Birding Cadiz Province
  • Birding Cadiz Province
  • Birding Site Guide
  • Cadiz Birding Blog
  • Six of the best!
    • 1- Laguna de Medina
    • 2 - Tarifa
    • 3 - Sanlucar - Bonanza
    • 4 - Llanos de Libar
    • 5 - Bolonia Area
    • 6 - La Janda
  • Professional Bird Guides
  • Crossbill Guides & other information
  • Other Wildlife
  • Further Information
    • Information: Books, Information Centres & Leaflets
    • Trip Reports
    • Alcala de los Gazules
    • About Me
  • Contact

March 2022 Update I - Costa Ballena

16/3/2022

0 Comments

 
I've visited many of the sites in my guide to birding Cadiz numerous times, others only occasionally and a few only once but there are a fewsites I've not visited at all. These I've added due to their long standing repute (e.g. Pinar del Rey),  recommendations by others (mainly sub-sites) and, more recently, due the number of lists on eBird (e.g. Dos Rios).  One such site is (or rather was) the Costa Ballena just south of Chipiona.  I first became aware of its existence through the 'Rare Birds in Spain' website but latterly largely through the many eBird lists generated from there.  I admit that I've driven past the place quite a few times mainly when en route to look for Chameleons in Rota. I confess that visiting a large golf complex  with well-manicured lawns and gardens had no appeal appeal whatsoever even if good birds could be seen there.  I really should have known better as this site has an unrivalled track record for turning up rare American gulls.  
Picture
On my recent visit to Cadiz (my first for over two years) one species I wanted to reacquaint myself with was Red-knobbed (or Crested) Coot.  Unfortunately, the winter of 2021/22 has been exceptionally dry so all of the usual sites for this species, which can be elusive even in good years, were dry or nearly so. Fortunately,  eBird alert was reporting birds from three sites, all of them atypical habitat; Lagunas de Martin Miguel, a small pond on an Industrial Estate near Puerto de Santa Maria and at Costa Ballena. With my guest for the week, Brendan Ryan, we first tried Lagunas de Martin Miguel, a misnomer for two embanked, lined reservoirs near Sanlucar. Not helped by having only one 'scope between us or that, as we subsequently learnt, the bird had only tiny red swellings, we couldn't winkle out our target amongst the many distant Common Coot. ​
Accordingly, we decided to try our luck at Costa Ballena encouraged by recent reports of both Red-knobbed Coot and Ring-billed Gull there. The lawns at Ballena proved to be as well-manicured and the grounds well-tended as I'd assumed but the waterways there proved to be a mecca for a surprising variety of ducks, many gulls, even a few waders and, of course, coots. The park was also rather larger than I had expected. We pulled over near the park (f on my map below), checked the canal below the bridge and then made a circuit of the small lagoon with a lake picking up Common Sandpiper, Turnstone, Greenshank and White-headed Duck as we went.  We then headed along the canal toward the other laguna (g) which we also circuited but still had no luck (although Black Redstarts and a gang of Monk Parakeets were a pleasant distraction. We were heading back towards the car when I spotted a fine adult Ring-billed Gull perched on a footbridge only a few metres away.  Not have seen the species for decades I wasn't sure I could pick out but in the event it was obvious. ​
Picture
One down and one to go .....
Minutes after walking away from the Ring-billed Gull, I raised my binoculars for (yet) another scan of the numerous coots and found I'd put them more or less straight onto the Red-knobbed Coot. We'd obviously started at the wrong end of the park!   I'd never seen a Red-knobbed Coot feeding out on the grass like a Common Coot either which may also be attributed to dire necessity brought on by the drought. When I've seen them bobbing around on water I've managed to convince myself that the two species do have (slight) structural differences but walking around on the grass none of these were apparent.  You can decide for yourself by checking out my short video of the bird at youtu.be/CYo2KDB0mQM   As with the bird reported from the Lagunas de Martin Miguel, this bird's trademark red appendages hadn't fully developed and consequently weren't at all obvious. In this state, such a bird could easily be passed over amongst its commoner congeners (as we found out at the previous site).  This bird also showed distinctly brownish wing coverts which seemed to suggest that it was a first year bird. However, this is not mentioned in the "Birds of the Western Palearctic" which only comments that feathers can be brownish when worn.  That all three birds reported in Cadiz province (plus another on a golf course in Malaga) were feeding in unusual habitats probably reflects the exceptional dryness of the season.
Costa Ballena turned out to be a better site for birding than I had imagined it might and is certainly worth more than a passing look.  In less dry years there are better places to look for Marbled Teal (reported here several times during our stay), White-headed Duck and Red-knobbed Coot but if you're a "Laridophile" then this is the place for you as you have a very real chance of picking up a vagrant American gull.  

Entering the resort from the roundabout at the junction of the A 491 and A 2077, as we did, proved to be a mistake as you then have a tedious drive through the whole area before reaching the lakes. It's better to take the A 491 north for c3 km and come in on the northernmost entrance. Unfortunately, I discovered, the map in my notes wasn't entirely accurate as it omitted both this and another entrance to Costa Ballena.  The corrected version is below.  I also realise that I haven't given full access details to the site in my notes. These too are below -      
For Costa Ballena – head south from Chipiona on the A 491 & take the first exit signposted for Costa Ballena to enter the complex. Turn left at the second roundabout & park near the park. If arriving from Sanlucar on the A 2077 head north on the A 491 for c3 km and follow instructions as above. 
Picture
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    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.

    Picture

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All

    Archives

    February 2023
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    October 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    November 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    March 2020
    October 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    March 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    September 2017
    May 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    July 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    June 2013
    May 2013
    March 2013
    December 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    February 2012
    December 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.