The day proved to be hugely enjoyable, and we put over forty species on the list in just a few hours. Information boards mapping the paths and the location of the hides made exploring the reserve pretty straightforward, and the birdwatching proved to be terrific almost as soon as we arrived…

The first hide we stopped at gave us fantastic views of Little Grebes and White-headed Ducks, and a spectacular fly-over from a pale-form Booted Eagle, my first of the new season.

Barn Swallows and House Martins swirled overhead, and a good range of everyday species quickly got the day-list off to a great start. Spotless Starlings, House Sparrows and Crested Larks all showed well of course, as did Blackbirds, Robins, Stonechat and Black Redstarts.

Good numbers of Fan-tailed and Cetti’s Warblers called throughout the day, and Sardinian Warblers and Chiffchaff put the warbler count at four species for the trip. We picked up Goldfinch, Chaffinch, Serin, Great Tits and Blue Tits on the walks between the hides, along with fly-overs from Grey Herons and Kestrels.

The hide on the largest pool proved to be highly productive. Wildfowl species included Mallard, Pochard, Teal and Shoveler. Coot and Moorhen were both plentiful…

…and in the distance we soon identified a winter plumage Black-necked Grebe – my first in Spain.

White Wagtails were to be expected, but a Yellow Wagtail – either Motacilla flava (Central Europe) or Motacilla iberiae (Spain and NW Africa) – was a wonderful addition to the day. Cormorants, Black-headed Gulls and a Yellow-legged Gull kept the day-list going…

…while a Little Egret hunting in the shallows.

Wader species included Kentish and Little Ringed Plovers, Common Sandpipers and Redshank, and elegant Black-winged Stilts.

A Hoopoe ignored us completely and foraged happily on the path as we walked out towards the shoreline…

where we watched flights of Cormorants leaving the reserve to go fishing out at sea.

All in all a wonderful trip, and we’ll take a closer look at some of the species we encountered over the next few days. Feral pigeons – yes, they do count! – and an unidentified parakeet put the day-list at 44, and moments before we finally got in the car we found this Greenfinch which put the final count for the day at 45.

It was wonderful to see what this remarkable reserve has to offer, and it will be great to get back there later this spring.  Many thanks to our birdwatching friend Marianne for doing the driving!

There are many more birding destinations that we will be visiting over the coming weeks – if you would like more information on how to join us, details about our birdwatching trips and holidays are just a click away. Southern Spain has some truly remarkable birding to enjoy…for all our latest news, please keep reading our posts and trip reports!

At around 1800m the abandoned ruins at Tello can be a productive birding destination, and the drive out of the village started well enough. Stonechat and Crested Larks showed well as always, and we picked up Sardinian and Dartford Warblers along the roadside in no time at all.

With Chaffinch, Serin and Great, Blue and Coal Tits all ticked for the day we parked up and the short walk to the old buildings at Tello gave us Black Redstarts and Rock Buntings.

With visibility worsening by the minute we clearly didn’t have long, but decided to hang on as long as we could. Jays clacked and screeched suspiciously in the trees around us, and we picked out Blackbirds and Mistle Thrushes – but only just! – as the cloud thickened and made photography pretty much impossible.

Of course, with the cameras out of action we expected something interesting to turn up, and a Short-toed Treecreeper and a Nuthatch were both nice additions to the day. Laughing, “klu-klu-klu-klu” calls delayed the dash back to the car and our patience was finally rewarded – not one but two Iberian Green Woodpeckers, close to what looked very much like a nest-hole near the top of a dead tree.

With one of our main target species logged for the day we beat a hasty retreat…and Kiersten’s closing shot of the possible nest-site shows what conditions were like. It may be the second week of March but we clearly haven’t seen the last of the bad weather, and the mountains can still quite suddenly become a fairly unforgiving place to be!

For all our latest birding news, please keep checking our posts – and for more information about our birdwatching trips and holidays, click here. Spring might be still just around the corner down here in southern Spain, but there’s still plenty to see!

