Coto Donana - Laguna de Acebuche

The Laguna was one of the best places we visited. It would have been worth it just for the Azure-winged Magpies which would come to bread thrown out in the picnic area. We saw them in lots of other places but this was the only one that offered close encounters.

As well as the picnic area there were seven north facing hides giving good lighting for photography, although we could have done with a few more birds to make the most of the facilities. There were also two more hides out to the west, the Coot hide and the Stork hide. They were a bit of a trek and when I got there I found both lagunas to be bone dry with the only birds in sight being a Blackbird, a Chaffinch and a very distant Stork on top of an electricity Pylon. Check with the visitors centre before you set out.

Ferruginous Duck

 We had our doubts on the Ferruginous Duck as it was in close proximity to a male Pochard. We thought perhaps Ferruginous x Pochard Hybrid but later, seeing it by itself and seeing the white patch on the upended tail, below, we settled for female Ferruginous.

The most common bird on the water was the Little Grebe. They were surprisingly noisy and quarrelsome but I suppose this is just a sign that breeding season is upon us.

Plenty of Larks around the site, this one a Thekla Lark.

Thekla Lark

Also reasonable views of two Purple Herons although both were sufficiently concealed to make a decent photograph impossible.

Purple Heron

Perhaps my best birds from the site, two Short-toed Treecreepers. I have to say that I was not totally convinced by the wing markings and I couldn't hear them calling but Collins informs me that the nearest "common" Treecreepers are about 500 miles to the north in the Picos mountains.

Short-toed Treecreeper

Lots of small birds around, particularly Black Redstarts and Stonechats but very few close enough for a picture.

Mallorca - Son Bosc and the Depuradora

We made three visits to the Depuradora, a sewage works and settlement pools on the southern edge of the Albufera. There is an observation platform gives good views out over the pools and there are also good birding opportunities from the access road in the area known as the Son Bosc. This is a mix of wasteland, low intensity farming and a few old quarry areas.

Birds seen in this small area included:-

Roller (at least two)
Bee-eaters
Thekla Lark
Short-toed Lark
Stone Curlew
Woodchat Shrike
Hoopoe
Tawney Pipit
Marbled Duck
Ferruginous Duck
Garganey
Whiskered Tern
White-cheeked Pintail (Bahama Pintail)

As well as numerous Nightingales, Cetti's Warblers, flyovers by Squacco, Night, and Purple Herons, and various birds of prey. There is limited cover along the road or from the platform so the birds tend to be a bit distant but there were some good picture opportunities.

Roller

Bee-eater

Ferruginous Duck

Marbled Duck

Whiskered Tern

Stone Curlew

The Stone Curlew wasn't too difficult to find. We had watched it fly in and knew it was there. It took a bit of searching but that eye really makes a difference.

Some of the other little brown birds were a bit harder to spot against the ploughed fields. The Thekla Lark below stands out as it is silhouetted against the lighter ground but without cover it is unlikely that the birds will come closer and it is difficult to get photographs.

Thekla Lark using 420mm lens combination

Thekla Lark - big crop from the shot above

Cetti's Warbler

And one unusual find, an Egyptian Grasshopper. I think this is a female. It is about six centimetres long and although it is quite common around the Mediterranean area this is the first one I have seen.

Egyptian Grasshopper

A few years ago permission was granted to build a golf course on the Son Bosc area. Work did start but this now seems to have been blocked by the Mallorcan authorities. It would be a great loss to the birding world. A better solution would be to include it in the Albufera Natural Park to give it long term protection.