The Road To San Felipe

19th April - San Felipe & Vistabella Road

It's El Hondo today starting off at the visitor centre at San Felipe then moving on to the public hides on the Vistabella Road. It's an early start and still dark as I drive up the AP7 Motorway arriving at 8.15 am, as I'm leaving the centre carpark I spot a pair of Little Ringed Plover on the gravel area adjacent to the carpark, last year a pair bred behind the roped area quite close, may be the same pair?

I position myself just behind a hedge with the birds sat on a gravel ridge with some tamarisk bushes as a back drop in the distance, it's a clean shot and I take advantage of the opportunity that not often presents itself. Occasionally Rabbits dive out of the tamarisk bushes with the females being chased by males, I move on.

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Little Ringed Plover

European Rabbit

Near the reserve centre building Great Reed Warblers are in full chatters telling other males....."this is my territory keep out". I get some images but you need luck to get a clean shot and avoid including the ever present mass of tangle reeds or branches in the image.

Great Reed Warbler

Moving round to the board walk stopping at the covered platform where the Spotted Crake was seen a few days back I meet up with a couple of resident brit birders, it's always good to exchange conversation in the morning sunshine. But it's cameras to the right in the mornings due to the light angle and I manage some images of Whiskered Tern and a lone male Widgeon which I'm told is unusual for this location.

The rest of the visit is mainly the usual resident species, Marbled Teal, Red Crested Pochard, Gallinule and a fair number of Pratincoles wheeling and screeching overhead, a few long range waders, including Kentish Plover, Little Stint and Curlew Sandpipers some of which are changing into their red summer plumage.

Time to move on to Vistabella Road.

Whiskered Tern in transition to summer plumage

Vistabbella Road hides are located about seven miles distance on the opposite side of El Hondo Reserve, it's an easy drive with straight traffic free country roads. Parking up at the usual location next to the slice bridge that separates the road and the reeds it's a long walk to the second hide my preferred location as the hide is positioned lower to the water making for better images. But a word of caution to visitors, the last hundred meters is on a raised walkway, about 400mm wide, and in summer about one meter above the water, so if your nervous and have expensive camera gear....take care !

Black Neck Grebe cruise passed some with this years young in tow, a couple off White Headed Duck dive in front of the hide and Greater Flamingos are ever present in large numbers. A couple more shots of Red Crested Pochard and I make my way back to the car calling at the first hide to check any other image possibilities.

Black Necked Grebe

Black Neck Grebe - juvenile

Red Crested Pochard - male

It's 4.0 pm and the wind has increased, my preferred flat calm water has long gone so I decide to call it a day. Theres always another day in the sunshine.