​The main reason we were here though, was to see two male White-headed Ducks which are apparently more or less resident at the moment. This was the bird that I had decided was the best bet for a ‘lifer’ (a new bird for my life list) in southern Spain, especially when I decided to go with Manuel, who’s company is named Oxyura Birding (Oxyura is the genus of the White-headed Duck). Other birds here included a Monk Parakeet and two Rose-ringed Parakeets, two alien birds which are firmly established in Europe these days.  (This is a surprisingly good site for waterbirds and unusual gulls see https://birdingcadizprovince.weebly.com/cadiz-birding-blog/update-1-march-2022-costa-ballena - JC).

​The next pool was viewable from the other side (in Camino Troncosa). There was a roost of Night Herons in the trees here and a Spoonbill feeding at the back. In amongst the ducks were two Pintails and a Red-crested Pochard, along with Mallards, Shovelers and Pochards, and a single Teal just as were leaving. A juvenile Greater Flamingo was swimming in the pool and looking awkward. Manuel was checking all the Coots and eventually found what he said was the only Red-knobbed Coot in the area. It was into the sun, so it was quite tricky seeing the red knobs on the head, but they could be seen as it moved its head. Other birds here included the only Tree Sparrow of the day, some Crested Larks and a Kingfisher, but we missed the Wryneck that perched up in front of Manuel and then disappeared. (For more details of this excellent site see - https://birdingcadizprovince.weebly.com/cadiz-birding-blog/march-2022-update-ii-bonanza-area)​

Our final birding visit of the day was to the salt pans at the Salinas de Bonanza. The research I had done before I got here suggested that the access here was restricted for birders, so here is where Manuel really came up trumps again. We drove past the innermost salt pans, which were largely birdless. “It is dead here”, Manuel commented. Too much salt. Eventually we came to a right turn with a locked metal gate blocking access, but Manuel got out and unlocked the gate and we carried on to the end of the track, which overlooked the main birding saltpans. There were plenty of new birds here: a large flock of 180 Avocets, 60 Slender-billed Gulls, Dunlin, Ringed Plovers, Redshanks, four Kentish Plovers, nine Grey Plovers and three Little Stints. Singles of Black Stork and Great Egret were part of very small wintering populations here. Raptors included three Ospreys, a female Marsh Harrier and, then, a male Hen Harrier which put almost everything to flight as it flew over the pans.almost everything to flight as it flew over the pans. A distant but still distinctive Booted Eagle was seen through the scope flying over pines to the north of the salinas. There were only a few passerines but Crested Lark, Sardinian Warbler and Stonechat were all common. Other birds included a Kingfisher and at least 30 Grey Herons. On the way back we saw a Wheatear and 25 Sanderlings amongst the ‘dead’ pans.
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We drove back to Cadiz along the new road, which was uneven in some places. We passed through mainly brown fields. Some were brown because they had cotton plants growing on them, and the leaves die before it is harvested. Others were brown because they had been cropped, and were bare earth. Nevertheless, the overall impression was of a dry landscape. This should be the rainy season in Andalusia but, as Manuel lamented, the autumn rains are becoming increasingly erratic. At least the fields here aren’t covered in agricultural plastic, as is the case in other parts of southern Spain.

Note a slightly fuller version of this account with more photos can be found on Mike's excellent blog at  whenigrowupiwillgothere.wordpress.com/2022/10/28/birding-bonanza-and-other-nearby-locations-cadiz-andalucia-spain-friday-28th-october-2022/   

Thanks again to Mike for allowing me to post his account.