Another excellent day of bright sunshine, no wind and temperatures were in the lower twenties. We set from our guesthouse at 8:30am and drove through Trujillo to the national park of Monfrague.
Our first destination was the Castillo de Monfrague which was unfortunately being repaired and the steps we closed with limited access to the castle (Castillo) grounds. The first birds we noted as we left the bus was a pair of Red-billed Chough, they performed very well before flying off over the park. We also saw European Robin, Mistle Thrush and lots of migrating Chaffinches as they flew over the ridge to the south. We walked the 'new' path to the castle and spent an hour searching for the White-rumped Swift without success; however, we did see the spectacle of 200 Griffon Vultures perched up on the rock face of the Salto de Gitano. A few Black Vultures were there too along with a pair of Peregrine Falcons.
The views from the castle were stunning, we could see for miles in all directions, fabulous. Others birds seen flitting about the castle were Crag Martin, Black Redstart, Blue rock thrush and Hawfinch, one particular Hawfinch sat in the morning sun for about 20 minutes we had great ‘scope’ views of it.
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| One view from the castle over the park |
From the Castillo we drove to the base of the Salto de Gitano and stopped at the ‘Mirador’ (view point) where we watched the vultures taking flight and circling just above us. We searched in vain for the swifts again but our efforts were rewarded with the sighting of a SPANISH IMPERIAL EAGLE. We short but good views of this beast as it circled to our right with the vultures, great result. More sightings of Peregrine were had and several Red Kites drifted overhead, many Crag Martins were quartering the rock faces.
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| The Pinnacles of the Salto de Gitano with resident vultures in flight |
At Villareal, a small village in the centre of the park, we stopped for a quick coffee before driving round to the dam where we ate our picnic lunch at the Mirador Malavuelta. A short walk amongst the pines produced very little, other than Chaffinch, blackcap, Greenfinch, Great and Blue Tit.
Our penultimate stop in the park was at the rocky outcrop of Portilla de Tietar where another colony of Griffon Vultures is found. It is also a traditional breeding area for both Eagle Owl and Spanish Imperial Eagle, neither of which were present (or in view) whilst we were there. We saw a pair of noisy Ravens, lots of Griffon Vultures and a few Blue Rock Thrushes, but not the eagle or the owl. A Cetti’s Warbler Called from the riverside below us and we had glimpses of Sardinian Warbler and more Blackcaps before we drove off to have a quick look in the cork woods.
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| The Portillo de Tietar (Rio Tietar) not as specataclular as the Salto de Gitano but the sight of the Imperial Eagles nest |
As we drove back through the park on our way home we decided to stop at the Salto de Gitano rock face for a second time to look at the vultures. This was an excellent decision as we had superb views of the vultures, with over fifty in sky at any one time, but we also found the mystical WHITE RUMPED SWIFT. There were two of them circling high up above the pinnacle of the Salto de Gitano, what a great result!
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| Three view of Griffon vulture at the Salto |
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| A Blue Rock Thrush that refused to pop out into the sun (unless I had my back turned) |
We left the park at 4pm and drove all the way back to Trujillo, it had become a little cloudy and the temperature had dropped somewhat but we decided to spend a little time in the Plaza Major in the centre of the town. It was a good choice because apart from the hoards, pigeons, Jackdaws, Starlings and Sparrows we did see a pair of Red-rumped Swallows (last year one individual over-wintered there) and more Crag Martins.
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| More Griffon Vultures - this individual had some strange 'bare' patches on its chest |
We arrived back at the guesthouse at 6pm well satisfied with our day in the ‘park’. We have one day left during which we have to search for sandgrouse and cranes, watch this space.
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