BULGARIA - 9 DAY TOUR - DAY 5 - MAY 10TH 2014

BURGAS WETLANDS INCLUDING PODA NATURE RESERVE AND SALT PANS

70% chance of precipitation translates to raining most of the day which is exactly what we got. But despite the rain we had a fantastic day's  birding and saw some wonderful species, over 75 different birds without travelling more that 10 miles along the Black Sea coastline.

Great Reed Wì6arbler

Burgos is not the most picturesque of places to visit but the bird-life is magnificent, we saw species ranging in size from the

pelican

'whose beak will hold more food than his belican'

  to the diminutive Little Stint

'whose identity is revealed by its lack of immensity'.

 

nesting Great Cormorants on a pylon - the fishy smell was enough to put you off your dinner

However it was the terns that really made the day, we saw 7 species,

here they are listed in the order of size not of appreciation:

Little Tern
Black Tern
White-winged Black Tern
Whiskered Tern
Common Tern
Sandwich Tern
Caspian Tern

Quite often we would see 3 or 4 species of tern sitting side by side, it was great to see them in such numbers and in summer plumage too. One lake held over 100 Black Terns, with 20+ White-winged Terns mingled in with them. On the same lake there was an estimated 1000 Sand Martins, plus: Ferruginous Duck, Garganey,  a Little Crake, Purple Heron, Night Heron, Little Bittern, Pygmy Cormorant, Great Reed Warbler and lots more flying over or sitting on the water.

Pygmy Cormorants - click on any picture to see an enlargement

We got soaked during our first stop and less soaked during our second stop and so the day went on until it finally stopped raining at about 4pm.

The large Burgos Lake held Dalmatian Pelicans, Whiskered, Little, Common and Black Terns, also Great Crested and Little Grebes, Gadwall, Common Pochard and Shoveler. We also saw our first Little Bittern, a couple of Night Herons, Mute Swans and Great Cormorants.

Curlew Sandpipers in bad light

The next pool held the most species and the highest numbers, Sand Martins covered the surface whilst Common Swifts clouded the sky,  ducks were dotted all over the place and Great Reed Warblers tried to drowned out the traffic noise.

We found a quiet haven at the far side of the lake where we enjoyed watching Squacco Herons, Pygmy Cormorants, Purple Herons and a Little Bittern. Savi's Warbler 'reeled' from the reed-beds, common Cuckoos sat out in the open as did Bee-eaters, Great Reed Warblers and Common Terns. In fact I can't remember seeing both Common Terms and Black-headed Gulls sitting on power lines before now?

Black, Common and White-winged Terns

After lunch we visited the Poda Nature Reserve Centre where a secluded path led us alongside reed-fringed pools and open water, this is where the Common Tern colonies were and where we had super views of  several different terns. We also saw a few waders, Wood Sandpiper, Spotted Redshank, Common Snipe, Black-winged Stilt, Ruff, Ruddy Turnstone, Sanderling, Common Ringed Plover,  Dunlin and Curlew Sandpiper. Black-necked Grebes sat out on the bay whilst a host of species loafed on a sand bar.

Out on a rocky spit alongside a row of wooden posts we found Mediterranean Gull, Caspain and Sandwich Terns, Oystercatcher and many of the terns mentioned above.

Finally we arrived at the salt pans, the rain had ceased at last but the light was very bad. Waders were in good numbers, Curlew Sandpipers, Little Stint and Dunlin numbered the most but we did see Spotted Redshank, Pied Avocet, Grey Plover, Black-winged Stilt, Kentish Plover and Common Ringed Plover

record shot of White-winged Tern with Black Tern and Common Tern

It was now 5pm and the light was fading so we decided to call it a day, it took just 20 minutes to get back to the hotel giving us plenty of time to relax before dinner.

Our bird log revealed that we had seen over 75 species which was a great total considering the inclement weather conditions.

