Once everyone had arrived and met with Santi, we drove towards Extremadura. The first new species for some of the participants was the Spotless Starling, which were really common in the surroundings of the airport and then en route.
Our first proper birding stop was in the Calera y Chozas plains.
Although we were looking for steppe birds, we saw in the distance a harrier-like bird soaring and after a few seconds we were able to identify it as a male Marsh Harrier. We also found many Crested Larks and Corn Buntings here. Our next stop would be a small pond where Santi had seen a Glossy Ibis the previous week, but there was no sign this time. When we reached the place we saw some noisy Black-winged Stilts and Cattle Egrets.
Three huge silhouettes flew over the distant peaks of the Gredos mountains and we were able to see that they were Eurasian Black Vultures. Comparing with the size with a close Black Kite, they looked like giants... and then another raptor joined to the group in the same thermal. It was our first Griffon Vulture of the trip, showing its unmistakable two tone pattern.
Flying at the distance some falcons gave us the chance to test our skills on identification. Although they were too far to see the main features the gregarious behaviour told us that we were seeing Lesser Kestrels.
We were still joking about the tiny spots in the blue sky when Pete shouted - Collared Pratincole! A nice bird with a buoyant and tern-like flight crossed the pond and landed surprisingly just in front of us offering fantastic views.
After enjoying the pratincole, we decided to leave the pond and then head for a site to look for Great Bustards. Unfortunately, the heat haze made viewing difficult and the views of the birds in the distance were poor. As compensation, we saw our first European Bee-eaters, which were perching on telephone wires, and giving superb views.
We started to cross a very open area where Santi found two Stone Curlews in crouching posture, but as expected, when we stopped the van one of them took off. We were still commenting about how cryptic their plumage is when a bright blue silhouette came from the left hand side of the van to perch in one of the wires of the fence. It was amazing to see a Roller so close!
While enjoying the Roller, a Southern Grey Shrike flew across the road in front of us. Could it get any better? Well, the answer is yes, as the best moment of the day was when a superb Black-shouldered Kite flew over the orchard of Olive trees and then perched for a few minutes giving us the chance to see it through our scopes. In a nearby set of trees a shy Golden Oriole started to sing while some Nightingales were chasing each other in the shrubs. Just before taking again the main road we had much better views of the Black-shouldered Kite who was perched this time at the top of a dead tree and we noticed all that was a second calendar year bird. A nice couple of Montagu's Harrier flew over the cereal fields before vanishing quickly behind a slope.
As we were making good time, we decided to stop in the famous Arrocampo reservoir; a big wetland used to cool the turbines of the Almaraz nuclear power station. The place is not a very aesthetic site, with a lot of rubbish everywhere, but for birds it is a wonderful spot. The first bird we saw after leaving the van was a solitary Squacco Heron perched in a branch when suddenly a second bird joined it and then started the birding show!
A Purple Swamp-Hen was seen very well and several Purple Heron flew over the reeds... 30 seconds later an adult Eurasian Spoonbill crossed the reservoir showing the characteristic extended neck while flying. At that moment we heard a Little Bittern calling, but another big white shape made us look up to discover a Great White Egret flying really close to us. After a few seconds trying to take in all we had seen, Santi found very well hidden Little Bittern, before two more took off before flying deep into the reed bed.
As we were about to board the bus to drive to Trujillo, we saw a Great Reed Warbler that was showing well and singing loudly - Peter specially enjoyed that. At about 19:45, we reached the hotel where we would stay the following three nights. During the meal we were joking about the desserts because Santi didn't know to explain how was called in English "Tocino de cielo" [translated as "Heaven's Beacon" - a special dessert made with eggs and sugar]. He called it Flat Flan because of its shape and every night we would have the same joke! I honestly think that Ronald enjoyed it more
May 3rd: Monfragüe Natural Park
We had our breakfast at 8:00 and then transfer to the magical Monfragüe Natural Park. The viewpoint at Salto del Gitano always surprises the visitor and today was no exception.
