24th April - Salinas de San Pedro
Parking up I have a quick scan of whats about before I decide to set up, nothing particularly new but quite a number of waders along the waters edge, the light is good and I'm looking forward to spending a couple or three hours at this location which I prefer rather than a long walk around the salt pans.
Although it's been blue sky's and twenty fives degrees the strong northerly winds has resulted a large number of waders congregating in a small bay at one end of the salinas, with the aid of some camo to impersonate some of the shrubbery I've managed get really close to the action with some birds quite happy to approach as close as two meters, way to close for the "big white".
The images are just some of the many hundred taken over the last two mornings which include….male and female Kentish and Little Ringed Plover, Common and Curlew Sandpiper some in summer plumage, Ruff including a fantastic black male, Redshank, Oystercatcher briefly which I missed, Sanderling in various plumage states, Black Winged Stilt and Avocet. Also present was a group of photogenic Slender Bill Gulls and several paired up Shelduck and all within a twenty metre range !
A group of about twenty Sanderling always the easiest to get near, some in full summer plumage are scuttling clockwork like along the waters edge chased back and forth by the lapping waves.
Click image to view
Resting Sanderling
Sanderling - carrying out maintenance
A little further away in to deeper water are five Curlew Sandpiper feeding, one with some damaged tailed feathers and three showing the red of advanced summer plumage, the colour of the water seems to have be co-ordinated with the birds plumage.
Curlew Sandpiper - almost full Summer Plumage
Occasionally a Common Sandpiper will call an alarm and the waders disappear across the salinas only soon to return, in the interim a group of Slender Bill Gulls always make an alternative for some good images.
Slender Billed Gull
On previous occasions I've visited the San Pedro salinas I've rarely managed to get close to Common Sandpiper, normally all I've managed is a call and a backend view of the wader as it disappears across the salinas.
This wader came very close giving some good photo opertunites.
Common Sandpiper
Common Sandpiper
Alarm call, there goes all the waders disappearing into the distance....again !
Black Winged Stilts are present in numbers through out the year on the salinas, rather than the usual image pose of a standing wader I though these images in the strong wind would be more interesting.
Black Winged Stilt
There are three Ruff present but way over on the other side of the bay, brown, brown with a white neck and this all black Ruff complete with neck ruff, unfortunately this black wader was constantly chased off by the other Ruff never coming close.
This is one of several images of the wader carrying out some plumage maintenance which would have been superb if it was a little closer.
Ruff - Part Summer Plumage
Turnstones are busy further up on the high tide line doing what they do occasionally venturing into the water, these waders were easily spooked by the alarm call of the Common Sandpiper.
Turnstone
Other waders present were a resident pair of breeding Kentish Plovers, a Little Ringed Plover that's been around for some days and several Redshank, I have posted images of these waders previously so are not included in this post.
One wader that is new for me at San Pedro is the Oystercatcher, it was only after I stopped looking through the camera that I notice the wader flying away from the bay....a missed opportunity !
