Temperatures have finally started to drop a little in the south of Spain. The first place I visited this morning in Sanlúcar was the Camino Colorado lagoon. This place actually consists of two small lagoons that are located in the middle of houses, fruit gardens and small warehouses.
Before arriving at my first stop, I spotted a Purple Heron, close to the Martin Miguel Lagoon.
This gracious bird allowed me to take photos through the open window of my car, from a relatively close distance.
It was not difficult to find a place to leave the car near the next two lagoons. I was immediately saddened by the sight of so much litter in their vicinity. This seems to be a huge problem in this town, even more than in other places in the province.
Despite the limited size of the first two lagoons, I spotted a nice variety of birds: among them Marbled Duck, Common Redshank and a lot of Swamphen.
The lagoons are not very big, but it is a good idea to bring a telescope, as you cannot walk around them. Just when I was getting ready to visit the next lagoon, I heard a little bird right above me, feeding on the branch of a tree. It was a female Black-headed Weaver, an invasive species originally from Africa.
As soon as I arrived at the third lagoon (called Alfredo Barragán), barely a few hundred metres away, I noticed a big colony of Little Egrets in the trees.
It was so interesting to watch their goings-on.
They were not the only type of heron present around this lagoon. I also spotted a lot of Cattle Egrets, Squacco Heron and Black-crowned Night Herons. The photographs were taken from the road without disturbing the birds.
It was a real pleasure to watch these birds and listen to their raw calls.
My next stop was fifteen minutes away by car, the Tarelo lagoon, at the most southern point of Doñana National Park. During a previous visit I didn't see mcuh of interest, but now there were quite a few attractive species, among them Grey Heron, Squacco Heron and Shovelers.
Right past the lagoon their is a track which leads well into the nearby marshes, which I decided to explore, obviously on foot.
Overall, a very pleasant trip with different stops, which will be worth repeating in spring.
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