The platform

 

Tuesday 5th January 

Good morning a happy new year and Kings Day, to everybody 

John and I spent around about 3 hours on The Platform, it sounds like a Netflix, sci-fi film.

Hoopoe

We watch and waited and continued our search for Tonn, the Great spotted Eagle.  It made for an interesting few hours birding.  The 3.5-meter square viewing platform can yield loads of birds because of the huge 180 degrees vista, slowly but surely the banter came out, Football, The Royals, Covid 19, Trump, who we both agreed should be locked up. 

Booted Eagle

With several cups of tea and slabs of chocolate cake to break the coldness we had a good laugh and a joke and put the world right as we carried on birding.

 Marsh Harrier

Birds were plentiful and as expected Booted Eagle, Marsh Harrier's flew close by, there were a few oddities like Whiskered Terns which John found, which can sometime over winter and my bird of the day was a Merlin.  Also Reed Buntings showed on and off. 

Reed Bunting

 We did see a large raptor which flew towards Catral but we just couldn't get enough on it to be sure?  It was pretty distant.  On the Vistabella Road at the lapwing roost, I heard a Sandgrouse call, I was pretty sure of what I heard. A very noisy lorry went past making loads of bangs and clatter's which flushed all the lapwing (100+) and also 2 Pin-tailed Sandgrouse hopefully someone else will pick them up? Quite a good find for this area.

Chiff Chaff

I've not mentioned every bird seen as i will only be repeating my previous blogs.

Another Hoopoe which refused to move so only head shots 

For a different view of today, birding see John Edwards excellent blog click the link below 

Notes from a Birder and Writer

With rain forecast over the next few days and tighter Covid rule's, it will give me time to do my review of the year.

Cheers

BT