The weather forecast was a vast improvement on yesterday, no rain was the prediction, which in fact was true but they failed to tell us that a thick mist would develop for most of the morning!!
We set out at 8:15am just as it was getting light, the sky was clear and a full moon helped to light our way. After passing through patches of mist on the way to Trujillo we met serious mist as we approached Monfrague. When we drove through the clear patches we could see the Castillo de Monfrague where our first stop was to be. Even as we climb the hill towards the castle, the air was relatively clear, so we stopped to view the cliff face just below the castle. We found Blue Rock Thrush, Black Redstart, a few Griffon Vultures perched on ledges and two Crag Martins that were flying along the cliff face.
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| Blackcap taken from the bedroom window at the guest house by Bob Longhorn |
At the top of the castle grounds we had wonderful intermittent views of the beautiful surrounding countryside and of the Pena Falcon limestone pinnacle where many vultures roosted. We spent a long time searching for White-rumped Swifts which I guess I knew were not going to show in the misty conditions, but as consolation we had great views of numerous Hawfinches, Black Redstarts and a single Red-billed Chough. We also saw Blue Rock Thrush, Song Thrush and Jay and, of course, many Griffon and Black Vultures.
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| A Hawfinch showing its back and one showing the front below |
At the base of Pena Falcon we watched from the roadside car park and enjoyed brighter weather and many more vultures. Lots of Crag Martins circled the high pinnacle and were joined by a couple of Common Swifts, but none of them had a white rump.
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| A Chough in the mist |
A coffee stop in Villa Real produced Red-rumped Swallow and our lunch break at the Malavuelta Mirador produced more Hawfinches and Red Kite.
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| a view from the castillo into the park during a mist-free period |
The most exciting birding was found later at The Portilla del Tietar, which is another limestone pinnacle where many Griffons sat or soared. A few minutes after our arrival a SPANISH IMPERIAL EAGLE alighted on the top of the ridge and sat in full view. Wow, what a regal bird, then after a few minutes a second bird circled high above, with two Common Buzzards and Many Griffon Vultures, fantastic.
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| A few record shots of the Imperial Eagle - this bird was very distant |
After that excitement the next couple of hours seemed an anticlimax, we walked in the Dehesa just west of the pinnacles, we searched from tree to tree for woodland species and found a reasonable selection which excluded our target bird the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. We did see: Eurasian Nuthatch, Short-toed Treecreeper, Woodlark, Long-tailed Tit, Azure-winged Magpie, Great Spotted Woodpecker and Blue Tit, Great Tit and Chaffinch.
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| I couldn't write about our visit to Monfrague without a picture of the star attraction of the park - Griffon Vulture |
We drove back through the park stopping a couple of times to search for the elusive White-rumped Swift and Bonelli's Eagle without success. One last stop along the way back was at the bridge over the Rio Almonte where we saw many Crag Martins at close quarters and White Wagtail but not much else.
We arrive back at the guest house at 5:30pm, well pleased with our lovely day at Monfrague Park.
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