Who stole the River Velez at Torre del Mar?

Still warm and sunny if somewhat blowy so decided to take a last look at the Rio Velez before "popping" back to the UK. Imagine my surprise when I reached the beach and expected to walk over the far bank to discover that the basin had been almost emptied. Whilst this did create some wonderful feeding opportunities on the exposed mud, etc, it does present a problem in actually crossing the shore as there is now a deep channel between river and sea. Take my shoes off and paddle across? I do not think so at this stage. Another week without rain and both the river basin and the channel will be dry.

However, this little disaster did not prevent me from recording thirty-four species on and around the river plus a wonderful sight of a Raven as I drove up the track on the way home; I even had the binoculars right next to me in the car to get an even better view.

The pool below the river bridge is again turning out to be the star site at the moment, which may even be viewed from the road above. Again, Grey and White Wagtails, Common Sandpiper, Chifchaff and Cetti's Warbler plus this odd male Barn Swallow who wants to move in with his cousins, the Crag Martins. I wonder, when the time comes, if he will retreat up the mountain and try and find a mate in the old railway tunnel? Who knows, we could be recording Crag Swallows or Barn Martins!!!!

Just as I arrived the Bar-tailed Godwit took off but, returning later, the single Green Sandpiper put in an appearance as did the Ringed Plover. The wind may have moved the Jack Snipe on but three (common) Snipe were taking shelter - and this time I had my camera at the ready. Blackbirds, Spotless Starlings and Zitting Cisticola as I made my way down to the beach with three Cormorant flying overhead. On the newly-exposed mud banks in the river the same (presumably) Avocet, two Grey Herons and at least thirty Sanderlings amongst the Yellow-legged and Black-headed Gulls.

Exploring the fields to the east, there were very large flocks of both Serin and Goldfinches plus Crested Lark and a couple of Skylarks. As expected, the fields also hosted both Stonechat and Black Redstart and at least three individual Meadow Pipits.

To reach the fields on the western side of the river, I had to drive down from the "Go Cart" track and work my way back through the field tracks. By now becoming more windy but at least I did get to see a small flock of Tree Sparrows as well about twenty Cattle Egrets following the tractor as the field was ploughed. Finally, before reaching the road, a single Hoopoe "looping" his way over the fields.

All in all. a good morning with the Raven sighting a very rewarding end to the visit.







Birds seen:
Cormorant, Cattle Egret, Heron, Moorhen, Coot, Black-headed Gull, Yellow-legged Gull, Ringed Plover, Kentish Plover, Avocet, Snipe, Common Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper, Bar-tailed Godwit, Sanderling, Rock Dove, Hoopoe, Crag Martin, Barn Swallow, Crested Lark, Skylark, Grey Wagtail, White Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Black Redstart, Stonechat, Blackbird, Cetti's Warbler, Zitting Cisticola, Chiffchaff, Serin, Goldfinch, House Sparrow, Tree Sparrow, Raven.

Birding Bonanza at a Wild and Windy Rio Velez

It seemed like a good idea at the time and, indeed, was to prove to have been a good idea when I got home! The only "truism" was that if you want to see the birds then leave your camera behind and they will all turn up. Yes, very funny, but I did not expect this to be taken so literally! And to make matters even worse, those little feathery friends were determined to pose in good light, almost on top of me and with well-known birds alongside to give excellent size comparisons. Ahhhh!

So, today looking like the best day of the week, I was down at the river by 9.30 in lovely sunshine and a good breeze to see what was about. A small group of Mallards on the "pool" below the last road bridge (N340), a pair of Common Sandpipers, couple of Goldfinch, Moorhens and a Chiffchaff. Slowly making my way down towards the pumping station in the car to my usual parking spot for changing shoes, etc, I happened to stop and look out at the flooded river bed fifty metres towards the sea and was rewarded by a pair of Teal, Coot and a beautiful, feeding Bar-tailed Godwit. Indeed, this bird was feeding when first seen and last seen on the return visit. Poor chap obviously didn't like the food provided on the journey; anyone would think he was travelling Ryanair!

Boots on at the pumping station and off to the beach, seeing White Wagtail, Stonechat, Blackbird and Serin on the way. By now the wind had picked up and was blowing a gale straight down the river bed making it eye-watering to use the binoculars. No point looking out to sea for the gulls as the same treatment was metered out as a result of the low sun! However, what we did see was a skulking Purple Swamphen, more Coots and Moorhens, Yellow-legged and Black-headed Gulls and a couple of Grey Herons. Before crossing the river bar to get to the far side, movement behind on the beach resulted in observing a small party of about 20 Sanderling. Once across, all that was seen were a single Avocet and a great number of resting gulls in the adjacent field, mainly those above but also including a good number of Mediterranean Gulls.

