Monday 25 June, overcast, humid, light SE wind, 28C: Not much to report....a couple of Booted Eagle over the south of the village yesterday afternoon, also a female Sparrowhawk getting the 'treatment' from the Swift flock. This morning I went to check on the Red-rumped Swallow nest at Loma de Avedin and it seems that, despite it being so dry, they are managing to find some mud somewhere and are continuing to build (see photo).

Saturday 23 June, cloudy start, clearing mid-morning, light SE wind, 26C (at 1100hrs): This morning I visited one of my favourite spots, a rural track close to Barca Morena near San Pablo de Buciete. It was a cloudy/humid start, with hundreds of tiny biting midges and several locals collecting wild fennel and/or snails making it hard to concentrate on birding, but the wind soon got up a bit and the skies and the midges cleared. There were some good species around today including the site 'mascot', Rufous Bush Robin , (there were several individuals, including at least one juvenile and one singing male), Woodchat Shrike (including juveniles), Griffon Vulture, Common and Lesser Kestrel, Common Buzzard, Booted Eagle, Short-toed Eagle (at least 4), Raven, Little Owl, Collared Dove, European Bee-eater, Tawny Pipit (including displaying male and juveniles), Spotless Starling, Crested Lark (see photo of one with what appears to be an unfortunate grasshopper), Barn Swallow, Red-rumped Swallow, House Martin, Stonechat, Common Whitethroat, Sardinian Warbler, Melodious Warbler (they were everywhere, at least 20 birds including many juveniles and recent fledglings, see photo), Goldfinch, Greenfinch and Linnet.

Thursday 21 June, sunny, light NW wind, 27C but feeling hotter in the strong sun! A morning visit to the Rio Guadiaro at 'Estacion Cortes' was rewarded with a sighting of the elusive, and rather rare, White-rumped Swift. It took twenty or so minutes of scanning the Common/Pallid Swift flocks but a single individual eventually showed itself at quite close quarters for half a minute. Just to prove how hard it is to find this species I couldn't relocate it during the next hour. Other birds seen included Griffon Vulture, Short-toed Eagle, Common Kestrel, Little-ringed Plover, Turtle Dove (heard), Alpine Swift, Woodchat Shrike (including juveniles), Kingfisher (see photo), Spotless Starling, Barn Swallow, Red-rumped Swallow, White Wagtail, Grey Wagtail. Great-spotted Woodpecker, Green Woodpecker, Nightingale, Cetti's Warbler and Cirl Bunting (all heard), Sardinian Warbler, Linnet, Greenfinch (see photo) and Goldfinch.It's always nice to see the Sweet Chestnut trees in full bloom...see photo.

Wednesday 20 June, sunny, warm, light-fresh SE wind, 29C: 0930hrs, amongst the many Swifts feeding high just to the south of Gaucin was one Alpine Swift.

Monday 18 June, mostly sunny, humid, light SE wind, 29C: Rio Manilva gorge, Casares, 0900-1100hrs: birds seen included great view of Short-toed Eagle on pylon, Booted Eagle, Common Kestrel, Eurasian Jay, European Bee-eater, Woodchat Shrike, Turtle Dove, Crested Lark, Woodlark, Spotless Starling, Sardinian Warbler, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Goldfinch and Siskin.

Saturday 16 June, Gaucin, sunny, hot, light-fresh S wind, 34C: No respite from the heat today with a hot southerly wind adding to the oven effect - it's early in the summer to be getting temperatures as high as this. Birding opportunities have been few and far between but there have been a few Booted Eagle around and this afternoon a well-marked Short-toed Eagle was above the Gaucin-El Colmenar turning. There is a pair of Red-rumped Swallow trying to nest-build on a house on the Loma de Avedin in Gaucin but as it's so dry they must be having difficulty finding any mud (see photo of early-stage nest); this is the first time I've seen this species nesting so close to Gaucin. This evening the Swifts were on fine form with some coming within less than a metre of me. Interestingly, many were landing on the house roof and seemingly resting a few seconds before rejoining the rest of the flock.

Tuesday 12 June, Gaucin, sunny, 27C, fresh NW wind: A late afternoon stroll (1900-2000hrs) through the mixed woodland on the west side of the Las Pallas valley produced Booted Eagle (pale and dark morph), Common Buzzard, Eurasian Jay, Green Woodpecker, Great-spotted Woodpecker, Eurasian Nuthatch, Chiffchaff sp., Bonelli's Warbler, Blackcap, Sardinian Warbler, two recently-fledged Blue Tit families and Crested Tit. There were also lots of Common Swift, Pallid Swift and House Martin taking advantage of the now still air and abundance of flying insects. Later, seen over the south of the village, an Alpine Swift joined the local Common and Pallids.