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)
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.
Wow! You can see into the future!
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