almerimartoday

If you park your car in the Spirit Mar car park near to the entrance you will find a sandy path/road leading into the reserve. Don’t be tempted to drive in or you will pass a number of sites which generally produce some interesting sightings. You will be aware that the reed beds on the right have quite a lot of bird activity in them but, frustratingly, not be able to see them.

This is where the bird-watchers most important characteristic comes into play – patience! The birds will be even more aware of you than you are of them and they will lay low until you have gone away. There is only one thing to do and that is to find a spot that offers a wide view of the area, sit down and keep quiet for as long as it takes. If your chosen spot gives you a bit of cover, behind a low bush for instance, so much the better. Most of the Puntas vegetation is a dull brownish colour and if dressed similarly you will stand a better chance of melting into the background.

Now is also the time you will start wishing you had applied the anti-mosquito spray! Don’t despair! Those irritating little blighters and their cousins, the flies, are the reason there is so much activity in the reeds and you are here to see the warblers.

My bird bible indicates that there are some 30 assorted types of warbler either passing through or resident here at different periods of the year. Almost every single warbler is similar to a number of other warblers and part of the fascination is telling them apart. Experts tend to do so by voice recognition as lengthy sightings are relatively few unless you have the use of a well placed hide.

My usual modus operandi in these habitats is to short-list the birds that are likely to be seen before I go. This is a good idea for newcomers to the pastime but not for the experts as it tends to blind you to the possibility of identifying vagrants and accidentals. (These are birds found outside their usual range due normally to storms, high winds and, increasingly, climate change).

So, here we are sitting by a reed bed looking for warblers and the book suggests that in Southern Spain we might see Grasshopper Warblers and Savi’s Warblers (dull brown with cream or yellow underparts), Reed and (the much larger) Great Reed Warblers (rufus brown with buff underparts), Moustached Warblers and Sedge Warblers (bright eye stripes and pale underparts) and the Cetti’s Warbler.

I show below a selection of the many warbler breeds including Dartford and Sardinian which I personally find easier to distinguish from the rest and are not so shy about showing themselves.

Overhead, gulls will be soaring, all of them looking pretty much the same until you look at them carefully. There is a significant difference between the size of gulls and their markings, which change between the seasons, that will assist you to differentiate between the various species. It is not unusual to see 4or 5 different types in the same locality and this certainly helps to compare the distinguishing features of each.

A further short walk will take you to a man made pond with the remains of netted pens. This usually reveals a number of wading birds including Redshanks, Greenshanks, Blackwinged Stilts, Little Egrets and Snipe. If none of these are present then head inland towards the large Salina where sightings are almost guaranteed.

You are now close to the beach and, dependent upon the weather, may find a number of shore birds including Turnstones, Sanderling, Dunlin and Knot.

All the birds I have mentioned are amongst the most commonly sighted and it would be unusual not to see them. At a later date I will publish a more comprehensive list compiled from reports of other spotters who have published their findings on the internet.

Only by reference to a book will you learn which one is which but, don’t forget the internet as a great source of information. Simply search for Turnstone photos, info (or any other species you require) and a variety of sites will provide descriptions, locations, habits and more photos than any single book will offer.

Next time we will visit an inland site at Las Norias to look at the wide variety of bird life around a very unpromising lake.