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March 2025 - Updates

10/3/2025

View from the Mirador de Puerto del Boyar (1,103m) on the A 372 just west of Grazalema

Las Alamos Track, Grazalema
I owe the discovery of this new site to my friends Rob Rackliffe & Virginia Fairchild whose assiduous mining of E-Bird on our recent trip together for information about Rock Sparrow took us down this superb track. The turning onto the track off the A 372 (by Meson Los Alamillos restaurant) gives no indication of the delights in store. After passing several houses you continue through tall pine trees and drop down to the Chaparro de las Animas - a flat area in the flood plain of a small river (confusingly known both as the Rio Guadares & Rio Campobuche). This is a particularly good spot for looking for Iberian Grey Shrike both to west and east. Viewing from the 'elbow' on the A 374 opposite had previously been my prime site for this species but this is much better. In addition, other sought after species like Iberian Green Woodpecker and Rock Sparrow have been seen here (see E-bird lists here).

The track continues through pleasant open woodland until it drops down to the Llanos del Apeo. This flat grassy area here is a good site for Thekla's Lark. Park at the foot of the rocky massif here as the track worsens from this point onwards (and is apparently private as it reaches the small farm) so we parked near the small stream. This rocky ridge rises c100m above the plain (= llanos) and, as may be expected, is a superb location for Black Redstart, Rock Sparrow & Black Wheatear. We also had Bonelli's Eagle here soaring with the numerous Griffon Vultures. I also had a Large Tortoiseshell butterfly here in February. Regrettably, time did not allow walking further to the south-eat along the stream as the habitat looks very good and somewhere along the route there's a historic dolmen (OK not intersting to many but I was once a history teacher!). E-Bird lists this site under the name Las Alamos (further details of sightings can be found here). Although the Llanos de Libar (to which in theory at least you can walk to from here) remains my favourite site in Grazalema area, this is an excellent alternative

A map of the area showing where we parked.

Lagunas de Camino Colorado
(Lagunas de los LLanos de Bonanza)
As I've recounted elsewhere, I 'found' these lagunas by zooming in on a patch of water I spotted whilst browsing GoogleEarth. At that time that resource included symbols which could be clicked on the bring up photos of the site. I clicked on one icon and when a photo of Whiskered Tern popped up I determined to visit the place asap. I called the place "Bonanza Pools" but it's since become better known as "Lagunas de Camino Colorado" (although the 'official name seems to be "Lagunas de los Llanos de Bonanaza" according to a new noticeboard there). Despite being a superb little site for wetland birds (particularly for getting stunning views of White-headed Duck and in recent years one of the few places your could find Red-knobbed Coot). Until recently it wasn't legally protected and was frequently used as a communal rubbish tip for agricultural waste. Large signs warning of heavy fines didn't necessarily prevent dumping but a new hide (see photos) has now been placed where the rubbish was mainly dumped. It doesn't help that much for seeing the birds which can all be seen equally well from the road but it's a useful shelter from the sun/rain and emblematic of the site's importance!

Goodbye, Little Bustard?
Los Badalejos between Benalup and Medina Sidonia has been my go to site for Little Bustard for some years largely because it's the closest regular site for them to my base in Alcala de los Gazules. My highest count there was 15 in 2023 but as many as 26 were seen there as recently as 2016 and I recall being told that 50+ were previously present in the area in the early 2000s. This species has suffered a catastrophic decline in recent decades with numbers falling by 70% between 1998 & 2018. This is an extinction level decline and, to judge by the rate of habitat loss, here and around Osuna (see below) has possibly worsened in recent years. Only a couple of years ago I saw three males chasing one another on the hillside in the photo above. Now it is covered by newly planted olive trees ...

A Map of the main area for birding

Osuna & Lagunas de Lebrija
This is a favourite site but something of a stretch from Alcala de los Gazules so I was delighted to stay in Osuna this February when exploring the area with Rob & Virginia. Quite apart from the birds, it's worth visiting the town for the many historic buildings to be found there. We stayed in an attractive hotel, Hotel Las Casas del Duque (see here), and our meal on the first night was in the equally attractive restaurant, Doña Guadalupe Restaurante. (see here) - one of relatively few open on Monday night.

