The past couple of weeks have been exceptionally wet in the east of Spain, with some areas receiving a year’s worth of rain in around ten days! Although this bodes well for the coming spring, as water levels were unseasonally low, it hasn’t provided great conditions for birding! So, with a change of plan, last weekend I headed to the wetlands of Alicante instead of the high steppe. The trip was for David, a regular client from the UK, who I always look forward to seeing.
Almost all of the region was subject to rain, but we chose a little corner of Alicante that looked to be cloudy but with very little rainfall. We expected quite a lot of mud, so after the drive to the coast, we put on wellingtons and headed out across the reserve. We immediately heard and then saw Corn Buntings, and then with an eye on the skies, enjoyed views of passing Red-rumped Swallows, Barn Swallows and House Martins, together with my first Common Swifts and Alpine Swifts of the year. Migration was well and truly underway!
Red-knobbed Coot
As we walked along the shore of a lagoon, we had excellent views of Red-knobbed Coot, a very rare species for which the wetlands of Alicante provide critical breeding habitat. Greater Flamingo, Black-winged Stilt and Glossy Ibis were also around in good numbers. We continued our walk, heading for some hides, when a couple of raptors caught our attention – the first a Booted Eagle. The second, longer winged and paler, revealed itself to be an Osprey – always a special bird to see. The first hide gave us great views of Marbled Teal, one of the species that David was keen to see again, as well as Red-crested Pochard, Common Pochard, White Headed Duck and Black Necked Grebe – very productive!
Greater Flamingo
The clouds were begin to appear a little darker, so we opted to head quickly for the next hide to take shelter. As we walked along our way, two Great Spotted Cuckoos flew by, a third soon to follow. Almost as soon as we arrived at the hide, a short, sharp rain shower began, but we were still able to enjoy views of Avocet, Purple Swamphen, Shelduck and Marsh Harrier. Once the rain had stopped we strolled back across the reserve to have lunch before heading further towards the beach.
Purple Swamphen
At a small system of lagoons just behind sand dunes on the coast, we settled for a while in the final hide of the day, and had fabulous views of Mediterranean Gull, Slender-billed Gull, Sandwich Tern, more Avocet and Black-tailed Godwit. Before we left, we had one last scan with the scope, which added Sanderling and Kentish Plover to our tally. Happy with the day and its birds, as well as the fact that we’d managed to stay dry, we headed back up into the mountains of the interior of Alicante, where David was staying a while with his family, very close to my home up there. It had been a pleasure to see him again, and to enjoy tales of his adventures back in the UK.
Avocet
The species list for the day included…
Black Winged Stilt, Moorhen, Glossy Ibis, Snipe, Corn Bunting, Zitting Cisticola, Sardinian Warbler, Red Rumped Swallow, Common Coot, Purple Swamphen, Barn Swallow, Red Knobbed Coot, Little Grebe, House Sparrow, Black Headed Gull, Mallard, Greater Flamingo, Robin, Teal, Blackcap, Osprey, Booted Eagle, Marbled Teal, Shoveler, Common Pochard, White Headed Duck, Black Necked Grebe, Red Crested Pochard, Great Spotted Cuckoo, Shelduck, Avocet, Marsh Harrier, Little Egret, Crested Lark, White Wagtail, House Martin, Jackdaw, Alpine Swift, Common Swift, Mediterranean Gull, Slender Billed Gull, Sandwich Tern, Black Tailed Godwit, Kentish Plover, Sanderling, Black Redstart, Collared Dove, Blackbird, Cattle Egret, Kestrel, Spotless Starling, Wood Pigeon, Iberian Grey Shrike, Cetti’s Warbler.
Written by Dave Warrington.