EXTREMADURA BIRDWATCHING AND PHOTOGRAPHY REPORT

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Erin Bradley
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1 EXTREMADURA BIRDWATCHING AND HOTOGRAHY REORT 5 th 12 th January 2015 Tour leaders Chris Mills and Ricardo Montero articipants:- Alan, Caroline and Mike Crockard EXCLUSIVE TOUR This tour was arranged exclusively for a group of 3 persons, the tour was based on watching birds but with a strong bias towards photography, and with the opportunity for hiring and using private, dedicated photography hides for specific species. Clients chose to use a Bonell s eagle hide and Vulture hide, although there was a nice surprise at this location. ACCOMMODATION & FOOD Our tours are located in a 3 storey white washed house in a small mountain settlement, that we have been using for four years. There are 2 double rooms with en-suites, plus 2 Twin en-suite bedrooms with dedicated bathrooms & 1 single room, a large kitchen and reception area plus a magnificent roof-top terrace with stunning views across the valley below. The house is a lovely traditional example set in a typical white walled, narrow street in a Spanish mountain village. Breakfast is served in the house with cereals, toasts and fruits. Evening meals and packed lunches are arranged locally at the village bar. FLIGHTS An Easyjet flight from Luton to Madrid was reasonably cheap and provided easy access into central Spain. IMAGES & HOTOGRAHY Around 39 species of birds were photographed, there is no doubt that the highlight was the dedicated hide photography, although some of the smaller birds are photographable with patience. The report contains a small selection of images, for more comprehensive and better quality images, please visit the Norfolk Birding facebook page &type=1&l=d ac

2 Sunday 4th January 2015 As our flight from Luton airport to Madrid was scheduled for early morning departure on Monday 5th January, I met up with my clients Alan, Caroline and their son, Mike on the Sunday evening. We all stopped over in the Ibis Hotel, which was perfectly satisfactory and just 5 minutes from the airport terminal. Monday 5th January 2015 The flight to Madrid passed without event, we were soon met by my Spanish guide, Ricardo. By midday we were loaded up and heading south in our 9-seater minibus en-route towards Extremadura. We were soon admiring our first Red Kites, Buzzards and White Storks, against clear blue skies. The early start allowed for a couple of afternoon stop offs. The first was more a birding location, just off the main highway and we were soon watching our first flocks of Crested Lark, Spotless Starling, Skylark Corn Bunting and Spanish Sparrow. lus numerous White Wagtail, Meadow ipit, Stonechat, Chiff-chaff and Linnets. The big groups of passerines attracted a hunting Merlin that flashed by, sending small birds into the skies. Most notable were 4 Black-bellied Sandgrouse, seen in flight and then perched but unapproachable, rather typical of this species! A real surprise was a photograph Alan collected of a Yellow Wagtail, probably iberie race. We still had some daylight left and despite the early start, everyone was keen to visit another location before heading on to our accommodation. We visited the wetland site of Arroyocampo, where as well as seeing an excellent array of wetland species, the photographers were able to fire off their first shots in anger! Birds came quickly, Serin, lots of Meadow ipit, Little Grebe, Fan-tailed Warbler, Cetti's Warbler, White Wagtail, several Snipe, beautiful iridescent urple Gallinules and 2-3 Bluethroat, that with time and patience eventually resulted in some nice images! Water Rail and Cetti s Warbler were typically vocal but invisible! But several Iberian Grey Shrike were very visible, including one carrying a small bird back to its larder We had a very pleasant evening meal and fell into bed all rather tired, but faced with an early start in the morning.

3 Tuesday 6th January 2015 We were breakfasted and in the minibus by 6.30am, the drive was tricky, as some heavy fog had formed in the freezing conditions. We made our way to the first appointed location slightly late, but this didn t cause any real issues. Mike and myself were dropped here for the day ahead, we were to visit a dedicated photography hide for Bonelli's Eagle, whilst Alan and Caroline headed to a dedicated "vulture " hide. We were transferred by Carlos on a quad bike, the local guide. The hide, complete with mirrored one-way glass looked out on to a baited tree. It was exciting just waiting, but was quite amazing when suddenly the Bonelli's Eagle arrived, the male first, followed later by the female. We had good light and with 500 and 600mm lenses were able to secure some great images, with the birds around for 90 minutes of shooting. Alan and Caroline had a very different experience in the "Vulture" hide! The first few hours there was an extremely hard, hoar frost and no birds were visiting the feed area, so the guide took them off to see some other species. Once the hide and glass were thawed they settled in again at the hide. They were unprepared for what happened next! No vultures arrived, but 2 Spanish Imperial Eagles did! A sub-adult and an adult bird put on an amazing display for them, with Alan securing some very enviable images! Myself and Mike were out of the Bonelli's hide by early afternoon and we headed off to the high point of the castle where we had a fun afternoon shooting Griffon and Black Vultures as they passed by at and below eye level. Black Redstarts were common around the car parking area and Choughs flew overhead with Crag Martins. We all had a fun first full day and we finished off with food and a beer before heading for some much needed sleep!

