At the moment we are having another break in the Algarve, and have travelled across from the Coto Donana National Park in Spain where we spent four days. Our stay was based in the town of El Rocio by the Boca del Lobo lagoon and marshes. Those who have visited here will know the town resembles a 'Western' filmset, with roads of hard sand and the bars have posts, to tie your horse to! The town centres around a fine church - Blanca Paloma where thousands of 'pilgrims' will arrive next week for a religious festival, held each year at this time. Black Kites constantly menace the local pigeons around the church roof. A wide promenade runs the length of the lagoon on its northern side, good numbers of Greater Flamingos and hundreds of Glossy Ibis were present. The marsh was not teeming with birds, in fact there wasn't a single gull or tern present at this time and there is great concern regarding the constant water extraction by the fruit growing industry, which encroaches nearer to the Park. At the east end of the promenade is the SEO Bird Life Centre with a viewing gallery over the lagoon. To the left of the centre is an area of tall tamarisk bushes which, towards dusk, becomes an incredible roost for the herons and egrets. Hundreds of Glossy Ibis fly in, together with Cattle Egret, Little Egret, Night Heron and a few Squacco Herons. Just before dark, six Purple Herons joined the roost, with Grey Herons and Spoonbills nearby. The bird I was most taken with was the Great Reed Warbler, of which two were in reeds along the promenade. The loud, raucous call is unmistakable and they would often sit in an open position. Waders were few on the lagoon, mainly Black-tailed Godwits, Black-winged Stilts and the odd Common Sandpiper. Wildfowl consisted of Greylag Geese, Red-crested Pochard and Gadwall. We faired a lot better with raptors, the ever-present Black Kites numbered eight together at times and a Red Kite was seen too along with two Common Buzzards. Two Booted Eagles were seen and a Spanish Imperial Eagle was found on two separate occasions. Late one evening, a Griffon Vulture was at height over the north of the town. A visit was made to the La Rocina visitor centre and a walk through the woodland produced Cuckoo, Serins, two Short-toed Treecreeper and two Spotted Flycatchers. Nearer the lakes, the swampy undergrowth was alive with singing Nightingales and Cetti's Warblers. The reedbeds provided my first views of Savi's Warbler and Melodious Warblers were calling in the trees. Coto Donana is a vast National Park and too much time can be spent travelling in order to reach specific areas. One area we did cover was around Dehesa de Abajo, here we encountered a pair of Marbled Duck which are still in small numbers. Also on this small lagoon were two Black-necked Grebe, both Purple and Grey Heron and, an Olivaceous Warbler was a good find as small birds were pretty scarce. Overall, Coto Donana showed us some excellent birds with very little difficulty however, I feel it is struggling with numbers compared to some years previously. Also as we reached the end of our stay, the weather deteriorated quickly and, as we are at present in the Algarve, a low pressure system is giving us some really bad weather. A few more images are shown below.
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