Once we left the bus, dozens of Griffons were flying overhead, while the views of Blue-rock Thrush, Black Redstart and Rock Bunting were excellent - a great start to the day. Just down the Tagus river and in front of the quartz rocks of Peñafalcón, .we had our first records of Serin and Short-toed Treecreeper of the trip, but without doubt one of the best moments was when we discovered a couple of Egyptian Vultures showing its distinctive black & white pattern in front of the huge mass of rocks. Then the birds landed giving really good views through our scopes. A huge nest made of branches placed inside a big cave, was where we could see one of the traditional nests of Black Storks within the park. One of the adults stood up and could be seen moving its bill as if it was turning eggs. A Peregrine Falcon flew several times over a distant peak while Crag Martins and Red-rumped Swallows were really busy catching insects to take them to their chicks. Although this was a good place to see Otters we unfortunately missed them in spite of careful searching of the opposite bank of the river.
After an hour, we decided to leave this area and concentrate on new species. For that Santi decided to stop just three kilometres away in the parkland surrounding the Puente del Cardenal bridge. Our target species here was Alpine Swift, and we didn't have to wait long to see the first ones. Small parties were flying up and down the bridge mixed in with the hordes of House Martins which were nesting under the bridge. Ronald joked again about the number of nests along the bridge... maybe 500? Yes but the bridge has two sides! Anyway, the House Martins looked like mosquitoes, though for one of them today was a very bad day, as in the middle of the wide river, a tiny white spot was trying to reach the bank... it was a House Martin that probably dropped down when catching insects and now he had to swim almost 50 metres. All of the participants were really worried about the bird, but after five minutes, it was exhausted, but reached the bank... well done!
Walking along the old road, parallel to the river, we saw many more Red-rumped Swallows and in the dense vegetation both Sardinian and Subalpine Warblers. Looking back, we could even see the Alpine Swift nests placed in some crevices of the concrete pylons. We also saw an old carcase of a Montpellier Snake in the road while several Black Kites were flying over the wooded slopes. An insistent Nightingale was singing close and some of us were lucky to see it in the shrubs. We returned to the bus and then drove to the small village of Villarreal de San Carlos where we got some drinks and ice-creams - a modest celebration of a great mornings birding!
The next viewpoint was La Tajadilla and the dam of the Tietar River where a couple of Black Kites were very busy defending their nest from other raptors including some more kites. The nest was placed in the traditional pine tree so was not difficult to locate. Just behind the tree line in the rock cliffs Santi spotted an Egyptian Vulture nest and we had fantastic views of the adults inside the cave and then flying. We also saw Common Sandpiper, Little Ringed Plover and a nice male Grey Wagtail on the rocky shoreline. Just before reaching the Portilla del Tietar viewpoint we stopped at a pine wood where we tried for Crested Tit and Golden Oriole. We saw the tit well, but the oriole was another story. Santi started to imitate its fluted song and deep into the trees a male answered him after a couple of minutes. After trying to get the bird sitting on a branch, we could see in the distance the yellow of its feathers. It was in a Eucalyptus tree but the camouflage was really amazing in spite of it being such a bright bird! We finally saw two different males, one of then much duller, which would have been a sub-adult bird. Soon after, we had our first good views of the endemic Iberian Azure-winged Magpie. It was a small family party that was seen mostly in flight, alighting only very briefly. After recording one of the two endemics of the Iberian Peninsula, we set off in pursuit of the other: Spanish Imperial Eagle, at the famous site of Portilla.
Here we located quickly where the eagles were breeding. The nest was placed in the crown of a big Cork Oak although during the time we were there we only could see the pale head of one of the adults who was still laying eggs - we could hear the piercing whistle of the birds as they called constantly. We then met a birder who had found an Eagle owl chick, which had recently fledged. We enjoyed fantastic views - it was one of the four chicks that the pair of owls had this year and showed very closely to the delight of the whole group.
