As I still haven't used our new ghillie suit, I wanted to find a suitable location not to far away from our facilities, one near to water where I will hopefully be able in the future to photograph Kingfishers. I set off in the afternoon to a place near Jerez de la Frontera, which is not a known birding place but seemed interesting to me the times I had driven past it. When I arrived, I saw literally zero birds. But soon two raptors appeared in the sky and I heard some Coots on the water as well.
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| Grey Heron |
After walking for a few minutes I arrived to an area with more plants and a great view on the river Guadalete. There I saw Herons and Egrets, as well as Gulls and Cormorants. Also some Storks overflying the area, but more spectacularly, a pair of Osprey! One of them was swimming for quite a while, a truly spectacular sight! Unfortunately, it didn't come out of the water with a fish, but flew off to a tree over the water some hundred metres further.
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| At first I thought this Osprey was in trouble … |
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| … but they are just very skilful swimmers! |
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| This one flew away unscathed |
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| I had two Ospreys circling around for a while … |
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| … allowing me to take some spectacular shots. |
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| Osprey launching itself back in the air for another low flight over the water … |
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| … but this dive didn't result in a successful catch either |
While I was in awe watching this pair of Osprey, I suddenly heard the call of a Kingfisher. I just managed to turn around and see one shooting low over the water, but I realised this might not be the ideal place to photograph them. I am considering going back one day wearing camouflage clothes and hope the Ospreys will still be there. I know there is fish in this part of the river, because I saw other birds catching some.
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| Grey Herons overlooking the river |
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| Little Egret |
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| Cormorant |
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| What a catch! |
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| Not sure what kind of fish it was, but it was a huge one! |
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| However, the bird's success didn't go unnoticed … |
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| … and soon a mate tried to steal its catch. |
Although it was a very windy afternoon, I observed 24 different species during this short visit. I didn't find an ideal spot for the perfect picture, but I think it might be worth visiting this quiet place again.
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| Another part of the river Guadalete |
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| Landing Stork |
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| Booted Eagle |
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| Jackdaw |
