Cabo de Gata, Mojacar and Sierra Espuna

posted in: Mary's Blog | 0

Monday 6th April – Although we were not on a birding trip as such, we headed to Los Escullos hoping to see Trumpeter Finches as we had done last year. Unfortunately it was blowing a gale and the birds were nowhere to be seen. We did, however, see three Black Wheatears, Crested Larks, Corn Buntings and a Whimbrel.

Tuesday 7th April – Today we went for a wander around Mojacar village where we saw a Black Wheatear on the rocky area below the village. Later in the afternoon I was in our hotel room watching the big waves on the sea when I spotted a flock of large birds flying low over the sea heading North. They were definately pink so they must have been Flamingos. I don’t know where they were coming from or where they were going, but I hope they found somewhere to land and didn’t get wrecked on a beach, as they were struggling to fly in the rough and windy conditions. Three Pallid Swifts were flying by our balcony but at times they seemed to be hanging stationary in the air due to  the strong wind.

Wednesday 8th April – We left Mojacar and set off towards Sierra Espuna. It was a bit chilly up near the ice houses where we saw only a Mistle Thrush. We ate our lunch down in a picnic area where it was just about warm enough to sit out. We were joined, at times, by a few birds including, Chaffinch, Great Tit, Coal Tit, Long tailed Tit  and a couple of Jays. At one point a Booted Eagle flew overhead, the only raptor we saw.

Red billed Chough by John Brazier©
Red billed Chough by John Brazier©

After calling at the Hotel Monasterio Santa Eulalia to drop off our luggage, we went to have a look at the Camino del Estrecho de la Arboleja (a small gorge near Aledo) where we found four Red billed Chough flying around and sometimes perching on a branch of a ledge. We sat for a while on a bench and watched a few Serins  and a pair of Sardinian Warblers  in the gorge below us. John spotted a Black Wheatear on a rock, then I saw a Blue Rock Thrush land in a  dead tree. It might have stayed so we could admire it for a while but the Black Wheatear flew over and chased it away much to our dismay.