Late Afternoon On The Mar Menor

Los Urrutias - 3.11.19

As a treat we spent the day over at Cabo de Palos enjoying the panoramic sea views on a very windy day around the light house in some great weather, and as we were passing Los Urrutias called in to see what waders were about on the mud flats around the yacht club. Greenshank, Turnstone, Dunlin, Ringed & Kentish Plovers were all present in good numbers, a group of Sandwich Terns from the colder northern Europe sat close by out on a sand bar, and a first for me in Murcia...a Grey Plover.

Photography at Los Urrutias is always best late afternoon so it's a quick initial visit to see what's about with the intension to spend a couple of hours on my return. I've always found this location problematic when it come to focus and image detail, maybe it's the water reflection couple with the sun angles but improves if I manage to get a little near.

With the sun low in the sky it's there's a light yellow hue over the water, it's different but I still prefer a nice cloudy day in good light but there's no chance of that today it blue sky all the way. The tide has now changed flooding the mud flats seen earlier the waders now further along the shore, nevertheless I managed some images but I'm just not sure the image quality is as good as I would like....hey ho !

Greenshank

Dunlin

Ringed Plover - juvenile

Grey Plover

A first for me in Murcia but I'm sure they are common on passage migration.

Heading South

Los Urrutias 1.5.19

With water levels high after last weeks heavy rain at locations like San Felipe and the San Pedro salinas I'm heading south to the shores of the Mar Menor around Los Urrutias for a better chance of photographing some waders. Winter's a great time of year at this location as you can use the car even down along the beach as a mobile hide, that's not the case today as there's a fair few sun bathers about so I'm having to walk out and sit on the mud using the throw over hide.

Curlew Sandpiper and Dunlin are present in small numbers sporting some nice summer plumage my main target for next couple of hours. Low and slow is the order as I make my way trying to be invisible on to the mud, making myself comfortable in the sticky warm mud the waiting starts.

The smaller the wader the more they energetically scuttle back and forth together with the heat haze it's difficult to get any pin sharp images, looks like I might have to return another day but later in the evening when the light is less harsh. Now having shot nearly 1K of images some in open blue water and some in what appears to be a "golden pond" which is in fact the reflection the Club Regatas it's more of the same, never the less I'm still clicking looking for that mega shot that could make me famous...ha !

Curlew Sandpiper - summer plumage

Ringed Plover

Easier to photograph as they stand motionless but always keeping a keen eye on you !

Dunlin - summer plumage

Quite a few Dunlin are present sporting some nice summer plumage yet to continue their journey to breeding grounds in Northern Europe.

Return to Murcia - September18

After the quiet period of the long hot summer (it’s still hot !) it’s a return to Murcia for some bird photography of returning summer migrants that have bred in northern Europe on route back to their winter locations in sub-saharan Africa. 

One area I visit often being a short drive away is the salinas de San Pedro. A working salt industry still occupies one end of the salinas, but the remaining area of extensive lagoons along with the adjacent sand dunes now all form part of a large nature reserve that extends right down to the sea. 

In summer the area is particularly good for breeding Little and Gull Billed Terns and during spring and autumn migration a magnet for passage migrant waders. Winter time can also be productive favoured by Black Necked Grebes which congregate in their hundreds, normally very skittish I can regularly photograph these grebes at distances as close as ten metres. The whole area has something to photograph year round but its also a welcome warm weather retreat from the UK's wet cold winter...it's win win !

Salinas de San Pedro - 18.9.18

My first visit of the trip and you've guessed it's too the salinas at San Pedro. Stopping at my number one spot it all looks very quite not what I was expecting or hoping for...autumn wader migration in full swing. After a couple of hours the only the waders to show for my efforts are Ringed Plover, Little Stint and a couple of Black Winged Stilts, time to have a look over the road.

A solitary Black Tail Godwit along with a Ruff are feeding in the corner of the muddy bay, slowly I get into position but the Godwit and Ruff move further away amongst the reeds, not much chance of getting an image here then, and move on.

Now at the second pull, the location being just about ok for photography I spot a small group of Dunlin feeding along the waters edge next to the path but its not a cleen shot, one of the Dunlin is in summer plumage probably having just arrived from the breeding grounds in norther Europe so this is my target bird.

After shooting a number of images it's evident there's too much clutter so I move round to the small bay then, my target Dunlin appears this time clutter free at the waters edge all be it the light angle is not the best. I get as many images at the Dunlin remains at a distance down to four or five meters something you don't often get in the UK

As a bonus a Little Stint and a Black Tailed Gotwit drop in, may be it's the Godwit seen earlier as there doesn't appear to be many about. The shutter's has been non-stop and my memory card is full with the battery on one bar, my others are in the car twenty metres away, if I move the waders will fly so the sessions over. For the remainder of the trip I will carry replacements in my pockets....tip !

After a very quite start it's good to finish with good encounter, you just never know with wildlife photography just how your day will turn out, perseverance.

Dunlin - summer plumage

(This appears to be the "alpina" race with the richest rufous colour and longer bill length that can been seen better in the fourth image, winters in Western Europe and Mediterranean)

Dunlin - juvenile

Black Winged Stilt

Black Tailed Godwit

Ringed Plover

Little Stint

If you look closely at the image you can just about see the wader has a ring on it's right leg, never close enough to read the number, the first ringed bird seen in Spain.

It's a Warm Day !

Well it’s last day of my spring migration “reci" trip which is turning out to be photo min break. Today being the warmest day very aptly I’m off to the beach, particularly the sand dunes at Playa La Torre where the previous day I had seen a pair of Stonechats between the broad walk and the beach, so camera at the ready I thought I'd try and photograph. 

On arrival I was surprised to see “squadrons” of Cormorants possibly up to 300 number in groups of twenty or so heading up the coast towards the Mar Menor, as I was concentrating on the Stonechats I kept missing the chance of a good light flight shot...so it's was back to the task in hand. 

Stonechats can be somewhat difficult to get near, so with a some patience sitting quietly eventually an opportunity will present its self, here are the images….

Male & Female Stonechat

Click image to view..

Meadow Pipit

On the way back to the car I noted two Audouin’s Gull with amazing red and orange tip bill sat a puddle in the middle of the carpark, so being a little obvious in the empty carpark stealth mode was required, on my front to get a little closer I managed to obtain these images

Note the ring on the right leg of the bird in the last image

Next location was to move up the coast to look for waders on the beach at Playa Merendero de las Salinas, you park up in the Park Natural carpark near the San Pedro salinas port and walk along a boardwalk to the beach…..what beach? it was covered from the waters edge to the high tide line in dead sea grass to a depth of at least 200-300mm washed up over the winter.

At the waters edge as expected were Turnstone, Little Ringed Plover, Sanderling, Dunlin, Redshank etc. Suffering the ever present blood sucking insects I grabbed the shots I needed and retreated to the safety of the car

Last stop for the day is the north side of San Pedro salinas at El Mojon which is mentioned in a guide i recently read, unfortunately access to the salinas is no longer possible but it was worth a visit to check the site out. 

In the overflow channel to the sea the usual species could be found including male and female Mallard and a very obliging Little Egret. 

All too quickly my time is over for this trip, its back to the accommodation for my mum’s dinner and my evening flight back to the UK. 

I will be back in April…