November 10th – Birding with Jeanette
Great to meet up again with fellow birder and friend Jeanette.
An accomplished birder, sharp-eyed and always on point when it comes to identifying bird songs and calls. Always good company in the field, although perhaps we need to work on our navigation skills!
A Rocky Start to the Day!
Today's adventure didn't exactly get off to the best start.
Pickup was arranged for 7:30 am, but at 7:20 Jeanette WhatsApped to say there had been a major accident on the N332 and traffic wasn't moving.
An hour later, I was still waiting. Then came the message: "I'm here!" Jeanette had eventually detoured via the coast road and arrived at 8:40.
With traffic queues still stretching in both directions along the N332, there was really only one sensible option: Clot de Galvany.
Although, to be honest, I think it deserves a new name!
Taking inspiration from President Donald Trump's renaming of the Gulf of Mexico, I propose that Clot de Galvany should henceforth be known as...
MOSQUITO CITY!
I hadn't visited for several weeks, largely because of those little bloodsuckers, and it didn't take long to remember why!
Clot de Galvany – The Mosquito Experience!
Despite the unwanted attention from the local mosquito population, there was plenty happening.
Blackcaps and European Robins were everywhere, with the occasional Black Redstart putting in an appearance.
From the first hide, a Grey Wagtail showed well, along with two juvenile Wigeon.
 |
| Juvenile Wigeon |
Moving to the next hide, we located a female Ferruginous Duck, with Gadwall, Teal, White-headed Duck, Black-necked Grebe, Common Pochard, Little Grebe, Red-knobbed Coot and Shoveler also present.
 |
| Juvenile Wigeon |
A Kingfisher added a splash of colour to proceedings.
By now, my face was becoming something of a mosquito tasting menu, so we moved on to the larger hide.
Jeanette's sharp eyes soon came into play, picking out three male Ferruginous Ducks relatively close by. A further scan revealed another five birds further away.
That gave us a total of eight, possibly nine Ferruginous Ducks!
Not a bad result at all.
 |
| Ferruginous Duck |
On the Road to San Felipe
We decided not to stop across the Santa Pola Salinas, where major work is currently taking place around the salt tower. Probably just as well, given some previous memories of that location!
However, a spot of car birding produced Dunlin, Black-tailed Godwit and Slender-billed Gulls.
Now, here's where things became interesting.
We were chatting away, enjoying each other's company, and somehow managed to miss the first turning for San Felipe.
No problem, a little unintentional detour and back on track.
Except we missed another turning!
Before we knew it, we were heading towards Elche.
I'm beginning to think Jeanette's car has its own Sat Nav and a completely different agenda and destination in mind!
Eventually, we got ourselves sorted and arrived at San Felipe.
San Felipe – A Mosquito-Free Zone!
Thankfully, no mosquitoes here!
All the usual suspects were present, but one particular birding moment stood out.
We had some excellent views of a Cetti's Warbler, always a pleasure to see rather than just hear.
But the highlight of the visit was undoubtedly a flock of approximately 15 Waxbills. They showed beautifully for a few minutes, giving us some lovely views before disappearing again.
 |
| Waxbill |
 |
| Waxbill |
Other sightings included Marbled Duck, Glossy Ibis, Common Snipe, Marsh Harriers, Bluethroat and Booted Eagle.
 |
| Booted Eagle |
A very enjoyable stop, with plenty to keep us occupied.
Vistabella Hide – Time to Call It a Day
Our final stop was Vistabella Hide.
Things were rather quiet, and with rain beginning to fall, we spent a little time hoping something might appear.
Unfortunately, the birds weren't playing ball, so we decided to call it a day.
Jeanette kindly dropped me home before heading off towards Guardamar, where several Common Scoters had been reported.
I wonder if she found them?
.jpg) |
| Common Scoter |
Well of course Jeanette found them and lots that were distant but there were a few closer,
Where Next?
A really enjoyable day, despite the traffic chaos, mosquito attacks, missed turnings and a Sat Nav that clearly had other ideas!
Great company, some excellent bird sightings and, best of all, eight or possibly nine Ferruginous Ducks at Clot de Galvany.
 |
| Stonechat |
Perhaps next time we should either invest in a Sat Nav or concentrate a little more on the road instead of chatting!
Although, where's the fun in that?
Nice to catch up again, Jeanette. Until the next adventure!
Have fun, make some news, go birding!
Cheers Bryan.
No comments:
Post a Comment