We began the day at El Pinet with our day tour guest Alex Brookes, on holiday in the area from Staffordshire. As well as all the usual suspects there were still plenty of Curlew Sandpiper knocking around, see the images below. Another interesting observation was that nearly all of the c100 Med Gulls present last week have left, being replaced by a minimum of 100 pairs of Slender-billed Gull. Water Pipit in summer plumage and a very showy Water Rail were also added bonuses. Nearly all of the Avocet pairs at El Pinet now have chicks, ranging up to approximately 1 week old, some of the Common Terns also now appear to be feeding young.
Above 2 images - Curlew Sandpiper
The rest of the day was spent birding the various tracks between La Marina and El Hondo. We record all of the breeding species you would expect to find in this area with the cream of the crop being - Roller (5, see below), Bee-eater (15+), Montagu's Harrier (5 males displaying to a single female), Garganey (4), Grasshopper Warbler (1) and 3 very showy Tree Sparrow (fairly uncommon in this area). In total we recorded 88 species and Alex settled on Roller as his bird of the day. Click on any of the images in this post to see an enlarged version. For details of our day trip options please click here.
Roller
Adult winter/immature Squacco Heron
Above 2 images - Adult summer plumage Squacco Heron
Cattle Egret
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