Before I set off this morning I knew that today's birding walk was going to be tough because of the mere distance of it. I spent more than four hours walking in the saltpans called 'Salina de la Tapa', starting at sunrise right next to the train station in El Puerto de Santa Maria. The planned route was supposed to be slightly more than 11 kilometres long.
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| The river Guadalete with the sun rising through the clouds |
This area is a true labyrinth of canals, but you cannot get lost. The track is in fairly good condition, but I'm sure it gets very muddy in rainy periods. Make sure you take enough water with you, because there is absolutely no shade.
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| A puzzling looking labyrinth |
It is still the middle of summer, and although the weather forecast had predicted temperatures well in the thirties, the clouds soon started to look very threatening and soon I could hear thunder.
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| Rather daunting weather conditions |
I got a few drops of rain, but fortunately my gear gear stayed completely dry. As your only option is to follow the path that guides you through this labyrinth, you cannot walk where you want hence there is always a relatively long distance to the birds. My telephoto lens did a great job and every now and then some bird came quite close.This whole area is a little paradise for gulls and waders. I saw many hundreds of birds during my trip.
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| Greater Flamingo foraging |
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| Greater Flamingo running on the water |
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| Grey Heron |
There is plenty of fish and crabs available for the birds. I was secretly hoping to run into an Osprey, as this is its preferred habitat, but I had to make do with other species instead. I did see another bird of prey though, a beautiful Marsh Harrier.
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| A striking Marsh Harrier |
I also spotted dozens of Whimbrels, I had never seen so many birds of this species in one location.
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| Whimbrel photographed in flight |
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| In some places the water had a peculiar colour. |
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| Black-winged Stilt |
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| Black-tailed Godwit adult teaching a juvenile how to forage |
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| Black-tailed Godwit in flight |
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| Ringed Plover has found something edible |
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| Zitting Cisticola in an acrobatic pose |
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| A ringed Black-tailed Godwit with a Kentish Plover in the background |
Below are a few photos of some the different types of gulls I saw today.
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| Slender-billed Gull |
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| Yellow-legged Gull |
While it started to drizzle again, still no sign of an Osprey. I had been walking for over two hours and started to find the landscape a bit boring. I saw six or seven people riding their bikes, but no-one was as brave as me to tackle the whole distance on foot.
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| Silhouette of a Grey Heron against the stormy morning sky |
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| A flock of Spoonbills in the middle of the picture |
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| Thousands of crabs inhabit the mudbanks |
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| Yellow Wagtail |
Although the most common species I observed were gulls, there was a surprisingly big variety of other species. I was already calculating the time it would take me to get back to my starting point, when I saw a big bird sitting on top of a pylon. A quick glance through my binoculars confirmed what I was hoping for, an Osprey!
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| A magnificent Osprey overlooking the area |
It was a bit tricky, but I managed my way through on a small path to get closer to this bird. It was a short detour, but of course I didn't mind! I was in complete awe when I got as close as fifty metres from the bird. After observing it for several minutes, I got the chance to take some breath-taking shots as the bird flew in circles above my head.
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| Osprey looking straight at me |
Above the river San Pedro I spotted some fishing Little Terns. They hover 20 metres above the surface like a butterfly before they plunge into the water trying to snatch some fish. I must say, they were very successful. Not an easy task to capture that action on camera though.
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| A hovering Little Tern |
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| Little Tern has caught a fish |
The Terns were photographed with a shutter speed of 1/2500s. Anything slower would have caused the wings to be too blurry. The little amount of blur I obtained in the photos still suggests how fast the Terns flap their wings.
A very satisfying excursion during which I observed 39 different bird species. However, it is heart-breaking to see how much rubbish people leave around, literally everywhere. In the marshes you find anything from shoes, bottles, cigarettes to plastic bags. People who go out fishing in the river throw their empty bottles just on the floor, into the river or over the fence onto the railway track. Arriving at the car, the sight got even worse. There was litter all over the place. Nobody seems to care or do anything about it. With regard to birds and natural in general, Andalusia is a spectacular place, but many of its people behave like swines. It is truly disgusting. It even seems to get worse as years go by. Maybe we shouldn't expect the average nuthead to act sensibly anymore these days, but what about the government? I see absolutely no will at all to take action.
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| Wherever you look, rubbish all over the place! |
Although this despicable situation cannot be ignored, I want to remember the positive things I saw during my walk, with the Osprey being the highlight of the morning.
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| Osprey |
Check out the map below if you ever want to do this excursion.  |
| Map of the trail, starting at El Puerto de Santa Maria train station |
Make sure you are prepared for a long walk, because there is no shortcut back. Enjoy!
Henry.