Back along the beach and to the car via the fields to the east of the river enable a sighting of a single Meadow Pipit, a pair of Crested Larks, a very large party of Golfinches and almost as many House Sparrows. Still no Robins or Spotless Starlings and where was that elusive Grey Wagtail that has refused to put in an appearance this year? Boots changed and slowly back in the car to the original pool just below the last road bridge. That Grey Wagtail must be about somewhere and, sure enough, the bird finally put in an appearance.

That was when all the fun and games started. Most of the time sitting ion the car to let the birds come to me and only getting out for a closer look for confirmation or change of angel, I then witnessed an incredible range of birds coming in to feed - either from further on in the river bed or from behind the thick ground cover. Whilst watching the wagtail, a Green Sandpiper decided to walk through the river drawing my attention to the Ringed Plover sitting quietly behind the vegetation. Then, almost immediately, I became aware of a Little Stint right in front of me feeding on the mud to be joined by a similar-sized bird but with yellowy-orange legs and markings not unlike a Kentish Plover. However, the bird was far too small and the Ringed Plover gave an excellent size comparison. Could this really be my first sight of a Temminck's Stint? I really think so.

Just to improve on the impossible, whilst the Crag Martins were by now busily feeding overhead they were joined by a male Barn Swallow whilst, next to the Common Sandpiper in front two Jack Snipe, with their shorter bills and lovely gold stripes, decided that they, too, should feature in any report being posted on the blog! Could it get better? Yes it could. The pair of Hoopoe seen very briefly at the last stop, which also included a close view of a Zitting Cisticola, came to perch for a short moment in the tree opposite whilst a male Bluethroat, conspicuous by his absence when checking the artichoke fields, walked out as bold as brass onto the mud just behind the stint. Incredible and wonderful at the same time.

All that remained then, as the winds picked up even further, was to look up and see a lonely Cattle Egret fighting his way across the sky and head for home. Again, late as usual!

Full list of birds seen:
Cattle Egret, Heron, Mallard, Teal, Moorhen, Purple Swamphen, Coot, Avocet, Ringed Plover, Jack Snipe, Sanderling, Little Stint, Temminck's Stint, Bar-tailed Godwit, Common Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper, Yellow-legged Gull, Black-headed Gull, Mediterranean Gull, Rock Dove, Hoopoe, Crested Lark, Crag Martin, Barn Swallow, Grey Wagtail, White Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Bluethroat, Stonechat, Blackbird, Zitting Cisticola, Chiffchaff, Serin, Goldfinch, House Sparrow.

What a miserable bird-watching week!

Nothing but cold, rain and very strong winds - unless you also include the cloud cover and mist as well - for the week and to cap it all the lady wife has been laid up with a sore throat and unable to get out of the house all week. Well, it had to happen, my turn to pop down to Torre del Mar and top up the shopping this Friday morning.

Not wishing to miss an opportunity, I also paid a quick visit to the Rio Velez to see what was about. I can tell you what was about; strong, blustery winds, alternating drizzle and very brief sunny interludes and the sea crashing into the shore like there was no tomorrow! That's what there was about.

However, ever the sucker for trouble I did take a look along the river and the fields on either side. With regard to the western (Malaga) side of the river it was a question of waiting for the right moment and then dashing over the 5 metre gap where the river had broken through before the next wave struck home. Also a question of worrying how, or if, I got back when the time came!

From the lower bridge (the old N340) down there were at least 50+ Crag Martins feeding low over the river and open fields to the Torre side, not to mention the scores of Spotless Starlings "hanging around". A few brave Chiffchaff, a pair of Cattle Egrets and a lone Little Egret plus the usual good numbers of Moorhens made up the numbers at the river access point. At the sea end, there was a lone Grey Heron plus quite a few Coot on the river basin plus a reasonable number of gulls, mainly Yellow-legged and Black-headed.

