It had been a very wet spring. The flowers and vines have really benefitted but in some of the lagunas; in particularly our local one at Chiclana (NW 16.5 Laguna de Paja), the reeds have grown very high making visibility difficult and we couldn't see much at all.
As noted in my earlier post about the Bahai de Cadiz I am always very grateful for any updates or feedback on the area. Along with Alf King, one of my regular correspondents is Richard Page-Jones. Richard and his wife Michele have a casita just south of Chiclana and in one of those serendipitous events that make life more interesting, we met thanks to a mutual friend of my sister's rather than directly via birding. Amongst other things Richard has discovered an excellent area for Rufous Bushchat and has been able to explore parts of the province I know less well than I should. Rather than make a digest of his points I've reproduced his correspondence below adding only, for clarity, references to my notes, highlighting the species mentioned and adding newly redrawn map of the Lagunas de Chiclana showing the Cañada de Marchantes (not named in earlier editions of my opus). Naturally I am extremely grateful for Richard's valuable input and most of the photos that grace this post. Hi John. Back home now, and while its fresh in my mind I thought I would send you a few updates on Cadiz Province. It had been a very wet spring. The flowers and vines have really benefitted but in some of the lagunas; in particularly our local one at Chiclana (NW 16.5 Laguna de Paja), the reeds have grown very high making visibility difficult and we couldn't see much at all. Our favourite area has been the Cañada de Marchantes (NW 12 - Lagunas de Chiclana). There are very good breeding birds. Rufous Bushchat, Black-eared Wheatear and Stone Curlew. Good raptors including Montagu’s Harrier and both the lagunas had water and the usual suspects. There is now a car park at the top of the path down to Jeli, which is now a footpath only. There is a new viewing platform half way down which gives good scope views. Its difficult to get near the water and if you can visibility is poor due to high vegetation. The road to Montello has excellent scrub for warblers, and the Stone Curlew were in the low lying reedy bit to the right of the road. Overall the Cañada is a great place. Lovely views and great birds, particularly during the passage. By contrast, in May, La Janda (SW 7 - La Janda) was something of a disappointment. It was dry and dusty and if its windy, finding birds in the reeds is difficult. Very few waders. The Egret nests are impressive, but there were few raptors. Over the top and down the hill to the small pond was better. Decent numbers of raptors. The road to Celemin is now gated just before the dam, but the gateway was our most productive spot for raptors. Small groups of Black Kite and Booted Eagle passing through with Egyptian and Griffon Vulture and the odd Short-Toed Eagle. There seems to be more dark phase Booted these days. As usual, Bonanza and La Algaida (NW 2 - Sanlucar – Bonanza - Trebujena Area) were really excellent. No problems getting to the the small pumping station, but the track round to the Guadalquivir was impassable even in a 4x4. Huge tractor ruts following the spring rain. Overall this remains the most productive birding area in all seasons; as you point out in your excellent recent article. You get very close to waders and the raptors are always good. Incredible numbers of Flamingo and Slender Billed Gull. There is now a very large and impressive heronry at the end of the pinewoods by the picnic site. Grey Heron, Spoonbill, White Stork and Black Kite all nesting close together in the tops of pine. Spectacled Warbler is a banker in the gateway on the left of track from fish farm toward the salt pan by the river. Also this year Gull-Billed and Black Tern, and in the past Orphean Warbler in trees by river and Wryneck by the disused holiday camp. But never had a sniff of a Sandgrouse. We enjoyed our trip to the Salina de Chiclana at the Salinas Santa Maria de Jesus (NW 16.1 - St Maria de Bartivas Salt Pans). There is the museum, restaurant, and you can buy sea salt. There was a very impressive Little Tern nesting site with about 100 birds. A local birder said it was good for Caspian Tern and Stone Curlew in the winter. Another favourite is El Canillo near Barbate (SW 6 - Barbate Estuary (d)). This now holds very large number of breeding Collared Pratincole. Also very good for Audouin’s Gull and in the winter Stone Curlew. The fields have impressive number of larks and the trees have a god range of passerines. Conil is (SW 4 - Los Naveros- Conil area) also very good for Auduoin’s Gull, Slender Billed Gull, Caspian and Sandwich Tern. There were huge numbers of Chiffchaff in February and an Osprey was fishing in the river. Our big disappointment was Brazo del Este (SV 2 - Brazo del Este). A disaster. Dry and dusty and a steady procession of lorries and tractors down the main drag made birding uncomfortable and difficult and the pools held nothing we could see more easily elsewhere. This contrasted totally with a wet day in April two years ago when it was awash with birds. Chipiona (NW 1 - Chipiona Area – Chipiona, La Jara, etc) was nice for tapas and Little Swift. We dropped in at La Cazalla (SW 10.2 - Cazalla). The migration had almost finished; just a few non-breeding stragglers. A very nice young guy called Diego gave us some very helpful info on best viewing points depending on wind and time of year. The site is open from Tuesday to Sunday from 11.00 to 18.00. Not sure what months it is open, but I would have thought during migration times. He said that there was no problem going to Cueva del Moro, despite the sign (SW 8 - Bolonia - Atlanterra – Sierra de la Plata). We went up there. Just a few odd Honey Buzzard with the Griffons and a few Egyptians. No sign of the Little Swift. Diego confirmed they had not been seen in the last few years. Finally, around our house nice to see the usual Red-Necked Nightjar, Spotted Flycatcher, Iberian Green Woodpecker, Nightingales, and a very elusive Golden Oriole (we heard it most days but difficult to see) and the surprise drop ins - European Nightjar and Reed Warbler. Thanks again to Richard not only for his excellent resumé but also for putting Cañada de Marchantes firmly on the 'birding map'. It's an excellent area not only for birds but also for affording exceptional views across Bahia de Cadiz and its hinterland. I will be returning to this topic in a future post.
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About me ...Hi I'm John Cantelo. I've been birding seriously since the 1960s when I met up with some like minded folks (all of us are still birding!) at Taunton's School in Southampton. I have lived in Kent , where I taught History and Sociology, since the late 1970s. In that time I've served on the committees of both my local RSPB group and the county ornithological society (KOS). I have also worked as a part-time field teacher for the RSPB at Dungeness. Having retired I now spend as much time as possible in Alcala de los Gazules in SW Spain. When I'm not birding I edit books for the Crossbill Guides series. CategoriesArchives
May 2023
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