BULGARIA - 9 DAY TOUR - DAY 4 - MAY 9TH 2014

Transfer from Eastern Rhodopes to Burgos via Saker Hills

Well you can't be in paradise everyday, finally our bubble burst and so did the clouds! Yes it rained on our parade today but only in the afternoon.

the crew dressed for wet birding today

We met at 7am for a walk around the hotel grounds, we never added any new species but we got great views of a lot of others. A Little Owl sat in the hotel chimney outlet, whist a Barred Warbler showed well in the scrub. Bird song was as prolific as ever, Common Nightingales, Black Headed Buntings, Olivaceous Warbler, Common Whitethroat, Hoopoe, Turtle Dove and the ever present Common Cuckoo gave it large.

Barn Swallow on my balcony this morning

Our first stop after breakfast was near a reservoir just east of Mardjarovo, we stood on a hillside overlooking the water and the distant hills looked promising for raptors. Three Short-toed Eagles circled above us, Griffon and Egyptian Vultures drifted over the hills  and we had super views of Hawfinches in the bushes just below us. An Olive-tree Warbler sang in the distance but we never got to see it. Just after we left we saw our first Black Kite of the trip, it was standing in the road eating a road-kill of some description.

another Hawfinch record shot

The next time we stopped was to look for Masked Shrike and Olive Tree Warbler, both of which failed to show during our search, we did hear Olive Tree Warbler but that was all we got from it. We did see Woodlark, Spotted Flycatcher, Mistle Thrush, Ortolan Bunting, Tree Pipit and Eurasian Sparrowhawk. We also got unbelievable views of a male Golden Oriole that sat out in the open., likewise with a Common Cuckoo.  As we got back to the bus we finally found the Masked Shrike, this little beauty sat right out for us, just lovely.

Knapweed Fritillary - taken by Roy Grant

As we drove further eastward we could see the clouds in the distance and we knew we  were in for a wet afternoon. We bought picnic lunch supplies in Topolovgrad and ate it just outside the town on a hillside which is a regular raptor watch-point. Along the track towards the summit of the hill we saw Slylark, Isabelline Wheatear, Stonechat (our first of the trip), Woodchat Shrike and lots of Spanish Sparrows.

Large Heath

During lunch we found our target species the Imperial Eagle, this magnificent beauty drifted over us several times as if scanning our lunch in the hope of nicking some! Next a Honey Buzzard circled right above us, it was followed by two Red-footed Falcons, how good was that? In the scrub an Orphean Warbler flitted about and another Olive Tree Warbler sang distantly. It was then that it started to rain, so we quickly abandoned our lunch break and jumped into the bus.

Corn Flower

We drove for another hour before turning off into an oak woodland near a country park called Bozura. The rain came down but it did not stop my intrepid group, we walked along a couple of sheltered tracks before finding our first Common Redstart, then a Spotted Flycatcher and we got onto a Great Spotted Woodpecker in flight, we had previously seen  a Green Woodpecker minutes before from the bus.

After a while our guide Dancho led us to a Black Woodpecker nesting hole that he knew of, within a few minutes an adult bird sat peaking out of the entrance hole, fantastic. On our way back towards the car we found Eurasian Nuthatch, Semi-collared Flycatcher, Jay and our first Greenfinches, whoopee!

Black Woodpecker at the nest hole

The rain came down with a vengeance as we drove the last 30km to Burgos, along the way we saw another Lesser Spotted Eagle, another Imperial Eagle - this was a first year bird perched on a pylon, we also saw Grey Heron, Glossy Ibis, Great Cormorant and lots of Yellow-legged Gulls as we drove through Burgos.
We arrived at our hotel around 7pm which was a little late, but we all enjoyed a super dinner and an early night.

BULGARIA - 9 DAY TOUR - DAY 3 - MAY 8TH 2014

EASTERN RHODOPES - KRUMOVGRAD AND MARJAROVO

What a fantastic day - a truly great birding experience in beautiful countryside and superb weather, Bulgaria lived up to its reputation today.

We started with a short walk to a local park near the hotel in Krumovgrad, it was quite misty and a little chilly, we were hoping to see Scops Owl. Our 30 minute stay produced Marsh Tit, Syrian Woodpecker and Lesser Spotted Woodpecker but all we got of the owl was a couple of calls and no sighting.