8 Wednesday 7th January 2015 Our local guide, Ricardo had in the previous week secured some good images of Citril Finch, a scarce species and generally not easy to photograph. We set out with hides and some mobile throws and started searching one of the favoured areas. Despite hearing and seeing the Citril Finches in this area, we couldn't lure them down. But we did have some success with getting images of Crested Tit, Firecrest and a Dartford Warbler. Also species seen of note in this area were Crossbill, Siskin, Citril Finch, Lesser and Great Spotted Woodpecker. After lunch we tried another area for Citril Finch, a smart male appeared at close range, we secured some images but the light was a too strong and across the bird so we decided to try again. Despite sticking it out for a couple of hours, we failed to get close again and had to leave satisfied, but a little frustrated with the earlier shots. We decided to finish off the day with a walk on a high hillside near the accommodation, there was a profusion of Meadow ipit, several Woodlark, numerous White wagtail plus after a little searching we also located 2 Thekla Lark. Other birds of note seen in the area were Rock Sparrow, Black Redstart, Red kite, Griffon Vulture, Raven, Rock Bunting and Mistle Thrush. A great evening with Tapas and red wine! Thursday 8 th January 2015 We awoke again to more clear and cold conditions, which was good although the heavy frosts were causing fog to form over the park area of Monfrague. We headed out after breakfast for the pools near Villar de lasencia. There was a very hard white hoar frost, it took a while for birds activity to get started. But soon we were watching a lot of activity around the pools, Great, Cattle and Little Egrets, Kingfisher, over wintering waders Green Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper, Greenshank, Little Ringed lover and Snipe, Shoveler and Teal on the water. Soon as the sun rose, beautiful flocks of hundreds of Cranes, bugled and passed overhead with some photography possible. We also found a small group on the ground and photographed them from the minibus. Other birds around the area were Hoopoe, Spanish Sparrow, Corn Bunting and very noteworthy were 2 over wintering Black Stork. The fog towards the mountains of Monfrague appeared to be lifting so we headed towards the park. However, it was still quite grey and murky, but we headed to one of the picnic areas anyway and baited an area with a perch for Azure-winged Magpie. The Azure-winged Magpies were soon

9 coming in for the free food and eventually birds were making use of the perch, the light was far from perfect but we secured some reasonable images. We decided that the murky conditions were unlikely to improve further so we headed to the rice fields area near Gallisteo. This area was excellent with the wet fields providing good close ups of an array of wading birds, several photographed - Dunlin, Greenshank, Common Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper, Snipe and Water ipit and a rare american vagrant a Lesser Yellowlegs, which with care was approached and photographed from the minibus. Nearby we had good views and managed some images of Red Avadavat. We watched hunting Marsh harriers and a ringtail Hen harrier, plus displaying White Storks atop a chimney were also photographed as well. The day finished with vast flocks of thousands of Spanish Sparrow, and finally an awesome sunset and a roost of 30+ Marsh Harrier, plus a perched Little owl as we left. A good evening with izzas and a beer in the local bar.

15 Friday 9 th January 2015 This morning we headed out to the plains, where we had a wonderful morning, masses of larks, sparrows, finches, Lapwing & pipits! We managed a few images of a Hoopoe and were then photographing Crested Lark, when Sandgrouse were heard! A small group of Blackbellied sandgrouse. This was shortly followed by another group, this time around 45 in-tailed Sandgrouse flew over. The birds continued thick & fast, several Hoopoe, flocks of 100+ Calandra Lark, numerous Corn Bunting. The strategy over this huge area was to drive, stop, scan and listen and we were soon stopping again as 35 Little Bustard were in the fields in front of us. Another short drive and this time c40 Great Bustard were feeding on the ground in the distance Then another large flock of maybe c100 in-tailed Sandgrouse flew over. Incredibly, we then located a flock of 60+ Little Bustard. A great mornings observations, of a scarce group of specialised species! Whilst none of the Sandgrouse and Bustards are really photographable without the use of a dedicated hide, we did enjoy great scope views of all these species. After our picnic lunch we headed on to Monfrague, where at last the mist and fog had cleared. We started lower down where we watched and photographed some of the Griffon Vultures, plus a male Blue Rock Thrush. The clouds of Griffon and Black Vultures circling above the rock face was a spectacle alone! Also a screaming eregrine, circling the top of the crags was further entertainment. We then headed up to the castle, where we enjoyed good afternoon light, Griffon Vulture, Black Redstart and Rock Bunting all provided excellent opportunities for photography and a pair of Choughs flew overhead. We finished the day off with our usual Evening meal in the local bar.

