Maigmo, Montnegra, San Felipe, Santa pola Salinas, Clot de Galvany

 

Part 2

Target birds

Woodlark, firecrest, Crested Tit, Trumpeter Finch? Rock Bunting.

 and anything else we bump into

8.00 o'clock  start and Birding Maigmo Mountain by nine, amazingly lightning does Strike twice at the first stop and Woodlark singing its Head off on the wires above good opportunity for photography 

Woodlark

Dale was in his element and the camera was busy, next stop up the hill, another Woodlark point blank amazing.

We put some effort into the lesser short-toed Treecreeper a difficult mouse-like creeper bird  which is often seen but a nightmare to photograph  but we cracked it in the end

All the Tits were seen and one of the target birds Crested Tit was done, also seen Crossbill, Serin, Firecrest, Rock Bunting,

Sod's law at the top of both peaks workmen were busy chopping down trees so a bit of a letdown and very noisy with a chainsaw in action

So we buggered off

Heard only Wren, Iberian Green Woodpecker, Greater Spotted Woodpecker, Jay, opportunity missed golden eagle heard and just a glimpse through the trees.

Montnegra 

So we crossed the valley to Tibi and onwards to Montnegra, I was not expecting much.  No sign of the Dartford Warblers that were present 2 weeks ago, 

Trumpeter Finch was a no show, and Griffon Vultures were seen, but distant. I predicted Black-eared Wheatear for today but it wasn't to be

We cut our losses and head off to

San Felipe 

Lots of Gloss Ibis. Slender-billed Gull, Black-winged stilt, Red Knobbed Coot, Booted Eagle, Marsh Harrier, Iberian Southern Grey Shrike, Yellow Wagtail, flocks of linnets and Goldfinch, Swallow, Pallid Swift, House Martin, Snipe, Avocets, Green Sandpipers, Purple Swamp Hen. Greater Flamingos. Nothing mega but a great views of the resident birds

Black-winged stilt

Dale Camera was busy with lots of new birds.

Red Crested Pochard,

 Clot de Galvany

I was hoping that the 4 Ferruginous Ducks would still be there alas they've gone, just the resident ducks etc were there,  White-headed Duck, Gadwall, Red Crested Pochard, Common Pochard, Marble Duck, Teal, Shoveler. A juvenile Audouin's Gull drop and a nice show Yellow-legged Gull.

Gadwall

So a full-on few days Birding with Dale Kelly thank you Dale, and thanks to Mary CBBC for putting me in touch with Dale I mentioned that I'd reset Dale's camera because of the focus issue on day 1 unknown to Dale it also set the recording quality to fine jpeg  which is not the end of the world but RAW is better 

Yellow-legged Gull

It was quite an eventful birding adventure with Dale Kelly! From Woodlarks to Bustards and an array of other bird species, we covered a lot of ground. Despite some missed opportunities, made for a rewarding experience. Plus, spotting Mouflons and an Iberian Red Squirrel added an extra dimension to our wildlife observations.

Mouflon

Have fun go Birding make some new

Cheers Bryan 

Bonete and Great Bustards

Part 1

A few days Birding with Dale Kelly on his tick list was to see and photograph Great Busted and Little Bustard and anything else that we could bump into 

No pressure then?

Arrived at Bonete at about 9.15 and the first stop 6 Great Bustard, "that was easy I said" Dale had an issue with his camera and wouldn't focus so I reset his camera and took the battery out, and the camera started focusing and we were off more on that later.

Great Bustards

Dale was busy taking photographs of the Great Bustards, In the air plenty of Calandra lark singing, Woodchat Shrike on the wires, and good numbers of Rock Sparrows, Hoopoe.

Rock Sparrows

Hoopoe

On route to

Corral Rubio

All the seasonal lakes are completely dried out and have been ploughed for planting, I've no idea what's going to grow as the drought continues in Spain. Back at Gran Alacant, we've not had any significant rainfall for over 12 months.

Another 10 Great Bustard, Lapwing, Marsh Harrier, Glossy Ibis, Green Sandpipers, Corn Bunting, Swallow, to be honest, the lack of rain is having a major influence on the birds in the area,  the evaporation of Patrola lake is gathering pace, see the photograph.

Patrola lake

In the past, I've seen thousands of Greater Flamingos on this lake and today hardly any birds, a few Yellow-legged Gulls, Shell Duck, Black-headed Gull nothing much else just a smelly evaporating mass of water.

Lapwing

We left Petrola and headed across the plains to Higuriella and on to the Estación for little Bustard, lots of Hoopoe around today and good opportunities to photograph Thekla lark,

Thekla lark

Dale found the little Bustard while driving, and an emergency stop followed, which caused I little chaos as Dale exited the car rapidly while it was still moving and I photographed the little Bustard from a driverless moving vehicle.

Little Bustard

Anyway no harm was done and Little Bustard was under the belt, and as we were almost back at our starting point Bonete.  I suggested we should visit Yecla and give it a go, I pre-warned him that I was there 3 weeks before and it was incredibly poor

Yecla

Thekla lark

And so the afternoon was taken up covering the tracks of Yecla there were a few stand-out moments, and we worked hard for those moments,  plenty of Thekla lark, Crested Lark, Calandra Lark, Lesser Kestrels, could be 5 pairs, at the Barn, Stone Curlew, Pin-tailed Sandgrouse, Chough, Swallow, Pallid Swift.

Calandra Lark
This bird has a deformed bill at first I thought it was carrying food

 I've not mentioned every bird seen

Calandra Lark

And that was our long day out with a few mega moments 

Pin-tailed Sandgrouse

And what will our next Birding Adventure bring 

Pin-tailed Sandgrouse

See part 2

Have a great day

Cheers Bryan