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.
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.
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.