However, having crossed the river as described above, a tractor was working the nearest field accompanied by hundreds of gulls, again mainly Yellow-legged plus good numbers of Black-headed but also, in addition, at least 100+ Mediterranean Gulls. A lovely sight to behold.
Back across the river to the "old" fields on the other side to find a small flock of resting Goldfinches, probably in excess of 30, plus similar numbers of House Sparrows and a dozen or so Serins. Fortunately, I also saw a female Reed Bunting plus a splendid male Stonechat on display and a similar female Black Redstart. My last memory as I changed out of my boots was to hear the noisy, raucous call of 3 Monk Parakeets passing over my head towards the far bank of the river.

Returning home an email from friend Eric informed me of the "Bird Trapping" experience he had just read about in the Rio Velez river bed. Quickly logging on to the web site I, too, read the article with much interest and concern which had come from Neill who lives in the Velez Malaga area. Hopefully, Neill and I can meet up and compare notes, etc.

And finally, as I was writing the above, I received a text message from my friend Pam at the bottom of our mountain enquiring about all the birds that were flying over her house. So, out on to the upper terrace, a good two metre walk, and there the birds were. It looked as if not only "my" gulls from this morning but all the others from miles around had joined up to make the pilgrimage over the top and down to Lake Vinuela for the night. A good selection of gulls as this morning and I gave up counting when I got to in excess of 5,000! All around me was white bringing back memories of snow blizzards of past years and the funniest sight of all ere those gulls who could not make it at the first attempt at crossing the gap/coll/saddle outside my house and were blown back to re-group and try again. I am pleased to report that all have now made it safely to the other side and, presumably, have sorted out their resting spots on the lake to pass away the rest of the day and tonight.

Just a last thought; why did I not go downstairs and collect the camera to take a photo? Ah well, nothing seems to change.

Quality rather than Quantity

After yesterday's fun in the snow it was a damp, cold and cloudy day to take friend Andy Paterson up beyond the Zafarraya Pass to see the Bramblings in the National Park on the Sierra de Tejeda.

There may have been Collared Doves, Spotless Starlings and Crag Martins at the bottom of the mountain but by the time we got to the top there was very little around. Did this mean that we were going to be in for a very disappointing day? Not a bit of it.

A stop at the "muck heap" produced the usual White Wagtails and a couple of Meadow Pipits and then it was on towards the "magpie woods" to look for Brambling. A lonely Robin, a single Mistle Thrush later on and then we struck lucky. At least four beautiful Bramblings sitting in the top of a tree not too far away. But other than that we had only a couple of Chaffinches that we disturbed on the way down the track!

So, on to the little pool above Alhama de Granada, passing Kestrel and at least three individual Corn Buntings on the way. The pool, as yesterday, had copious Coot, plenty of Pochard, a handful of Shoveler plus Cormorant, Moorhen and Little Grebe. So back by the same route and almost immediately a couple of (Common) Magpie quickly followed by sightings of the local Azure-winged Magpies and Jays with Wood Pigeons cooing in the distance.

Reaching the little bar near the old railway bridge we stopped for a coffee and then made our way up to the old railway track to discover that today was to be the "Official Opening" of the new picnic area and Mirador. Loud speakers blasting to check that the whole of Granada province could hear and the display guides had now been completed. This was when luck stepped in! Andy wanted a photograph of said scene but then discovered he had no card in his camera. Not to worry, I could use mine and send on copies by email.

So, having taken the camera out of the car (I had deliberately left it in the car so as to attract more birds - but without success this time) I had it with me when we set off along the track to see what might be about and definitely "tick off" the six regulars; Chough (36 again!), Black Redstart, Black Wheatear, Blue Rock Thrush, Stonechat but Crag Martin.

However, what we did get was a magnificent, once-in-a-life-time, display from an immature male Golden Eagle slowly circling above us and then mobbed from on high by a male Peregrine Falcon. Over and over again the falcon stooped down to drive the eagle away but to no effect. Not content with a one-on-one, the female Peregrine then put in an appearance to see what was going on before retiring to the rock face for a leisurely cruise along the mountain side. What this did illustrate, though, was the great disparity in size between the sexes of Peregrines.

And even better news, when I got home I actually had a collection of reasonable photographs including the Peregrine attack on the Golden Eagle. If I can get the technology correct, the rest of the photos plus, those taken yesterday, should appear on a "google picture blog" on the web. I'll check the correct address and post the link on a new blog as soon as possible.


