Winter in the ricefields.....

Hi there!!

The past weekend I made a country tour around Figarol ricefields located in the south east  of Navarra, accompanied with my dad and sons. 

We are already in winter, and the chances of detecting some waders,moustly lapwings are big, because this area is a wintering habitat with suitable flodded ricefields that offer what this kind of birds need to survive in those cold days.

Not many species are observed, but  sometimes there is a surprise with a nice group of dunlins or black tailed godwits lingering around the different patches.

In the distance the small groups of ruffs advance.

Hard to see, but there were five black tailed godwits.

The lapwings sometimes can bee seen quite close.

Storks,lapwings,ruffs,starlings....all of them are favored with this kind of agriculture.

They stay together in groups but individually they keep a "respect" distance when feeding.

I also saw four nervous green sandpipers in a quite wide water poodle.

That's all for today!!

Turnstone at short distance....

Happy new year to everyone!

Tha past six of January I was able to detect a very confiding turnstone that was having a rest in the concrete walls of the quay.

I tried to detect more turnstones or with great luck some purple sandpipers but there weren't any.

This winter we are "suffering" very mild temperatures and calm ocean that don't help for those objectives.....

I didn't disturb it at all.

Those individuals are very used to the pedestrians, that walk frecuently alongside the wall.

The bird with some food remains on it's beaks tip.

Even my wife and younger son saw this nice bird.

Donostia/San Sebastian . North Spain. 

The views were also great!!