Brazo del Este & Guadalquivir Marshes Outing

Written on 26 April 2019.

On Sat 13th April, we arrived at the Brazo del Este at around 7am, having left Gibraltar at 4:30.  It was still dark, but the growing sound of birds told us that the sun would rise soon. 

Silhouetted flocks of Eurasian Spoonbills, Little Egrets and Purple Herons dispersed from their roosts before it was light and the first rays of the sun revealed good water levels supporting many Glossy Ibises, Purple Swamphens, Greater Flamingos, Grey Herons, Black-winged Stilts, Pied Avocets and a range of waders that included Green Sandpiper, Wood Sandpiper, Common Redshank, Spotted Redshank, Common Greenshank, Curlew Sandpiper and Ruff.  A Squacco Heron flew over our heads and a large flock of Whiskered Terns flitted over the water.  Gull-billed Terns flew past, as did a Caspian Tern.  The pleasure of tracking down calling and singing, nondescript little brown jobs in the form of Zitting Cisticola, Cetti’s, Savi’s, Sedge, Eurasian Reed and Great Reed Warblers was puctuated by great views of some very smart Eurasian Penduline Tits and the introduced Black-headed Weaver.

Penduline Tit. Photo: Tommy Finlayson

Another section of the site held many breeding Purple Herons, Black-headed Gulls, Whiskered Terns and other species.  The cacophony of bird sound was as impressive as the diversity of birds enjoying the warm morning sun.  Ducks here included Gadwall, Northern Shoveler, Red-crested Pochard and a pair of Garganey, stopping on their way north.  Western Marsh Harriers floated over the reed beds, searching for prey.  Some drier ground further ahead held breeding Kentish Plovers, Collared Pratincoles, Crested Larks and Greater Short-toed Larks, whilst a Tamarisk thicket was full of Black-crowned Night Herons and two or three Common Nightingales that sang away loudly.  A stop at a bridge over a canal provided excellent views of European Bee-eaters and Red-rumped Swallows and a male Ruff in breeding plumage waded along the fringes of more marshland.

 Whiskered Terns. Photo: Tommy Finlayson

With the sun rising high in the sky, it was time to continue south along the Guadalquivir river.  Exiting the Brazo del Este, we spotted a Stone Curlew that hid cryptically in a dry field.  Nearby, male Spanish Sparrows displayed to females and a few Red Avadavats called from a reedy channel.  The Eucalyptus lining the river supported nesting White Storks, with more Spanish Sparrows nesting within the storks’ nests.  Further down we increased to our lark list, with Calandra Lark and then good views of one of our key targets, the localised Lesser Short-toed Lark.  A Spectacled Warbler sang from the bushes nearby and groups of Lesser Kestrels hovered over the fields.

The marshes at Trebujena and the Bonzanza salt pans were teeming with birds.  There were hundreds of Greater Flamingos and Pied Avocets, many handsome Slender-billed Gulls and other waders, gulls and terns.  A very large flock of waders in one section was comprised mainly of Curlew Sandpipers, Grey Plovers and Dunlin, with many Ringed Plovers and a flock of Bar-tailed Godwits.  Two Ospreys entertained us at the salt pans and a large flock of Common Shelduck was flying in the distance.  Smaller waders near the town of Bonanza included Sanderlings and Little Stints.

Greater Flamingos. Photo Tommy Finlayson

We enjoyed a late lunch in Bonanza and continued our birding.  The Laguna del Tarelo produced our targets at the site, with many White-headed Duck and two Marbled Duck present, among other wildfowl.  The heronry in the middle of the lagoon was full of nesting birds as usual.  Best of all, a male Ring-necked Duck was among a flock of Common Pochard.  Good views of Black-necked Grebe in breeding plumage delighted all observers.  A practically perfect day’s birding ended in the adjacent pinewood of La Algaida, with Black Kites and Booted Eagles wheeling overhead as we watched nesting Eurasian Spoonbills and Grey Herons from a safe (for the birds) distance and added some common woodland species to our still growing list.  We finally returned to Gibraltar in the evening, after what is definitely the most birdy event on GONHS’ annual calendar.

Eurasian Spoonbills, La Algaida pinewood. Photo: Trevor Hammond