The Black-winged Stilt Himantopus himantopus is a summer visitor to western Europe, returning each year from wintering grounds in Africa to Mediterranean breeding grounds in the spring. They favour shallow coastal lagoons and lake margins, and can feed in fresh, brackish and salt water habitats.

The seeds of aquatic plants are occasionally taken but their diet is mainly insects and their larvae, picked expertly from the surface of the water with their long, needle-like, delicate bills.

They walk and run through shallow water – often leaning well forward to probe for food – but those incredibly long, pink legs give them an advantage over many waders and they sometimes wade out into deeper waters beyond the reach of other species.

The pristine, snow-white body and head and glossy black wings are pretty much unmistakable, and its ID is usually a straightforward affair. In the breeding season males develop a greater amount of darker, grey colouration on the head – note the plumage of the individual shown below – which they moult out gradually after the summer.

Black-winged Stilts nest on loose colonies close to the water’s edge, in a scrape on the ground or sometimes on a raised nest built from vegetation. Predators and other intruders that stray into their territory are mobbed noisily, and chased off with loud, grating “kreet…kreet” calls.

The Black-winged Stilt is just one of the many fascinating species to be found at Fuente de Piedra, and we’ll be returning to this wonderful reserve later in the season. If you would like more information on the birdwatching trips and holidays we run in southern Spain, click here…and for all our latest birding news, please keep reading our posts and trip reports!

The Woodlark Lullula arborea is a bird of open woodland, occurring in stands of pine trees, mixed or broadleaved forest and bushy heathland. The views we have for you today are typical – the bird spends much of its time on or near the ground, foraging for insects and small seeds in short grass and clearings. Widespread over much of Europe, northern and eastern populations tend to be migratory and often spend the colder months of the year around the Mediterranean and in north Africa.

The Woodlark has red-brown cheeks, and tan and black stripes on its cap. Note also the dark streaks on its whitish chest, and the uniformly pale belly. There are more black streaks on its warm, buff-brown back and a distinctive black and white patch on the outer edge of the wing…not really visible in the shots we have here, but a great help when it comes to identification.

While Thekla and Crested Larks have very obvious, pointed crests many other species in the family also have shorter, stubby crests. Another useful detail to look for, and even in silhouette the partially raised feathers – nicely illustrated below – can help narrow down the list of possibilities in the field.

A number of woodland species also have quite distinct stripes or “supercilia” over the eye but in the Woodlark they join characteristically on the back of the neck. While a view of the back of a bird is not always a huge help Kiersten captured this key point of detail perfectly in the last of today’s images, neatly putting its ID beyond any doubt.

With a quite limited distribution mainly in the south of the UK, the Woodlark is always a nice tick for British birders and it’s great to have this pretty little species on the month-list again. We run regular birdwatching trips and holidays down here in southern Spain and if you’d like to join us you’ll find all the information you need right here. For all our latest birding news and trip reports, please keep reading our posts!

The Short-toed Eagle Circaetus gallicus is a seasonal visitor to the Mediterranean region, and a real “must-see” species for the warmer months down here in southern Spain. With a wingspan of nearly six feet – over 1.7 metres – it’s always an impressive sight, and Kiersten’s wonderful new images illustrate superbly some of the key ID points to look for.

Uniformly pale, almost silvery-white plumage on the underside of the wings and chest separates this species from many of the other larger raptors, and always contrasts strongly with the characteristic, dark brown hood. Note how in some individuals it extends in a bib onto the chest…nicely captured in the shot shown below.

A good view reveals fine rows of dark spots across the chest, extending out across the wing, and three, evenly-spaced dark bars through the sharply cornered tail.

The Short-toed Eagle favours open, hilly country with patches of woodland, rocky slopes and scrub. They feed mainly on reptiles, and specialise in hunting snakes: thick scales on their legs protect them from bites, and larger victims are skilfully wrestled on the ground before being overpowered and carried off!

