San Javier and San Pedro Salinas – Tuesday 14th August 2012

Farm reservoirs, airport road San Javier.  18:40 – 19:10.

Weather: Sky clear, wind NE F1, 33ºC

An evening visit to the reservoirs in San Javier close to the airport showed not a lot new.  A single Hoopoe, 3 Turtle Doves, 8 Black Winged Stilts, 2 Common Sandpipers, 7 Little Grebes (including 3 young), 5 Coot, 3 Moorhen, a single very dark Grey Heron, 2 Pochard, a single Little Egret, 4 Night Herons (1 adult and 3 juveniles), 2 Squacco Heron (adult and juvenile), and interestingly, around 70 Black Terns, a few of which were juveniles.

 One of the two Pochard that seem to have made the reservoir their home

 Adult and juvenile Night Herons (with a couple of Turtle Doves on the fence behind!)

Five of a large group of Black Terns seen today

Salinas de San Pedro del Pinatar.  19:25 – 21:30.

Weather: No cloud, wind NE F1, 28ºC

Moving on to the San Pedro Salinas, again there was nothing that I haven’t been seeing over my last visits.  The most interesting birds being around 80 Black Terns, 2 Whiskered Terns, 8 Little Stints, 2 Curlew Sandpipers, 16 Turnstone, 3 Dunlin, 2 Ruff, 3 Stone Curlews, 8 Black-tailed Godwits, around 80 Black Terns, 2 Red Crested Pochard (presumably the same two I saw at the weekend), and 12 Mediterranean Gulls (adults, moulting into winter plumage).

There was no sign of the Red-necked Phalarope, which I think has now gone, along with many of the other waders no longer around.  Also missing were Sand Martins, which presumably have now headed on south.

A couple of Red Crested Pochard spotted flying over the road that splits the salinas

Species seen

Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis)

Black Necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis)

Little Egret (Egretta garzetta)

Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis)

Night Heron (Nicticorax nicticorax)

Squacco Heron (Ardeola ralloides)

Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea)

Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus)

Coot (Fulica atra)

Greater Flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus)

Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna)

Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)

Pochard (Aythya ferina)

Red Crested Pochard (Netta rufina)

Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta)

Black Winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus)

Stone Curlew (Burhinus oedicnemus)

Ruff (Philomachus pugnax)

Dunlin (Calidris alpina)

Little Stint (Calidris minuta)

Curlew Sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea)

Turnstone (Arenaria interpres)

Black-tailed Godwit (Limosa limosa)

Kentish Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus)

Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos)

Yellow-legged Gull (Larus michahellis)

Black-headed Gull (Larus ridibundus)

Mediterranean Gull (Larus melanocephalus)

Slender-billed Gull (Larus genei)

Sandwich Tern (Sterna sandvicensis)

Common Tern (Sterna hirundo)

Little Tern (Sterna albifrons)

Black Tern (Chlidonias niger)

Whiskered Tern (Chlidonius hybrida)

Woodpigeon Columba palumbus)

Collared Dove (Streptopelia decaocto)

Turtle Dove (Streptopelia turtur)

Swift (Apus apus)

Iberian Wagtail (Motacilla flava iberiae)

White Wagtail (Motacilla alba alba)

Swallow (Hirundo rustica)

House Martin (Delichon urbicum)

Fan-tailed Warbler (Cisticola juncidis)

Southern Grey Shrike (Lanius meridionalis)

Greenfinch (Carduelis chloris)