BIRDING IN SPAIN... el blog de Spainbirds : Del Atlántico a los Pirineos (un viaje organizado para VENT), 25 Abril - 11 Mayo / Parte IIFrom the Atlantic Ocean to the high Pyrenees (a tour for VENT), 25 April

24/6/14

Del Atlántico a los Pirineos (un viaje organizado para VENT), 25 Abril - 11 Mayo / Parte II
From the Atlantic Ocean to the high Pyrenees (a tour for VENT), 25 April - 11 May / Part II

Leaving this bird-rich country behind was tough, but new birds awaited in Extremadura. On the wide-open grazing and farming lands of the Caceres Plains we saw Eurasian Thick-knees, Great and Little bustards displaying, Calandra Larks skylarking, Pin-tailed and Black-bellied Sandgrouse, and our first Red-legged Partridges. In Trujillo we wandered the streets where Pizarro was born and explored the cobblestone alleys up to the castillo. In Monfragüe National Park raptors were our major target. At the large nesting cliffs in the park we tallied Eurasian Griffon, Cinereous Vulture, Peregrine Falcon, exceptional views of Spanish Eagle, Black Kite, Booted Eagle, Eurasian Eagle-Owl with a chick, and even a few Black Storks mixed in. Some of us got to witness raw nature. We first noticed a large Free-tailed Bat flying around the rocks midmorning; when it slithered into the rocks to roost, a Short-tailed Weasel was hot on its tail and soon enough emerged with the deceased bat in its mouth, then disappeared to feast. In the cork oak dehesa we found several new birds: Mistle Thrush, Iberian Magpie, Rock Sparrow, Short-toed Treecreeper, Eurasian Nuthatch, Common Cuckoo, and a very skittish Western Orphean Warbler.

Text by Brian Gibbons (Victor Emanuel Nature Tours)

Photos: Santi Villa (Spainbirds Nature Tours)