No doubt we’ll return to this beautiful species as the coming weeks unfold, and it’s terrific to have our first shots of the season posted for you today. If you would like to know more about how to join us on one of our birdwatching trips and holidays, click here for all the details…and for all our latest birding news, please keep checking our posts and trip reports!

The highly eroded rock formations have a wonderful, almost other-worldly feel  – many thanks to our friend Marianne for the shot we’ve shown here – and with time to spare after our visit to the lagoon we were keen to see what this unique “karst” habitat has to offer at this time of year.

Without a doubt, the main attraction here has to be the colony of Griffon Vultures, and sure enough these magnificent raptors could be seen soaring overhead throughout the day. Poor light made photography a little difficult – apologies for the silhouettes we’ve posted today!  – but the views we had were nothing short of spectacular.

With passage species already arriving down at Fuente de Piedra I thought we might pick up some summer visitors here too, but despite some sunny breaks in the cloud cover spring has yet to arrive at this higher altitude. Still, there were birds to be found here and we cobbled together a day-list nonetheless.

Blackbirds, Robins, Blue Tits and Great Tits all showed well, and House Sparrows chirped and chattered around the visitors centre. Stonechat and Black Redstarts too were no surprise, and we picked up Crested Larks within no time at all.

Large winter flocks of Spotless Starlings and Goldfinches were a nice distraction through the course of the day, and before we left maybe thirty or so noisy Choughs returned to roost on the higher outcrops. It was nice to see good numbers of Ibex today – almost completely unconcerned by our presence as we explored the reserve’s winding network of paths and tracks.

The highlight of our visit? Griffon Vultures, of course…and for me, terrific views of brightly coloured, pristine Rock Buntings, that let us get really close as they foraged on the ground for seeds and insects. Superb!

El Torcal is just one of the many fantastic destinations that we visit through the birdwatching year. Our day-trips and holidays are the perfect introduction to birding in southern Spain: for details on how to join us, click here…and for all our latest news and trip reports, please keep reading our posts!

We arrived in the sunshine after an early start – with the first Barn Swallows  I’ve seen this year waiting to greet us, perched on wires around the car park.

Goldfinches, Stonechat, Black Redstart, White Wagtails and House Sparrows all showed well around the visitors centre, where we decided to check out the smaller ponds first.

Other species of wintering wildfowl had already moved on, but the pools around the entrance to the reserve still held good numbers of Shoveler, along with a few Mallard. With the local Kestrel patrolling overhead we picked up Coot and Moorhen here of course, along with Cattle Egrets, Black-headed Gulls and a few Lapwing.

The breeding population of Greater Flamingos starts to return to Fuente de Piedra in December, and we could see rows of pink specks out in the heat haze shimmering over the shallow waters of the lake. The margins held a number of waders, including Redshank, Common and Green Sandpipers, and also Wood Sandpipers – a brand new species for me, and a personal highlight of the visit…

As always though the beautiful Black-winged Stilts stole the show, and we had fantastic views of these elegant birds throughout the day. Nice to see a few Teal too – a fairly common species back home but another first for me in Spain.

Away from the water’s edge, a Southern Grey Shrike caused consternation amongst the House Sparrow community when it arrived on the visitor centre’s roof, and then proceeded to give great views as it called loudly from its favourite look-out posts.

There were huge numbers of Corn Bunting around the reserve today, and their jangling, metallic calls – like rattled keys or broken glass – accompanied us as we took a drive around the lake to check out some other viewing points. Poor rainfall this  winter has obviously kept water levels down, and some seasonally flooded areas were dry…

The surrounding farmland still gave us a distant  Golden Eagle however, and we stopped to take a last look back out over the reserve before moving on. A hunting female Marsh Harrier brought a predictably unwelcome response from a huge flock of roosting gulls out on the lake, and we could pick out the darker Lesser Black-backed Gulls in the throng as they noisily rose to see the intruder off.

