Beautiful day, sunny but not too hot.. a perfect moment to head to one of my favourite places: Laguna de Medina, just outside Jerez de la Frontera. It had rained quite a lot the week before, but I didn't expect to see any water in the lagoon yet. And I was right, the lagoon was still dry. As a result there were no wader birds nor gulls. Fortunately, this place always has something surprising. This time I ran into a pair of amazing Red Kites!
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| Red Kite |
That was not the only bird of prey I spotted. I also saw some Kestrels and even a spectacular Black-winged Kite!
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| Black-winged Kite |
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| Kestrel |
It will take several weeks of rain to raise the water in the lagoon to a decent level. It looks a bit strange at the moment, but it is also a good opportunity to take photos. |
| White Wagtail |
Just before turning back I came across a herd of sheep. 1200 animals strong, according to the shepherd that was with them, I didn't count them myself. |
| Some of the sheep. On the right one of the Leaders carrying a bell. |
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| A Cattle Egret enjoying a free ride |
There is such a lot of variety in vegetation at this place that it is not only a good spot to watch birds, but you will also encounter many interesting insects such as dragonflies and grasshoppers. Maybe I should invest in a decent macro lens to be able to take better photos of these animals as well, although I'm quite happy with the result of the photos taken with my tele-photo.
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| Close-up shot of a beautiful Grasshopper |
I spotted 19 different bird species during my 4 hours walk along the lagoon this time. Now we'll wait until a few wet weeks or months turn this place into a more attractive place for wader birds to come back.
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| Red Kite |
Happy birding,
Henry.
