23 March 2011

Bonanza & San Luca

What with all the miserable weather we've been having recently, we were really keen to get out of Gibraltar and try our luck bird watching in nearby southern Spain. The alarm was set for 06:00hrs and we were already in the car by 07:00hrs, eager to get going.
Greenshank & Redshank
Swallow in flight
We headed over to explore Puerto Real but once we got there we found it was far too windy so we moved on to the other locations we had planned to visit that day, which were Bonanza and San Luca.
Greater Flamingo
Greater Flamingo
Greater Flamingo
We were fortunate enough to have lovely sunny weather, as we discovered that it had been grey and windy in Gibraltar that very day. Our enthusiasm certainly paid off, as we saw plenty of different bird species and these are listed below:

Black-winged Stilt
Red-crested Porchard
Avocet
  • Grey Heron
  • Great White Egret
  • White Stork
  • Glossy Ibis
  • Spoonbill
  • Greater Flamingo
  • Greylag Goose
  • Shelduck
  • Mallard
  • Shoveler
  • Marbled Teal
  • Red-crested Porchard

Yellow Wagtail

  • Porchard
  • Black Kite
  • Red Kite
  • Griffon Vulture
  • Marsh Harrier
  • Booted Eagle
  • Kestrel
  • Red-legged Partridge
  • Coot
  • Moorhen
  • Black-winged Stilt
  • Avocet
Swallows mating
  • Collared Pratincole
  • Ringed Plover
  • Kentish Plover
  • Sanderling
  • Turnstone
  • Green Sandpiper
  • Common Sandpiper
  • Common Redshank
  • Green Shank
  • Black-headed Gull
  • Slender-billed Gull
  • Great Spotted Cuckoo
Greylag Goose
  • Crested Lark
  • Skylark
  • Swallow
  • Grey Wagtail
  • White Wagtail
  • Black Redstart
  • Wheatear
  • Sardinian Warbler
  • Jackdaw
  • Spotless Starling
  • House Sparrow
  • Linnet
  • Goldfinch
  • Common Sandpiper
Hope you enjoy the photos that we've taken. If you have the time, please feel free to leave us a comment, as we'd love to hear from you!

Swallow
Shelducks
Redshank
Marbled Teal
Greylag Goose
Mallard
Close up of a Greylag Goose
Crested Lark
Common Redshank
Yellow Wagtail
Slender-billed Gull

04 March 2011

Salt Pans at Bonanza

Greater Flamingoes
We arrived at Bonanza early on and fortunately there was a lot of bird activity for us to observe. Bonanza is in San Luca de Barrameda, for those of you who may be wondering!

There were large flocks of Greater Flamingoes and Slender Bills, larger numbers of birds than what you would typically see at locations such as La Janda. We were able to observe them all closely and additionally, take a few photos for the blog.

We spotted the following birds:
Red Shank (Common)


  • Cormorant
  • Cattle Egret
  • Little Egret
  • Grey Heron 
  • White Stork
  • Spoonbill
  • Greater Flamingo
  • Glossy Ibis
  • Shelduck
  • Mallard
  • Red Kite

  • Shoveler

  • Porchard
  • Whiteheaded Duck
  • Red Kite
  • Black Kite
  • Marsh Harrier
  • Buzzard
  • Coot
  • Avocet

Slender Bills
  • Black-winged Stilt
  • Kentish Plover
  • Turnstone
  • Redshank
  • Whimbrel
  • Black-headed Gull
  • Slender Billed Gull
  • Sardinian Warbler

Greater Flamingoes

Slender Billed Gulls
  • Crested Lark
  • Swallows
  • Meadow Pipit
  • White Wagtail
  • Sardinian Warbler
  • Chiff Chaff
  • Waders 

    Greater Flamingoes

    Red Kite