Saturday 14 July 2012

Saturday 14th July 2012 – Mar Menor, Murcia


Weather: Sky 5/8 hazy cloud, wind viariable, temp. 28 - 32ºC.  08:45 – 11:00. With Mick Brewer.

We took a trip out to various locations around the Mar Menor this morning, starting at ‘Lo Poyo’, which is between Los Nietos and Los Urrutias.  In the past I have seen numbers of terns and waders there, but today we just had a few Kentish Plover, a single Greenshank, a single Sandwich Tern and adult Black-headed Gull, a couple of Little Terns and a heron sp., very high up flying east to west which I got through the ‘scope and thought was probably a Purple, but couldn’t be certain.

Our next stop on the way to the Salinas at San Pedro del Pinatar, was a farm reservoir on the airport road off the A7.  There are a number of reservoirs here, but only one appeared to have any birds, with 7 Gull-billed Terns and 3 adult Black Terns flying over it feeding, and Little Grebes, Moorhens, Coots and Black Winged Stilts on the reservoir.  On the fence on the other side were a group of 4 Cattle Egrets, and while watching the terns, an adult Night Heron flew in and sat on one of the fence posts.

 One of the Gull-billed Terns flying over the reservoir

 
and another adult Gull-billed Tern

 
One of the three Black Terns feeding over the reservoir

 While watching the terns, an adult Night Heron dropped in

 ...and ended up on the fence

Also on the fence, a group of four Cattle Egrets

Our next stop were the Salinas at San Pedro, where a lot of Greater Flamingos have recently arrived, and while we were there a group of around 150 dropped in – quite a sight.  I managed to read 7 rings from the nearest birds, but could see there were many more on the more distant ones.  Other new arrivals were a single Ruff, 4 adult Curlew Sandpipers (in breeding plumage, but distant) and a Common Sandpiper.  We also had 4 distant Black Terns on the post in the middle of one of the pools; around 10 Black Necked Grebes and a couple of Great Crested Grebes together, but apart from that things were relatively quiet.

Of note in the San Pedro salinas, many Greater Flamingos

After a little trip inland, where we saw Golden Oriole and Black Wheatear, plus Bee-eaters and Thekla Lark amongst other things, we returned back to Playa Paraiso where I dropped Mick off, and I had a quick look at the La Manga end of Marchamalo Salinas.  I saw very few birds there, in the only pool with water – a single Sandwich Tern, 7 adult Black-Headed Gulls, 12 Audouins Gulls (surprisingly 2 with rings on which I read, and a single 1st summer bird), and 4 Shelduck.

And in Marchamalo, few birds - Sandwich Tern and an Audouin's Gull

Species seen/heard
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus)
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis)
Black Necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis)
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta)
Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis)
Night Heron (Nyctiocorax nyctiocorax)
Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus)
Coot (Fulica atra)
Greater Flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus)
Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna)
Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta)
Black Winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus)
Redshank (Tringa totanus)
Greenshank (Tringa nebularia)
Kentish Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus)
Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos)
Curlew Sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea)
Ruff (Philomachus pugnax)
Yellow-legged Gull (Larus michahellis)
Audouin’s Gull (Larus audouinii)
Black-headed Gull (Larus ridibundus)
Slender-billed Gull (Larus genei)
Gull-billed Tern  (Sterna nilotica)
Sandwich Tern (Sterna sandvicensis)
Common Tern (Sterna hirundo)
Little Tern (Sterna albifrons)
Black Tern (Chlidonias niger)
Bee-eater (Merops apiaster)
Golden Oriole (Oriolus oriolus)
Swift (Apus apus)
Turtle Dove (Streptopelia turtur)
Collared Dove (Streptopelia decaocto)
Thekla Lark (Galerida theklae)
Iberian Wagtail (Motacilla flava iberiae)
Swallow (Hirundo rustica)
Red-rumped Swallow (Hirundo daurica)
House Martin (Delichon urbicum)
Sand Martin (Riparia riparia)
Black Wheatear (Oenanthe leucura)
Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis)
Greenfinch (Carduelis chloris)

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