Coto Donana - Bonanza Saltpans

The main targets for the day were the Slender-billed Gulls at the  Bonanza Saltpans and the White-headed Ducks at the Laguna de Tarelo.  It involved a long journey back through Sevilla and down the eastern side of the Guadalquivir river.  There were a number of other sites in the area to visit if we found our targets early but, as happens, things did not go exactly to plan, although we did find both targets fairly easily.

The Slender-billed Gulls were on the saltpans and viewable from the main road just north of Bonanza. There were probably about forty in total and they were very easy to identify. The pinkish heads and long black bills showed well but their behaviour was also unusual. They stayed in tight groups and seemed to be involved in communal feeding. A rare and unusual gull and it was good to be able to get such clear views.

The White-headed Duck, probably eight to ten of them, were also where they were supposed to be on the Laguna de Tarelo but they were a long way off. You can just about identify them in the picture below.

Distant White-headed Ducks  -  Heavy crop

We checked out the route through the Algaida Pine forest without finding much other than a few distant Black Kites and Buzzards. We also checked a few of the pools up by the river but found little of interest. Running out of time we had to head for home but were left with the feeling that we could have spent a couple more days around the area.

Where did we go wrong? We decided to visit La Senuela to see the Stork Colony and then to follow the road down by the side of the Guadalquivir River to the Bonanza Saltpans. It all looked good at the start although it was a bumpy ride into La Senuela an old and seemingly abandoned church. The trouble was that we managed to flush most of the Storks and we should really have arrived in the afternoon when the lighting would have been better.

La Senuela

Moving on, the route along the river started off really well and we had good views of a few Night Herons although all were in varying levels of cover.

Night Heron

After having travelled about 20km the road started to deteriorate and we were at serious risk of grounding the car in trying to manoeuvre around some major potholes. In the end we had to give up and retrace much of the distance we had covered. We lost a lot of time and checking the maps afterwards we were probably only a kilometre short of hitting a good road. 

Odiel Marshes

The Odiel Marshes sounded too good to be true. Easy access, good selection of birds, excellent views from the road which runs through the heart of the area, and particularly good for photographers. We had to go and of course, it was too good to be true. It was worth the visit but we did not see the selection of birds we were hoping for, the light was poor and the road was closed blocking access to the last four or five kilometres of the peninsular.

Best bird of the day was undoubtedly this juvenile Osprey, blue ringed LHO, hatched 12th June 2017 at Aberfoyle Scotland. He is carrying a lot of bling and a backpack but still a great bird to see.

Perhaps I should start collecting pictures of GPS packs!

There was a good selection of waders around but nothing exceptional and no sign of the Red-knobbed Coot that we had been hoping for.

Curlew

Greenshank

We then spent the rest of the morning checking out a mixed Gull and Sandwich Tern flock before heading back to the Coto Donana. Unfortunately nothing close enough for a decent photograph.

Sandwich Terns, Audouin's, Lesser Black-backed, and a Kittiwake seated bottom left

Interesting ring information. As well as the Osprey we had two Spanish and three Portuguese ringed Audouin's and a ringed Sandwich Tern. Perhaps it is not common practice to report ring sightings in this area but I was surprised that none of the five Audouin's had been reported since hatching between three and five years ago.


Memory of the day, the flocks of birds we could see wheeling over the peninsular well beyond the road closure that stopped us. We could have walked but we had already experienced one session of torrential rain and there was no cover to be seen.

Eyeworth Pond

Mid February and time to make our annual trip to the New Forest to see Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers. Or, as it turns out almost every year, to spend a morning listening to distant drumming and to leave without managing to set eyes on them. This year was no exception. Greater spots drumming and a distant half hearted drumming from a Lesser Spot but no sight of them at all.

Plenty of birds in the forest but all of them difficult to approach although we did get the opportunity to photograph a juvenile Buzzard just after we entered the forest. It is not an unusual bird to see but it is one that I have always found difficulty in photographing.

We had a look at Blashford and a few of the enclosures but there was not much to see and even less to photograph. There were a few of the more common birds about but there was little point in spending time chasing them when our final stop of the day, at Eyeworth Pond Fritham,  would deliver close up views of all of these birds.

You do need to take a few handfulls of peanuts or sunflower seeds to keep their attention but the birds are conditioned to being fed and to being close to people.  It's not our usual idea of birding but it does lift the spirit to have so many "wild" birds almost close enough to touch.

Blackbird

Blue Tit

Blue Tit

Chaffinch

Coal Tit

Marsh Tit

Marsh Tit

Nuthatch

Nuthatch

Nuthatch

Even the Mandarins are happy to come over looking for food. We had seen ten of these at the northern end of Swanbourne Lake earlier in the week but they were very wary of people, staying well away from the feeding areas. The Eyeworth birds were out on the pond edge often too close to be able to get the picture.

Mandarin

Displaying to the ladies

Female Mandarin

Last time we visited there were a pair of Wood Ducks on the pond. I was hoping they would have stayed and I could have another go at photographing them but we did not see any sign of them this time.


As you leave the forest there are some areas of open grassland which are always good for Thrush species. Most were a bit distant but we were fortunate to get a pair of Mistle Thrushes that were feeding close to the car.

Mistle Thrush

Mistle Thrush

We didn't see anything spectacular and we didn't add any year ticks but it just felt good to be in close contact with the birds and to be taking pictures all day. The alternatives were standing in the cold all day waiting for the  Thayer's or Ross's Gulls to turn up -- boring!!

Long-tailed Duck

There have been quite a few trips out since the last blog but picture opportunities have been limited and on a couple of occasions so have the birds. A trip to Dungeness proved to be particularly disappointing. We had distant views of Smew and Slavonian Grebe but the Black-throated Diver we were hoping to see failed to make an appearance. Picture-wise all we managed were the Tree Sparrows at Boulderwall Farm.

Fortunately views of distant White-fronted Geese at Pett Level and then a Short-eared Owl in the half light at Horse Eye Level proved to be some compensation.

Similarly a trip up to Stapleash Farm didn't deliver on the Hawfinches or Little Owl but we did at least get to see Dartford Warblers on the commons. The only picture of the day was this Marsh Tit but even that proved hard to get as it scurried through the branches searching for food.

The Tit flocks seem to be dispersing as breeding season approaches and it was unusual to see this lone Long-tailed Tit feeding on the ground.

I also trekked through the mud on the footpath from Pagham to Honer reservoir. It was great to see the long staying Long-tailed Duck but I really should have worn the wellies.

The year ticks are gradually edging up but I am somewhat behind schedule as compared with previous years. The birds, particularly the Geese and the Owls,  just don't seem to be around in the same numbers. Just have to make do with Hawfinches.

White-spotted Bluethroat

A short blog, only two pictures and neither of those are particularly good. It was still worth recording though, Bluethroat is a life tick. Even better this appears to be a White-spotted Bluethroat which a quick Google search indicates as being a rarer subspecies than the Red-spotted Bluethroat.

Half an hour waiting in the freezing cold for about thirty seconds with the bird. Saw it, got a record shot, but then waited another two hours to get a better picture. It didn't happen. Might try again if it is still there next week.

Location West Rise Marsh. Great find by #naturebotherer.