Today's plan was to do my usual tour between the two main lakes and then head over to the beach in search of some Northern Gannets. I also wanted to try a new focussing technique on my Canon 90D camera called 'back button focussing'.
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| Common Pochard (male) |
I also decided to test the quality of cRAW file format instead of RAW. Photos taken in the latter format usually take up a massive 35 MB per file. The cRAW (compact RAW) files that I shot today were between 22 and 25 MB and I am very satisfied with the quality, so unless I have to produce specific high-quality images in the future, I intend to continue using cRAW.The day started off sunny with a mild temperature. Gradually it became more cloudy and quite windy. But overall a perfect day for birdwatching and photography.
I had a first-time encounter with a pair of Common Pochard, a medium-sized diving duck which is classified as Vulnerable.
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| Common Pochard (female) |
Another threatened species present on the most eastern lake in this area was the White-headed Duck, a species that seems to have settled here hopefully for good. I saw two of them.
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| White-headed Duck (non-breeding male) |
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| Some Greylag Geese |
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| A surprising visitor: Booted Eagle |
It was the first time that I saw so many Black Redstarts. These beautiful birds pose willingly but do not let you come too close. That's when a telephoto lens comes in handy.
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| Male Black Redstart |
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| A beautiful Zitting Cisticola |
During my walk on the beach towards Rota all of a sudden a Cormorant flew straight to the sea. |
| Cormorant |
I walked along the coastline for a few kilometres but unfortunately I couldn't see any Gannets. Instead I spotted a low-flying Caspian Tern and two friendly Sanderlings.
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| Two Sanderlings |
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| Sanderling running on the beach |
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| A flock of low-flying Gulls |
There were quite a few Kestrels flying around. I was able to photograph them hovering, posing on a pole and resting in a tree.
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| Hovering Kestrel (male) |
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| Resting on a pole overlooking the dunes next to the beach |
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| Launching itself in the air |
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| Kestrel resting in a palm tree (female) |
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| European Stonechat (female) |
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| A Starling showing its typical wing shape |
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| Two beautiful members of a noisy flock of Monk Parakeets |
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| A pair of Northern Shoveler (male on the left) |
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| Another Black Redstart |
I was secretly hoping to see a Kingfisher when I arrived at the most western lake, but I guess I will have to wait until another visit to see one. The place was packed with Gulls. I must admit I still find it extremely difficult to identify them. That's probably why they are not my favourite birds, but that might change in the future, especially when they allow me to take original photos like the one below in which just one Gull of the whole flock takes to the air and seems to fly straight into the camera.
I was very satisfied with what I saw this afternoon during my walk which lasted over four hours: I don't come across more than thirty different bird species in one place every day. I also got used to the alternative focussing method on my camera quite quickly. See you soon, Costa Ballena!
Henry.
