Short-eared Owl

Description:

A group of Magpies were making a commotion and one of them dive-bombed a bush in front of me and this large bird flew up. I thought it was a buzzard with its head turned away until I looked at the photo on a laptop.

Habitat:

Dried-out coastal marshland

Notes:

The construction work on the north side of the railway (see map) has resulted in the local stream being diverted into a new canal instead of irrigating this protected area (PEIN?). 5 years ago this area had the 4th highest bird species count in Spain. I doubt we even got into double figures in four days!