With our targets again seen we decided to return to the hotel. During a brief stop again at the Salto del Gitano viewpoint, we again had good views of Griffon and Egyptian Vultures, but it was a pair of Short-toed Eagles in fantastic light that provided the most exciting moment. It started to rain, but this couldn’t dampen the spirits after such a fantastic day.
May 4th: Llanos de Trujillo-Cáceres plains
Following breakfast, we headed to the plains between the towns of Trujillo and Cáceres. This area is renowned for holding one of the best steppe bird populations in the whole of Spain, but it is huge and finding the birds is not always easy. That said, unbelievably, we saw our first Great Bustard at no more than 50 metres from the road... this is a very busy road and it is very dangerous to stop, so we decided to continue and try for better views later.
The morning was a bit cool, but we soon had our first views of Montagu's Harrier displaying and no less than four Rollers sitting on telephone wires ,when Suddenly, we heard the raucous call of a Great-spotted Cuckoo which flew overhead and then perched on the same wire of a couple of Rollers. Although the bird was not very close, we all had fantastic views using our scopes. Eventually, the bird flew off into the distance - what a start to the day! Close to a small pond, we saw a party of Great Bustards on the ground and then one huge male flew just behind us to land on a nearby grassy slope. We also found a Short-toed Eagle sitting on a top of a electricity pylon while ten Black-bellied
Sandgrouse crossed the road quickly, flying very low. After all that, we heard that raucous call again and this time the cuckoo flew overhead and landed in a nearby Eucalyptus tree. Views on this occasion weren’t as good as earlier due to the strong backlight. We decided to continue our journey because we needed to reach to the best area for sandgrouse just before the heat of the central hours of the day. After several stops to scan the fields, we left the bus to concentrate on scanning to try and find a flock of sandgrouse. Here we saw our first male Little Bustard of the trip, while two Pin-tailed Sandgrouse took off noisily, but landed a little distantly. We managed to locate the birds on the ground... they were really like rocks moving! That's the effect these birds have because of its chunky, rounded body and tiny legs.
Our picnic lunch was shared with butterflies, seeing a Spanish Marbled White and Bath Whites while Santi was taking some pictures of a Broad-bodied Libellula. After our sandwiches, we continued onwards, stopping again in a very dry and bare area of ground where we saw very well a small party of Black-bellied Sandgrouse with superb views of two of them in flight just in front of the bus. The surface of the road was horrible and outside the temperature was increasing... the terrible heat haze made us change our plans and we headed to the nearby Sierra de San Pedro mountain range. Just before doing that we made a stop in an old and small bridge where we saw Spanish Pond Terrapins and a couple of very aggressive males Emperor Dragonflies. The journey to the Sierra was long, so we decided to stop for a drink and ice-creams at Cáceres first. The target bird was Bonelli’s Eagle and Santi knew where they were breeding this year.
When we reached the place we left the bus and had a look to check if the adults were on the platform... a solitary and almost completely fledged chick was in the nest but no signs of the adults. To avoid any disturbance to the birds we stayed well away and used our scopes to see the huge nest placed in a ledge of a rock not too far from the road. A couple of Orphean Warblers sang in the trees but we didn't manage to see them. However, Peter pointed out two Hawfinches in the fork of a cork Oak and all had good views. By now, it was late and we had to return to our hotel in Trujillo to pack because tomorrow, we were travelling south to Doñana National Park.
May 5th: Trujillo - El Rocío [Doñana]
A pre-breakfast walk in to the main square of Trujillo at dawn produced good numbers of Lesser Kestrels and we also enjoyed watching some of the many Pallid Swifts which breed in the surroundings of the main square, which provided a good test of our identification skills in the initially poor light.
