Hello everyone, a belated happy new year. I did actually post on Tues. Jan 2nd... 2023 ?? don`t know how that happened. Must stop time travelling.
So here`s what I found yesterday.
I began the day at S`Amarador, at the viewing tower, overlooking the lagoon at the Southern boundary of the Albufera natural park. A beautiful, crisp sunny morning. There were lots of birds about and I found 23 species in 30 minutes.
The star was a Bluethroat, a1st year female I think and it posed nicely for a couple of photos.
A few other nice birds included : Glossy Ibis, Marsh Harrier, Red Crested Pochard, Red legged Partridge and Cettis Warbler.
A short drive next to Son Bosc. I had a brief stop at the Bus depot hoping to find a Tree Sparrow, but no luck. I drove down the lanes, heading for the viewing tower overlooking the depuradora settling pans. My luck was definitely in, I found a solitary Common Crane grazing in a field fairly close to the depuradora.
At the tower there was a fairly limited number of species i.e. Booted Eagle, Crag Martin, Fan Tailed Warbler, Hoopoe, Shoveller and Teal.
On to the Albufera and the hides close to the viewing centre. Grey heron and Night Heron were on show in the Trees lining the canal. At the 3 Sa Roca hides there were Black Winged Stilts, Snipe, Marbled ducks (19), Wigeon, Water Pipit.
At the 2 Es Cibollar hides on the other side of the canal there were a few Flamingos, Osprey, Gt White egret, a pair of Gargany, Purple Swamp Hen, Avocets and lots of Chiffchaffs.
Moving on to Maristany for a brief viewing. Lots of Black Headed and Yellow legged Gulls, Little egrets, Common Pochards and one handsome Pintail.
The final destination, the Albufereta. Flamingos, Cattle and Little Egrets, 3 Gt White Egrets, a very large number of Crag Martins, 2 Golden Plovers and a Kentish Plover,
An excellent day out with a great birds to be seen, 58 species in total
Cheers
Phil Akers