Luke and I spent an enjoyable evening with Bob Wright at Charca de Suarez Reserve in Motril. We had never been there before, but had heard good reports about the place. The main objective was to see the Avadavat's or the Bengali Rojo.
A beautiful small red bird! After a little wait for the reserve to open, the gates were unlocked and we set out in a anti-clockwise direction visiting the hides. Nothing exciting at the first hide, just a few Mallards in the distance. Walking to the second, a Nightengale flew across our path and hid in one of the bushes. Flycatchers were active in the trees above. In the second hide we came across three ringers who had been there all day, but they said it had been rather quiet. On the other side of the 
pond we spotted what was a Squacco Heron, but then deserned it was a Little Bittern. This was a first sighting for Luke and myself of this bird. We then got to the main hide. Quite a few people where watching from this location as there was more activity on the water. After a couple of minutes we saw a Kingfisher skim over the pond and land on a reed. From here he began to dive into the water to fish. In the far tree, there must of been 20+ Grey Heron's all roosting there. It was good to watch the Little Egrets fly in on the little island on the lake. Grey Wagtails were flying about low over the water in search of insects. Coots and Moorhens were happy doing what they do, while a juvenile Night Heron was watching the world go by. 
Did we see the Avadavat's at the reserve? No, but earlier we had seen them at a pond on the outskirts of Motril, very near the reserve. Maybe next time we will see them.Birdlist: Little Grebe, Little Bittern, Night Heron, Cattle Egret, Little Egret, Heron, Purple Heron, Mallard, Red-crested Pochard, Moorhen, Coot, Common Sandpiper, Yellow-legged Gull, Black-headed Gull, Kingfisher, Hoopoe, Rock Dove, Turtle Dove, Collared Dove, White Wagtail, Barn Swallow, Spotted Flycatcher, Nightingale, Blackbird, Reed Warbler, Zitting Cisticola, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, House Sparrow and Spotless Starling.
Glad you both enjoyed the visit; we must do it again and spend more time at the "new" site just outside the reserve. I loved your photographs and can certainly see the difference in quality when comparing similar shots taken a the same time. So, will it be the D40 or the D50? Watch this space as they say.
ReplyDeleteBob