We saw two droves of 20+ Great Bustards (from a & c although they're often visible from b) but only two Little Bustards but spotting Black-bellied Sandgrouse took rather longer. However, using the bridges over the abandoned AVE railway as tower hides thanks to Virginia's sharp eyes we eventually found a flock of 20+ birds - by far my largest flock here - from c. It was good to see a small flock of Lesser Kestrels haunting a ruined cortijo and very satisfactory to see a Merlin not far away although it was a disappointment to hear of a Lanner Falcon in the area a few days later. Other good birds included Iberian Green Woodpecker, many Spanish Sparrows, Black-winged Kite, a Stone-curlew, Greater Flamingo, Golden & Kentish Plovers and a Little Stint. The latter two were found at Laguna de la Ballestera (Lagunas de Lantejuela) which we reached via a maze of farm tracks as we searched for sandgrouse. It was pleasing to find a new designated car park and a hide here (see photos). We didn't have time to check the other lagunas to see if they now had any infrastructure for birding but were able to confirm that Laguna Verde de Sal no longer exists.
We checked Laguna de los Ojuelos from the SE 715 (e) and had an assortment of waders (Lapwing, Avocet, Green Sandpiper, etc) despite the distance. We drove down the Cañada Vereda del Alamillo [GPS 37.2981, -5.2538 (d)] to the railway line but the track onwards to the laguna looked in a poor condition so went no further. This was a mistake as friend navigated it successfully later that week and had good views of the birds we had struggled to see from a distance.

The rain in Spain ...
Until recently the rain in Spain hasn't been falling anywhere much at all, not even on the plains. To a great degree, the unprecedented heavy rain that caused so much loss of life last year was so fierce that much of it ran off the land without topping up reservoirs. However, it's still been significantly wetter than usual in recent months (and in the weeks following my visit) so not only are many reservoirs fuller than they've been for years but so too are the lagunas. It was good to see Laguna de Medina (see below) so full in February and better still to hear that Red-knobbed Coots have returned there. We missed Ferruginous Duck here but we found a pair of Ring-necked Ducks. A site that has fared even better is the Laguna de Tollos which has been bone dry for years so much so that the last time I visited the bed of the laguna was regularly being used by dog walkers. Better still, Red-knobbed Coots have been found for the first time in decades (see here for recent photos of this laguna).

Jardin Botanico El Aljibe & Vistors' Centre
Alcala de los Gazules
In recent years the El Aljibe visitors' centre off the A 2228 below Alcala de los Gazules has presented a sorry sight to passers-by. The venta here closed long ago, the gates have been invariably locked since Covid (at least) and the centre firmly shut with the buildings looking very unkempt. Happily, on my recent in February I found the centre had been spruced up and was, to my surprise, open (and thus the excellent exhibition available to visitors). Even if you're not interested in the area's history (and the displays are all in Spanish, of course), it's worth stopping to explore the adjacent Jardin Botanico. This small garden is a wonderful introduction to the plantlife of the Alcornocales and on hot days a shady respite from the heat. It also rings to the sound of many Nightingales.

Laguna de Tarelo & Marisma de Henares
Using E-Bird to locate target species is a tremendous bonus and certainly boosted the total of species (175+) seen during the week I was birding with Rob & Virginia. However, it can reduce the time 'off piste' looking for birds elsewhere. The only recent sightings of Marbled Duck were all at Brazo del Este but I was pretty sure we'd find them along the Guadalquivir. My hunch proved to be correct with three near Trebujena and six at Laguna de Tarelo. The latter site also nine White-headed Ducks and 38 Black-necked (Eared) Grebes (see here for the full list). The track around to the marismas remains open but I notice that there's a gate here (although it seems permanently tied back - see photo) so use the track at your own risk!

The gate to the marsimas seems to be permanently tied back ...

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Review: 'Birds of Spain' (Lynx) 2nd Edition

10/3/2025

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Note the new edition (left) is marginally larger than the original (right) and in paperback

When I saw the orginal Spanish version of this guide, Aves de España, soon after it was published in 2000, I was so impressed by the artwork that I bought a copy despite my rudimentary Spanish. I soon learnt to appreciate the usefulness of the large distribution maps (covering the whole of Iberia and the Spanish Atlantic Islands) and discovered that with the help of a dictionary, I could grasp interesting details regarding population size and distribution. It was a book that I regularly recommended to others even the linguistically challenged like me! I was delighted therefore when the English translation appeared in 2016 and I was able not only to dispense with the dictionary but use the text for checking ID. Almost a decade on, a second English edition of this book has been published. I start with the assumption that, whether you live there or are merely planning to visit Spain, a copy of this book will be very useful so focus on two questions; What’s changed? and “Is it worth getting if I have the older version?

Even before opening the book two changes are apparent, it has a handsome new cover and it’s now in paperback form. Closer inspection reveals other less obvious changes. It’s dimensions have subtly increased (both width and length are a centimetre larger and it’s a little thicker, the page count rising from 257pp to 286pp). This allows more birds to be covered in the main part of the guide to rise from 372 to 448 species (although a few of these additions lack an illustration). Happily, these changes do not materially alter the book’s portability. Looking inside the changes aren’t immediately obvious either with largely the same illustrations and text being used but, as ever, the devil is in the detail.