A wonderful few hours – and we’ll be certain to return to this remarkable reserve regularly over the coming season. Fuente de Piedra is just one of the many fantastic birding destinations we report from through the year. If you would like more information about our birdwatching trips and holidays down here in southern Spain, click here for more details…and please keep checking our posts for all our latest news!

When I heard there had been up to six birds, I wondered briefly if newly-arrived, migrant Lesser Kestrels were passing up through the valley…

however the shot we’ve shown above puts the ID of this individual at least beyond doubt. The clean, grey tail shows it’s a male – females’ tails are barred – and a clear view of the wing shows the definite absence of an additional grey wing bar. “Only” a male Kestrel, then…

but still as graceful and as accomplished in the air as any of its falcon relatives. They’re probably the most recognisable and easily seen raptor for many people, widely remembered for their characteristic, motionless hovering as they watch for rodent prey.

The Kestrel falco tinnunculus is certainly a small mammal specialist but like the rest of its family they are also highly versatile and adaptable. Insects and small birds are also taken – Kestrels in urban environments take a high number of House Sparrows for example – all of which requires the same mastery of the air shown by other, skilful falcon species. Terrific new images of a familiar favourite!

With some of the best birding available in southern Spain right on our doorstep, our birdwatching trips and holidays are a great introduction to to the region and its wonderful birdlife. Click here for more details…and please keep checking our posts for all our latest trip reports and birding news.

At 3,011m Cerro del Caballo is the westernmost “three-thousander” in the Sierra Nevada range. A wild and remote place, without a doubt…and its crags and rocky slopes provide the perfect habitat for one of Europe’s largest birds of prey.

Kiersten was waiting to pick up the Spanish Highs Mountain Guides team at the time, and thick cloud meant visibility was at a minimum – which in turn meant at first she heard rather than saw a pair of these wonderful raptors. The noise was like a free-falling aeroplane as they came diving out of the mist and swooped past overhead!

In their display flights Golden Eagles will make occasional lightning-fast stoops and plunges, literally ripping through the air on folded wings. A memorable sight at any time, and every now and then we’re lucky enough to have close contact with these magnificent birds that can turn the coldest and foggiest days into something quite special.

Across much of its European range the Golden Eagle has disappeared from more heavily populated areas, and has retreated to mountainous regions where it can still establish its huge breeding territories  – up to 60 square miles – and rear its young undisturbed by human interference. Thankfully Spain remains a stronghold, and we’re lucky enough to see these wonderful birds throughout the year.

Golden Eagles are just one of the many bird of prey species that can still be found in the mountains of southern Spain. We run birdwatching trips and holidays that can provide a great introduction to the birdlife of the region: for more information on how to join us, click here…and for all our latest birding news, please keep checking our posts and trip reports!

A mob of these rather elegant, snow-white herons has taken up residence in the valley below Lanjaron, disturbed perhaps at their usual winter roosts, and friends are reporting them flapping off from the roadside as they drive down the tracks into the village.

Cattle Egrets do actually originate from southern Spain, in a range that originally included Portugal and parts of tropical and sub-tropical Africa and Asia. The twentieth century has seen a truly remarkable expansion by this species however, into north and south America, Australia and elsewhere…it first nested in the UK in 2008, after an influx was reported there only a year earlier!

Unusually within the heron family, the Cattle Egret feeds on open grassland, typically at the feet of livestock or big game. They take mainly insects – especially grasshoppers – disturbed as the animals pass, but also visit ploughed fields, rubbish tips…and, it would appear, orchards and gardens.

Despite its ability to established itself and spread these birds are really only short-distance migrants. Most populations are more or less resident in Iberia, with quite local, seasonal movement of some individuals occurring during the colder months.

This lot will probably move on soon…but it’s been great to see them around the terraces for a while. Keep checking in for all the rest of our birdwatching news as another month unfolds…and for details of our local birdwatching trips and holidays, click here.