San Felipe Reserve - 20.9.18
The last time I was at San Felipe was back in April, then it was a cacophony of sound with a host of summer migrants either singing on territory or passage migrants on route to their northern breeding grounds, today it's silent. With water level high there's no mud fringes to attract migrant waders apart from a few stilts and the absence of ducks is notable, no Red Crested Pochard, Marbled Teal or Black Necked Grebes.
Being September its over 32 degrees and hot, too hot really for trekking around the reserve, back in April I was photographing Whiskered Terns, Little Ringed Plover and Collared Pratincole and the above now all departed south to their winter grounds, all very disappointing.
But if there's one success story for San Felipe then it's the reintroduction of the Red Knobbed Coot with a successful breeding program, up until recently the only RK coots you would likely have seen would have numbered neck collars fitted so it was a surprise to catch up with this bird lacking that ugly white band.
Other birds of note were a single juvenile Black Crown Night Heron that remained motionless in a tree for over an hour before flying to the reserve centre pool never to re-locate, and around thirty Bee-eaters high in the sky keen no doubt to depart south.
From a birding point of view San Felipe in September has been very disappointing, it would always be my recommendation that a spring visit would be far more productive during the months of April/May possibly incorporating access to the main reserve's North Gate....every time !
Being September its over 32 degrees and hot, too hot really for trekking around the reserve, back in April I was photographing Whiskered Terns, Little Ringed Plover and Collared Pratincole and the above now all departed south to their winter grounds, all very disappointing.
But if there's one success story for San Felipe then it's the reintroduction of the Red Knobbed Coot with a successful breeding program, up until recently the only RK coots you would likely have seen would have numbered neck collars fitted so it was a surprise to catch up with this bird lacking that ugly white band.
Other birds of note were a single juvenile Black Crown Night Heron that remained motionless in a tree for over an hour before flying to the reserve centre pool never to re-locate, and around thirty Bee-eaters high in the sky keen no doubt to depart south.
From a birding point of view San Felipe in September has been very disappointing, it would always be my recommendation that a spring visit would be far more productive during the months of April/May possibly incorporating access to the main reserve's North Gate....every time !
Red Knobbed Coot
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