El Hondo: North gate, common cranes and greater spotted eagles

 Greater spotted eagles have long seen been a fixture at El Hondo- this is the only wintering place in Spain where they can be found, and possibly in Europe as well. This is a globally rare and endangered bird, and seeing it here is an immense privilege. I have been observing greater spotted eagles for 3 years now- in 2021, 2022 and 2024, with isolated observations in 2023 as well. By far the best area for them is El Hondo's North Gate, which can only be visited by prior appointment, although the eagles range widely and can be seen from the southern hides as well. However, for a truly remarkable sighting, only the North Gate can truly produce. 

My first visit was on the 14/12/24. After cycling through the darkness and some cold fog, I saw a greater spotted eagle fly over the entrance. Had I acted at this moment rather than simply watch, it would have saved me from a huge fiasco later. I slowly proceeded down the road, and, indeed, a greater spotted eagle was roosting in one of the eucalyptus trees there. It flew off, but cruised past slowly and lazily. I took a few photos, occupying half of the frame with the eagle, only to later realise my camera had inexplicably jammed. By the time I dealt with it, it was way off in the distance. An aggressive merlin was buzzing around as well, but the damage was done. I saw some other things here that day, including a kingfisher, lots of marsh harrier action and the aforementioned merlin aggressively changing songbirds, but no greater spotted eagles since that moment. The best feature of the morning was a booted eagle that decided to perch extremely close to the road- closer than I had ever seen. 

At the southern hides, it was similarly bleak for eagles, with no trace of them at all, although a photogenic kingfisher did put on a brief appearance. 

Two days later, on the 16/12/24, I decided to pay the southern hides a visit. Whilst waiting, I saw a large bird of prey fly up from a stand of eucalyptus trees, and with a shock realised that it was a greater spotted eagle! And not just any spotted eagle- it was the rare fulvescens morph of the spotted eagle. I had previously seen this exact bird almost exactly two years ago. 

I watched the bird drift past with a smile, distant but still great. Shortly after, another spotted eagle flew up, an adult bird with jet-black plumage which soared for a while, then flew down to perch in the trees, where I lost it but ultimately recovered, well-hidden almost at reed level. I watched that bird for a long time, but it did not fly again. 

As I waited, four cranes flew over the hide, with at least one young bird trailing nearby. 

And the same kingfisher pair put on a brief appearance. 

Marsh harriers were wonderful, but the osprey I was also hoping for did not materialise. 

Following this, news reached me that a male pallid harrier had been sighted in the fields south of El Hondo. These same fields I have long wanted to investigate due to the presence of cranes, but in addition to that greater spotted eagles regularly overfly the area, and a juvenile Bonelli's eagle has recently joined them with a non-zero possibility of black stork as well.

I visited on an overcast day, and didn't find the pallid harrier. I wasn't even trying to after seeing a pack of dogs loose in the fields. However, the clouds did not give way, but a group of 5 cranes floated past at exceptionally close range and gave absolutely stunning views as they flew. 

I explored a nearby area and saw a group of 3 more cranes fly in the same direction. I even saw where they landed and understood where the pallid harrier was as well, but decided to leave that for another day. If only the greater spotted eagle at the North Gate flew that close again, as it was closer than these cranes. I was also interested in a few flamingoes nearby:

On the way to the fields, I made an unscheduled stop in the middle of the Santa Pola Salinas. There was at first a cluster of slender-billed gulls:

And an entire group of waders containing a bar-tailed godwit(!), a few spotted redshanks, and lots of dunlin and little stints:

Such was my reaction to this flock I deliberately went looking for them the next day, to depart for the North Gate once again the day after. 

At the North Gate, which I visited 21/12/24, initially, it was very disappointing. A huge amount of people had come to visit, and maybe it was this or someone entering on a car scaring everything off, I didn't see a perched greater spotted eagle today. There was, however, a gigantic raptor flying around at the entrance, with a massive head and short tail. Something about it seemed familiar, and I was surprised to hear myself get very angry and say 'There you are, you filth!' I assumed it was a greater spotted eagle (see below). 

It was bleak at the North Gate, and I did see a huge, large-billed raptor which was vastly larger than a marsh harrier. Spotted eagle? I'm not so sure. So, it was bleak for 3 hours, and that is when six booted eagles arrived. They descended to a low altitude, and began circling overhead, right around me! 

Maybe I'm bored of booted eagles by now, but when six circle around you at low altitude, the experience is almost unforgettable. 

And what of the massive raptor I saw at sunrise? Turns out, it was an eagle-owl. 

