SEPT 5TH 2011 - ANDALUCIA 7-DAY TOUR

DAY 3 - RIO GUADIARO AT CORTES - MONTEJAQUE - RONDA - ENCINAS DE BORRACHAS


WHITE RUMPED SWIFT STEALS THE SHOW!

Another lovely clear morning with a light westerly breeze. We set off at 8:30am for the nearby Rio Guadiaro at Estacion de Cortes, arriving at 9am. The valley was perfectly still and only the river and braying donkeys broke the silence. Our walk took us a couple of kilometers down to the wier and dam, we saw quite a few species along the river and in the fields and cork oaks to our right. But the best sighting was a couple of White-rumped Swifts, the first was very distance flying high above the hillside and not all of the group got onto it, but the second bird flew right over us about 10 meters in height, it turned and came back for secomd showing before flying off. What a great sighting for our tour!

Added to the excitement we also saw Southern Grey Shrike, Bee-eater, Red-rumped Swallow, Pallid Swift, Green Sandpiper, Kingfisher, White and Grey Wagtails and amongst the migrants we logged Garden Warbler, Common Redstart, Spotted Flycatcher and Chiffchaff. A Hoopoe, feeding in a field provided the entertainment on the way back to the car.

The drive up the beautiful Guadiaro valley to Montejaque was broken up by a couple of stops which produced Blue Rock Thrush, Black Wheatear, Griffon Vulture and Raven.

Along atrack above Montejaque we found many birds feeding on berries and insects in the scrub up on the rock faces. One bush held 7 Common Redstarts, a Black Redstart, an Orphean Warbler, Garden Warbler, Greenfinch and a flock of Common Starlings.

The high peks of the surrounding mountains gave us Peregrine Falcon, Bonelli's Eagle, Short Toed Eagle and lots of Griffon Vultures. We ate our picnic lunch under the shade of the minibus's boot as we watched Bee-eaters, Woodchat shrikes, Linnets, corn Buntings and more Crag Martins. We spent an hour at the gorge near the 'dam' but we didn't find many new species, however we find a small herd of Spanish Ibex much to the delight of the group.

The cork oak woods a little further along the road was our next destination. Again we had an enjoyable hour despite the heat. We found Red Deer, several Dragonflies, Eurasian Nuthatch, Great spotted Woodpecker and Dartford Warbler.

After a quick stop at a venta where we enjoyed a cold drink we drove into the centre of Ronda and spent 30 minutes on the famous bridge, whilst all the tourist around us were taking pictures of each other we watched a flock of Red-billed Chough and a couple of Lesser Kestrels.

lastly we stopped at the wide valley where the Dolmens de Encinas de Borrachas are found. This rock strewn valley is overlooked by towering limestone cliffs and imposing mountain tops. The valley bottom is covered in low lying scrub and stones where we found Southern Grey Shrike and surprisingly a family party of Black-eared Wheatears which I thought would have left the breeding grounds by now, a real bonus. We also found a family party of Spectacled Warblers as well as Thekla Larks, Corn Buntings, lots of Goldfinches and a Rock Bunting.

We clocked over 60 species which is not a bad tally for the mountains in September.