Our final day from Ayamonte was spent looking around the local marshes, then some of us made our way to El Rocio for a last night before heading home across Isla Mayor. We did see a few nie birds including Common Redstart, Orphean Warbler and a Booted Eagle which gave us a very close fly past. Unfortunately my camera setting had moved so my shot is very poor. |
On the way to El Rocio some of us looked in on the Odiel Marshes again where Elena and I had splendid views of this male Marsh Harrier (Above). Then we joined some of the others including Derek & Barbara Etherton in watching the distant resident Ospreys, one eating its dinner while perched on a sluice gate, and the other trying to catch something for itself, unsuccessfully as it turned out so it went to bed hungry that night. That evening as we compared notes at the hotel in El Rocio we had an aperitif of fresh oysters washed down with some nice white wine. We bought the oysters from some river oysterermen who were collecting and packing them up to go to the restaurants of Seville, so we bought a couple of dozen. And very nice they were too. Next day we said our goodbyes to the group and set off across Isla Mayor, picking up birds along the way including the Greenshank below and an interesting blue-eyed Spanish Sparrow! A trick of the light? I don't know but if you look closely at the photograph below you will see what I mean. I could see this clearly as I took the picture. |

