Andalucia – Day 1 Malaga and Gaucin

SUN 25 MAY 2014

After a early flight, Alan, David and I arrived at Malaga airport for a week’s bird watching in Andalucia, led by Bob Buckler of Wingspan Bird Tours. Once we had found Bob we all piled into his car and drove the short distance to an area of waste land near Guadalmar to get straight on with the birding.

Guadalmar

Target species were Hoopoe and Bee-eater, and both were found within a few minutes in the trees on the opposite side of the small river. Spotted flycatcher and Turtle dove were found in the same trees, and Barn swallow, House martin and the odd Red-rumped swallow swooped over the river. A new species for all of us was Monk parakeet – a non-native South American species. Alan noted a few butterflies including small skipper and clouded yellow, and a hummingbird hawk-moth was also spotted. Gulls were of the yellow-legged variety and Spotless starling, Swift, Crested lark, Jackdaw and Kestrel completed the list.

Guadalhorce Natural Park

We drove on a short distance to the Guadalhorce Natural Park, named after the river that flows on two sides of this triangle of land next to the Med. Collared dove and House sparrow were unspectacular starters for the list. On the water were Coot and Little grebe, and above, Whiskered tern patrolled along the river. From the bridge the unmistakable song of a Cetti’s warbler exploded in the air and the bird then flew a short distance along the river bank. The monotonous zip zip song of a Zitting cisticola punctured the air. A high point overlooking a shallow lagoon produced Spoonbill, Little egret and a couple of pairs of White-headed ducks. A Reed warbler was singing nearby. As we walked on towards another lagoon, more Bee-eaters and Monk parakeets flew over. From the screen at the next lagoon were added Black-winged stilt, Pochard, Yellow-legged gull and Gull-billed tern. Amongst the swifts chasing insects over the water was at least one Pallid swift. The final area of water produced Little tern, Avocet, Sanderling, Ringed plover, Dunlin, Whimbrel, Mallard and Red knot. As we made our way back to the car, final species bagged were Serin and Red-rumped swallow.

Crestellina and Gaucin

As it was now getting on for 3.00pm it was high time we made a start on the journey to the town of Gaucin; Bob’s home and our base for the trip. After an hour’s travelling, we turned-off the excellent A-7 onto the twisting and turning A-377 for the  20km climb up to Gaucin, nestled high (640m) in the mountains. We pulled up under the long ridge of Crestellina to watch the Griffon vultures soaring above the mountain. The distinctive chow call alerted us to the Red-billed chough  also present on the crags. A pair of Bonelli’s eagles breed on this mountain, but they were feared not to have been successful this year. Looking at the eyrie through our ‘scopes we were able to prove otherwise, as a large chick could clearly be seen patiently waiting for its parents to return. The adults were soaring around with the vultures, probably today’s star birds.

The road steepened and became more twisting as we got closer to Gaucin, and when at last we had finished the ascent and the town was spread in front of us a bird of prey caught our eye circling above the town. It had a snake in its talons so we pulled off the road to have a good look. A Short-toed eagle, of course, and as we watched it transferred the unfortunate reptile form its talons to its beak – no doubt destined to be a meal for its youngsters.

We had done little more than four hours birding since our arrival, but this had produced 48 species (including seven news ones for my life list), so a great start for our Spanish adventure.

See also Bob’s Wingspan blog for Day 1.

Today’s List
Mallard	Pochard
White-headed Duck	Little Grebe
Eurasian Spoonbill	Little Egret
Griffon Vulture	Short-toed Eagle
Bonelli's Eagle	Common Kestrel
Eurasian Coot	Black-winged Stilt
Pied Avocet	Ringed Plover
Little Ringed Plover	Whimbrel
Red Knot	Sanderling
Dunlin	Yellow-legged Gull
Gull-billed Tern	Little Tern
Whiskered Tern	Turtle Dove
Collared Dove	Monk Parakeet
Swift	Pallid Swift
European Bee-eater	Hoopoe
Red-billed Chough	Jackdaw
Crested Lark	Barn Swallow
House Martin	Red-rumped Swallow
Cetti’s Warbler	Reed Warbler
Zitting Cisticola	Spotless Starling
Blackbird	Stonechat
Spotted Flycatcher	House Sparrow
Serin	Greenfinch
Goldfinch	Corn Bunting
48 Species