After landing in Malaga at 2 o'clock this morning, and getting to our hotel in the airport at 3, we managed to get a few hours sleep before waking up for a brilliant continental breakfast at our hotel.
Desembocadura del Guadalhorce
After that, we picked up our hire-car and drove to Desembocadura del Guadalhorce to kill some time before we could leave for our villa. The highlights during a two hour trip were some Marbled Ducks(lifer for me), Black-winged Stilts, Kentish Plover, Slender-billed Gull, Monk Parakeet, Booted Eagle, Red-rumped Swallow, Crested Lark, Flamingos, Zitting Cisticola, Spotless Starlings, Pallid Swifts(I think), and two flyover Bee-eaters, all of which are year ticks.
Upon viewing some of my photos of a large group of terns, I realised there was at least one Gull-billed Tern there, a bird I hadn't seen before.
The Villa
After picking up some lunch, we made it safely to our villa, and settled in before I went out on a walk to see if anything was around. Like last year, there were quite a few Sardinian Warblers, and a couple of Red-rumped Swallows, but the heat was intense so not many birds were around- I decided to wait until the evening when it would be cooler.
After dinner, I was standing on the patio looking over the incredible view towards Torrox, when a Serin flew past- another year-tick.
Before too long, I set off again for a walk down the hill, and before I had even left the villa, three Turtle Doves landed on a wire, before flying off. One came back and gave some great views. A few larks flew up from the ground, but I didn't get a good enough view to be able to identify them. As I walked on, a few Spotted Flycatchers were around, and another Serin flew past. A few Blue Tits were about, as were some Collared Doves and Goldfinches. I found a place where quite a few Red-rumped Swallows were flying around, so I tried my best to get a few photos. After a while, I started making my way back up the hill, and a few Sardinian Warblers were in some bushes. As I made my way into the driveway of the villa, a swift that flew by caught my eye. "That had a white belly, no?" I thought to myself. After a few minutes of looking through all the swifts, I managed to pick out the Alpine Swift in amongst them, my second lifer of the day, and a bird I'm very happy to see, after missing one at Selsey Bill in England by a few minutes earlier in the year.
And so the first day draws to a close, with two lifers and a brilliant 17 year ticks. Even as I'm writing this, the sun has set behind the mountains, and the lights are starting to appear in the town below. All the birds had been brilliant, and I was especially happy to have seen the Alpine Swift and seem the Turtle Doves very well.
Photos to come when we're back in Britain, as we don't have a pc with us!
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