The following day we were up early and exploring the local area. Our first destination was Laguna de el Portil, about a mile from where we were staying. There were plenty of ducks on the lake, including Pintail and Shoveler, and also a few Black-winged Stilts and a couple of Black-necked Grebes, but overall, it was a bit disappointing. In the woodland we had Crested Tits, Black Redstarts and Green Woodpecker. We decided to head for our second destination of the day, the Marismas de Odiel, opposite the city of Huelva and about 10 miles from el Portil.
Dwarfed by it’s neighbour the Coto Donana, the Marismas de Odiel is still a large reserve, almost completely surrounding Huelva, and perhaps 10 miles long by as many wide. In summer, it is home to the largest Spoonbill colony in Europe, so a flock of 40 on the saltmarsh was not a great surprise. Also on a flooded area of saltmarsh, a flock of 40 Black-necked Grebes. Over the river, we saw three Ospreys in the air together, and later a fourth, and on the saltmarsh there were lots of Marsh Harriers and single female Hen Harrier.
On the west shore of the river Odiel the road leads on to a spit, miles long which leads to a lighthouse. As you head down the spit, the saltmarsh gives way to sand dunes, and here we found four Auduoins Gulls on the shore, (three adult and a 2nd winter), and six Stone Curlew in the dunes. A Lesser Kestrel hunted in the dunes, and was briefly joined by a common Kestrel for comparison. In the marsh next to the visitor centre, we found two Western Iberian Painted Frogs. Chiffchaffs were in every bush or tree, and this was a feature of the holiday, though we didn’t bother trying to work out if they were resident Iberian or wintering “British”.
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