I was so thrilled to participate in my first birding marathon that I had barely slept one hour. The idea of this event is to observe as many different bird species as possible within 24 hours. I had chosen three of my favourite hotspots of which I knew they would provide enough variety and are not too far away from each other. Loaded with some food, water, my binoculars, my camera and an extra memory card I set off early in the morning, well before sunrise. Ready for what would be exhausting yet exciting day.
My first stop was at the Medina lagoon, because it is always amazing to witness the sunrise there.
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| Flamingo in the orange glow of the rising sun |
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| Wake up early and you get to see this |
It was still a bit chilly at 7:30 AM, but the weather forecast was for a hot day, with temperatures up to 30 degrees. I wanted to see as many birds as possible in the morning as to avoid the heat.
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| Overflying Common Shelduck |
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| A foraging Pied Avocet |
I usually spend more time standing still to listen and look around. I knew I had many kilometres ahead if I wanted to see many different species. However at times I could not resist pausing for a while to take some shots of willingly posing birds, like a Cetti's Warbler, a species which can be so difficult to photograph. |
| Northern Lapwing |
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| Wood Pigeon |
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| Red-rumped Swallow |
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| Sardinian Warbler |
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| Linnet in a colourful field of herbs |
After counting a satisfying total of 35 different species, it was time to move on to the next stop: the Torrox Lagoon. What I saw there was a true spectacle. Not as many different species as usual - the Cormorants for example have left - but most birds were busy looking for nesting material or bringing food to the nest.  |
Spotless Starlings flying food to their nests
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| Detail of a Heron carrying nesting material |
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| House Martin |
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| Blackbird |
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| Not a flying fish but a Swift |
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| Glossy Ibis |
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| Spoonbill |
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| Singing Reed Warbler |
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| Great Crested Grebe |
When I had walked around half the distance around the lakes, I witnessed something amazing. A Kestrel had snatched a Barn Swallow from the air and was soon chased by a Gull. No matter how much we admire the beauty of nature and birds in particular, we must never forget that reality can be very cruel at times and only the fittest survive.
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| Kestrel has caught a Barn Swallow |
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| Gull chasing the Kestrel and its prey |
What followed was a short quarrel, but in the end the Kestrel managed to get away with its prey.
A bit further along the track I stopped near a tree in which I saw five Greenfinches having a singing competition. A true pleasure to hear their cheerful songs!
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| Greenfinch |
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| A gull launching itself in the air jumping off a lighting pole |
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| A young rabbit eating herbs |
Again a lot of rabbits here, more than I used to see in the past. Apparently the news has also spread amongst the birds of prey in the area. Just before completing the tour I saw a magnificent Montagu's Harrier arriving. Probably not to just enjoy the scenery.
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| Montagu's Harrier |
Another enriching visit to the Torrox Lagoon which lasted around two hours and resulted in seeing 33 different species . Time to move on to the next stop in Costa Ballena in Rota. As it was already getting quite hot, I decided that would be my final visit for the day.
Upon arriving at Costa Ballena I knew immediately that I was going to see interesting birds there as well, despite the rising temperatures. First bird I saw was a Hoopoe, collecting food to take to its nest.
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| Hoopoe flying food to its nest |
Also here I saw a Kestrel flying through the air with freshly caught prey, a lizard in this case.
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| Kestrel with a lizard |
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| Pied Flycatcher |
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| Pied Flycatcher cheerfully flapping its wings … |
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| … before flying off |
I counted four of the now resident White Headed Ducks. Interesting to see how some of the males were in a fight over a female and chasing each other away, fortunately without causing any harm.
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| Two male White-headed Ducks in a quarrel … |
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| … showing who is the strongest. |
They'd better be gentle with each other, as they are still a threatened species and their numbers are low.
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| The cause of the dispute: a gorgeous female |
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| A member of a flock of Monk Parakeets |
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| Monk Parakeet in a tree |
Finally, to finish a few images of the new offspring of some of the ducks. Some broods up to nine ducklings strong!
During my final walk of the day I observed 27 different bird species. In total during the whole day I finished at a more than decent 58 different species. Above all, the experience had been very good and very recommendable. Definitely something to repeat. Birds rule!
Henry.
