Salinas Good Friday

Another fantastically sunny day and yes i'm off to the salinas at San Pedro. Parking at the visitors centre at main road end of the salinas it obvious its a bank holiday, there are runners and cyclists a plenty out early enjoying the early morning sunshine.

Making my way to the hides overlooking the small lake, as on other visits I have yet to see anything of interest other that a couple of summer migrants, a Spotted Flycatcher and female Blackcap, so its back to the car to make my way down to "mosquito alley" to look for migrant wagtails. 

The carpark is filling up with walkers heading through the dunes to the beach which suites me as I head the other way along the salt pan embankment. I again locate Blue Headed and White Wagtails that have been here for a couple of days, and a very close encounter with a Turnstone showing the signs of a new summer plumage. A Green Finch lands on a scrub bush two metres away providing a good photo op but other than that, little else

Occasionally flamingos fly overhead moving from one salt pan to another which provides good photo ops, a group of five Mediterranean Gulls pass over head with there unmistakable call. Its now become quite busy so its time to called it a day at the salt pans

Driving past Camposeven growers at La Romero, I see a multi coloured bird perched on a fence, my first instinct is Roller, stopping the car I see its a Bee-eater, in fact probably up to twenty, hawking insects over a field recently harvested of crops, a nice photo op so close to the accomadation.

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Rebate - Salinas del San Pedro

Off to the salinas at San  Pedro but first a slight detour up to Rebate amongst the orange groves where normally we has a Sunday lunch. The place was eerily quite apart from the sound of partridge calling in the distance and the odd twittering House Sparrow, on the way back I spotted two Swallows sat on a road side wire, not swallows but...Red Rumped Swallows !...quickly parking up just below the Swallows who duly obliged for several minuets before flying off over the orange groves in the morning sunshine.

Next up was the visitors centre at the San Pedro Salinas, Spotted Flycatcher, Blackcap, Chetti's Warbler were worthy of note, onwards to "midge alley" to look for yellow wagtails, I did mananage find several but no decent photo ops today. Back to my usual number two stop locating a black Ruff, as the camera set up was for 700mm the bird was too close hence missing a good photo opportunity, I  settle down and wait for the return of the Ruff occupying my time snapping the numerous Yellow Legged Gulls that patrol the salt pans on the look out for a free meal

It takes another hour before the Ruff returns, with the lens extender already removed I at last obtained the photo op I was after.

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