Introduction
Chatting amongst the group of friends it was mentioned wouldn’t it be a good idea to have a birding holiday abroad. Extremadura in Spain was deemed an excellent place with lots of species on offer. One of the guys had been 2 years previously but it would be a first for everyone else. Plans were formulated and preparations made from the August with accommodation looked at, choosing April as a good time of year, due to the ability to see bustards in display, migrants starting to come in, the grass not to tall or too much heat haze and that it didn’t clash with the Easter break.
Accommodation & Food
We had decided to go self-catering as that would allow us the flexibility of when and where we went as well as being cheaper. A lot of accommodation in Caceres province was bed & breakfast, so we widened our search and found a four bedroom house in Orellana La Vieja in Badajoz province for £400. This was a great base for us, lots of room for four and well equipped. Visit the web site for more details - http://www.orellanaholidays.com/.
Accomodation address: No 7, Calle Hernan Cortes, Orellana la Vieja, Badajoz, Extremadura available via Mike Adams, 111 Alwyn Road, Maidenhead, Berks SL6 5EN hernancortes ‘at’ btinternet.com
As we were self-catering we used a couple of small town shops and visited larger supermarkets in Madronera and Trujillo.
Flight & car hire
We then checked airlines and found that BA, although only slightly costlier than other airlines, gave us the suitable flight times we needed so we got a flight + car rental package with them, flying from Heathrow. We drove 1990 km whilst in Spain.
Information
We scanned web sites for trip reports, looked at books for places to visit and species to see.
References:
http://www.birdtours.co.uk/tripreports/spain/Extremadura-16/Extre-may-08.htm
http://www.birdwatching-extremadura.com/reports/Speyside%20Wildlife%20Apr%202008.pdf
http://www.travellingbirder.com/tripreports/view_birding_tripreport.php?id=579
http://www.birdtours.co.uk/pdf-area/EXTREMADURA.pdf
http://www.birdtours.co.uk/tripreports/spain/Extremadura-17/extre-april-2009.htm
http://home.tiscali.nl/jvanderw/spain98/extr98b.html
http://www.birdingextremadura.blogspot.com/
http://www.birdinginspain.com/free-downloads/extremadura-trip-report.pdf
http://www.surfbirds.com/trip_report.php?id=1815
http://www.travellingbirder.com/tripreports/reports/spain_extremadura_birding_trip_report_may-08.pdf
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/tracy.mann/Extrem1.htm
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/paulosw/extremadura.html
http://www.birdforum.net
http://www.eurobutterflies.com/
http://birding.villuercas-ibores-jara.com/
Collins Bird Guide, 2nd edition by Svensson, Mullarney & Zetterstrom
Collins Butterfly Guide by Tolman & Lewington
Collins Mediterranean Flowers by Blamey & Grey-Wilson
Collins Field Guide, Reptiles & Amphibians of Britain & Europe by Arnold, Burton & Ovenden
Crossbill Guide to Extremadura, Spain 1st edition
Extremadura Birdwatching Routes by Regional Goverrment of Extremadura, Department of Culture and Tourism.
Where to watch birds - Southern & Western Spain by Garcia & Paterson, 1st
edition
Michelin Touring & Motorist atlas Spain & Portugal 1:400 000
Budget
The exchange rate was 1.09 euros to the pound. The amount below is cost per person, based on the four of us. It was extremely good value and made it an inexpensive trip.
Accommodation £100.00
Flight + car hire £174.00
Spending (food and fuel) £ 90.00
UK car park & fuel £ 24.50
Total £388.50
Itinerary
Day 1: Madrid > Calera Y Chozas > Orellana La Vieja
Day 2: Orellana > Madronera > Belen plains > Santa Marta de Magasca
Day 3: Orellana > Monfrague > Bazagona > Arrocampo > Almaraz
Day 4: Orellana > La Serena plains > Benquerencia de la Serena
Day 5: Orellana > Rio Guadalupejo > Pico Villuercas > Rio Ibor >
Rio de Guadarranque
Day 6: Orellana > Embalse del Zujar > La Serena plains >
Embalse de Orellana
Day 7: Orellana > EX-116 just past the Rio Gargaligas > Madrigalego >
Rio Ruecas > Vegas Altas > Acedera
Day 8: Orellana > Jaraicejo > Arrocampo > Madrid
Day 1 - 03.04.2011
Arrived at Madrid Barajas airport and picked up the hire car and headed south-west to the E-90 A-5. Our first stop en route to Extremadura was the area around Calera Y Chozas. We stopped close to a farm after turning off at a junction of the E-90 A-5 and parked on a track opposite. The first birds noted were a southern grey shrike, swallow and a singing woodlark. As it was drizzling with rain we got back in the car and carried on to the turn off to the Water Bottling Factory. Pulling off the road we noted both male and female montagu’s harrier, a female marsh harrier and a bedraggled large raptor that we could not decide the id of. Other birds included corn bunting and zitting cisticola that we were to see very regularly throughout the week. Carrying along the track with olive groves to our left and allotments to our right we saw our first hoopoe, serin, crested lark and goldfinch with a black kite perched on a polytunnel frame.