16 Saturday 10 th January 2015 Today was a reversal of hides from the Tuesday. Mike and myself visited the Vulture hide, whilst Alan and Caroline headed for the Bonelli s eagle hide. It was interesting to compare experiences, they were both quite different from the previous visit on the Tuesday. Alan had a long visit from the male Bonelli s Eagle, but despite a lot of noisy complaining by the female, she was not allowed into the feeding area! Though Alan, nailed some great shots of the male Bonelli s Eagle. This bird arrived slightly later than during the previous visit and he secured more flight shots. Later Alan and Caroline also visited Monfrague and were able to take some more Vulture images. Our visit to the Vulture hide was very different to Alan and Caroline s! We had great views of 2 Griffon Vultures feeding on a carcass close to the hide, but just a very brief visit by the young Spanish Imperial Eagle, allowing just a quick couple of images. However, the light was good and as well as the Vulture images we secured nice shots of an obliging Azurewinged Magpie and flight shots of overhead Red Kites, plus a single Raven. Sunday 11 th January 2015 Today Mike decided to take an extra visit back to the Vulture hide, with the hope that the Spanish Imperial Eagle may reappear, unfortunately that didn t happen! Alan and Caroline decided that after a fairly hectic week, that they would like to have a more relaxed day with a walk up through the village mountain-side and woodland. This yielded a nice selection of birds, Griffon Vulture, Raven, Red Kite, Short-toed Treecreeper, Nuthatch, Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Black Redstart Serin, Chiff-chaff, Blackcap, Cirl Bunting and Sardinian Warbler several of these were also photographed. Ricardo then took us to a lovely Spanish bar, where we enjoyed a very local lunch with a wonderful local Goat s cheese, local meats and beautiful bread. After a very satisfying lunch we headed off and collected Mike, before finishing off the tour with a wonderful experience, Cranes coming into roost against a beautiful sunset! A final evening in the local bar, where we were presented with complimentary bottles of acorn licquer a tipple we had enjoyed each evening, post our meal!

Monday 12 th January 2015 We set off at 5am from Cabezabellosa and managed to avoid most of the Madrid city traffic, just a few miles as we neared the airport.

17 Monday 12 th January 2015 We set off at 5am from Cabezabellosa and managed to avoid most of the Madrid city traffic, just a few miles as we neared the airport. We boarded our flight on time and arrived back in Luton just after midday, we said fond farewells and then everyone headed off home. A total of 109 species were recorded, although the emphasis was biased towards photography. Around 39 species were photographed satisfactorily and several were photographed very well! With all the iconic species of the area seen well.

18 Systematic List of Birds recorded. = photographed Little Grebe Great Crested Grebe Great Cormorant Cattle Egret Little Egret Great White Egret Grey Heron Black Stork White Stork Teal Mallard Shoveler Red Kite Griffon Vulture Black Vulture Marsh Harrier Hen Harrier Sparrowhawk Common Buzzard Spanish Imperial Eagle Bonelli's Eagle Common Kestrel Merlin eregrine Falcon Red-legged artridge Water Rail Moorhen urple Swamphen Common Coot Common Crane Little Bustard Great Bustard Golden lover Lapwing Dunlin Common Snipe Greenshank Green Sandpiper Common Sandpiper Lesser Yellowlegs Lesser Black-backed Gull Black-headed Gull Black-bellied Sandgrouse in-tailed Sandgrouse Rock Dove/Feral igeon Wood igeon Collared Dove Little Owl Kingfisher Hoopoe Great Spotted Woodpecker Lesser Spotted Woodpecker Calandra Lark Crested Lark Thekla Lark Woodlark Skylark Crag Martin Meadow ipit Water ipit Grey Wagtail White Wagtail Yellow Wagtail Robin Bluethroat Black Redstart Stonechat Blue Rock Thrush Blackbird Song Thrush Mistle Thrush Cetti's Warbler Zitting Cisticola Dartford Warbler Sardinian Warbler Blackcap Chiffchaff Firecrest Long-tailed Tit Crested Tit Blue Tit Great Tit Nuthatch Short-toed Treecreeper Southern Grey Shrike Jay Azure-winged Magpie Magpie Red-billed Chough Carrion Crow Raven Common Starling Spotless Starling House Sparrow Spanish Sparrow Rock Sparrow

19 Citril Finch Red Avadavat Chaffinch Citril Finch Serin Greenfinch Siskin Linnet Hawfinch Cirl Bunting Rock Bunting Reed Bunting Corn Bunting Future Tours If you are interested in joining us in Extremadura then we have future tours planned in 2015 and mobile

Participants:- Holly Anderson, David & Linda Bosworth, Maurice Local, & Marian Wootton

EXTREMADURA BIRDWATCHING TRIP REPORT 4 th 11 th November 2013 Tour leaders Chris Mills & Ricardo Montero Participants:- Holly Anderson, David & Linda Bosworth, Maurice Local, & Marian Wootton ACCOMMODATION