Costa Wind Up

Sunday - Billy Wizz and young Ti returned to the land of their fathers.

How Green was my Greenfinch?

Otherwise Scorchio, but now with a very stiff wind from the east that rather limited our options. A return trip to the Naranjal for more oranges was perhaps most notable for the number of times a pair of juvenile Booted Eagles evaded a string of nets set along their favourite ditch. 39 birds processed.

Western Olivaceous (or Isabelline, if you prefer) Warbler

Western Bonelli's Warbler

Serin

Nightingale (or in BTO speak - "Nigel")

Monday - too windy for mist netting, so a bit of a lie-in and a visit to a castle instead. One House Martin butterfly-netted from the apartment balcony, just for a change.

Tuesday - very windy again, but we did get some nets up at the river valley site that we'd visited on the first two days, though the ones we'd planned to put over the water for assorted sandpipers and plovers were just too exposed. 54 birds processed.

Wednesday - still very windy, so a sheltered Avocado orchard this time. Scorchio, and a colossal catch of Chaffinches left us closing the nets after the second round. 116 birds processed, new species: Iberian Chiffchaff. That was a hard session!

Iberian Chiffy

Thursday - still very windy, so off to another well sheltered Finca, with a river and surrounded by mountains. 74 captures.

Friday - my last day, and miraculously the Levanter wind had gone in time for a visit to the agricultural plain of La Janda, close by the windiest place in Europe - Tarifa. This proved to be the hottest day yet at 44 degrees by the time we'd finished. 61 captures, new species: Short-toed Lark, Fan-tailed Warbler, Linnet and Calandra Lark.

Zitter

The eponymous bit

Short-toed Lark

Corn Bunting

Calandra Lark