Carrying on over the rail line we saw woodchat shrike and reaching an open area a male little bustard and six great bustards including one male and five females. Unfortunately the weather was still damp so views were not great. We reached an area to stop at the brow of a hill and saw a further male great bustard on the skyline and nearby a pale phase booted eagle that was perched on a fence post. From this spot we also saw kestrel, wheatear, yellow wagtail and a lesser black-backed gull while nearby in a field there were lots of cattle egret.
We then continued to drive on a to our rented house for the week, the satnav taking us off the main road and through towards Guadalupe, those in the front picked out three azure-winged magpies near Navalvillar de Ibor on the side of the road. The weather conditions had deteriorated quite a bit being in the mountains, so that low cloud made visibility poor and the driving had to be taken carefully. On a bit of dehesa with some wetland, along the EX-116, at a site that looked private, we saw three spoonbill along with singles of both great white and little egret, white stork, little grebe and moorhen. In the dehesa we saw or heard hoopoe, bee-eater, cuckoo, woodchat shrike, stone curlew, two common waxbill, Spanish sparrow, corn bunting, three raven and brief but good views of a pair of great spotted cuckoos as they flew past and 5+ azure-winged magpies. Checking the other side of the road there was farmland with flooded areas and reedy ditches we saw two marsh harrier and a male montagu’s harrier, grey heron, white wagtail, little ringed plover, green sandpiper and heard cetti’s and savi’s warbler. On leaving one of the guys saw a hobby further along the road, the only one of the trip.
At Acedera, on the old church, nesting white stork were present with 3+ lesser kestrels flying in to the church and that was a site we would have to visit again, especially for photographic opportunites. Finally arriving at our base in Orellana La Vieja we saw swift, swallow, house sparrow and white stork on the old church in the centre of town. We had not gone to a supermarket on the way down so drove around the village looking for either a supermarket or restaurant, both of which we unsuccessfully did, although this was Sunday evening, so we ended up having a meal of fried eggs on toast and a cup of tea from the welcome hamper at the house. We did a log call of the birds seen during the day and made a plan of action for the following day.
Day 2 – 04.04.2011
We decided to visit the Belen Plains today. Along the EX-355 to Madrigalejo we saw a southern grey shrike and after the village on the section to Zorita we encountered several cattle egret and little egret, white stork, jackdaw, four hoopoe and at least four black kites, a couple of which were sat on telegraph posts on the side of the road. At Herguijuela a woodchat shrike was just before the village, while a great spotted cuckoo was in a tree just after and further along a second woodchat shrike along with a southern grey. We turned off on the CC-35 to Madronera as we had to find a supermarket to stock up on food for pack lunch that day and evening meals. There were large numbers of hirundines including lots of nesting house martins as well as numerous swifts. We saw some lesser kestrels and a fine short-toed eagle passed over.
Back to the EX-208 and then on to the N-521, we were trying to get on to the Belen Plains and followed a track that ran parallel to the newer motorway EX-90 A-5. A white stork was on a signpost over the motorway. We had close views of red-rumped swallow, stonechat and crested lark. We turned down a track; the Camino Nuevo de Trujillo a Torrecillas, to get on to the plains, hoping it was the right one. Past a farmhouse we stopped as one of the guys amazingly saw a shape silhouetted in the trees, that turned out to be a long-eared owl and sat in full view – our only one of the trip. It made a change from his usual corn buntings! We decided to stop there for a bite to eat and scanned the skies in amazement. We saw lots of raptors including 8+ black kite, a pale phase booted eagle, up to 4 lesser kestrels including a pair mating, 6+ griffon vulture, 3+ common buzzard and a red kite. Other species included woodchat shrike and 2 azure-winged magpies.