Just before driving south, we decided to have a look to Stopping for wonderful views of both Little and Great Bustards, Calandra Larks singing everywhere and the silhouette of a Black-shouldered Kite, we eventually, reached a small pond with a few dead trees on the banks. The Bald Ibis had been seen here regularly and despite an anxious wait, we saw the bird just as it flew onto a tree-top and then down into long grass. Thankfully, Santi relocated it in his scope, where it fed amongst a small group of Cattle Egrets, eventually offering excellent views as it flew back into the dead trees. Amazingly, a large raptor flew over the bus as we returned - the plumage unmistakably one of the two Long-legged Buzzards seen in the previous days in the same area... and now we were seeing one of them flying close to us - fantastic! With two major rarities under our belt, it was time to head off towards Doñana. We did a stop for lunch in the Alange dam that produced fantastic views of a pair Bonelli's Eagle and down in the water Little Egrets and a motionless Purple Heron. Alpine Swifts were everywhere and Audrey had a male Golden Oriole briefly in her bins. We continued on, stopping only in Almendralejo for a coffee, reaching the picturesque town of El Rocío at about 17:45 - in time to have a quick look at the marsh.
There we saw Curlew Sandpipers, Ringed Plovers, Dunlins, Little Stints, Turnstones, Redshanks and Common Sandpipers... hundreds more unidentified and distant shorebirds, three Glossy Ibis, different flocks of Collared Pratincoles and Greater Flamingos. After a shower we met at the lobby to the cottage to go to our restaurant, where we talked about birds, wine and... the flat flan again!
May 6th: Doñana Natural Park
Our first day in Doñana was a little bit strange because the drought. The fields which used to be flooded now were completly dry so it would be hard to find some of the birds we wanted to see. After our breakfast at Puerta de Doñana cottage we moved towards the Jose Antonio valverde visitors centre. To reach there we had to cross some cultivated areas and ditches which makes to this area unique in Spain and the surface of the road is not perfect as we say. Just after crossing Villamanrique we stopped to see a nice colony of White Storks join a palm trees plantation. Really picturesque!
Then we took the sandy road which leads to the visitors centre. In our fist stop we saw 4 Stone Curlew, 2 in each side of the road so we thought that might be two pairs. Dozens of Calandra Larks were singing without stop in flight while some Bee-eaters were recorded perched on the wires along the road. Several Collared Pratincoles flew overhead and then landed not too far from us. After several stops to see Short-toed and Crested Larks, Black Kites, White Storks and some Spoonbills we saw what we though was a very busy bush. In a same small broom we managed to see four different species: Melodious Warbler, Woodchat Shrike, Turttle Dove and Spotted Flycatcher... three new species for the trip in only one second! Before reaching the centre we saw a fantastic Short-toed Eagle perched on a post and we could see every detaild of its feathers. We did a new stop to see several males Pied Flycatchers sitting on a fence and a strange view of Spoonbills resting in a bare field with no water or vegetation. We decided to stop in a small flooded rice field where we saw Little and Whiskered Terns, Ringed Plovers and some Dunlins, but the best moment was when Ian and Santi spotted a Lesser Short-toed Lark which took off to land again at no more than 50 metres. Unfortunately it was in the view a few seconds and the rest of participants missed it. The heat was then hard and backed to the van to continue to the visitors centre. The centre is probably one of the best well known places for birding in Doñana... is a public place, no many people want to get there after almost 25 km of horrible road and in the nearby ponds called "lucios" use to breed a wide variety of species including Glossy Ibis, Purple Heron, Purple Swamp Hen, Squacco Heron, Little Bittern, Night Heron and different species of warblers... but this year was unfortunately well different and although we enjoyed with the views of Red-crested Pochards, two Squacco and several Purple Herons, and a couple of Night Herons the ponds were almost dry and the colony of egrets and herons moved into the Park.
After our lunch and coffees in the confortable shade of the centre we then drove back taking a different way although just a few Spoonbills and several larks were seen. Once we reached the cottage at El Rocio we left Audrey and Steph and then headed to the old viewpoint join the main marsh seeing almost the same species we recorded the previous night.
After a quick shower we met in the lobby of the cottage to have our dinner. While we were doing the list that night a huge beetle landed in the Steph shirt... but unfortunately we had reservation only for 7...
