Thursday 24 May, sunny, hot, still air, 33C: Today we headed for the rice fields to the south of Trujillo. On the way there we stopped at a bridge over a stream and saw Pallid Swift, Melodious Warbler, Nightingale and Tree Sparrow then at a large reservoir, the Presa Sierra Brava, where we saw Common Buzzard, Lesser Kestrel, Little Owl, Purple Heron, Black-winged Stilt, Shoveler, Great Reed Warbler, Marsh Harrier and Black Kite (Great-spotted Cuckoo was seen by some as it flew across the van, but not by me!). At the rice fields we soon started logging some good birds including Marsh Harrier, Roller, Golden Oriole, Little Bittern, Azure-winged Magpie, Collared Pratincole, Little-ringed Plover, Dunlin, Little Stint (the latter two species unusual this late in the year) and several superb Avadavat, an introduced Asian Weaverbird, including at least one male in summer plumage. We stopped for lunch at a bridge over the river and added more Great Reed Warbler, Reed Warbler, another Little Bittern and Red-rumped Swallow before seeing one of our target species, the Common Waxbill, several of which were flying in and out of the reed beds. At this point we opted to drive back to Finca Santa Marta as the heat was getting a bit much for most of the group!