We backtracked to the side road and then at the junction 240 took the Torrecillas de la Tiesa road to La Aldea Del Obispo. On the first section we encountered further black kites and azure-winged magpies and woodlark, with fly over cormorant. We came to where the road took a sharpish left turn then crossed a bridge over a river. We saw six close bee-eaters inspecting some holes in a sandy bank, so we turned around and parked further back along the road to get closer views. Unfortunately a large truck roared past and scared the bee-eaters away although they could still be seen further up the river in trees. Scanning from this point we saw 3+ black vultures, 3 black stork, griffon vulture, a golden eagle, a common buzzard, montagu’s harrier, woodchat shrike, grey heron, white wagtail, white stork and a common sandpiper up the river and terrapins in the river.
Past La Aldea del Obispo on the CV-88 as we climbed up a hill to an area with scrub and olive groves, with the lane bordered by colourful lavender and broom with a several sawfly orchids amongst them, we saw further azure-winged magpies, mistle thrush, willow warbler, a subalpine warbler showed well, while black vulture, black kite and booted eagle flew over and painted lady on the road while a bit further along where it was more rocky our first thekla larks. A video was recorded here and playing it back recalls the amazing amount of bird life present with ever-present corn bunting and hoopoes amongst many other species.
On through the Rio Magasca valley, heading towards Santa Marta de Magasca we stopped at a corner to marvel lots of white storks in a field following a tractor, they then spiralled up higher and higher. Also in the field calandra lark singing, zitting cisticola, stone curlew heard and more griffon and black vultures and black kites. We chatted to a guy who was leading some people on a tour and kindly gave us some info. Further down the track the wonderful sight of 5+ montagu’s harrier, both male and female, by the side of the road and a flyover red kite. The terrain went from open countryside to more hilly terrain and we parked at a bridge over a river in a steeper valley. We had red-rumped swallow flying close by beneath us as well as crag martin, while overhead singles of short-toed eagle and golden eagle.
We then went to a site mentioned in the Garcia book and in some trip reports as being good for bustard and sandgrouse. It is along a track north of the N-521. Seeing a group of birders parked up, we found out a roller was sitting along a fence line. We picked the bird up although the heat haze made viewing difficult. We carried on up the track to get some elevation and saw lesser kestrel, black and griffon vulture, booted eagle and our third golden eagle of the day and several calandra lark singing. Heading back down a group of Spanish birders said that there were some black-bellied sandgrouse in a ploughed field further down, so we went back to the roller area and heard and briefly saw in flight six black-bellied sandgrouse.
Heading home and about 4km past Trujillo we saw a black-winged stilt in a pool. We had decided to leave early for a day around Monfrague National Park and finished with the log call of the birds again and a review of photos taken and watched a pair of serin from the courtyard. We took an evening stroll watching the sunset as we walked down our road to the local amenity area, where there was a pond. We noted a bat and a dragonfly species as well as crested lark. We went over to the woods to try for scops owl but had no luck, just seeing more bats.
Day 3 – 05.04.2011
An early start for the longer journey to Monfrague, we left in the dark and watched the sky brighten as we headed North along the EX-208 past Torrejon El Rubio. Stopping at a lay-by the area was alive with birds singing, we had 2 cirl bunting, woodlark, wren, blackbird, blue tit, great tit, long-tailed tit, chaffinch, hoopoe, bee-eater, cuckoo, woodchat shrike and serin. With the many griffon and black vultures overhead this time included an egyptian vulture and a red kite and a black stork flew over too.
We went back down to the bridge crossing at Arroyo de la Vid, where we also heard a lot of bird song and saw quite a few species including nightingale, a few rock sparrows showed well, red-rumped swallow with close views overhead of the raptors leaving their roosts early morning of black and griffon vultures, black kite, short-toed and booted eagle, while in the river trout were seen spawning.
Heading in to the national park proper we stopped of at Pena Falcon. Here we saw two rock bunting, brief views of chough, serin, griffon vulture, black kite, black redstart and a male blue rock thrush. Next to Rio Tajo bridge with weather conditions bright and sunny but quite windy. Parking on the opposite side we looked back at the incredible number of hirundines nesting on the bridge that had masses of house martins, along with sand martin, swallow and red-rumped swallow – an amazing sight. These would fly up in a panic when a black kite flew near. Alpine swift and swift also present too. Raptors passed overhead with great views of 3 short-toed eagles and 2+ pale phase booted eagles, griffon vulture but the great find of a bonelli’s eagle which drifted closer but unfortunately not as close as the other species. Butterflies noted were wall brown and small heath.
