Today I decided to visit the Medina Lagoon near Jerez de la Frontera hoping to run into migrating Bee-eaters, a species I had occasionally seen but never photographed.
 |
| Female Stonechat gathering nesting material |
When I arrived I heard a lot of Greenfinches, Serins and Goldfinches. I walked to the first watchpoint and saw that the water level of the lagoon is quite high after the rain we had in the last weeks, fortunately enough. No more large groups of gulls on the water, but quite a few Flamingos and several species of Ducks, together with a few species of waders, among them Black-winged Stilt.
I also heard several Nightingales singing beautifully, even saw one but didn´t manage to photograph any.
 |
| The water level has risen back to normal |
 |
| A beautiful formation of Glossy Ibis |
 |
| A pair of Gadwall |
 |
| Four Red-crested Pochards |
 |
| Black-winged Stilt |
I decided to walk beyond the lagoon because I had the feeling it was my lucky day to see some Bee-eaters. Initially I only saw pairs of Stonechats, one of my favourite species to photograph. The pictures below show why.
Further along the road I kept seeing many interesting birds. It seemed that every fifty metres another species was waiting for me to take their photo. I gratefully accepted the invitation.
 |
| Pure cuteness |
 |
| Female Stonechat with nesting material |
 |
| Male Stonechat |
 |
| Male Stonechat |
 |
| A singing male Stonechat in one of my favourite photos of this afternoon |
I was so focused on the Stonechats that I barely noticed the arrival of... a foursome of Bee-eaters! They came exactly where I expected them to pass through, overflying a road that I was following to arrive at another lake. I must admit I was a little too late to get the birds in focus. I urgently need to take advantage of the possibility to use custom settings on my Canon 90D. The birds came in at high speed and I had to focus against a bright sky, but the camera did a decent job so at least I got something. In the next couple of weeks I will be visiting a few spots specifically to photograph this amazing species.
 |
| One of the four Bee-eaters I saw flying by |
Further along the road I kept seeing many interesting birds. It seemed that every fifty metres another species was waiting for me to take their photo. I gratefully accepted the invitation.
 |
| Booted Eagle |
 |
| Woodchat Shrike |
 |
| Cattle Egret |
 |
| A single Glossy Ibis |
 |
| Male Linnet |
 |
| Singing Corn Bunting |
Over four hours had passed before I headed back to our facilities, totally satisfied after spotting forty different species.
 |
| Another male Stonechat |
Henry.