However, Jules very kindly put me in touch with Malcom Palmer, whose book "A Birdwatching Guide to Eastern Spain" is a must for anyone visiting the area. Malcolm agreed to meet up with me on Tuesday 19th June and at 0930 in the morning we met up at the Gran Alacant centre, from where we made our way down to the coast and my first sighting of the Rufous Bush Robin in the pine trees along the Arenales-Santa Pola coast road. An absolutely cracking little bird, and after a quick trip back to my accommodation (I'd forgotten my camera of all things
) managed to get a few shots. Wrynecks were also calling in this wood, and Malcolm also caught the call of a Great Grey Shrike which was in the scrubland next to the trees. It had the distinct pinkish tinge to the breast of the meridionalis version of this bird.Next we moved on to the Santa Pola salinas, the shallow saltpans which held a wide variety of birds, including Marbled Duck, Greater Flamingo, Avocet and various tern species; the best area here was at La Marina where a small reserve has been created overlooking man-made islands giving nesting areas for the terns and other birds.
We moved on through country lanes to the El Hondo area, where a short walk into the reedbeds produced in the space of three minutes Squacco Heron, Little Bittern and Night Heron all flying over our heads, whilst in the reeds both Reed Warbler and Great Reed Warbler sang their songs giving an instant audio comparison, while Zitting Cisticolas fluttered about. Moving on to the reserve centre gave us a quick view of a male Montagu's Harrier and various water birds on the lake. A flight of Collared Pratincoles remained elusively distant, while Whiskered Terns seemed to be everywhere.
A quick break for lunch, then it was off into the mountains behind Crevillente where Jane and Colin welcomed us with a refreshing cup of coffee at their fabulous finca which overlooks (or should I say is overlooked by) a Bonelli's Eagle nest-site. There were no less than 4 birds present - at one point one of the adults took to flight and was immediately mobbed by a Kestrel which gave an indication of the size of these birds. All around were Alpine Swifts and Crag Martins; you can get more information about this finca at: http://www.roseendmeadows.uwclub.ne...lli%20intro.htm
Back down to the lowlands and the palm forests around Elche - Malcolm had promised me a good sighting of a Roller and he was true to his word - a short walk off the road found a nest hole in an old palm tree where a bird was handing just below the hole, spreading it's tail in spectaular fashion and showing the full beauty of its plumage, It didn't stay in that position long enough to get the camera onto it but a wonderful sight nevertheless!
This is only a taster of what I saw on my day out with Malcolm - I recorded 72 species on this visit, and found Malcolm to be an amiable birding companion with a vast knowledge of bird calls which gave me a resolve to dig out my old Birdguides CD and learn the calls properly myself. If Jules isn't available, why not give Malcom a call - his number is in his regular wildlife column in the Costa Blanca News - oh - and he doesn't charge as much as Jules for a day out (sorry Jules!)|
| There was one species of bird which I wasn't expecting and can find no reference to it in any of my birdguides - it's habitat seems to be deserted country crossroads around the El Hondo area miles from human habitation. It's plumage is a mini-skirt and expensive hairdo, and I understand from Malcolm that it's call is the Spanish equivalent of "are you looking for business" although needless to say we didn't verify this...
Later on during my holiday I took some time to visit the Clot de Galvany which has been mentioned before in this section of the forum; as well as White-headed Ducks and Purple Gallinule I took a photo of a duck (attached) which I can't ID - can anyone suggest what it is? (Same bird in both photos).
Cheers
Mark
(moved into this forum from incorrect one!)