We spent a complete day in this superb area the park has such a lot to offer so we got up early in order to maximise our visit. After breakfast we left around 7am and drove straight to Castillo de Monfrague which sits on a limestone pinnacle and commands a terrific panoramic view of the whole park.
It was a little chilly at first but it soon warmed up. We parked the buses near the base of the castle and scanned the rock face before we climbed up. A few Griffon Vultures sat lazily on the ledges whilst busy Crag Martins and Red-rumped Swallows dashed about above us. A Blue Rock Thrush sang from a wire and occasionally performed its flight display, we also saw a couple of Rock Buntings, a Serin and House Martins were very numerous.
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| BLUE ROCK THRUSH |
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As we climbed to the castle huge Griffon Vultures would drift majestically passed us at eye level or below us a few Black Kites joined them, we also had good views of Rock Bunting and short glimpses of Black Redstart.
A breeze was blowing from the east so we concentrated our efforts looking westward. A Golden Eagle was found very high and quite far off, this bird stayed in the sky for about 20 minutes so everyone got to see it well, we also saw a couple of Egyptian Vultures and a few Black Vultures. The nearest pinnacle which is overlooked by the castle is called Peña Falcon and it was covered by Griffon Vultures all waiting for the air to warm up. |
| THE LOAFERS |
Our next stop was at the base of Peña Falcon, we joined a good number of tourists and other birdwatchers to enjoy the spectacle of the vultures as they took to the air it was a truly memorable sight.
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| Hawfinch seen later in the day |
We also had excellent view of Blue Rock Thrush, Black Stork and a pair of Peregrines hassled to vultures if they ventured too close to their nest sight.
From there we drove deeper onto the park and made several stops to watch other species as and when we found them. Our lunch stop was another area which overlooked a large limestone rock face, we found Black-eared Wheatear there. But it was at the Portillo del Tieter that our best sighting was made, we knew that a pair of Spanish Imperial Eagles were breeding and that the nest could be viewed from the roadside so we quickly found it. A fluffy chick dressed in white down sat on the nest, then after about 30 minutes the male adult bird was seen very high up, as it drifted down towards the nest it harassed a few Griffon Vultures before perching on a dead branch near the nest. It was a magnificent bird and sat looking regal and all-powerful.  |
| record shot of Short-toed Treecreeper |
Another great sighting was made of an Otter which fished in the River Tieter below the rock face, we also saw more Rock Buntings, a Subalpine Warbler but failed to see any of the Eagle Owls that breed on the cliff.
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| birds of the day - Spanish Imperial Eagle |
Our final two hours of birding was done in the Dehesa found a few hundred meters from the Portilla del Tieter. It was still very hot but the shade of the trees helped. We found several interesting species and was surprised by the number of Golden Orioles found there. Woodchat Shrikes were common but we found rarer birds in the form of Orphean Warbler and Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, we had fleeting views of both species but we heard them well.
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| record of Common Cuckoo |
A pair of Hawfinches showed well and a Common Cuckoo sat out for us and we nearly trod on a Woodlark as it sat incubating four eggs on a nest. We made a final attempt to see the owls on the way back through the park without success but we did see our first Blackcap and two more Subalpine Warblers.'
We were back at the Finca at 6pm with good time enjoy a relaxing cold drink before dinner at 8pm.
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