This was our annual day trip to the open plains around Albacete. Starting at Bonete we set off on our usual route to Corral Rubio where we passed a couple of Buzzards on a pole by the roadside.
We drove along our usual track hearing and seeing Skylark, Crested and Thekla’s Lark. A Black-bellied Sandgrouse was briefly seen flying away.
Further along there was a Little Owl on a pile of rocks. We stopped by a small building where there were lots of small birds including Corn Bunting, Linnet and Stonechat plus a Crested Lark. Although the old pool on the right was dry, we still saw a pair of Marsh Harriers flying over the dry reeds. Another pool on the left held Mallard, Lapwing and an unidentified wader.
We moved on to Petrola lagoon where we parked up to eat our lunch. The area was quiet with just a few Shelduck on the lagoon. A Little Ringed Plover was on the edge of the water.
Having not seen any Great Bustards yet, we set off round the tracks a second time but still didn’t find any in the usual spots.
There seems to have been a move towards growing small trees which does not provide a great habitat for Great Bustards. As I was getting a bit despondent I turned to taking photos of scenery. A review of the photos later revealed a distant blob which I’m fairly sure was a Great Bustard. We should have scanned a bit more with the binoculars!
We finished the trip with a look around the bridge on the road to Higueruela. There were more Larks here, but as we were leaving, a fantastic male Hen Harrier appeared flying low over the fields. It was a very nice finish to another good day out.
Species list – Spotless Starling, Magpie, Black-bellied Sandgrouse, Crow, Lapwing, Yellow-legged Gull, Crested Lark, House Sparrow, Buzzard, Thekla’s Lark, Skylark, Corn Bunting, Linnet, Stonechat, Little Owl, Mallard, Lapwing, Black Redstart, Shelduck, Marsh Harrier, Little Ringed Plover, Collared Dove, White Wagtail, Kestrel, Hen Harrier,
