PORTRAIT OF A KINGFISHER

A promise is a promise. After 4 hours waiting in my homemade hide yesterday morning, listening to the kingfisher splashing away 2 metres off without being able to see him (her actually, it's a female) and then seeing her perched calmly in full view but just too far away to photograph, at last she was good enough to land at a photographable distance, although the light was a bit strong by then. Truth is it gave me a special thrill to see this beauty so close up without causing any nuisance at all. Here are some of the photos she let me take while up close.

HOMEMADE HIDE FOR KINGFISHERS

This morning at dawn, following the tips of my friend Oscar González, I went back to Charco Salado with a homemade hide I made the previous evening. My main target was Kingfisher, without ruling out any other goodies that might turn up.

To avoid frightening off the birds I made only a small viewing slit in the cloth covering the hide, greatly cutting down by field of vision. Imagine how galling it was to hear a Kingfisher repeatedly splashing into the water to my right only metres away without being able to get the camera on him (or her as it turned out)!!

Meanwhile I snapped some of the waders feeding on the mud around the hide, including these Common Sandpipers, Green Sandpipers and Little Ringed Plover.

Common Sandpipers

 Green Sandpipers

Little Ringed Plover

While I was packing away the homemade hide to leave, the Kingfisher suddenly came back, so I shot back inside the rapidly propped up hide again. How it panned out I'll tell you in another post in a few days. But it wasn't at all bad!

CHARCO SALADO AND ARROCAMPO RESERVOIR

This morning, now back in La Vera, we went at dawn to Charco Salado near Serrejón. A Nightjar (presumably red-necked) welcomed us as soon as we stepped out of the car, flitting about above our heads and landing on the path. Once by the side of the lake with good views we saw about 60+ Black Winged Stilts, kicking up a lovely racket. Here's a photo of some of them in flight.

We also saw 3 Spotted Redshank and 5 Redshank, loads of Ringed and Little-Ringed Plovers, 2 Ruffs, 1 Grey Plover, 1 Snipe and 1 Dunlin. So much for the waders.

The Holm Oaks were full of migrants, especially Pied Flycatchers, but also with a good smattering of Whinchats and Redstarts, with stacks of Wheatears on the ground.

Whinchat

 A fox trotted by fairly close and Ravens flew overhead.

Then we went off to Cerro Alto, where this smashing Osprey turned up, although unfortunately it never came very close.

The Unpredicability of Birding

Nature is ever capricious, turning up where you least expect it. A week or two ago we spent a morning in the lovely site of Villaviciosa without seeing much to write about. Last weekend we spent 17 hours trying to see bears in Western Asturias, in a place where lots of people are seeing them all the time. Zilch. A couple of days ago, to end our summer stay in Asturias, we decided to go to an Indian restaurant in Gijón, without any idea of seeing birds. Before entering the restaurant we took a stroll along the promenade and found this gorgeous group of Knots on the beach rocks, one of them still with a hint of summer plumage. Luckily enough the camera was to hand nearby in the car. The beach was full of people swimming, playing frisbee and paddle ball, without ever suspecting that a few metres were these VIPs from the high arctic. And the birds themselves never turned a feather at all this frenetic activity roundabout. That's just how whimsical nature is sometimes.

 Here are some snaps of the beauties.

And to wind things up, a photo taken by a friend of me barefoot on the rocks photographing them.

RIA DE VILLAVICIOSA

Last Saturday we spent the morning in Ría de Villaviciosa, arriving at high tide. It’s always a delight to hear the spinechilling calls of Curlews, Whimbrels, Redshank, Greenshank and watch the waders take up their positions on the fresh mud as the tide falls. As well as the abovementioned foursome we also saw Common Sandpiper, Ringed Plover and at last we found a flock of 8 Curlew Sandpipers, a bird wed’d been seeking in vain for years in the reservoirs of Extremadura. It was lovely to see them with the last hint of their summer hues. The bushes were lively with migrants, including a male Bluethroat, Whitethroat, Willow Warbler; Yellow Wagtails called and a Savi’s Warbler sang briefly. A Booted Eagle circled overhead. Here are a couple of photos of the waders.

Common Sandiper



Ringed Plover