Yesterday I went to the El Hondo visitor centre at San Felipe with Jack Higgs. There were lots of Willow Warblers around the visitors centre and I’ve never seen so many Kingfishers while walking around reserve, there were 10+. We also saw numerous Bluethroats and two Wood Sandpipers. We were about to enter the first hide when I looked back and saw not one, but two Black-shouldered Kites hovering over the reeds. About 5 minutes earlier we had passed Graham Critchell with a group of birders on the boardwalk, so I went back to tell them, by this time one bird had gone but one was still there, so they all got good views when the bird landed in a tree. I left there feeling quite pleased with myself. We decided to check out the Vistabella road before going on to Torrevieja. We saw Black-necked Grebe here but this proved a costly diversion as the car was broken into while we were at the hides. We lost a camera and a few other odds and ends including my sandwiches! On to Torrevieja, to the Azure-winged Magpie site where we saw three flying birds, well worth the journey.
