Hundreds of Flamingos are the norm for this site and they did not disappoint as they occasionally took off to reveal their dark pink underwings. Meanwhile overhead, fifty or so House Martins swooped to feed on the abundant supplies of flies and mosquitoes, though they made no appreciable difference to the amount remaining to eat your humble correspondent. Maybe I’ll see some of these very same birds on our arrival back in England in April where they will, by then, have built their nests and laid their eggs.

But it was not these, or the numerous coot, moorhen, mallard, and little grebes that caught the eye but a flock of 30 Black Winged Stilts so intent on feeding that they let me pass so close that binoculars were not necessary. Whilst watching these I turned and my attention was caught by a thrush sized black and white bird perching on the top of a bush thirty metres behind me. A Great Grey Shrike was studying me as intently as I was he and stayed there for ten minutes or more until he got bored and sought more excitement than I offered.

Whilst watching the Stilts my eye caught a group of almost perfectly camouflaged birds that I failed to recognise. I scrutinised them carefully for several minutes, mentally noting their main characteristics, before seeking aid from my well-worn bird field identification book. This is a cardinal rule. Fix the bird in your mind before you open the book, otherwise it may have flown before you look back to crosscheck the pictures with the real thing. In this case the birds remain motionless for the half hour or so that I watched them and totally confirmed my very first sighting of a Night Heron. In this case a family of them consisting of male, female and two immature birds.

Moving on to a small pond I was not at all surprised to find two Redshanks and two Greenshanks wading through the shallow water. I was, however, very surprised to note that they had clearly paired up, not with their own kind but Redshanks with Greenshanks. They fed together, flew together and appeared to indulge in typical pre-mating ritual. This called into question the accuracy of my identification and I would appreciate the advice of any reader who knows of any bird species where the different sexes have bright red or green legs.

Happily walking through the high reeds back to my car I mused about what a great trip this had been when I disturbed an eagle sized Marsh Harrier. It rose into the air carrying the remains of its evening meal, probably a large frog or water vole, and I suddenly transferred my thoughts to the appetising dinner Cynthia would be preparing back home.

Next time I will report on the bird-life on and around a large lake at Las Norias, a site that has been designated as of special scientific interest.

Almerimar is a great place to live as an expat amongst the expats, or to work amongst the Spanish. There are all kinds of properties including villas, apartments and town houses for rent or sale. It is a very traditional part of Spain, with traditional Spanish foods so if you plan to travel to Spain either to look for jobs, for your company to trade with companies in Spain, or to learn Spanish and enjoy the Spanish weather then come and take a look.

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