Today we went to El Clot to check the bird situation for Stefano who is arriving here from Italy on Wednesday. We parked at the far end and walked along the path until we came to the point where the fence stops. On the way we passed a Southern Grey Shrike showing well in a tree on our left. We sat in the hide which overlooks the marshy area where a Marsh Harrier had put up a flock of Black winged Stilts and a few Teal. Barry had been here yesterday and had seen a good mix of hirundines but we initially saw only Crag Martins. On the way to the wader scrape we flushed a bird which might have been a Stone Curlew but we couldn’t be sure. The scrape had held water a week or two ago, but has now dryed up again. The only birds there were a couple of White Wagtails and a single Moorhen. On the way to the main hide we saw many Black Redstarts, Sardinian Warblers, a Robin and two Song Thrushes. We found two men painting the main hide but hardly any birds. Moving on towards the mirador more workmen were digging a hole across the whole path so we climbed above the mirador and looked down on the pool, but once again the birds seemed to have been scared away by all the activity. We carried on up the hill towards the two viewing towers. From the second tower we scanned the area in front of us and I spotted a Green Woodpecker in a distant tree and another in the tree next to it. As we came down the hill one of the woodpeckers flew off, while the other allowed us to get close enough for a dodgy photo before flying away. We heard it calling and saw it a couple more times as we continued our walk.
Quite a few Greenfinches were around and a mixed flock of Goldfinches and Linnets flew over. While we were looking at a distant Buzzard we spotted more Crag Martins with the odd House Martin, Swallow and a Pallid Swiftamongst them. It had not been the best birding visit to the Clot but we had enjoyed the walk and decided that Green Woodpecker was probably our ‘bird of the day’.
Species list – Little Egret, Shelduck, Mallard, Teal, Marsh Harrier, Buzzard, Moorhen, Black winged Stilt, Pallid Swift, Green Woodpecker, Crag Martin, Swallow, House Martin, White Wagtail, Robin, Black Redstart, Stonechat, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Sardinian Warbler, Great Tit, Southern Grey Shrike, Spotless Starling, Magpie, House Sparrow, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Serin, Linnet.
