It’s the first day of the new month…and the weather seems to be holding, thank goodness. Decided to take advantage of the welcome break from the rain and joined up with our friend Martin from The Life of Riley for a trip out to one of the Birdwatchalpujarras team’s favourite local spots, the marshland reserve outside Padul.
All the recent rainfall meant accesss was limited but we still managed to get a walk around much of the site. Crested Lark showed well as soon as we were out of the car, and it was nice to see hirundines feeding over the reedbeds…resident Crag Martins now joined by House Martins and Barn Swallows, just back from African wintering grounds.
Thought the first Reed Warblers might be back already, but perhaps we were just a bit too early…plenty of Cetti’s Warblers though, their explosive, metallic calls familiar and instantly recognizable. I have to say I thought we’d pick up on some bird of prey activity, but not today. What was of interest however was the sheer number of Willow Warblers quietly gorging themselves on small flies over the reeds. No calls or song to identify them, I think they were too busy feeding after returning from migration, but there were just so many clear views were no problem. No downward flicks of their tails at all, which discounted the closely related and very similar Chiffchaff as a possibility. Willow Warblers are neither particularly social or closely associated with the reedbed habitat, but it wasn’t long before I had lost count of how many I’d seen. Seasonally this species is one of Europe’s commonest migrants…and I’m sure that after the trials of the passage up out of Africa these birds were stopping off to rest and feed before resuming their journey back to breeding sites further north. By far the biggest concentration of Willow Warblers I have ever seen, and we watched for a while as they foraged along the reedbed margins and hawked insects from mid-air.
Great to get back to here again…it’s an important part of the local habitat and we’ll make regular visits throughout the coming months. As always, keep checking our posts for all the news!
