Our last day started with rain and then more rain and then a cold wind and rain. By 10am it started to clear and we saw a few birds. Arriving on the plains at 8:30am it was barely light enough to see but we tried. The usual birds were seen on the tracks and in the nearby grasslands: Lapwing, Great and Little Bustard, Calandra lark, Crested Lark, Skylark, Corn Bunting, Spanish Sparrow, Meadow Pipit, Southern Grey Shrike, Northern Wheatear and Stonechats. A few Red Kites sat on fence posts looking miserable in the cold wind and a few Griffon Vultures drifted over.
TOM AND JERRY - GETTING COLD AND WET LOOKING FOR THE MYTHICAL SANDGROUSE
It was just as we were watching over the last field before we departed for Madrid that we finally found SANDGROUSE. At last, after hours of searching we found a flock of some 40+ Pin-tailed Sandgrouse, they remained hunkered down but occasionally they would stand up and shake the rain from their feathers. A great relief too, as the my two comrades thought that sandgrouse were purely mythical birds!
THE RAIN BEGINNING TO ABATE AND THE SUN APPEARING OVER THE PLAINS
We set off towards Madrid and stopped at a favourite site of mine, the 3 Bridges over the Tajo. However, we didn’t get out of the car because of the rain. Such a shame, we did see Spanish Sparrow, Serin, Black Redstart and White Wagtail.
It was a nuclear power station that provided our next venue, the large embalse (man-made lake) that is used for cooling purposes is also a nature reserve with several observation hides. We spent an hour or so there but we couldn’t see many species either on the water or in the reed-beds. A Yellow Wagtail was a nice surprise found in with a flock of White Wagtails, we also Purple Swamphen (3), marsh Harrier, lots of Cormorants and Grey Herons.
A GREAT SPOT BY COLIN - WHO FOUND THIS WOODPECKER
Lastly we visited the huge park found on the north side of Madrid, called El Pardo. We arrived just after a rainstorm, which was very good for birding, as many species came out in the brief sunshine to feed and dry out. We added our last two species to the weekly list, Wren and Firecrest, two of the smallest birds of Europe, this was followed by a sighting of one of the biggest birds of Europe, the Spanish Imperial Eagle. Another (albeit the last) Wow was muttered by my sidekicks. A great find and in such close proximity to central Madrid. We also saw Chiffchaff, Monk Parakeet, Robin, Griffon Vulture, loads of Magpies and Wood Pigeons. Our very last stop found us on the open grass fields on top of a hill which overlooked the Spanish Capital, we looked for Green Woodpecker but only found more Magpies and a large mixed flock of Spotless and Common Starlings.
IT WASN'T ALL BAD - BUTTERFLIES CAME OUT EVENTUALLY TO BASK IN THE AFTERNOON SUNSHINE - BATH WHITEWe then drove to Madrid airport where I deposited my two trusty companions and then I set off for the 6 hour drive home, singing all the way and arriving at 11:30pm tired but happy that the week went so well.
SPOT THE DIFFERENCE BEWTEEN THESE TWO SPECIES OF STARLINGS
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