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!

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