El Rocio & Centro Valverde

On this particular outing we headed off to Huelva, to one of our favorite areas for bird watching. First stop of the day was at El Rocio and upon parking the car we could see that there wasn't that much about. We gathered and prepared our equipment and went to the hides where we saw the following birds:

• Snipe
• Black-tailed Godwits
• Coots
• Pintail  
• Teal  
• Mallard
• Shoveler
• Greylag Geese
• Robin
• Black Kite
• Meadow Pip Pit
• Goldfinch
• Stonechat
• White Wagtail
• Lapwing

Great Tit

 

Black-tailed Godwit



Black-tailed Godwit

Spoonbill

White Stork

Greater Flamingo

Cattle Egret

Hoopoe

Black-tailed Godwit

Black-tailed Godwit

Lapwing

Kestrel

After having spent almost two hours in the area of El Rocio, which is part of Donana National Park, we drove to Centro Valverde. This is also part of the Donana National Park, and it is about a 55km drive from El Rocio to the Centro Valverde.

 

In Centro Valverde, you just have to drive about 20kms down the road until you come to a dirt road track and from here on you can look out for plenty of birds.

 

We stopped off at the Centro to have a coffee and a quick bite to eat, and then continued round and back where we started.

 

Here is the list of what birds we saw, and a few photos:

 

Common Crane

• Kestrel
• Common Buzzard
• Red Kite
• Griffon Vulture
• Little Grebe
• Little Egret
• Great white Egret
• Lapwing
• Shorteared Owl
• Bluethroat

Great white Egret

• Redshank
• Common Sandpiper
• Green Sandpiper
• Golden Plover
• Moorhen 
• Coot 
• Purple Gallinule
• Booted Eagle
• Black-winged Kite
• White-headed Duck

Red Kite

Great white Egret

Common Crane

Kestrel

Common Buzzard

Common Buzzard

Common Buzzard

Kestrel

• Hen Harrier
• Marsh Harrier
• Pochard
• Shoveler
• Stone Curlew
• Gerylag Geese
• Meadow Pipit

As you can see it was a long day out bird watching, but well worth the effort! Great company, lots of laughs, and another fantastic trip for us to report back on.

 

We'll be preparing a new post soon with great photos of a specific bird so keep an eye out for it. Bye for now!

Common Cranes winter in La Janda

The Common Crane is a winter visitor localized in La Janda (350-550) birds.

It is unmistakable, as it walks with slow, majestic steps, flies with its neck extended, legs protruding considerably, and the flocks fly in a V-formation. Their far-reaching calls consist of rough nasal trumpeting and are very distinct.

The first birds arrive towards the start of October, and the last one's have been seen towards the end of April.

Common Crane

We like to get to La Janda nice and early to hear these birds calling from a distance, and soon after we can see them flying overhead, landing in the nearby fields to feed. What a beautiful sight to behold in the early morning light!

We also saw the following birds:

Common Buzzard

Snipe

Lapwing

Little Ringed Plover

Water Rail

Purple Gallinule

Moor Hen

Hen Harrier

Black-winged Kite

Spoonbill

Glossy Ibis

Bonellis Eagle

Meadow Pitpit

Kentish Plover

Great White Egret

White Stork

Meadow Pitpit

Meadow Pitpit

Common Buzzard

Common Buzzard

Little Egret

Little Ringed Plover 

Kentish Plover

Spoonbill

Spoonbill

As you can see it was a great day out so we hope you enjoyed this post and our photos.

See you soon! Bye for now...