Summary of Birds Seen during day:
Cormorant, Little Grebe, Mallard, Shoveler, Pochard, Golden Eagle, Peregrine Falcon, Kestrel, Moorhen, Coot, Wood Pigeon, Collared Dove, Hoopoe, Crag Martin, White Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Robin, Stonechat, Black Redstart, Blue Rock Thrush, Blackbird, Mistle Thrush, Chiffchaff, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Chaffinch, Brambling, Serin, Goldfinch, Linnet, House Sparrow, Corn Bunting, Spotless Starling, Azure-winged Magpie, Magpie, Jay, Chough

Winter Woodland Wonderland with Wery Wise Women

What a marvellous day in the woods of the National Park above the Venta de Zafarraya on the way to Alhama de Granada. The car temperature may have said "2C" but it felt beautifully warm in the sunshine. Eric and I with our respective wives, Pat and Jenny, saw just about everything we could expect to see - other than Blue Rock Thrushes.

Hardly off the road and we were into birds, especially lots of Rock Buntings, then Serin, Greenfinches, Chaffinches and, even better, Rock Sparrows. Mistle and Song Thrush, Southern Gray Shrike, hovering Kestrels an, before long, many sightings of both Green and Great Spotted Woodpecker. Just when we thought we had finished along came the boys in blue with white rumps - the scavenging Jays.

Meanwhile, looking closer within the trees we had great views of most of the tit family; Great, Blue, Coal and Long-tailed. Also with the were Firecrests and we did manage to see at least two Nuthatches. And just as we were returning to the car a distant, clear sight of a soaring Buzzard.

Returning on another track that brought us out at the back of the small lake above Alhama, we were greeted with the usual huge number of Coots accompanied by a large number of Pochard, a small gathering of Shoveler and Little Grebe plus at least five Cormorant.

All in all marvellous day's birding, the more-so as Eric and I will probably not be meeting up again until mid-April. What a way to go! Let';s hope we get some good feed-back from Costa Rica and I will do my best to send some Floridian birds - Micky Mouse and pals excluded!

Birds seen:
Little Grebe, Cormorant, Shoveler, Pochard, Buzzard, Kestrel, Coot, Red-legged Partridge, Rock Dove, Collared Dove, Thekla Lark, White Wagtail, Crag Martin, Green Woodpecker, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Robin, Black Redstart, Stonechat, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Mistle Thrush, Nuthatch, Short-toed Tree Creeper, Southern Grey Shrike, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Coal Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Firecrest, Chiffchaff, Chaffinch, Serin, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Linnet, House Sparrow, Rock Sparrow, Rock Bunting, Spotless Starling, Jay

Sanderlings, raptors and ducks

Off to the airport to this morning to deliver Chris but not before we got in ninety minute at the Guadalhorce. It may have beautifully sunny with clear blue skies but by jove there was a cold wind blowing off the mountain. Difficult ti say which was the worse; walking towards the sea with the sun in our eyes or returning with the wind in our faces. Notwithstanding, we had a very profitable hour and a half.

Greeted by a Little Egret and the usual selection of Coots and Moorhen as we crossed the bridge whilst up above a pair of Kestrels were putting on a special acrobatic performance for our benefit. A skulking Robin, plenty of Stonechats and some very handsome male Black Redstarts and we were at the main pool, greeted, as you might expect, with a screaming fly past of the boys in green, the Monk Parakeets.

Good numbers of White-headed Ducks on both pools plus tidy flocks of both Pochard and Shoveler. The duck numbers were also made up of four Teal and a couple of Mallard at the back of the pool. However, just as we were about to depart for the second (and to be our final) hide, a lovely Pintail decided that he, too, would like to join the party, which at this time included Little Grebes but no Black-necked Grebes. Overhead, many Crag Martins and the message had gone out for all the Spotless Starlings to gather in the Osprey's favourite perching tree. For whatever reason, our resident Osprey had decided to rest up a couple of trees along, presumably having feasted himself silly on the local fish! Also on the pool were a few Heron and a good number of Cormorant.

Whilst all this was going on we had a pair of Marsh Harriers busying themselves about the marsh to the back and sea-ward side of the main pool and at least one of the birds, as can be seen, was successful in finding a little tasty rodent to drive away the rumbling tummy.

Rather than a walk around the pools to the far side, we decided to walk on to the sea. As you might expect, plenty of Black-headed and Yellow-legged Gulls about but it was a rather pleasant surprise to come upon a flock of at least fifty Sanderlings on the shore immediately in front of the beach path. Very nice, too, to see them swirling away in front of us.