Our next stop for a bit of lunch and some water was at the Mirador de Tajadillo viewpoint. Across the reservoir griffon vultures were perched on the rocks while in the scrub along the near side, both sardinian and subalpine warblers with serin, linnet and a blue rock thrush. A number of butterflies were seen around the lavender in more sheltered areas including a common blue, Spanish festoon and small copper. We then carried on to the well-known site, Portilla del Tietar, which has some Monfrague specialist species present. With a bit of help from some other birders we saw a female eagle owl. She was partially hidden from view so we only saw her top half behind some vegetation. Scanning the skies produced griffon, black and Egyptian vulture, kestrel, red and black kite and the other star bird, Spanish imperial eagle. Over the time spent at the site we had four good sightings as it drifted over the rocks and over our heads. At one time it was mobbed by a black kite, which looked tiny in comparison, and briefly landed in a bush. Other birds noted were serin, red-rumped swallow, rock bunting and chough. A black stork was seen in the distance, then a further one was thought to be nearer until it turned out to be a raven carrying a large red rib bone from an animal, making a good impersonation of a black stork! A second bird followed close behind, this time carrying something white, which it was remarked was the pudding! A green hairstreak was seen by the display board.
Having done so well in Monfrague and seen all the species we hoped to we then ventured out to Estacion de la Bazagona, off junction 29 EX-A1 where we had some gen for another difficult and rare species. We parked up near where the rail line crosses the road and scanned the area in very hot conditions. Two went down one track to search, encountering nightingale and corn bunting while the other two hit jackpot, after climbing a short rise to view over the valley, a black-winged kite was found and all got good views.
With time still left in the day we decided to visit nearby Arrocampo on the way back. Starting on the track towards hide 1 we found a squacco heron along a dyke and from the hides several other heronids were found including 2+ great white egret, 4 purple heron, cattle egret, little egret and grey heron. Savi’s and great reed warbler sang as did zitting cisticola, marsh harrier and 3+ purple swamphen were seen. A distant tern species was thought to be gull-billed, but a bit too distant to confirm. On the water great crested grebe and moorhen, while on the grassland crested lark, zitting cisticola and house sparrows that included a spanish/house sparrow hybrid. Also on the grassland tongue orchid was found. On heading out we had wonderful views of a white stork close to the car.
As the orchid trail near Almaraz was on the way back, we paid a brief visit to this area of limestone with olive groves. A nature trail was signposted at Cerro de Almaraz on the road to Valdecanas a short distance off the A5 at junction 197. We went up the track and it was obvious others had been there before as trails were seen amongst the vegetation. Lots of orchids were seen, with four species identified, the most numerous being naked man orchid, with a few conical, woodcock and mirror orchids. An interesting find was when one of the guys noted a small insect that turned out to be a type of praying mantis, Empusa egena.
A long day it was time to head back but not before some more birding from the car, we saw another black-winged kite by the EX-208, a roller was on wires between Madrigalejo and Acedera, whilst at Acedera lesser kestrels again and between Acedera and Orellana a montagu’s harrier was noted – incredibly our fourteenth raptor species of the day and a fitting end to an incredible days birding!
Day 4 – 06.04.2011
This day we chose to go to the nearby La Serena plains. Leaving Orellana on the EX-115 and 9km south we noted a series of pools by a quarry. Deciding this was worth further investigation we pulled over and were soon glad we had used our birders intuition on a good potential site. In the pools little egret, grey heron and a couple of great white egrets, one of which had pink legs and mostly dark bill, was in breeding plumage, something we’re not used to in the UK. White storks were nesting in a eucalyptus tree with Spanish sparrows too. Serin, zitting cisticola and Sardinian warbler were singing as was a great reed warbler that we briefly saw. Black vulture was seen over the hills. Other birds included stonechat, a flyby kingfisher and both purple heron and teal flew out. A greenshank was seen briefly before hiding behind a tuft of vegetation. A small bird whizzed by, this turned out to be red avadavat. Further along more small activity, this time a common waxbill, a male was seen to be holding a piece of reed doing a little dance routine from side to side on a branch, that enticed a female to come and look! On the way back we noted some movement and this turned out to be a penduline tit. On the sandy field fox scat and some prints were noted and several plants of tassel hyacinth were found.