After breakfast we drove to a valley some 15 minutes away and spent the most pleasurable 3 hours birding along a quiet lane overlooking typical farmland, hillsides and wooded hedges. The air was alive with a cacophony of bird songs, Common Cuckoos called from all directions, Golden Orioles too, Hoopoe, Nightingales, Buntings and Warblers added their voices to this avian symphony. The warblers were just great, a very showy Barred Warbler started the show, then we moved onto an Olivaceous Warbler followed by Sardinian and Orphean Warblers and finally a Common Whitethroat.

Barred Warbler

We also saw a rufous-morph Cuckoo a rare sighting and new for most of the group. On the hillside we saw two Hobbys flying around the ridge, also Turtle Doves sat on wires and lots of Lesser Grey Shrikes whizzes about trying to air off. Red-backed Shrikes and Woodchat Shrikes sat calm on the bushes and Corn, Cirl and Black-headed Buntings sang from various song posts, we even found a Common Nightingale singing from the power lines!

Rufous morph Common Cuckoo

A little further along the track the hillside on our left became more rocky and steeper and the land to our right dropped away to a river and large areas of cultivated land beyond the river. On the hillside we tracked down a Chukar from its call and on the right we saw a European Roller, a Whinchat and our first Orphean Warbler.

along the lane at Krumovgrad

After taking a short ride back on the bus we found ourselves stooping every few meters to look at European Rollers, they were everywhere, we often saw them perform their aerial display and rolling as they dropped. Both White Stork and Black Stork were found on the their nests and Ravens, Common Kestrels and Long-legged Buzzards soared above us.

European Roller

We finished off our morning by the side of a gorge with tall pinnacles of rock either side of the road. There we found Black-eared Wheatear, White Wagtail and our target species the Rock Nuthatch which showed very well. Well what a blast and I haven't mentioned a lot of species of butterflies that we saw including Black Veined White, Spotted Fritillary, Green Hairsteak and Brown Argus.

Green Hairstreak

We then drove to Marjarovo where we sat down to lunch at the Vulture feeding station, along the way we stopped to look at vultures in the sky, both Griffon and Egyptian Vultures were seen as well as more Black Storks. During one of our stops we found Ottoman Bunting singing and Blue Rock Thrush landed next to it whilst we were watching.

Rock Nuthatch

After lunch a short walk in an oak woodland produced good views of Hawfinch, Red-backed Shrike and we heard Song Thrush and Bonelli's Warbler without seeing either.

Next we drove across the river to ancient crater, it was a few miles across and the valley was surrounded by the towering remnants of the volcano. We walked in the basin for an hour or so, which gave us the opportunity to watch the vultures at their nests and drifting along the cliff face.

Black Veined White

In the oak woodland we saw our first Subalpine Warbler and got great views of many other birds. Along the rock face we found Rock Bunting which was our fifth different bunting of the day and we saw a Camberwell Beauty butterfly as well as Balkan Green Lizard and several other interesting insects.

Subalpine Warbler

It was now 6pm so we jumped back onto the bus for the 30 minute ride back to the hotel, we a short time to ready for dinner which was enjoyed at 7:30pm.

Broad Bodied Chaser

 

 

views from within the crater

 

 

 

BULGARIA - 9 DAY TOUR - DAY 2 - MAY 7TH 2014

WESTERN RHODOPE MOUNTAINS - TRIGRAD GORGE

EASTERN RHODOPES - WITH STOPS AT SMOYLEN - KARDZHALI - KRUMOVGRAD

Most of the day was spent travelling from west to east through the Rhodope Mountain range, the scenery was terrific and contrasting, we started in the steep sided gorges of the west where pine forest dominate and finished in the rolling hills of the east where open deciduous woodland and alpine meadows are found. Both sides were just as beautiful as one another in their own unique way.






it's over there!

Before we started travelling we took a pre-breakfast walk around the village of Yagodina which is such a beautiful and tranquil place. It was overcast with the temperatures around 2-5C so fleeces and jackets were called for. We saw plenty of birds most of which could have been seen in an English country garden with the exception of Black Redstart, White 0Wagtail, Hooded Crow, Yellowhammer and Tree Sparrow. What was also nice to see was the Bullfinch and Coal Tit, Wren, Dunnock and a Common Buzzard.

my first Yellowhammer this year

After breakfast we set off to visit the famous Trigrad Gorge giving us the only opportunity of seeing the Wallcreeper. We arrived as the sun began to illuminate one side of this awesome gorge, sheer cliffs of limestone towered above us giving us neck-ache looking for this prized bird. Lots of Crag and House Martins distracted us somewhat and for 20 minutes all we saw were the martins and a nest with baby Ravens bursting to get out almost ready to fledge. Then the enigmatic prized bird appeared and showed well for a short while, time enough for us all to see it in the scope.

in the Trigrad Gorge looking at the Wallcreeper

As we drove back down the gorge after our wonderful encounter with the 'creeper we saw Dipper and Grey Wagtail in the river and we heard a Black Woodpecker call.