Back to the main pool with a close view of a Meadow Pipit feeding away with his usual mouse-like creeping action and more Black Redstarts and Chiffchaffs plus the odd White Wagtail. This was when we saw the Pintail before calling in at the little hide on the way back where the resident Purple Swamphen decided it was both safe and warm enough to put in a restricted rear-end appearance whilst I did my best to capture its backside on the camera. Other small birds noted were Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Serin and House Sparrows.

One more very pleasant surprise in store and a lovely image for Chris to take back to the freezing shores of Britain, a magnificent Booted Eagle soaring and cruising above the church in full sun (which was behind us so making the sight even more spectacular). All in all then, a very enjoyable visit with 31 species and something for Chris to look forward to when he returns, we hope, in the not too distant future.

Mark's been up the mountain in the snow!

Welcome to the site Mark. Mark Medcalf (of www.markmedcalfphotography.com) whom I met last week at the Guadalhorce in Malaga has just sent me an account of his latest adventure above the snowline at Zafarraya and Alhama de Granada.

It would appear that he left Nerja in a glorious 15C to venture to the above sites and then discovered that he was doing his bird-watching at -2C! All sounds very familiar. As he says, given that the snow was now more like compacted ice he decided not to venture out of the car so drove slowly on to Alhama de Granada, seeing a couple of Kestrels perched (frozen?) on the wires and a various Larks playing snowballs on the way. Once at the small lake, the usual sight of masses of Coots and a special treat of perched Kingfisher right below the main hide. Just time to shoot off a couple of photo shots before the bird took off at a rapid pace of knots. Mark's first winter sighting so a real special treat on a cold day.

Also on the lake a couple of Pochard (does this mean that the main flock has moved on to waters new?) and a few, resident , Cormorants. Later, on the return journey, a Mistle Thrush sitting quite contentedly on a bush. (I suspect, when I next see mark, he will confirm that this bird is the area approaching the growing fields where we have been seeing large numbers recently along with the resident Azure-winged Magpies.) Check Mark's website to see the photos.

Summary of sightings:
Little Grebe, Cormorant, Mallard, Pochard, Greylag Goose, Kestrel, Coot, Kingfisher, Skylark, White Wagtail, Robin, Mistle Thrush, Reed Warbler (or was it a Cetti's Warbler? - Bob), Great Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Blackcap, Sardinian Warbler and Chiffchaff.

Fuente de Piedra with Andy Paterson

Given that today, Sunday, was meant to be absolutely awful it seemed a good idea at the time to spend Saturday morning or so out at the "Flamingo Lake" with friend Andy. The thermometer outside told me that we had just had our coldest night of the winter so far at 3C but at least the sun was shining. Arriving at Fuente, after travelling over the mountain between Casabermeja and Antequerra where the car external temperature had shown a minimum of - (yes minus) 3C we were greeted by a well wrapped-up Andy and his new mini-scope. Bloomin' cold but, unlike our outing last Thursday, there was no wind and the sun was shining.

All in all, a great few hours of birding and as Andy has already written up his blog (visit "http://birding-the-costa.blogspot.com"), I shall not go over the details again. But, as Andy says, great views of Lapwing and a weird Marsh Harrier who was obviously sated on rabbit and just could not face another mouthful even when the little bunny got within five feet to take a closer look at the feathery thing sitting on the grass. There must either be some really thick rabbits in this part of the world or they have been watching too many cartoons on the "Bunny Channel"!

Whereas Andy returned home after our stop to look at the Cranes, we went on the sweet water at the Dulce Lagoon and were greeted by the usual; no water (I have never seen any water in this particular pool) and no birds. We then set off for home via Estacion de Bobadillo where rather than just a coffee we managed to find a lovely bar doing a Menu on a Saturday.

Perhaps we should have gone straight home as, by now, it was very cold, completely clouded over and then the hail followed by sleety rain started to fall as we approached the Rio Gordo turn off. Hell's bells, as they say, this is not the weather you expect in sunny Spain! However, it was dry when we reached our mountain top home and no rain or snow had fallen.

That was then. Ten minutes later whilst checking my emails I happened to look out and see that the far hill, towards the sea above Iznate, looked a rather strange shade of grey. Before I could take a closer look all hell broke out with hail, rain, thunder and lightening. Come this morning, Maroma and the surrounding mountains to east and west are completely white with the snowline down to about 700 metres. We even had a light dusting of snow on the bonnet of my old "Black Beast", the Fontera sitting outside the back door.

