With my flight home not until Wednesday evening I took a final opportunity to visit Zapata one last time in the early dawn. A
Grasshopper Warbler had been seen at the ford yesterday, a mega sighting for Andalucía by all accounts, but there was no sign during my visit.
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| The ford at Zapata ~ A wonderful habitat full of birds! |
As I arrived a
Night Heron was busy feeding on the waters edge, along with
Little Egret but soon took flight as I approached. Also at the watering hole was a good selection of
Goldfinch,
House Sparrow and
Serin, plus the usual
Common Sandpiper and
Little-ringed Plovers, not at all bothered by my presence. I parked up and took a stroll around, several
Crested Lark and two
White Wagtail along the ground and after checking the many tamarisk I ended up with
Pied Flycatcher,
Cetti's Warbler,
Chiffchaff and a group of twenty or so
Common Waxbill, which were pretty mobile. Further along the river
Kingfishers were busy as usual and by the time I arrived back at the car
Greenshank,
Ringed Plover,
Yellow Wagtail,
Hoopoe,
Cattle Egret and overhead
Barn Swallow,
Common Swift, and
House Martin.
Once across the ford I spent time on the bridge overlooking the flood channel, which had just enough water trickling through to entice birds down for a drink. As I set up the scope a
Marsh Harrier drifted over, two
Red-rumped Swallows bravely challenging before continuing on. A dark phase
Booted Eagle, closely followed by an
Osprey next, which seemed to drop down abruptly after spotting something tasty no doubt! Back to the channel and a
Black Redstart was one of several birds taking advantage, then a gorgeous male
Common Redstart and yet another adult
Bluethroat. A half dozen
Serin and a
Stonechat was perched up in usual fashion on a nearby branch!
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| Stone Curlew ~ In the heat haze! |
Finally, making my way back to the Mesón El Cohete café for breakfast I stopped to see if Monday's
Stone Curlew were still around. Five birds were still on site and I managed a
Short-toed Lark and a second
Bluethroat of the day before finally bringing this particular trip to a close!
