Our last day started with great disappointment! We had arranged to meet in the hotel lobby at 7am for a walk around the gardens before breakfast but when we met we could see a thick mist outside, despite this we still went for a walk, the mist was patchy and cleared at times so we did see some birds: Black Redstart singing from the hotel roof was the first, Chaffinch, Rock Bunting, Serin, Jay and a single Crossbill were the grand total for our efforts.
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| Black Redstart on the hotel roof in bad light |
After breakfast we set off for the Platforma de Gredos which meant a 12 kilometer drive, up to 2,000 meters, through a lush green valley of mountain streams, pine woods and alpine meadows. The mist had cleared and blue sky appeared but it was only 3C so gloves, hats and coats were necessary. We stopped at several places along the valley, the first of which was to look for a 'probable' Rock Thrush that was seen by some from the back of the bus but we failed to find the suspect during our search. However we did see Common Whitethroat, Linnet and several Dunnocks - this caused quite a surprise to the group as they never expected to see this species high up in the mountains, it is also quite a dark morph race of Dunnock too!
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| Common Crossbill - photo also taken in bad light |
Further up we encountered lots of Rock Buntings, Ortolan Buntings, more Dunnocks, a few Ravens and the odd Black Kite. At the car park near the top we parked up and set off on foot for the climb towards the 'Cirque de Gredos'. The pathway took us up through a rocky valley with steep sides having cliff faces and large boulders, ideal habitat for Rock Thrushes. We failed to find one but saw many Black Redstarts, Rock Buntings, Ortolan Buntings, Black-eared Wheatears and the odd Griffon or Black Vulture would drift over. We saw a huge herd of Spainsh Ibex high up on the cliff top, some 70 individuals of the 'victoriae' sub-species, the males having spectacular, huge, horns.
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| Spanish Ibex |
After an hour of walking the valley opened out and gorse and broom scrub appeared on the grassy slopes, this is the habitat of the Bluethroat our target species. Well, what a show, we saw two males and the closest one performed its song flight and sat out in the open for us, singing from the top of the gorse. The group loved this sighting it was a superb showing by this beautiful little gem. During this time we also saw several Northern Wheatears, Ortolan Buntings, Dunnocks, Water Pipits, a flock of some 50 Red-billed Chough and a couple more Ravens. The temperature rose to about 6C and we felt quite warm when the cold breeze stopped.
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| A very poor record shot of the Bluethroat |
We descended back to the car park and drove down into the village of Hoyos de Espino to buy lunch and then headed back into the valley to eat it at a picnic spot near a camp site. As we sat at picnic tables in a pine wood adjacent to a babbling brook we saw several species: Grey Wagtail, lots of Chaffinches, Eurasian Nuthatch, White Wagtail and a small flock of Citril Finches were seen briefly by one of the group.
The next two hours were spent walking along the tarmac road back up the valley looking into copses of pine and open meadows, we had a great time. The first birds we encountered were a flock of Crossbills, they were coming down to a puddle to drink, as we watched them we also found a small party of Citril Finches doing the same. During this period we also saw lots of Black Redstarts, the males looking exquisite in their summer garb. A couple of Common Cuckoos provided some great enetertainment as the male sat on a post near the female and displayed to her by fanning out its wings and tails and issuing incessant 'cuckoo' calls, she didn't seem to be responsive but he kept on trying!
Next we found 3 or 4 Pied Flycatchers, which was another surprise for the group as they didn't expect to see Pied Flycatchers high up in the mountains breeding in pine woods. The birds were very obliging as they 'hunted' from fences and low branches. Many Mistle Thrushes were busy gathering food for chicks, some were in song too. Brightly coloured Yellow Wagtail littered the meadows and Carrion Crows, Jays, Common Magpies, Spotless Starlings appeared from time to time and Green Woodpeckers called from afar.
A series of photographs of both the male and female Pied Flycatcher
Back in the pine woods we found Short-toed Treecreeper, Great Spotted Woodpecker (briefly) and more flycatchers, a few Robins, Serins and Coal Tits were added to the day list. But all in all the group really enjoyed this last birding session, the scenery was just spectacular and the weather superb (despite the cold). Our last birding effort was during the drive back to hotel, we stopped a couple times to watch a pair of Honey Buzzards on the ground feeding on a grassy slope, Red and Black Kites drifting over and more Serins. One of the group went for walk along this valley and found Sparowhawk and Hobby to add to our list.
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| Rock Bunting - taken back at the hotel |
The birding holiday was over as we arrived back at the hotel, we had to pack ready for a 9am departure for Madrid in the morning, but not before another delicious meal in the Parador!
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