This was my sixth visit to Extremadura and this wild side of Spain is still as special and exciting as ever. An early stroll produced a lovely male Whinchat, posing at close range on a dead branch, with a Hoopoe a little further afield, and numerous Black Kites floating overhead. Our gateway into the fabulous Monfragüe Natural Park was La Portilla del Tiétar where we soon had a bright yellow Serin singing in the scope at less than twenty yards, whereas the Nightingale singing from the undergrowth nearby was far less obliging. Crag Martins sped to and fro above the ravine cut by the Río Tiétar, while numerous Griffon Vultures perched on the rocky pinnacles and a lone Black Stork showed a gorgeous iridescent purple green sheen in the sunshine. Then our target bird suddenly appeared in full view on one of the crags. It was the Eagle Owl, showing off its powerful talons and long erect ear tufts. As we admired this magnificent bird, with a puffed out throat as it called, it launched itself across to another ledge and then returned to its original position, whereupon we discovered a well-grown but still downy owlet, occasionally popping into view from behind a rock. Despite the Whinchat, Serin, Black Stork and Griffons, the Eagle Owl was undoubtedly top of the bill today. What a cracking start.
During the next two days in Monfragüe, spring was quite literally in full flow with frequent showers keeping the profusion of purple, white and yellow flowers well watered. Between the showers, ubiquitous Woodlarks, Nightingales and Corn Buntings filled the air with their songs as if full of the joys of spring, while handsome Woodchat Shrikes seemed almost as common, pouncing as they were from many of the bushes. Seeing Nightingales is always a challenge, but on the yellow trail while sheltering under some trees, we eventually managed to pinpoint one in the scope, and as it poured out its powerful song from within the foliage, we could see right down its yellow throat! During our picnic on the yellow trail, we also got very close and personal with a Subalpine Warbler, and a Booted Eagle floated by with its ‘headlights’ on. A lucky few even managed to see a restless Orphean Warbler, with beady white eyes staring from a black face. I had forgotten just how big this warbler is. On the green trail we added Cetti’s Warbler to our list, but the star birds here were a flock of multicoloured Bee-eaters, which showed beautifully while perched on wires in the valley below.
At the Salto del Gitano mirador, the towering cliffs of Peñafalcon were covered with dozens and dozens of Griffon Vultures with outstretched wings to catch the morning sun. While a steady stream of Griffons spiraled upwards and away to work, a single Black Vulture came cruising across the cliff face giving fantastic views, and emphasizing just how large these vultures are as it soared by. This spectacular viewpoint also gave us first class views of Black Redstart, a brilliant male Blue Rock Thrush, another Black Stork shining purple and green in the sun, a singing Short-toed Treecreeper, creeping up a nearby rock face like a Wallcreeper would, and an amazingly tame Rock Bunting which hopped around in front of us just like a Chaffinch would do in a picnic site back home.
It was a little less cloudy the day we headed north of the park, and as we crossed the Tajo bridge, hundreds of House Martins were buzzing around it while a single Rock Sparrow perched on top. At the Tajadilla mirador, we enjoyed good views of the downy Griffon chicks, followed by a statuesque Egyptian Vulture, with a shaggy hairdo and a deep orange face, at La Portilla del Tiétar. Branching out into the tranquility of the dehesa woodlands, with its stalking White Storks and free range black pigs, we made an emergency stop for a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker on a roadside fence post, which then gave wonderful views in one of the big old Cork Oaks, along with a couple of Short-toed Treecreepers and a Cuckoo. The picnic site at Toril was alive with exotic sights and sounds including Cuckoos, Hoopoes, Bee-eaters and Azure-winged Magpies with showy Red-rumped Swallows on the fence wires. Returning from Toril, we had the only Black-shouldered Kite of the trip and scoped a Purple Heron, poised for the strike with its serpentine neck. Back at the Tiétar mirador, we found that the owlet had a sibling. Sitting together, the older one looked stern with narrowed eyes, while the smaller one had a wide-eyed startled expression. A fine end to another great day.
There was a beautiful cloudless blue sky the day we left the Hotel Carvajal and this glorious weather continued for the rest of the trip. The countryside looked immaculate, as did the Spotless Starlings whistling from the terracotta pan-tiled rooftops of Monroy. Down by the Río Almonte, we enjoyed excellent views of Cirl Bunting and Black Wheatear, and a large bird on a pylon near Talaván proved to be a Golden Eagle! That afternoon we explored a rough road through the steppes near Santa Marta de Magasca, where Southern Grey Shrikes replaced the Woodchats. As well as the obligatory Black Kites, Corn Buntings and Crested Larks, we saw Calandra Larks, Little Owl, a group of five Montagu’s Harriers including a very aerobatic male, a pair of Black-bellied Sandgrouse, which blended in very well with the ground cover and an awesome flock of four to five hundred Spanish Sparrows, reminiscent of a swarm of Red-billed Queleas in Africa.
Heading south from our new base in Trujillo, we hit a bank of low cloud and apart from Great Spotted Cuckoo, there was little to see, so we moved on and once clear of the mist found Roller and Lesser Kestrel on the same stretch of wire. These two species don’t get on and we watched them have several mid air squabbles. Heading for Palazuelo, the flatter agricultural landscape has been colonized by tiny Red Avadavats from India, which were nice to see although they weren’t yet in full red breeding plumage. From the same bridge we also had Cetti’s Warbler, and Great Reed Warbler with a very croaky song, followed by more stunning views of Bee-eaters. Later on the same area of bare ploughed fields attracted a flock of about twenty Collared Pratincoles, with graceful swallow-like flight and white rumps like House Martins. Initially it looked as though they were going to fly off but then they decided to return and land in the field right in front of us giving fantastic views! From here we returned to the Campo Lugar road, which we had abandoned earlier due to poor visibility. It was definitely worth returning as we soon bumped into a flock of about twenty Great Bustards flying slow and low before disappearing behind the slope. A search of the area produced Stone Curlew and a total of fifteen Great Bustards, plus two Little Bustards with inflated black and white necks protruding from the short purple flowers as they blew raspberries to each other. Nearby a stunning pair of Rollers perched side by side on a fence in between tussles with a Lesser Kestrel over a nest box on a telegraph pole, and in the frenzy, a passing pair of Short-toed Eagles barely got a look in. Try picking a star bird out of today’s list of sightings.
Our last day in the field and so on the way to visit the monastery at Guadalupe, we began with a search along the road from Belén, near Trujillo, where we soon found another male Little Bustard displaying not far from the road. Through the scope one could watch him throw back his inflated throat and then hear the farting sound a second later. While scanning the area, “just another Little Bustard” became a regular comment and then we found the big guys. It was a group of six superb male Great Bustards with thick ginger necks, white whiskers, and tails, which fanned out like turkey’s do. One even appeared to turn himself inside out, in full display, to look like a big white fluffy dog, and for an amazing finale it then flew towards us and passed by right in front of us! That was the best Great Bustard show I have ever seen.
www.newhorizonsonline.co.uk