Andalucia – Day 4 La Janda

Wed 28 May 2014

We travelled south-west today for some lower-level birding away from the mountains. The day started wet and windy, but it did improve later.

Marchenilla Track, Near San Pablo

This dusty country road is only 10km from Gaucin and was visited specifically for Rufous bush robin and Tawny pipit. We spotted two Little owls en-route and, more excitingly, a couple of Black-winged kite flew across the road in front of us. Sadly not a great view, we only really saw the birds in silhouette gliding with their wings held in their characteristic deep V-shape.

After parking the car we began a gentle walk along the track and it wasn’t long before the target Rufous bush robin appeared. What a cracker, and our luck got even better when a second bird showed. An unusual looking sparrow sat on a fence caught my eye. Bob identified it as an Italian sparrow; a Spanish/house sparrow hybrid, considered by some authorities as a separate species.

A bit further along we found our second target species, Tawny pipit. This also afforded us good views from its perch on electricity wires. A small flock of Bee-eaters could be seen in a tree across the fields, and a fine Melodious warbler showed on a fence. Notable birds that did a fly past were Short-toed eagle, dark morph Booted eagle, Buzzard and White stork.

Tarifa – Playa de los Lances

We had to put on our waterproofs here as it was raining as we parked up. As we walked along the boardwalk out to the beach front hide Short-toed lark performed their short song flights, but there was not much else about on the beach, only a few Yellow-legged gull, Ringed plover, Kentish plover, Dunlin and Little egret. After twenty minutes we gave up because of the horrible weather and went for a coffee in a nearby hotel.

La Janda

It continued to rain quite heavily as we drove on to La Janda, but the worst had passed by the time we arrived. This is a large wetland area, but much of it has been “improved” for rice growing. We drove slowly along a track with flooded fields on either side. Lots of Cattle and Little egrets, Glossy ibis and White stork. We got out of the car to scan across an area of water with our ‘scopes and added Night heron, Spoonbill, some distant Collared pratincole and an even more distant Marsh harrier. An Egyptian mongoose ran across the track in front of us.

The road turned right to continue in a straight line for a few hundred metres. The white poplar trees along the left hand side were full of nesting Cattle egrets – hundreds of them. The car became a mobile hide allowing us great close views of them. Many Glossy ibis were also nesting amongst the egrets . A fantastic sight!

Once beyond the egret/ibis colony we stopped to eat our sandwiches, the rain having now cleared away. Reed and Cetti’s warblers were singing from somewhere in the bushes and Turtle doves sat on wires.

We drove onwards until we arrived at a few farm buildings were we stopped to look at half-a-dozen Black kites soaring low over the farm. As we continued through the farm a Little owl sat very photogenicly on a gate post. We followed the track for another two or three kilometres past more lagoons and finally to a woodland where a pair of Spanish Imperial eagles are breeding, but no sign of them above the trees. We turned the car around and began to retrace our route. A group of large birds high to our left caught our attention. We stopped to check them out and amongst the Griffon vultures were two Spanish Imperial eagles. An exciting find.

As we drove back through the farm the Little owl was back on its perch and obligingly allowed us to take more photographs. We followed the track back past the Cattle egret/Glossy ibis and finally out onto the main road. An ocelated lizard (one of the larger species) scuttled across the track at the end of the track.

Vejer de la Frontera

We called into this small town specifically to see the nesting colony of Bald ibis on rocky cliffs right next to the road. There were several well grown youngsters in the nests as well as the adults. But my, what an ugly bird!

Barbate Marshes

A large shallow lagoon near the coast that held Kentish plover, Spoonbill, Black-winged stilt, Lesser black-backed gull, Yellow-legged gull, Grey plover, Greater flamingo, Avocet and Little tern. We had excellent close views of Collared pratincole as they stood on the sandy track. Calandra lark, Stone curlew, Short-toed lark, Crested lark and Yellow wagtail (blue headed variety) were nice species in the surrounding grassland.

Mirador del Estrecho (Near Tarifa)

We stopped at this viewpoint to check if any late migrants were flying in from Africa. We did not see any, but the views across the Straits of Gibraltar to Morocco were very impressive.

Gaucin

Ended the day being serenaded by the Blue rock thrush singing from the rooftops of Gaucin.

See also Bob’s Wingspan Blog for Day 4.

Today’s List
Pheasant	Mallard
Greater Flamingo	White Stork
Northern Bald Ibis	Glossy Ibis
Eurasian Spoonbill	Black-crowned Night Heron
Cattle Egret	Grey Heron
Little Egret	Black-winged Kite
Black Kite	Griffon Vulture
Short-toed Eagle	Marsh Harrier
Common Buzzard	Spanish Imperial Eagle
Booted Eagle	Common Kestrel
Moorhen	Stone-curlew
Black-winged Stilt	Pied Avocet
Grey Plover	Ringed Plover
Kentish Plover	Dunlin
Collared Pratincole	Yellow-legged Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull	Little Tern
Turtle Dove	Little Owl
Swift	European Bee-eater
Great Spotted Woodpecker	Woodchat Shrike
Jackdaw	Calandra Lark
Short-toed Lark	Crested Lark
Skylark	Barn Swallow
House Martin	Cetti’s Warbler (h)
Reed Warbler	Melodious Warbler
Zitting Cisticola	Sardinian Warbler
Blackbird	Nightingale
Rufous Bush Robin	Stonechat
Blue Rock Thrush	House Sparrow
Italian Sparrow	Yellow Wagtail
Tawny Pipit	Serin
Greenfinch	Goldfinch
Linnet	Corn Bunting
64 Species