Black Headed Weaver - ploceus melanocephalus We had a couple of spare days this week so headed over to Brazo del Este to see how it had changed after some autumn rain and since the rice cutting had started.
Black-headed Weavers were still present but no brightly coloured black and yellow breeding males, I think they must have already lost that striking breeding plumage.
Black-headed Weavers were still present but no brightly coloured black and yellow breeding males, I think they must have already lost that striking breeding plumage.
Marsh Harrier - circus aeruginosus White Storks were everywhere plus a few Black ones in between. Great Egrets had arrived to join their Cattle & Little cousins. Grey Herons were abundant but we saw no Purple or Squaccos this time, just a few Night Herons on the margins of the charcas (ponds).
Raptors were mainly represented by Marsh Harriers which were abundant, but we also saw Hen Harrier, Kestrel, Osprey, Common Buzzard and surprisingly a group of ten Griffon Vultures.
One abiding spectacle was that of a dozen or so Purple Swamphens fleeing before the rice harvester. I was so absorbed by this sight that I forgot to take a picture. I am happy to report that the birds did seem to be able to outrun the machine, at least the ones that we could see anyway.
Raptors were mainly represented by Marsh Harriers which were abundant, but we also saw Hen Harrier, Kestrel, Osprey, Common Buzzard and surprisingly a group of ten Griffon Vultures.
One abiding spectacle was that of a dozen or so Purple Swamphens fleeing before the rice harvester. I was so absorbed by this sight that I forgot to take a picture. I am happy to report that the birds did seem to be able to outrun the machine, at least the ones that we could see anyway.
Yellow wagtail - motacilla flava (first winter bird) Small bird varieties were fewer since the rains, but Chiffchaffs had arrived in large numbers, Zitting Cisticolas were plentiful in the uncut rice crop, and Pied and Yellow Wagtails were all over the paths and trails around through the marshes.
Meadow Pipit - anthus pretensis It was good to see Meadow Pipits again as they have been conspicuous by their absence from our home territory all Summer.
One bird I have not yet added to my life list is the Penduline Tit, but they are obviously breed here as I photographed one of their beautiful nests hanging in the same tamarisk tree as several weavers nests.
One bird I have not yet added to my life list is the Penduline Tit, but they are obviously breed here as I photographed one of their beautiful nests hanging in the same tamarisk tree as several weavers nests.
 Penduline Tits nest |  Chiffchaff - phylloscopus collybita |
Below is a shot of a Great Egret against the backdrop of a cut rice field. A very statuesque bird, quite unmistakable because of its sheer size.
Great Egret - casmerodious albus
 Black-tailed Godwit - limosa limosa  Glossy Ibis - plegadis falcinellas  Lapwing - vanellus vanellus | The ponds were full of life. Blackwinged Stilt, Avocet, Black-tailed Godwit, Flamingo, Glossy Ibis and Lapwing being the most abundant. The drainage ditches held large numbers of Green Sandpiper and a few Night Herons. Lapwing flocks were a common sight in England when I was a boy. Sadly their numbers have declined drastically with intensive agriculture, so it is always a delight to see and hear them now. We called them Peewits in those days, an onomatopoeia derived from their distinctive call. |
Marsh Harrier - circus aeruginosus Here´s another look at a Marsh Harrier. It was a joy to see so many of these superb raptors quartering the marshes and rice fields. They have been strangely absent from our part of Spain this year, I believe because of the exceptionally cold wet winter which upset the food chain somehow. They are drifting back however and there is once again at least one resident pair at the Guadalhorce, and certainly one bird in the marshland around the Charca de Suarez near Motril. Hopeful signs that nature is recovering after a setback.