The next two hours were spent negotiating the winding roads up through the western range of the Rhodope, we stopped in the ski resort area to look for other species. We found Goldcrest, Black Redstart, White Wagtail, Jay and three Ring Ouzels appeared briefly.

Balkan Chamois

At Smoylen we had lunch on a nice terrace overlooking part of the town and when we visited a bank in the town  we saw Pallid Swift, Red-rumped Swallow and a Eurasian Sparrowhawk. Back in the bus and a little later some of group saw a Black Woodpecker fly over the road as we drove through wooded hillsides.

crocus species

Our next stop was in the next town called Kardzhali, we made a brief stop to stretch our legs near a reservoir and saw Pygmy Cormorant fly 00over. Another hour in the bus and we stopped for the last time in the hills just west of Krumovgrad. As soon as we got out of the bus we found a Goshawk circling above us and performing its flight display. Then we spent an hour finding all kinds of species which included: Golden Oriole, Woodchat and Red-backed Shrikes, Common Cuckoo, Turtle Dove and several common finches.

8

one of the many shrikes seen today - Red-backed Shrike

We finally arrived at our hotel at Krumovgrad, there wasn't time to go birding, after we had settled into our rooms we went straight down for dinner, I must say that the food in Bulgaria this year seems so much better than last year.

BULGARIA - 9 DAY TOUR - DAY 1 - MAY 6TH 2014

LONDON TO SOFIA – TRANSFER TO YOGADINA WITH A STOP FOR LUNCH NEAR  PAZARDZIK

I met my new group at Gatwick at ‘silly o’clock’ to catch the early flight to Sofia, the flight was on time although I missed most it as I was in the land of nod.

We arrived early and our guide and transport arrived to collect us soon afterwards. It was quite a shock to my system when I stepped off the plane, I had been used to 28C over the last few days, so 10C overcast with light rain woke me up with a jerk.

My group of twelve members of Oxford RSPB were eager to get out there and start birding so we set off straight away. About 2 hours into our journey we stopped to buy a picnic lunch, so far we had listed several nice species including; Montagu's Harrier, Long-legged Buzzard, Hoopoe and lots of White Storks.

ALL PHOTOS SHOWN TODAY WERE TAKEN BY IORDAN HRISTOV OUR GUIDE

everyone's favourite today - Black Headed Bunting

 

 

 

Our lunch stop was amazing we hardly had time to eat! Birds were everywhere, we amassed quite an impressive list in a short time. Calendar, Crested and Skylarks, Tree and Spanish Sparrows, Woodchat, Red-backed and Lesser Grey Shrike, Northern Wheatear, Whinchat, Turtle Dove, Common Cuckoo and most people's favourite was the Black Headed Bunting.

White Storks are very common here

A few raptors appeared, Common Kestrel, Long-legged Buzzard and to our great delight we found two Levant Sparrowhawks.  We saw them just as we drove from the shop after buying our picnic on the edge of town, one of them sat put in the open for us,  smashing bird.

 

European Bee-eaters

The rest of the afternoon was spent travelling down to the Western Rhodopes Mountains, we followed the route of the river Vacha where a dam produces a huge system of lakes. We headed toward the Trigrad Gorge which will be our destination tomorrow, we turned off just after Devin and followed a second gorge up to a picturesque village called Yogadina, our hotel was there. We listed several more species along the way including Dipper, Grey Wagtail, Hooded Crow and Yellow-legged Gull.

one of several Long-legged Buzzards seen today

 

We ate a lovely early dinner at 6:30am, most of us had been up most of last night so an early one now was needed.

