Best Of The Rest

A round up of a few other images that didn't make a post in it's own right, like the mating Black-winged Stilt were no more than grab shots before it was all over, or, just that it was too few photo ops on the day....hey ho !

Red-knobbed Coot

Image of a Red-knobbed Coot was about the only images I managed at San Felipe being surprisingly quite, also as the water levels were so high lacking the usual mud edges all the waders were occupying the nearby flooded fields, some day's are just like that !

Black-winged Stilt

Three images of mating Black-winged Stilts, unfortunately it was around midday by which time the sun was out big style and the light was way to harsh.

Ruff

Image of a very confiding Ruff taken at 3-4 meters distance, at one point it got to close. I've managed to get the sun somewhere behind me with this shot hence the colour looks pretty good.

Crested Lark

Taken early morning around 8.0 am as you can probably tell on a drive around Lo Romero Golf, at the time I was trying to get images of a Southern Grey Shrike I had seen the day before, then I found a Woodchat Shrike never managing to get images of either. This Lark just popped up on a stump...lucky to get an image of something !

Little Owl

On my drive I usually come across this chap at the less developed far end of the coarse but getting near can sometimes be difficult, other times will just site on a rock or wall as in this case...get out of the car and he's or she is off

A Very Long Drive

Bonete Steppe - 29.4.19

Today I've been offered a trip by a fellow Brit Birder Don (thank you very much Don) up to the vast open plains around Bonete and Petrola, it's a long drive but the birds encountered are quite different that those down near the coast. Benete with it's vast agricultural area are most notable for Great and Little Bustard our target species for the day, also we're on the look out for Rock Sparrow, Lesser Kestral and what ever else we can dig out.

As we near our destination still on the motorway we see a large bird ahead, at first we think it's a large bird of prey but the wing beat is a little too quick for a "Bop", as we get closer its a...Great Bustard, it's not surprising it has to beat that quick as it a massive bird. Now quite close and flying parallel with the motorway it clearly shows that unmistakable white wing flash finally veering off into the distance. What an unbelievable sight and a first for me, a good start to the day and hopefully more of the same to come.

Heading north out of Benete's onto the vast agricultural areas we scan for our first target species the Great Bustard, we soon pick out four maybe five but a long way out on the plain. Other spices noted include Quail with it's..."bu-ut"....call, a group of about ten Pin-tailed Sandgrouse, Sone Curlew, Rock Sparrow and Corn Bunting which seem to be on every bush.

In order to get a closer view of the Bustard we decide to drive along one of the many tracks getting no further than a farm circled by some fir trees, soon a Golden Oriel can be heard another scares visitor in the UK, rounding the farm building another great spot of seven Lesser Kestrels that had set up home in a turreted tower take to the air calling all the while as they float off over the plain, never managing to get near as they were way to wary.

Next we move on a short distance maybe five miles to a small wooded area, as we get out of the car a Nightingale is in full song of which I haven't heard a long time back in the UK, silver fronted Bonelli's warblers are everywhere which I spend the next hour unsussessfully trying to get some images. 

We move on in the direction of Petrola all the while keeping an eye on the sky for birds of prey that were reported a few days/weeks earlier with no luck. Next spot on our trip is the Laguna Salada, Gull-billed Terns are searching the fields, a pair of Kentish Plover are noted on the approach to the hide. On the lake itself its disappointing with the only new species being about thirty Black Terns a new bird for the trip, we move on.

Now heading back through Corral-Rubio we head for La Higuera passing several Lagunas along the way, Marsh Harriers male and female are seen quartering the reed beds other than that the usual with the odd White-headed Duck is all that's worth noting

Great Bustard - female

I'm afraid these two images can only be described at best, you've guessed it...."record shots"