I was not expecting to see many surprises today, especially not around the saltpans in Puerto Real, my first stop of today's short trip. I was most looking forward to spending some time in the hide in the pine tree forest of La Algaida. However, the first stage turned out to be the most interesting part of the day.
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| Pair of House Sparrows near the feeder near the hide |
The first place I visited is called Salinas del Ratón, or Mouse Saltpans. It is a short rectangular route of around one kilometre, where I spotted more than twenty different species, among which Whimbrel, Greenshank and Glossy Ibis.
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| Entrance to the rectangular route around the saltpans |
One of the first species I saw after parking was the Common Whitethroat. Four of them were hiding in the bushes near the entrance to the saltpans. |
| Common Whitethroat |
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| Little Egret |
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| Redshank |
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| Greenshank |
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| Greater Flamingo |
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| Grey Plover |
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| Common Ringed Plover tracking something edible |
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| Nice catch! |
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| Godwit |
After little more than an hour, I moved on to the next stop: The Algaida Lagoon. Unfortunately, I barely saw any bird there, although the place is quiet and beautiful.
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| Algaida Lagoon |
I continued my walk to a hide while it was starting to get relatively hot again. Quite a lot of trees still showed what happened a few months ago, when part of this area was destroyed by fires.
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| Silent witnesses of the bush fires a few months before |
Much to my disappointment, at the hide there was no water in the tank to provide the visiting birds with something to drink. There was a tank presumably filled with seeds though, which attracted House Sparrows and a few Great Tits.
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| Algaida Hide |
There were some branches standing behind the abandoned water plate, which could have made for some great shots.
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| An ideal branch for birds to perch on before descending to the ground |
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| Unfortunately there was no water coming out of the tube |
I had no choice but to focus on the Sparrows flying towards the feeder hung up in one of the trees near the hide. A good opportunity to practise taking photos of birds in flight. I first focused on the tank and then took some shots thirty centimetres away from it, with an aperture of F8. Most photos were useles, but I am posting a keeper. With F8, shutter speed faster than 1/2000s and ISO of sometimes more than 5000, the results were mostly disappointing and noisy. The distance between the fader and the hide was quite big, but I am satisfied with the picture below, showing the head in focus and the wings blurred.
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| Male House Sparrow approaching the feeder |
I hope to return to this place one day, either knowing for sure there will be water, or carrying my own supply.
Happy birding!
Celia.