COTO DONANA AND EXTREMADURA - 9 DAY TOUR - DAY 9 5TH MAY 1014

FINCA SANTA MARTA GROUNDS – TRANSFER TO MADRID

We had some time to spare before we had to leave for the airport so after breakfast we took a short walk towards Santa Clemente the nearest village to the Finca.

 

THE K.O.S. still smiling even on their last day

 

Queen of Spain Frotillery

Marsh Fritillery

It was fairly quiet but we did see Hoopoe, Spotless Starlings and lots of Serins. A pool of water attracted both Barn and Red-rumped Swallows, they were collecting mud for nest building. A pair of Cirl Buntings were bathing in the same pool and were seen on the way back.

At 12 noon we set off for Madrid, the journey was uneventful everyone was in a reflective mood and the bus was quite quiet. We arrived at 2:30pm and said our goodbyes, it had been a fantastic trip with a lot of hilarity and leg-pulling, oh and the bird watching was excellent too!

 

COTO DONANA AND EXTREMADURA - 9 DAY TOUR - DAY 8 4TH MAY 2014

LLANOS DE SANTA MARTA – JARAICEJO (THREE BRIDGES AND HEATH) – PORTILLA DE TIETAR AND DEJESA IN MONFRAGUE

The final birding day had arrived and oh so quickly too! The weather was the same as all week, clear sky all day, but today it got even warmer. We decided to make a pre-breakfast trip back to the grassy plains of Santa Marta to try to see Sandgrouse as we had only seen Pintail Sandgrouse from a distance and Black-bellied not at all. Well the situation did not improve as far as Sandgrouse sightings were concerned, we only saw two Pintails and they were even further than before. However it was a lovely morning with the most beautiful sunrise and we saw plenty of other species which included; both of the Bustards, we had close views of the Great Spotted Cuckoo, Black Vultures sitting on the ground, Montagu’s Harrier and lots of Larks including Short-toed Larks.

Great-spotted Cuckoo with Thekla Lark in attendance

 

After a leisurely breakfast we went out for the day with intention of getting back early because we were going into Trujillo for dinner. We intended to visit Arrocampo nature reserve near Almaraz. Before we got there we made several stops, we took the old road to Madrid which was deserted we, hardly saw a car so we could stop wherever we wanted to.

A group pf vultures circled over the hillside, they were all Griffon Vultures but as we watched them we found Woodchat Shrike and Cirl Bunting, a Jay flew in front of the leading bus a little later.

Our stop at the picturesque valley near to Jaraicejo was superb, the scenery is so nice there and despite the modern bridge carrying motorway traffic it still has a tranquil ambiance. We found Bee-eaters, White Wagtails, Little Ringed Plovers, Green Sandpiper and lots of common finches.

After climbing up through Jaraicejo we turned onto the heath to look for warblers, with some success. Several Dartford Warblers were singing from the top of bushes and eventually we found our main target bird the Spectacled Warbler, this little gem showed very well and even performed its flight display several times.

After stopping for a quick coffee and to collect supplies for lunch we arrived at the pools of Arrocampo nature reserve, the main lake is bisected by a road and it was from there that we viewed the eastern section of the water. An extensive reed-bed provides habitat for acrocephalus warblers, including Savi’s Warblers. It took us some time to locate one, we could hear them but it was hard to see them, finally one sat up long enough for all of us to see it in the ‘scope.

Other species on show were Purple Heron (a nest with two chicks), Purple Swamphen also with chicks, Reed Warbler, Cetti’s Warbler and we heard Great Reed Warbler but never found one and a Kingfisher sat out in the reeds for all of us to see well. Whilst eating lunch at the visitor’s centre we saw our first Sand Martins of the trip as they perched above us on telephone wires.

The afternoon was spent travelling through the lanes to the north/western entrance to Monfrague national park, we stopped at the entrance for a quick ice-cream and/or a cold drink. Then we took our second walk through the open woodland adjacent to the river Tieter, this unique habitat supports a huge range of species and even in the heat of mid-afternoon birds were singing. We listed many of the birds seen previously but had better views of Lesser-spotted Woodpecker, Orphean Warbler, Common Cuckoo, Golden Oriole, Woodlark and a Mistle Thrush was the first of the tour.

