Twenty seven members of the Society met in the mirador car park above Ventas de Zaffarraya at 09:30 on the morning after the coldest night of the year in the area. Some members had been caught out and others were wrapped up in many layers of clothing. It was lovely to see so many interested birders and we soon got ourselves organised including searching the cars for extra clothing. We set off on stage one of the days birding, walking from the car park along an old railway track, which followed the side of the mountain and back to the car park. And, by jove, it seemed to get even colder as we started our walk towards the tunnel into the sun beyond.

As well as this feast of birds we were also fortunate to watch several Ibex on the crags above us.
On returning to the car park we attempted to reduce the number of cars we were taking on the next stages of the Field Meeting because we wanted to have the convoy as small as possible. Eventually the convoy moved off to visit arable fields on the other side of Ventas de Zafarraya. Here we recorded charms of Goldfinches plus Serins and Corn Buntings, before our successful search for both Calandra and Lesser Short-toed Lark was achieved. We even recorded a couple of Sky Larks, saw both Common and Lesser Kestrel and another Peregrine Falcon along with House Sparrows and Spotless Starling. Not long after mid-day and we had recorded five species of lark as we added both Thekla and Crested Lark to our growing list. As we left the arable fields a Common Magpie flew over.

Between Magpie Woods and the pantaneta above Alhama de Granada we managed to lose three cars towards the rear of our ten-car convoy, an unfortunate problem of long convoys. For those who reached the small laguna, very useful for warming coffee and much appreciated facilities, we recorded Moorhen and Coot along with Little Grebe, Mallard, Shoveler and Pochard on the water. A Cetti’s Warbler dashed past below the hide and a Reed Bunting appeared among the reeds at the edge of the laguna. A little later a short walk to the adjoining spinney produced Coal and Long-tailed Tit, Firecrest and Short-toed Treecreeper. On the outskirts we also had three Grey Herons, Wood Pigeon and a couple of Song Thrushes along with the expected Blackbird.

It may have started out very cold but the day had certainly warmed up, both in terms of heat and the number and quality of birds recorded. It was a most enjoyable day despite the cold.
71 species seen:
Red-legged Partridge, Mallard, Northern Shoveler, Pochard, Little Grebe, Grey Heron, Little Egret, Griffon Vulture, Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Common Buzzard, Lesser Kestrel, Common Kestrel, Peregrine Falcon, Moorhen, Eurasian Coot, Rock Dove, Wood Pigeon, Collared Dove, Great Spotted Woodpecker, European Green Woodpecker, Southern Grey Shrike, Jay, Iberian Azure-winged Magpie, Common Magpie, Chough, Jackdaw, Coal Tit, Crested Tit, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Calandra Lark, Lesser Short-toed Lark, Crested Lark, Thekla Lark, Skylark, Eurasian Crag Martin, Cetti’s Warbler, Long-tailed Tit, Eurasian Blackcap, Dartford Warbler, Sardinian Warbler, Firecrest, Wren, Nuthatch, Short-toed Treecreeper, Spotless Starling, Ring Ouzel, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Mistle Thrush, Robin, Black Redstart, Stonechat, Wheatear, Black Wheatear, Blue Rock Thrush, House Sparrow, Rock Sparrow, Alpine Accentor, White Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Chaffinch, Brambling, Serin, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Linnet, Crossbill, Corn Bunting, Rock Bunting, Reed Bunting.
Red-legged Partridge, Mallard, Northern Shoveler, Pochard, Little Grebe, Grey Heron, Little Egret, Griffon Vulture, Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Common Buzzard, Lesser Kestrel, Common Kestrel, Peregrine Falcon, Moorhen, Eurasian Coot, Rock Dove, Wood Pigeon, Collared Dove, Great Spotted Woodpecker, European Green Woodpecker, Southern Grey Shrike, Jay, Iberian Azure-winged Magpie, Common Magpie, Chough, Jackdaw, Coal Tit, Crested Tit, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Calandra Lark, Lesser Short-toed Lark, Crested Lark, Thekla Lark, Skylark, Eurasian Crag Martin, Cetti’s Warbler, Long-tailed Tit, Eurasian Blackcap, Dartford Warbler, Sardinian Warbler, Firecrest, Wren, Nuthatch, Short-toed Treecreeper, Spotless Starling, Ring Ouzel, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Mistle Thrush, Robin, Black Redstart, Stonechat, Wheatear, Black Wheatear, Blue Rock Thrush, House Sparrow, Rock Sparrow, Alpine Accentor, White Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Chaffinch, Brambling, Serin, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Linnet, Crossbill, Corn Bunting, Rock Bunting, Reed Bunting.
Bob Wright