Wild About Spain Blog

Axarquians at the Charca

28/6/2014

09:30 and twenty seven members of the Axarquia Bird Group met at the gate of the Charca de Suarez Reserve near Motril for a private visit. Once inside we all spread out and went our separate ways which worked very well since the Reserve has been extended with new pools, scrapes and paths. The overall area has increased considerably and it will be difficult to cover everything in the usual two hour time slots in future.

Spotted Flycatcher juvenile - muscicapa striata

Little Bittern - ixobrichus minutes

At this time of year we often come across young birds that have not yet learned to be wary of people. This juvenile Spotted Flycatcher was quite unperturbed as I approached so I got some very nice close-up shots.

The same could not be said for this adult male Little Bittern that lurked in the reed-bed staying as inconspicuous as possible. I would probably not have spotted it but very little escapes Elena´s sharp eyes.

The new wader pool is looking promising with a good variety of waders already present. These included a nice Wood Sandpiper along with a couple of Green and a Common Sandpiper for company. Little Ringed Plover, Black Winged Stilt, Little and Cattle Egrets were also on the new pool together with a good number of Black Headed and Yellow Legged Gulls

Reed Warbler - acrocephalus scirpaceous

There was relatively little activity on the ponds of the old section. A solitary Ferruginous Duck which I am told is a hybrid female with some Pochard genes. The resident Red Knobbed Coots were visible, but apart from the Little Bittern and a couple of Purple Swamphens nothing very interesting at all. However as we walked towards the exit we did get nice views of a group of Red Avadavats and one or two Reed Warblers in the tall grasses.

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More from Arroyo de Marin

26/6/2014

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Golden Oriole - oriolis oriolis

The Arroyo de Marin is a peaceful and pleasant place for a ramble so Elena and I took another stroll along the river looking for photo opportunities. Golden Orioles were still showing but I couldn´t get close. They are too wary and elusive.

I was surprised to see a pair of Crossbills sitting quietly in a branch overhanging the river. I do not associate them with waterside habitat but this adult and youngster seemed content to just sit and listen to the trickling stream.

Young Crossbill -

Adult Crossbill -

Cardinal Fritillary - argynnis pandora

It was much warmer today than on Sunday so butterflies and dragons were flying in abundance. This large Cardinal Fritillary caught my eye, it had no characteristic olive green upper wing coloration, but it was definitely a Cardinal.

Knapweed Fritillary - melitaea phoebe

Fritillaries are one of the more attractive butterfly groups, this a Knapweed Fritillary, a common species in Spain but worth a look anyway.

Dragonfly species on this small river are generally different to those that we see on the slower waters near the coast. It is nice to see new species such as Western Spectre and White Featherlegs.

Western Spectre -

Copper Demoiselle -

White Featherlegs -

Copper Demoiselle -

Long Tailed Tit - aegithalos caudatus

Long Tailed Tits were foraging around in the olive groves that flank the river. They are a delight to watch as they flit through the trees in groups, always on the move, very busy and dainty little birds. It was also good to see young Barn Swallows resting. After all, flying must be hard work for such young wings.

Barn Swallows

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The Young Ones

23/6/2014

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Golden Oriole - oriolus oriolus

We took some bad photos today. Some days are like that, it was not not a bright sunny day, but it is more the quality of the light, which was poor. Every photo lacks clarity and vibrance which is disappointing as we saw some good birds.

We came for Golden Oriole and Hawfinch and saw both, but the only half decent shots were of juveniles of each species. Golden Orioles are notoriously elusive, this adult male was in very poor light amongst the trees, but it is better than nothing and shows just what beauties these birds are.

Golden Oriole juvenile - oriolus oriolus

This young Golden Oriole is not yet fully fledged and seemed to be missing its parents judging by its plaintive calls. I hope they were reunited eventually.

Hawfinch juvenile - coccothraustes coccothraustes

Here is a juvenile Hawfinch. It is just developing the characteristic blue wing primaries but it is a first year bird. The unmistakable large head and heavy bill are distinctive. It was one of a pair seen together, evidence of successful breeding here.

Western Bonellis Warbler - phyloscopus bonelli

I was pleased to capture a Bonellis Warbler in the scrub. I rarely see more than one Bonellis at a time, they do not flock or move in groups as far as I can tell.

Below are a few more shots from the day, nice birds but poor photographs unfortunately.

Golden Oriole - oriolus oriolus

Hawfinch - coccothraustes coccothraustes

Great Spotted Woodpecker - dendrocopos major

Southern Skimmer - orthetrum bruneum

It was interesting to note that we only saw one dragonfly all day here in the Arroyo de Marin. Last week there had been many hawking up and down the river including White and Orange Featherlegs and a Western Spectre as well as other more common species. Today was completely different, just this adult male Southern Skimmer that spent all its time perching on a sunny bank to catch as many rays as it could, trying to maintain body temperature. The air temperature was obviously too cold. I have heard that 15 degrees is required for most species to be able to fly. I believe this uncharacteristically cold weather also had a bearing on the poor quality of the light. So not a great day photographically but some very nice birds seen. Other species not mentioned previously include a nesting pair of Wrens, Azure Winged Magpies, Bee-eater, Hoopoe, Green and Great Spotted Woodpeckers and Long-tailed Tit.