And why 'filth'? This is why (from December 2022)!

My next trip was a deliberate attempt to see the annoying pallid harrier in the Vistabella fields, as well as the greater spotted eagles. This trip, 72.4km in length alone by bike, didn't recover the pallid harrier. However, I first started with two cranes which were feeding and posturing out in the fields south of El Hondo. Such a majestic bird, and now I have obtained truly my best-ever photo of them. 

Usually people take photos of such quality from inside a car, as they are very shy and wary, but in this case using the shadow of a shed enabled me to observe them as they approached me, and then the above happened!

I explored the area, and saw everything from cranes in flight to a distant spotted eagle mobbed by two marsh harriers. I then recovered a group of 10 cranes in the same fields, but these were much further than those in the morning. 

I was cycling along, irritated, down the Vistabella road, when I looked curiously at a eucalyptus tree in the distance. I spotted something within the tree, and stopped in my tracks. It was a greater spotted eagle. 

After these images, the eagle took flight and flew to the standard eucalyptus forest, where it hid for the rest of the afternoon. 

My next trip was on the 28th December. Despite my best efforts, which saw me cycle 82km on my bike, I was unable to see any spotted eagles, possibly because a group of 3 people including a local calling himself a 'bird guide' trespassed into restricted areas and disturbed everything. The best I had was some lovely great white egret action. 

The day, however, was saved by Zeus, who sent a whole tornado into the hills north of Torrevieja to compensate for that!

I saw about 5 funnel clouds this morning, but this was the only one which actually touched down and became a tornado. The technical term for it is a 'landspout' as it was not accompanied by a supercell thunderstorm, but they are very similar otherwise. A much bigger funnel cloud hovered over the area, but fortunately didn't touch down. 

I in addition to that got a great photo of a hoopoe taking off:

Finally managed to track down a solitary Audouin's gull at the Santa Pola Salinas: 

And...that's about it. I hope I do better on my next eagle trip. 

The next time I went out on my bike, it wasn't to El Hondo, which will be dealt with later. It was to Clot de Galvany. I visited it on my way from a medical appointment, to see some rare ducks. And those rare ducks did not disappoint! I was absolutely stunned to have counted about 17 white-headed ducks on the reserve! This is a globally rare and endangered duck, and it was all over the place!

There was no trace of the resident marbled ducks, but there were ferruginous ducks. About 4 of them- a very rare occurrence for this part of the world.

The usual assortment of beautiful Eurasian teals, four males circling a female in particular.

And other birds such as pochards and shovelers. 

As I packed up to leave, I froze when I looked out of the side of the hide. There was a kingfisher sitting on a reed right outside the window, less than 5 meters away, looking back at me. I went for my camera, it didn't fly off. It sat there as I not only took a large amount of photos myself, I also showed the bird to someone else who was present at the time, and it just sat there motionlessly!

It did of course fly off eventually, but not before I obtained truly wonderful images. 

My next trip was the classic again- a dedicated effort to photograph the greater spotted eagle in flight. 

The first sign that the morning of 02/01/25 was going to be wonderful was an osprey which flew overhead. As I tried to photograph it, the osprey turned and flew back overhead again, but this time at a much lower altitude than before! The photos I took were easily the best I have ever taken of this species, not seen properly since 2023. 

After this surprise, El Hondo followed up with two cranes when I angrily exited a hide in which two inconsiderate 'birdwatchers' were playing a tape lure so loudly it actually hurt my ears. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the only thing interesting I saw in that hide was a marsh harrier. 

And the cranes themselves flew almost directly overhead. 

By this point, booted eagles were up, and I began cycling all over the place, refusing to leave until I saw what I wanted. After a track nearby failed to produce any cranes or eagles, I turned back and was cycling along the Vistabella road in an easterly direction when an immature greater spotted eagle flew over the road and began circling. I accelerated to get closer to the bird, and stopped at a point in which the eagle circled overhead, either looking at me or looking elsewhere. 

The bird was spectacularly close- and appeared to be of the rare fulvescens morph. I briefly thought it might be a lesser spotted eagle, but quickly ruled that out due to both a good look at the mouth of the bird and the extreme rarity of the lesser spotted eagle anywhere in Spain. 

As I watched, the bird began calling- the same call I once heard a golden eagle do in the Sierra Espuna back in September 2024. An adult greater spotted eagle with jet-black plumage flew up, and they began circling each other. 

I left then. Beyond satisfied. 

Thus ended my tours of El Hondo. Over this time, I covered 460 kilometers on my bike. I will return in December 2025, where my main priority will be seeing the adult bird in flight this time :)