Reed Warbler

At the Portillo del Tieter we found an Eagle Owl sitting deep in the shadows of a cave, it was an adult bird and everyone got to see it, the chick of the Spanish Imperial Eagle was fine still sitting on the nest and also we saw Blackcap, Subalpine Warbler, Black Redstart and Blue Rock Thrush.

Our evening was spent in Trujillo, after driving into town we walked up to the Plaza Mayor which looked as if a bomb had hit because a Cheese Fair had been on with hundreds of Trade Stand squeezed into the square, most stands were in the process of being taken down, it was a mess and ruined our enjoyment of this beautiful town plaza. We ate dinner in the lower part of town before driving back to the finca for a night cap.

The trip was virtually over, we have some time tomorrow to walk the grounds but I do not anticipate any new sightings for the trip list which stands at 169 seen, plus 5 more heard, plus two ( Sparrowhawk and Mistle Thrush) seen by the leader only.

It was a superb list of species with some excellent memorable sightings, we talked at dinner about our best birds and favourite and although many were mentioned we could not agree on a single species as being the best , and rightly so because they were all wonderful!

 

 

 

COTO DONANA AND EXTREMADURA - 9 DAY TOUR - DAY 7 - 3rd MAY 2014

MONFRAGUE NATIONAL PARK ALL DAY

 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.

 



BLUE ROCK THRUSH



 

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.

 

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.

 

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.

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.

 

COTO DONANA AND EXTREMADURA - 9 DAY TOUR - DAY 6 - 2nd MAY 2014

BELEN PLAINS – LLANOS DE SANTA MARTA – LLANOS DE CASARES – RIO ALMONTE – EMBALSE DE TALAVAN – OAK WOODS NEAR TORREJON EL RUBIO

The Belen Plains are the best and nearest place to watch both the species of Bustards performing their courtship display and today do not disappoint. We arrived just as the sun came up and despite large scale road works we navigated our way to a high point along the track to view the huge grass plains. We immediately found an area where 5 male Great Bustards were performing and as time went by about 15 females appeared. It seemed that the females were inspecting each of the males to assess the quality of the display and eventually hung around one particular male, but we never saw any attempt at mating.

SOME OF THE GANG AT BELEN PLAIN

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the meantime many Little Bustards were performing their own routines, males were calling from the grass, sounds is exactly like blowing a ‘raspberry’, when two males got too close to one another they would fly up and chase each other around. We had a very enjoyable hour seeing all this as well as many Larks, Hoopoe, storks and kites.

female Great Bustards

 

We had to return to the Finca to collect those that decided on a late breakfast before setting off for the day. After shopping in Trujillo for lunch supplies we arrived at the Rio Santa Malacca just west of the town at about 10:30am. The sum was well up and the air was very warm, we saw a few species at the river such as, Common Kingfisher, Common Sandpiper, Melodious Warbler, Spanish Sparrow and both Cetti’s Warbler and Common Nightingale shouted from the bushes without showing.

more females gatheringi

Our visit to the grass plains just outside the village was disappointing as far as seeing Sandgrouse was concerned, none were seen or heard, heat haze spoilt our viewing but we saw  more of both Bustard species and we found a pair of Stone Curlew. We ate our picnic lunch at 12 sitting under oak trees close by.

We spent an hour or so crossing the LLANOS de Casares shopping to look at European Rollers sitting on wires, poles and nest boxes provided for them. Common and Lesser Kestrels together with Eurasian Jackdaws and Spotless Starlings also use the nest boxes. At the beginning of the Casares track we stopped to six Montagu’s Harriers chasing one another around, pairing off we assumed.

l

Silver-Studded Blue

The bridge over the Rio Almonte provided nesting sites for lots of hirundines and Swifts, especially Alpine Swifts and it is a fantastic place to view this species at eye-level together with Crag Martins, House Martins, Barn Swallow and Red-rumped Swallows, we had a great time watching from the shade of the bridge. A short walk to view the craggy slopes of the river produced Black Wheatear and several butterflies.

 typical sight in Extremadura

 

The Embalse at Talavan was also a little disappointing, we were hoping to see the Golden Eagle at the nest site but the nest seemed deserted with no sign of any chicks. Both Great Reed and Reed Warblers were singing from the rushes and many White Storks sat on their nests most of which had chicks on show.