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Back Home in Spain

14/6/2014

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Back home in Spain again and feeling all "birded-out" for a while. Not even the sight of this superb Short-toed Eagle over the house really stirred my senses much, it all seemed rather flat after the forest birds of SE Asia. I tried the Rio Velez and the Charca de Suarez and was only mildly interested in a few Little Bitterns, a Squacco and some Black Crowned Night Herons. A Little Owl made me at least lift my camera lens but the enthusiasm seemed to have waned.

Short-toed Eagle -

We had missed the Spring migration period. Our house martins had already fledged their first brood and were starting another. I could not summon up much enthusiasm for all the same old birds as usual.

Black Crowned Night Heron -

Little Owl -

It is at times like this that one needs the services of superguide Mick Richardson. I remembered his tales of the Rufous Bush Robin that sat on his car wing mirror. This is quite a rare species and one that stirs the blood of jaded birders like me. It would be a lifer and might rekindle my enthusiasm for the hunt.

Coot & cootling -

I duly contacted Mick, agreed on a date and off we went. Elena and I picked up our friend Bob Wright the Axarquia Birder along the way. Mick eventually led us to a quite unremarkable spot on an obscure back-country road serving a few fincas with orchards of small fruit trees, hedges, shrubberies and gardens, ideal habitat for the target species.

Rufous Bush Robin - cercotrichas galactotes

We parked the car close to a chain link fence with instructions to watch, and within minutes there it was, the Rufous Bush Robin. I felt that old thrill of seeing a new species, one that is quite rare and which many birders have never seen. You have to be a birder to understand this, we are born with the gene, a bit like sexual orientation perhaps? you either are or you´re not. Three of us in the car definitely were. Now Elena likes birds and birding but she was somewhat unimpressed by the little brown job we had come all this way to see. After all she had just come from the Trogons, Kingfishers and Broadbills of Thailand.

Rufous Bush Robin - cercotrichas galactotes

Nevertheless my enthusiasm was back and I was ready for more. Mick had recently seen some dragonflies and a butterfly in this area that I had not recorded previously so off we went in search, and as the nature of the hunt changed so did my lens, I switched to a 180 mm macro.

Cleopatra - gonepteryx cleopatra

We arrived at the Arroyo Marin, a delightful valley formed by a small and picturesque river. It was a genuine pleasure to be in such pleasant surroundings again with the chance to find new species for the collection. Cleopatra butterflies were abundant and I got my first decent shot of this species. It´s a shame that they always alight with closed wings so we don´t capture the stunning orange uppers.

Lulworth Skipper - thymelicus acteon

Almost immediately afterwards we picked up the target butterfly, a Lulworth Skipper. This is very similar to the Small and Essex Skippers but has much darker upperwings. This is another example of Mick´s knowledge being invaluable.

As Mick & I hunted dragons and butterflies, Bob and Elena enjoyed watching the Hawfinches and Golden Orioles in the tall trees. In fact Bob took great delight in showing me his shot of a Hawfinch, one he knows I don´t have! Anyway our attention was taken by a dragonfly over the river that seemed to have mechanical problems. It was flying out of control in circles just like a helicopter with a damaged tail rotor.

Western Spectre - boyeria irene

At first Mick thought it was a Goldenring but I was not so sure, in fact I was right as once it landed Mick identified it as a rarer species, a Western Spectre. Another lifer for me. Despite our best efforts getting into the river and wading towards the stricken insect, this very poor shot was all I could manage. Almost but not quite unidentifiable, a Western Spectre for sure.

This was quite a coup, a definite lifer for me and one which made Mick´s day too. However it was not long before he spotted something even better, a Yellow Clubtail. Another first for me and I think a first in Malaga Province for Mick. It was a solitary insect so we were lucky to get quite decent shots of it.

Yellow Clubtail - gomphus simillimus

White Featherlegs - platycnemis latipes

It wasn´t long before I had two more dragonfly lifers, a White Featherlegs, which appeared to be abundant here, and a related species the Orange Featherlegs. There were only a few of this species present so I count myself quite lucky to have seen it.

Orange Featherlegs -

While we had been watching the dragonflies Bob and Elena had a close encounter with some more Golden Orioles. This enticed me to change back to a long lens & go off in search of this very difficult bird to capture.

Rock Sparrow - petronia petronia

I did see several Orioles but none close enough for a photograph. They continue to elude me, as does the Hawfinch which I also saw but no luck with the camera. I did snatch a shot of this LBJ that Bob thought might be a Woodlark but which turned out to be a Rock Sparrow, less interesting perhaps but still a surprise in this wooded valley.

Large Pincertail - onychogomphus uncatus

We had actually picked up quite a list of birds during the day. Apart from those already mentioned I had others of note including Montague´s Harrier, Linnet, Gull Billed Tern, Azure Winged Magpie, Long Tailed Tit, Bee-eater, Wren, Hoopoe, plus Green Woodpecker and Great Spotted Cuckoo (heard), a good day by any measure. I close this blog however with a couple more dragonfly species which while not new were still good sightings.

Dainty Damsel - coenagrion scitulum

The insect above is a Pincertail, probably Large but without a better view of the hindwing it is not possible to discount Small. Both were observed during the day anyway.

The Dainty Damsel to the left is one of many we saw later at another site. Other species seen include Blue Emporere, Epaulet, Keeled and Southern Skimmers, Violet and Orange Winged Dropwings, Copper Demoiselle, Scarlet Darter and the very beautiful Small Spreadwing which Mick captured superbly with his camera. By this stage of the afternoon I was beginning to feel a bit of heat exhaustion, so we agreed to call it a day and head off for home. I had thoroughly enjoyed being out in the field again and look forward to more wildlife adventures quite soon.

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