Sadly no pics as only had not very good phone camera on me. Saturday afternoon, after an al fresco lunch by the river, our attention was drawn to a clacking sound neither Merlin nor BirdNet could identify. Then we saw that there were several large brown birds on a island in the Guadiana, two of which were engaged in a striking dance and making all the noise. So a mating ritual or a male dominance display probably, until one gave up and flew away. With the help of our trusty Lars Jonsson we identified them as Purple Heron, which we've not seen before. The clacking sound is similar to that made by storks - very common here - but higher pitched. We're located in Extremadura and here the River Guadiana marks the Spanish-Portuguese border. It was a fantastic show I feel very privileged to have witnessed.
BTW as recent converts to Merlin, thanks to this forum, we're really enjoying identifying the varieties of birds hereabouts, even if some are heard but not seen. It'd be even more useful to us if it gave the latin names for cross-referencing between languages and local names. Maybe that's a function I've yet to find how to enable.