May 7th: Doñana - El Portil lagoon - Odiel marshes
The plan for that day was to visit the Odiel Marshes where a variety of waders and gulls can be seen. Just after breakfast we headed to La Rocina visitors centre and then walked along the walk-board. Here we had good views of Tree Sparrow and Garden Warbler. Glossy Ibis, Purple Heron, Spoonbill, Woodchat Shrike and a Savi's Warbler singing from the top of a reed were seen from the first hide. A Golden Oriole sang at the distance while a shy Purple Swamp Hen is discovered into the vegetation.
One of the best sites to see birds along La Rocina viewpoints is the wooden footbridge after "El Paraguas" hide. Here we saw three Squacco Herons, several Glossy Ibis and Common and Great Reed Warblers. Peter had a no very serious accident and his telescope and tripod dropped down to the water... fortunately the lens were not affected and he could enjoy the rest of the trip as he had done till then. Maybe the most interesting record in this point was to see and heard the Iberian Chiffchaff while seeing Pied Flycatcher, Melodious and Subalpine Warblers in the nearby Cork Oaks was also nice.
Comming back to the van a mistery warbler jumped into the bushes but two seconds later came up singing... it was "only" a Sardinian Warbler. Several Azure-winged Magpies crossed in front of us... very raucous and chassing each others. Ian saw for a while a Short-toed Treecreeper and the rest though that was time to go to El Portil lagoon. Surrounded by turist developments and close to the sea shore the El Portil lagoon is one of those strange cases where the birds seem to be more confortable in spite of the human presence. Once we reached the place where we was going to scan the water we quickly saw Lesser Black-backed and Yellow-legged Gulls, several Red-crested Pochard, 5 Night Herons, Spoonbills, Common Pochards and a surprising albino Black-necked Grebe.
After some minutes searching the banks we finally saw a couple of Ferruginous Ducks diving very often. Male and female. We didn't have doubt about the identification of the male but the female didn't show the typical pointed head of the species and the bill pattern resembled more to a Tufted Duck... now we think that was probably an hybrid. We decided then to do a break and drink a coffee in a bar with views to the lagoon. With no signs of Chamaleons or White-headed Ducks but seeing again the Ferruginous Duck and the posible hybrid we came into the van again to continue our journey.
The plan was now to go for the Red-knobbed Coot into La Calatilla visitors centre. The previous three years some birds had been seen almost every day during the breeding season so we hoped to see some that day... after several minutes trying to see the birds we were just to give up when Peter saw a coot with a white plastic collar and some dark numbers... 204. Without doubt that was one the birds we were trying to find... the problem was that Peter saw the bird from the very top fence into a small adyacent lagoon surrounded by reeds of almost two metres tall. We tried to do the same, climbed to the top of the fence and then look into the water... after several minutes searching the bird didn't appear again but it was very funny to see that crazy birders hanging from the fence as they were monkeys!
And when we thought that all we was going to see were Dunlins, Mallards, Common Coots and Redshanks then Peter said low Red-necked Phalarope. He didn't know probably how of rare was that species in Spain, even was a new bird for Santi. But it was not all, Ian was comming to us to tell that he had seen a Little Gull a few metres further... we didn't have time to go there, the gull came to us flying and then landed just in the same place where the Phalarope was... so close that the wader took off to alight again in the same pond after flying about 50 metres. It was amazing!
We didn't have more time and decided that was time to come back to the cottage.
For the last dinner we had a start with some Fino wine and then all participants gave thanks to Santi giving him a very, very special red wine bottle. Then after a nice meal and no few jokes we came back to our accomodation.
May 8th: Doñana - Málaga airport
We didn't have much time to spend after breakfast and head to the Málaga aiport quickly. After doing a stop in the mid of the way for streching our leggs we reached the Málaga airport with time to take our flights back home.
I appreciate much how funny all participants were, their fantastic sense of humour and all they did to have a such succesful trip. Thanks.
Tours 2000
Tours 2005