Lastly we visited an area of oak woodland to try to find a few woodland species, it was now 3pm and it was very hot so progress was slow and bird life very quiet, we saw a couple of Woodchat Shrikes, some Thekla Larks and Chaffinches but not much else. Half of the group decided to call it a day so one minibus set off for an early finish whilst six of remained for another hour. We didn’t see much more, an Egyptian Vulture was nice and a Hawfinch appeared briefly as we pulled away it was generally very quiet.

On the way back to the Finca we saw a Red Kite, our first of the trip! Later, just after dinner we walked the grounds of the Finca to look for nightjars and owls in the twilight. The weather conditions were perfect but we only heard a couple of Scop’s Owls and no nightjars called or showed so we went off to bed.

COTO DONANA AND EXTREMADURA - 9 DAY TOUR - DAY 5 - 1ST MAY 2014

TRANSFER DAY – COTO DONANA TO EXTREMADURA WITH STOPS AT;  EMBALSE ALENGE – VEGAS ALTAS – RIO PIZZAROSA AND LLANOS DE ZORITA

We ate a leisurely breakfast at 8am and set off at 9am for the 400km journey to Finca Santa Marta which is situated some 14km south of Trujillo in Extremadura. I set my passengers a target of 25 ‘journey birds’ which they achieved easily reaching a total of 32, a new record for this trip.

At Embalse Alenge we made our first stop, we spent half an hour looking for Bonelli’s Eagle which breeds there but unfortunately one failed  to turn up. We had great views of Alpine Swift as many of them wheeled around the dam area with Barn  Swallows and Red-rumped Swallows. On the rocky pinnacles at the side of the water we saw Rock Bunting, Blue Rock Thrush, Black Wheatear and Crag Martin. Several Gull-billed Terns ‘hunted’ over the water and in the distance we saw Black Kite, Short-toed Eagle and lots of Griffon Vultures.

 At our next stop we ate our picnic lunch whilst sitting on a bridge over a small stream near to the village of Vegas Altas, lots of White Storks were nesting nearby and in the reeds and hedgerows we saw Great Reed Warbler, Cetti’s Warbler, Common Nightingale and a couple of Golden Orioles. A few Nightingales were seen by single observers, Common Kingfisher, Little Bittern and Common Waxbill were seen by a few of the group. A large flock of Collared Pratincoles was seen in the distance flying over the rice fields.

As we drove on we found several Hoopoe and our first Rollers were seen attending nest boxes put up on telegraph poles, these beautiful birds caused quite a stir, especially our first ones. Many raptors began to appear over the hills or on the thermals we added Marsh and Montagu’s Harriers our lost and several Common Buzzards.

We spent a short time at the rice fields just north of Madrigalejo where the highlight was the finding of several European Tree Frogs!! However we did find the small colony of Red Avadavats (escaped caged birds now breeding freely in the area), along with more Common Waxbill, several pairs of  time Common Stonechat, Iberian (Southern) Grey Shrike, Tree Sparrows and not much else.

European Tree Frog

 

The Rio Pizzarosa gave us the opportunity to look for Penduline Tit, none appeared but we enjoyed great views of Common Cuckoo, Long-tailed Tit, lots of European Bee-eaters and we enjoyed the afternoon sunshine.

Finally we spent some time at Llanos de Zorita, an area of open grassland, we were hoping to see any of the Bustards, I couldn’t believe the height of the grass which had grown a foot since my last visit less than two weeks ago. No Bustards appeared but we found Raven on a rock and lots of Calendar Larks, as we were getting back into the bus a shout went up as two GREAT SPOTTED CUCKOOS flew right over us, they landed about 100 meters away and settled in a bush, from a reasonable distance we all got superb  views of these enigmatic birds.

We were now not too far from our destination so another 15 minutes on the road found us at Finca Santa Marta, we arrived at 5:30pm.

I checked the Hoopoe nest that we found during my last visit only to find two healthy chicks and one dead one, they were almost ready to fledge so we quickly retreated and left them well alone.

Dinner was noisy and full of laughter, the local wine went down well at dinner!