As it was the book’s illustrations that first attracted me, let’s turn to them first. The preface tells me that the new edition has 129 “completely new or substantially revised drawings”. Some replace the occasional misfire in the original edition (e.g. Tawny Owl), others illustrate omitted plumages (e.g. juvenile Roller) or better illustrate exotic species which are now promoted to the main body of the work. The latter point is particularly useful for Black-headed and Yellow-crowned Weavers as the illustrations now show females (omitted from the Collins Bird Guide) something which, until now, you had to resort to African guides to discover. Several newly ‘split’ species have fresh illustrations (e.g. Moltoni’s Warbler and Gran Canaria Blue Chaffinch plus one of a female). More rare/scarce species also get a fuller treatment being elevated from the appendices to the main part of the work (e.g. Caspian Gull) However, some disappointments remain. The existence of the Mediterranean race of Spotted Flycatcher, split by some, is briefly noted in the text but neither illustrated nor described. Regrettably, Common Rosefinch and Trumpeter Finch are only illustrated by depictions of males in their summer glory despite the drabber winter/female/juvenile plumages being the ones more likely to be encountered. That House Bunting failed to make the cut is unsurprising given that it only recently started breeding in Spain (Algeciras). The larger-than-usual images in this guide (and some seem subtly larger still in this edition) is something that, in general, I like. However, this comes at a cost as many species (particularly passerines) enjoy only a single large illustration reducing both the depiction of variation and the variety of postures shown. The absence of any illustration of juvenile Willow Warbler, for example, may invite confusion with Melodious Warbler for the unwary (although this pitfall is noted in the text).

Blue Chaffinches have been 'split' and re-illustrated (image from the Spanish original)

This nit-picking, however, shouldn’t obscure the fact that, overall the illustrations perform the task demanded of them very well and handsomely. There’s also one simple change to the plates which, in my view, is a surprisingly helpful enhancement of the guide’s utility; all the birds (except divers/loons) now face in the same direction. This may not be game-changing but it’s surprisingly useful when comparing similar species.

The latter point leads on to another, and to my mind significant change, for a field guide. In the original English language edition birds were arranged by strict taxonomic order but this has now been replaced by a more intuitive grouping. The authors acknowledge in the preface to this edition that this arrangement was widely criticised. Taxonomic order may be great for scientists but can be disconcerting in a field guide. Most confusing was the insertion of ‘alien’ species into the treatment of traditional groupings (e.g. woodpeckers and other species intruding into the coverage of birds of prey and swallows doing the same for warblers). The guide now employs a more user-friendly and intuitive approach by grouping birds in four broad categories; seabirds, freshwater birds, terrestrial birds and passerines each indicated by coloured ‘tabs’. I would have preferred subdivision into more groupings with the “terrestrial birds” section in particular being something of a ragbag (and misnomer too as it includes species largely seen in flight). It is a pity, for example, that swifts and swallows/martins remain over twenty pages apart. However, a few caveats aside, this is a more easily navigable arrangement that goes some way to make up for the retention of the irritatingly dysfunctional index which lists birds by the first word in their name rather than by family. Hence to find what we know as Bittern, you need to remember that it’s listed as “Eurasian Bittern” not, as many books do, “Great Bittern”.

The text seems to be mostly unchanged from the original but the changes that have been made are not inconsequential. Details of range, status and population have been updated and refined. For example, whilst both guides state Little Bustard is “in rapid and worrying decline” only the new edition continues “a 70% fall in 1998-2018”. The text contains multiple examples of these small but helpful details all backed up by redrawn maps. However, the most significant change has been the inclusion of QR codes linking to the SEO/Birdlife’s Guía de Aves de España app via your smart phone (or other device). This gives instant access to a mass of further information including photos, videos, vocalisations and larger more easily studied versions of the distribution maps. The “Using this Guide” section notes, somewhat apologetically, that this resource is “in Spanish, with only the common names in English” but if you have your smart phone to access the information, you also have a ready means to translate it into English (or any other language). The translations may not be perfect but they are perfectly understandable and, by literally translating Spanish names into English, sometimes amusing (although English names are also given).

The preceding paragraphs should, I hope, answer the question “What’s changed?” So is it worth getting if you already have I have the older version? My emphatic answer is “Yes!”. Taken individually, the changes may seem no more than incremental but taken collectively they have produced a significantly better and more useful guide. Buy it because it’s more intuitive to use. Buy it for those extra illustrations. Buy it for updated information on range and population. But, above all, buy it for the QR codes that give instant access to a great wealth of information.

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March 2025 - Updates

Review: 'Birds of Spain' (Lynx) 2nd Edition

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