Andaluz cows amongst the spring asphodels.
A lonely Yacht heads towards the Mediterranean Sea on The Strait of Gibraltar.
I had three days out in the field with birders Yvonne and Geoff and Pia, around La Janda, down the coast to Tarifa and over on the Guadalquivir river this week.
We had terrible weather with strong winds and driving rain showers - "When will this dreadful, foul weather end?" ask all my clients..... Err... tricky one for me to answer, plead I! It certainly has been a wet few months and at least we have full reservoirs.
Regardless of this unseasonal wet weather, we got off to a great start and came upon a pair of courting Black Shouldered Kites close to Vejer.
Driving inland through the deeply rutted and mud-filled tracks, with my newly aquired Land Rover Discovery, something I wouldn't have attempted with the Citroen, we spotted seven Little Bustards come into rough pasture. We stopped at a safe distance as not to frighten or stress these lovely birds and had lovely views.
Continuing through the squelching mud, we watched Marsh and Hen Harriers, Yellow Wagtails of the Iberian sub-species and Woodchat Shrikes that had obviously just arrived from the Moroccan coast. Griffon Vultures patrolled in the distance and Red-legged Partridges and Common Pheasants were displaying, fighting and preparing for their breeding season along the field edges of the rolling countryside of Cadiz province. I suppose they are oblivious to the fact that they survived the winter hunters.
On the coast we witnessed an Osprey that had just flown across The Strait. We saw it struggle against the string winds as it tried to rise above the limestone sierras that tumble down to the sand dunes and continue its journey north.
A single Booted Eagle was also seen having a similar struggle in the cloudy sky and a couple of Common Buzzards were noted.
We drove up onto the military land where two adlut Egyptian Vultures were at their nest site from the previous year. Both sat huddled together watching the mist and clouds out to sea and of course viewing the incoming birds with interest.
Hoopoes were much in evidence this week and I have seen lots around the area.
I photographed this lovely Great Spotted Cuckoo on Thursday as it flew up on a post to devour a large caterpillar and allowed me this satisfying shot.
Most of the Marsh Harriers were juvenile birds although we did see some sub-adults and a few adult birds on passage.
Common Kestrels and Lesser Kestrels hunted over the verdant green of winter cerial crops and brassicas. We came across Little Owls sheltering behind some rocks as they peered back at us with wonderfully large yellow eyes.
Black Kites seemed to be displaying in large numbers and I noticed that they had become much more vocal in the last two weeks and were watched displaying as they wheeled in the lighter parts of the Spring sky.
On the wetlands we were fortunate to get onto a flight of five Pin-tailed Sandgrouse. Such great birds to watch and you can usually here them before you see them as their flight calls travel a huge distance
Little and Great Crested Grebes were starting to look their best in breeding plumage and Thekla, Calandra and the commoner Crested Larks all looked quite splendid despite the damp air. Corn Buntings were singing from posts and low vegetation and the invisible Cetti's Warblers reminded us they were there too! Spanish Sparrows were also watched congregating in small wild olive trees. 'Showers' of Goldfinched, Serins, Linnets and some Greenfinches passed us stopping to search last year's dried seed heads for food.
Chiffchaffs, Meadow Pipits, Barn Swallows, a few Red-rumped Swallows, House Martins, Sand Martins, Crag Martins, Pallid and Common Swift were also seen feeding over flooded pastures while in the distance huge numbers - probably over two hundred Glossy Ibis were put into the air by passing juvenile Marsh Hariers, Black Kites and the occasional Hen Harrier. Great Egrets sat alonside close to similarly sized Grey Herons (No sign of any Purple Herons yet) and Cattle and Little Egrets followed the cattle and sheep in the salt marshes.
Greater Flamingoes, Eurasian Spoonbills, hundreds of Mallards and Common Pochards with thirty or so Red-crested Pochards swam and fed on shallower waters and a few Shovellers and four Marbled Ducks were found.
Quite a few Waders were seen and these included some Pied Avocets, Black Tailed Godwits, some in Summer plumage, Redshanks, Greenshanks, Green Sandpipers and large numbers of Black-winged Stilts.
A Squacco Heron dives for cover
White-headed Ducks with the adult males looking just fantastic with their blue bills were next on our list. Black-crowned Night Herons, a single Squacco Heron and more Common Pochard were seen near Sanlucar. The strong wind kept most birds huddled against the banking for protection and not many birds were seen taking to the air. Few raptors were around apart from the harriers and Black Kites.
We had a quick look at the Laguna de Media and picked up a single Black shouldered Kite there and another on the motorway to Medina Sidonia. The lake itself had hundreds of Coots and the winds made it ompossible to scope for Red-knobbed Coot. Loads of White-headed Duck are there at present.
One other Booted Eagle and Short-toed Eagle were seen on our return to The Strait area.
I'm having the weekend off now, although I have lots of office work to catch up on and a girlies birthday party tomorrow for Lucia. Hi-hip!
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