Donana PN area 10/2-10/5

After crossing the border into Spain, we almost immediately pulled into a rest area and there we got our first Spanish lifer, appropriately the IBERIAN GRAY SHRIKE which looks very much like our shrikes, especially at the distance we were seeing it, on a wire in front of warehouse. Later, at our hotel, the Ardea Purpurea (which I eventually realized meant "Purple Heron") Shari & I heard a strange call after sundown--Pedro told us we'd heard our first TAWNY OWL. 

SHORT-TOED SNAKE-EAGLE

I have to admit the next few days blur together as we toured areas in around the Doñana PN, a vast national park which is supposed to be a haven for shorebirds and waders. Unfortunately, looking for the wet parts can involve a lot of driving since a lot of the water that would normally flow into the marshes is being diverted for agriculture--it's the same old story there as it is here. However, we did manage to find some good spots and added MARBLED DUCK to our list, picked out among flocks of Northern Shovelers, Mallards, and Green-winged Teals (which someday, may be recognized as a distinct species here, as it is in most of the world). We were also treated to White Stork on a nest (still), BLACK STORKS, WESTERN SWAMPHEN, BOOTED EAGLE, and my favorite (probably because it was practically on top of us, and I like the name) SHORT-TOED SNAKE EAGLE. 

Another day, in another marsh, we had EURASIAN CURLEW as well as Whimbrel (a bird that is a potential split, so we've got it in our back pocket), LITTLE RINGED PLOVER, and EURASIAN WRYNECK (a woodpecker).

For a little land birding, we could walk around our hotel grounds and find EUROPEAN ROBIN, SPOTLESS STARLING, and IBERIAN MAGPIE. Magpies, both Eurasian and Iberian, are absolutely fabulous looking birds and I'm astounded that neither Shari nor I managed to get pictures of them.

WHITE-HEADED DUCK (hen) with Eurasian Coots

On another day we visited a series of lagoons (I think these may be what are euphemistically called "settling ponds") and got lifers like the much-desired WHITE-HEADED DUCK (sort of like a Ruddy Duck with a white head), the rare RED-KNOBBED COOT, after much searching through flocks of coots by Pedro, and TEMMINCK'S STINT, a rather plain shorebird that, let's face it, if it ever showed up here I'd never identify. 

There were other birds--lots of other birds--but as I said, it all begins to blur. That's why I keep lists but even the lists don't always jog the memory. 

BLACK STORK with Gray Heron flying away

Flamingo that thought it was a swan.