After the abundant but vital rainfall of the past week, I knew what nature would have to offer these days: a beautifully coloured landscape full of singing birds, which are gradually getting into breeding mood. Today I didn't really look for migratory bird species, but decided to spend a few hours in a photography hide.
This hide near the beach of Punta Candor in Rota is relatively new and can be used freely, provided you make a reservation and comply with a number of logical rules: no smoking in the hut, do not leave garbage behind and of course respect nature, in other words, a little common sense.
There is water everywhere these days, so I knew not to expect an abundance of birds at the artificial drinking place. Even before I entered the hut I saw Glossy Starlings singing and heard a Nightingale in the bushes. Once I was installed inside, it didn't take long before I could take the first photos. A Wood Pigeon first landed on the roof of the hut before descending next to the pool to take a refreshing sip.
For the rest, it was almost exclusively Greenfinches that kept me busy. Their arrival was quite easy to predict by their loud call. I kept an eye on the pool through a small gap next to the camouflage net that hung over one of the windows. The lens protruded through a small opening in the net. I was able to limit the focusing distance of the lens to a maximum of 10 metres, so short was the distance between the pool and the hut. This way it took less time to focus, because the time the birds stayed put was very short. So short that I couldn't take pictures of a Goldfinch and a Blackcap, they were just too fast for me. The Greenfinches were much easier.
I took the most beautiful photos while the birds were sitting on the top horizontal branch, the first place they landed on before sitting down next to the water to drink. A maximum aperture provided a nice blurry green background.
I didn't catch a single glimpse of the Nightingales, but they kept me company all the time with their cheerful singing. In summer, when the fields become bone dry again, this place will undoubtedly attract even more life. Even though it is physically quite tiring to sit in an uncomfortable position for so many hours, I certainly intend to visit this hide regularly. Time flies with a cool drink!
A few days later I made another visit to the same place. The temperatures had risen a few degrees and I was hoping to photograph some more thirsty birds. I heard fewer nightingales, but I did hear a number of bee-eaters, which unfortunately did not descend to the water feeder. After a few minutes the first bird appeared: a female pied flycatcher, which first came to sit silently on the top branch, not to quench its thirst, but to grab a spider from the ground.
On the second day there was more variety to photograph: in addition to the faithful greenfinches, a pair of Turtle Doves, a Wood Pigeon, a House Sparrow, a Goldfinch and a Chiffchaff came to pose unknowingly right in front of my lens.
So on the second day there were a few more different species of birds posing, but I think on average on both days there was some action about every ten minutes, although with no guarantee of good photos. Patience is certainly a requirement.
Preciosas las fotos! La del jilguero y la de los reflejos en el agua chulísimas!