4 hours birding split between the Salinas near Roquetas and Las Norais. Really good birding with species seen White headed duck Little Tern Gull-billed Tern Common Tern Whispered Tern Yellow-legged Gull Slender-billed Gull Black headed Gull Great Reed Warbler Fan-tailed Warbler Yellow Wagtail (Iberian) Red Crested Pochard Little Egret Cattle Egret Grey Heron Night Heron Purple Heron Collared pratincole Kentish Plover Ringed Plover Little Ringed Plover Turtle Dove Collared Dove Crested Lark Great Crested Grebe Little Grebe Great Flamingo Greenfinch Chaffinch House Sparrow Avocet Black Winged Stilt Dublin Roller Mallard
More good birds over the last couple of days with the following all seen around the village on various walks Black Wheatear Thekla Lark Bee-eater Woodchat Shrike Alpine Swift Cuckoo Turtle Dove Cirl Bunting Iberian Green Woodpecker Best year I've seen for Golden Oriole with at least 7 males in the area
First day of a two week holiday based in Valor, in the Alpujarras. A walk around the village produced 6 Golden Orioles Booted Eagle Melodious Warbler Short Toed Treecreeper Blue Rock Thrush Sardinian Warbler Hoopoe 5 Spotted Flycatcher Red Rumped Swallow Crag Martin Serin Nightingale
Rob, Didn't see them at the Salinas but managed to catch up with them at Las Norais and got some great views of what were a first for me. Water was quite high with the island they nest on at Norais under water. I'm back there again in a few weeks and will undoubtedly make it back to both sites.
Have just spent 2 weeks on holiday in Valor in the Sierra Nevada/ Alpujarras in Spain.
The village is in Granada and has many walks centred around the G7 walking route.
Birds seen in and around the village Red Rumped Swallow Spotless Starling Golden Oriole Bee Eater Blue Rock Thrush Cirl Bunting Melodious Warbler Sardinian Warbler W Orphean Warbler Short Toed Tree Creeper Crag Martin Thekla Lark Woodchat Shrike Yellow Wagtail Grey Wagtail Nightingale Serin plus a lot of usual stuff
I also took the opportunity to visit the Salinas Viejas nr Roquetas and in four hours birding over two days ( whilst my wife went shopping) saw Squacco Heron Black Crowned Night Heron Black Redstart Red Crested Pochard White-headed Duck Gull Billed / Common / Little Tern Slender Billed Gull Wood Sandpiper Greenshank Spotted Redshank Kentish / LR /R Plover Black Winged Stilt Avovcet Great Flamingo
and finally on a 2hr visit to Las Norais near El Ejido 39 species including Black & Whiskered Tern 40 plus Black Necked Grebe Little / Cattle Egret BC Night Heron Little Bittern Common & Green Sandpiper Collared Pratincole Great Reed Warbler Roller
Despite the list above I also missed out on a number of stand out species noted at these sites but would recommend all to anyone.
if anyone is heading out to Almeria and either wants details of where I stayed or directions to the sites named above please feel free to send me a PM
