Thanks to Derek Etherton for alerting me to the presence of a Sabine's Gull at Caleta Harbour. This small gull is a scarce visitor to this part of the World so is worthy of note for that reason. This solitary specimen has taken up residence in and around the fishing harbour at Caleta de Velez.
Sabine-s Gull - xema sabini
Gulls can be very difficult to identify but in this case in this case there can be little room for confusion. The jet black leading edges to the upper wings, the unusual forked tail and the black bill with a yellow tip are all quite distinctive.
Sabine-s Gull - xema sabini
Sabine-s Gull - xema sabini
The only other bird sighting of note lately was a trio of Golden Plovers on a newly ploughed field on the west bank of the Rio Velez. I had a walk around this site with Gerry Bennet hoping to see the Penduline Tits again but they didn't show. However the Golden Plovers made up for it.
Golden Plover - pluvialis apricaria