Beautiful now with the sun shining on the snowy mountains, everything ready for the piste though with friends coming to lunch it is more likely to be spelt with a double "s" and without the "t", if you take my (snow) drift!

Kestrel v Kestrel

Come Friday afternoon and panic set in as Jenny frantically searched me out up in the studio to tell me that there was a Kestrel crying out, screaming even, in absolute distress on the track below and I ought to go down and put it out of its misery. The bird must have been hit by a car.

Hang on a minute, says I, let's have a look through the glasses first. What we had was not a distressed kestrel (well, one of them might have been) but an on-going battle as can be seen from the photograph on the left.



"Look here, Sunshine, if I've told you once I've told you a hundred times or more that I hold the territory on Bob's land so b***** off before I do you some real damage!" And he did.

60 species in 24 hours!

Wednesday afternoon saw us in Malaga to collect Chris and then down to the Guadalhorce at 3 pm for a couple of hours bird-watching in glorious sunny weather with not a cloud in the sky and only a light wind. However, after our coldest night of the winter at 4C, the Axarquia Bird Group visit to the Venta de Zafarray, Alhama de Granad and the woods and fields in between was somewhat different! Yesterday was bitterly cold with the car (exterior) thermometers registering 2C and, to cap it all, even light flurries of snow to remind us of what it was like in northern Europe.

So what did we see? The pick of the 34 species seen on Wednesday afternoon would have to be the raptors. Good views of Kestrel and Marsh Harrier throughout the visit and, whilst we were not present when the resident Osprey was enjoying his fish lunch - and presumably gone off to "wash and brush up" afterwards, the bird did put in a very late appearance as we were leaving. However, pride of place must go to the Booted Eagle with eyes far bigger than his stomach, never mind his beak!

A mass of tumbling black, brown and white from a height of about 20 metres first drew our attention to what was about to happen. Just like a pair of claw-grasping Ravens in some demented love-display the "ball" eventually separated less than 5 metres from the ground with the brown aspect turning out to be an immature gull which did not bounce up or anything else have reached terra firma. Meanwhile, the black and white aspect turned out to be a beautiful Booted Eagle which slowly rose and gracefully drifted away towards the main pool where it was, almost certainly, seen by those still in the hide.

Also at the Guadalhorce a single Hoopoe and Greenshank plus four Black-winged Stilts. Little and Black-necked Grebes on the main pool with a good number of Cormorant, Heron, Shoveler, Pochard and Coot accompanied by a few White-headed Duck, Crag Martins flying overhead and Chiffchaffs busying themselves in the vegetation around the edges. A further special treat was a lone Great White Egret on the river itself, just upstream from the pedestrian entrance bridge, and before encountering the large number of Crag Martin a single Barn Swallow, my first of the year.

Lots of Spotless Starlings and Collared Doves about as the Axarquia Birding Group set off from Puente del Manuel for the pass at the Venta de Zafarraya on Thursday morning. First stop was at the old railway bridge to walk the track up and through the tunnel to the ruined railway station/workman's cottage. Whilst there were very many sightings of Black Wheatear, Black Redstart, Stonechat, Blue Rock Thrush and Rock Bunting, pride of place must go to the peregrine Falcon that delighted us with his graceful flight along, up and down the rock face. The final distraction came with the noisy arrival of a flock of 37 Choughs heading back in a rather circuitous route to their favoured cliff face. The last sight of the Peregrine was as he moved north along the cliff face to confront the Choughs at the head of the pass (sounds like a kids' "Cowboy and Indian" adventure story!). No doubt their was one less Chough when the gang finally got home! Other individual sightings included Red-legged partridge, Meadow and a fleeting glimpse of a Rock Pipit as it quickly flew away and took cover behind a large rock plus the usual Robin, Blackbird and Great Tit.

Then it was on to towards Alhama with a stop at the "dung heap" before reaching the woods. A new stop this latter so that we could have a better view of the grazing area used by the local sheep flock who had obviously had their food supplemented by tomatoes and other waste vegetables. Not sure whether it was the tomato seed or insect life that might have been attracted as a result of the sheep droppings but this site is proving very good for both Mistle Thrush and Bramblings, the latter accompanied by small flock of Chaffinches. And in the background at least twenty or so Azure-winged Magpies flying in and out of the tree tops. Continuing along the road we4 were served up with a Blue Tit, more Mistle Thrushes, a resting Southern Grey Shrike and at least four sightings of Corn Bunting.

