One of the disadvantages of birding holidays abroad is that you inevitably tend to hit the known honey pots and ignore unknown, if potentially, interesting areas. With limited time and a list of birds to see this is a good strategy to maximise your chances of success.  This is dynamic changes once you start visiting the same area for lengthy breaks as I have been doing these last few years in Cadiz Province.  Whilst there are still individual species I want to know better and birding spectacles, such as raptor migration, that I never tier of seeing, a major incentive these days is finding those out of the way spots most drive past. Unfortunately, although I’m ‘time rich’ when I’m out in Alcala, the increasing cost of a hire car means I don’t always have a car.  Oddly when I do have a car my ‘other half’ likes to do things other than birding! 

Accordingly, finding out about sites and habitats is sometimes a matter of accumulation rather than outright discovery. A few years back I was driving back from Sanlucar de Barrameda late one night along back roads when I got hopelessly lost. Twisting along some narrowlane, somewhere at the back of Cadiz Bay, a massive fantastical  bird suddenly rose from the verge or the road.  It looked so huge in the headlights that for a micro-second I thought “What’s a Griffon doing out so late?” before I realised that it was a gigantic Eagle Owl!  With only a few days left of our break and a non-birding spouse to consider, I didn’t manage to get back to the area again until the following spring.  Driving the same route in daylight, I appreciated what the owl liked about the place – it was right next to a massive rubbish tip (a)!  Understanding though my wife is, regular outings to the local tip comes pretty low on her list of priorities so although I’ve been back a couple of times in the late evening I’ve never managed to reconnect with an Eagle Owl.  What I did notice, however,  was a sign pointing down a track signposted to “Salinas Santa Maria” which I filed for future reference.  At less than 15 minutes from the popular Laguna de Medina, this was a site worth a second look.

This spring I managed to find the time, at last, to take a closer look.  The first surprise was that the gravel track (b) was in very good condition.  However, the appearance of a rapidly approaching dust cloud signalled the arrival of a huge lorry thundering its way towards the distant saltworks.  These lorries aren’t that frequent, but they do mean you have to keep a sharp look out and be careful where you pull over.  The wide grassy fields at the start of the track held little but had plenty of  Collared Pratincoles hawking to and fro.  The odd marshy channel and pool detained a few passing terns and herons, but none were too close to the road. 

After a kilometre or so the fields on the right gave way to the saltings that border the southern bank of the Rio Guadalete whilst to the right large salinas came into view.  Between them they both attracted a healthy range of waders – Grey, Ringed  & Kentish Plovers, Whimbrel, Curlew, Little Sint, Dunlin and Curlew Sandpiper.  There were also good numbers of Slender-billed Gull.  Although none of the waders presented themselves at the close range that such birds strut their stuff at Bonanza, the variety seemed much the same.  Several paths run down from the track to the riverbank and might reward further investigation.

As ever in southern Spain, birds of prey were present too - Marsh Harrier, Black Kite, Booted and Short-toed Eagle – but not in the kind of numbers I usually see along the Guadalquivir nor with quite the same variety (I missed Red Kite for example).   However, several larks flitted along the track – all the larger ones I saw were Crested, but most didn’t show too well for confident ID.  In contrast, the smaller larks were far more obliging. The first few were Short-toed Larks, but mixed amongst them were a few delightful Lesser Short-toed Larks.  These birds were far more obliging than I usually find them at Bonanza although the time I got my camera in position they had decided to be less helpful!  Things became less interesting as you approach the bridge over NIV and the salinas on the far side of this busy road are dominated by a large Yellow-legged Gull colony.

So, is the site worth a look?  Well, to that I’d give a definite ‘Yes’ although a somewhat qualified one.  If you’ve plenty of time and plan to visit the Sanlucar area, then heading straight for Bonanza will probably get you more birds and of a greater variety too.  They’ll most likely be at closer range as well.  Then again, if you’ve had such a thorough look at Laguna de Medina that you find yourself  ‘pushed for time’,  a quick foray to this conveniently placed site will allow you to pick up some interesting species.  Arguably, it’s also one of the best sites to look for that much wanted, if subtle, little bird, Lesser Short-toed Lark. Not that I've fully explored the area yet - (c) on the map marks an attractive pine wood that looks perfect for Red-necked Nightjar and a track (d) here launches straight out across the marshes to the distant salinas.  So as a bonus you have a chance to explore a lesser known area and add to the sum of knowledge!

Directions:
From Laguna de Medina go over the A381 and take the A3202 past the cement works towards El Portal (make sure you ignore the service roads at either end of the bridge!).  Go under the E5 and continue along this minor road until you reach a crossroads. Turn left here onto the CA 3113 which skirts a huge area of marshes and salinas. Drive past the rubbish tip and the track to the salinas is a little further on after a cuple of bends. It's about 9km from Laguna de Medina and should take c15 minutes to reach the salinas. I've had no further luck with eagle owl here, but there are huge numbers of Cattle Egrets and White Storks, and in season Black Kites) around the tip.  The road beyond the tip (swing left by the gates at the top of the hill) offers fantastic views over the lowlands here.

  This spring in Cadiz province even my unseeing botanist's eye could not fail to notice the extraordinary profusion of flowers around Alcala de los Gazules. It was as if Zandra Rhodes had been let lose with an inexhaustable supply vivid spray cans. As this was my first visit there in late April/early May, I have nothing to compare it to, but local residents tell me that it's one of the best displays for years – perhaps helped by the wet winter this year.

  Field after field along the A381 and over towards Benalup looked as if they had been generously coated with Imperial Purple. Closer inspection showed that the cause was vast acreages of Viper's Bugloss (I think!). In the pesticide free meadows, this gorgeously coloured plant had run riot rivalling even the best English bluebell wood for their intensity of colour. This sea of purple was punctuated with generous swathes of soft pink bindweed and golden yellow brassica. Absolutely fantastic!

  Along a rough track near Benalup an added dimension was added to this exotic this display of purple, pink and yellow – the gentle raspberry-esque “rrrrpp” of calling Little Bustard. The brief view of a male bustard's head and neck just visible above the baby pink of the bindweed will stay with me for a long time. Drifting above all this multi-coloured confusion, the near monochrome form of a male Montagu's Harrier offered relief from the dizzying splendour of the flowers.
Perhaps, though, the colour was most intense around the Embalse de Barbate near the village. Here the fields were drenched in purple and the cricket hunting Cattle Egrets looked like nothing less than small white dinghies bobbing in a violet sea. All this was beautifully set off by the deep green pines that provided a nest site for Cattle Egrets and several noisy White Storks. Even the latter's noisy bill clattering was a constant reminder of an imagined plant – triffids – since the sound of their courtship was used by a film for the sound of the triffids' sinister communication.

  What this extraordinary display lacked in variety was more than made up for by its profusion. Yet botanical variety was to be had elsewhere in my jaunts around the area with several attractive orchids presenting themselves to my newly attuned eye. Several “bee orchids” (including both Yellow Bee Orchid and Woodcock Orchid - the latter ID being tentative only) and plenty of larger more showy plants that remain un-named.