 7 rings from the nearest
birds, but could see there were many more on the more distant ones. Other new arrivals were a single Ruff, 4
adult Curlew Sandpipers (in breeding plumage, but distant) and a Common
Sandpiper. We also had 4 distant Black
Terns on the post in the middle of one of the pools; around 10 Black Necked
Grebes and a couple of Great Crested Grebes together, but apart from that
things were relatively quiet.
Of note in the San Pedro salinas, many Greater Flamingos
After
a little trip inland, where we saw Golden Oriole and Black Wheatear, plus
Bee-eaters and Thekla Lark amongst other things, we returned back to Playa
Paraiso where I dropped Mick off, and I had a quick look at the La Manga end of
Marchamalo Salinas. I saw very few birds
there, in the only pool with water – a single Sandwich Tern, 7 adult
Black-Headed Gulls, 12 Audouins Gulls (surprisingly 2 with rings on which I
read, and a single 1st summer bird), and 4 Shelduck.
And in Marchamalo, few birds - Sandwich Tern and an Audouin's Gull
Species seen/heard
Great Crested Grebe
(Podiceps cristatus)
Little
Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis)
Black
Necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis)
Little
Egret (Egretta garzetta)
Cattle
Egret (Bubulcus ibis)
Night
Heron (Nyctiocorax nyctiocorax)
Moorhen
(Gallinula chloropus)
Coot
(Fulica atra)
Greater
Flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus)
Shelduck
(Tadorna tadorna)
Avocet
(Recurvirostra avosetta)
Black
Winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus)
Redshank
(Tringa totanus)
Greenshank
(Tringa nebularia)
Kentish
Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus)
Common
Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos)
Curlew
Sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea)
Ruff
(Philomachus pugnax)
Yellow-legged
Gull (Larus michahellis)
Audouin’s
Gull (Larus audouinii)
Black-headed
Gull (Larus ridibundus)
Slender-billed
Gull (Larus genei)
Gull-billed Tern (Sterna
nilotica)
Sandwich
Tern (Sterna sandvicensis)
Common Tern (Sterna hirundo)
Little Tern (Sterna albifrons)
Black Tern (Chlidonias niger)
Bee-eater (Merops apiaster)
Golden Oriole (Oriolus oriolus)
Swift (Apus apus)
Turtle Dove (Streptopelia turtur)
Collared
Dove (Streptopelia decaocto)
Thekla
Lark (Galerida theklae)
Iberian Wagtail (Motacilla flava iberiae)
Swallow (Hirundo rustica)
Red-rumped Swallow (Hirundo daurica)
House Martin (Delichon urbicum)
Sand
Martin (Riparia riparia)
Black
Wheatear (Oenanthe leucura)
Fan-tailed
Warbler (Cisticola juncidis)
Greenfinch
(Carduelis chloris)
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