The small plantaneta (?), small pool, just above Alhama produced enough Coots to serve the the whole province, along with a couple of Cormorants, Little Grebe, many Pochards and at least three Shovelers and Mallard. Whereas the Shovelers at the Guadalhorce the day before were in fine breeding plumage, the single male Shoveler at Alhama looked to be at least a month behind in his moult was a very poor spectacle indeed. The neighbouring copse was currently playing host to at least thirty Wood Pigeon whilst single Coal Tits and Chiffchaffs busied themselves in the mature pine trees.

The return journey to Zafarraya and a warm Menu del Dia produced a couple of Corn Buntings plus a large flock of Linnets and then, just to round off the day, at least fifty Calendra Larks. A total of 43 species in all unless one of the Bird Group can come up with something that I missed, excluding the Cattle Egret that some saw on their way to the meeting point.

Axarquia Bird Group sightings on Thursday:
Cormorant, Little Grebe, Mallard, Shoveler, Pochard, Moorhen, Coot, Peregrine Falcon, Kestrel, Red-legged Partridge, Wood Pigeon, Rock Dove, Collared Dove, Crag Martin, Thekla Lark, Calendra Lark, White Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Water Pipit, Robin, Black Redstart, Stonechat, Blue Rock Thrush, Blackbird, Mistle Thrush, Black Wheatear, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Coal Tit, Sardinian Warbler, Chiffchaff, Southern Grey Shrike, Chaffinch, Brambling, Serin, Goldfinch, Linnet, House Sparrow, Corn Bunting, Rock Bunting, Spotless Starling, Azure-winged Magpie and Chough.

What a way to end the old year!

We spent New Year's Eve in Velez de Benaudalla to help the locals see in the New Year and, as a prelude, let me visit the Charca de Suarez reserve on the outskirts of Motril. What a mistake to make! First, the reserve was closed for four days holiday so not even a chance to pay a visit on the way home on New Year's day. Then, come 11.30 at night and we went out to join, so we thought, the local inhabitants celebrate the birth o0f 2009. Again, no chance; somebody had cancelled New Year's eve. Not a bar open and no sign of anyone about in the village, just "indoor noises" of celebrating families.

However, come midnight and the whole village exploded in a cacophony of sound and light with bangers and rockets let off from the roof of the Ayentamiento then the castle, patios, etc. etc. So we watched the spectacle from our roof terrace. Hardly into bed and the local ex-pats decided that the UK New Year should also be celebrated so more bangers and rockets.

So what birds did we see? A special bonus had to be on visiting the Motril nature reserve (above) where. walking the track outside the locked reserve I was able to see a Short-toed Eagle move off in a southerly direction. Manly a summer visitor, I have usually seen this bird at home in the mountains as there are a few individuals that over-winter. What they feed on I have no idea. However, this was a coastal observation and much further east than I would have expected. To add to the pleasure, we also saw a Booted Eagle on New Year's Eve as we travelled back over the mountain above Velez de Benaudalla. So, with the Kestrel, three raptors.

New Year's day started fine so we decided to take the "scenic route" back to our mountain home via the Granada outskirts, mountains and Alhama de Granada. Cormorants and Crag Martins on the new reservoir as we left and many Magpies on the journey plus a small flock of Corn Buntings, Southern Grey Shrikes and many, many White Wagtails.

Calling in at the small pool above Alhama de Granada there were Little grebe, Shoveler, Pochard and Kingfisher plus the usual large numbers of Coot and individual Moorhens. The road back to Zafarraya produced Azure-winged Magpie, Chaffinch, Brambling and Mistle Thrush whilst the old railway track at the Venta de Zafarraya produced all the usuals, Black Wheatear, Black Redstart, Stonechat and Crag Martin but, on this occasion, neither Rock Bunting nor Chough.

So, today having started sunny and , so far, the first day in 2009 without any rain - but we still have plenty of time left to alter this situation, maybe I might even hear a bird sing. I shall have to walk round the track to see where the finches (Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Goldfinch and Linnet) are feeding and perhaps even meet up with one or more of the resident Sardinian Warblers.

Or I just might fall asleep in front of the "box" watching the football, especially as I will be in charge of preparing the Sunday meal to give Jenny a day off to celebrate her birthday! And being me, I abound to cook too many roast potatoes and carve too much meat.