Carrying along the EX-115 to Campanaria we picked up northern wheatear and black-winged stilt from the car. Up on to the area just before the plains itself we stopped at various points along the EX-349 where we stopped at a river crossing picking up species such as montagu’s and marsh harrier, raven, kestrel, calandra lark, red-legged partridge, red-rumped swallow, bee-eater with little grebe and moorhen in the water.
Further along a large raptor was seen from the car, quickly pulling over, we identified a bonelli’s eagle passing by. On to a higher area, where the wind was quite strong, we could hear tantalisingly close by little bustard and quail but they never showed, with stonechat and thekla lark noted. We then had some pin-tailed sandgrouse in flight. At the junction of the EX-349 and EX-103 several montagu’s harrier were seen over some arable fields so we stopped for closer views. In total we had over 15 birds watching some amazing aerial flight of this species. A pair of little bustard was seen in a further field away and as was a lump of earth pretending to be a collared pratincole!
We then turned on to the long straight road, BA-035, towards Cabeza del Buey. Again stopping at suitable points giving us views across the plains we encountered southern grey shrike, montagu’s harrier, common buzzard, booted eagle, bee-eater, several swifts moving through, a further 12 pin-tailed sandgrouse and 4 great bustards including 3 displaying males. The other highlight were 6 collared pratincoles flying over the fields – real ones this time!
We took one of the sidetracks to the west to get towards our next destination. We pulled up by some arable land and very close by saw a pair of short-toed larks, with the male displaying by raising his crest and cocking his tail before a bit of song flight. Other species noted in the area were 3 female great bustards, thekla lark and northern wheatear. We came to a stream where we decided it was not passable and turned around.
Back down the BA-035, we then headed to our next destination, along the EX-104 to Benquerencia de la Serena. Just before the village another large raptor was seen, again looking like an eagle species and our thoughts were confirmed when we saw our second bonelli’s eagle of the day. We parked up in the village and taking our lunch with us we climbed the steps to the castillo – a Moorish castle dating from the 13th century, we also could look down on a nesting white stork on the church roof below. Being high up over looking plains to the north and farmland to the south we had good eye line views of birds including alpine swift, swift, crag martin, swallow and red-rumped swallow and made another lovely setting for lunch. We managed brief views of blue rock thrush and rock bunting, Going back down we eventually connected with a stunning male black wheatear, a known site for the species..
We got to where the track goes along the side of the rocky ridge through olive groves and bush covered stony terrain known as the Pinturas Rupestres. This gave us a further male black wheatear while further along another pair was picked up. Amongst the gum cistus, broom and lavender we saw Sardinian, subalpine and western orphean warblers, more rock buntings, crested lark, serin, corn bunting, woodchat shrike, black kite, griffon and 2 Egyptian vultures, chough and blue rock thrush. A large centipede – Scolopendra cingulata – crossed the path.
On the way back to Orellana we stopped off at the quarry again, this time taking the left track as we had seen further pools that way. On a crowfoot covered pool we saw 4 black-winged stilt, greenshank, 2 green sandpiper and in the distance little ringed plover and on another pool common sandpiper. At pools on the other side of the track we saw purple heron, hoopoe, bee-eater, cetti’s warbler with black kite and booted eagle flying over.
Day 5 – 07.04.2011
On our fifth day we chose to explore a new area, the Sierra de la Villuercas region, which we had passed through on our first day. We made an initial stop at patch number one first off in the morning. Again a great selection at this wonderful site, with good views of a pair of great spotted cuckoos, several azure-winged magpies, kestrel, zitting cisticola, corn bunting, spanish sparrow, hoopoe, woodchat and southern grey shrikes, cuckoo, red kite, black kite, booted eagle and marsh harrier. Highlights in a short space of time were the sight of two male black-winged kites hunting and having a bit of territorial combat. One of the birds then caught some food, possibly a small mammal, and carried over to a female nearby, that flew up for a food pass. A raven in the area was mobbed by the black-winged kite, as well as a group of bee-eaters as it sat in a tree. While watching an osprey flew past followed by a second while a pair of great white egrets flew past in the background! Across the road, less water in the field so no waders, but one of the guys saw 3 rollers fly past.
We headed to our first stop, which was a protected natural area along the Rio Guadalupejo, south of the town of Guadalupe. It has been declared an Ecological Corridor. We drove along the track and at our first stop saw a selection of birds that would remind us of Britain such as coal, blue, great and long-tailed tits, jay, robin, blackbird, nuthatch, sparrowhawk and lots of singing blackcaps. The scenery was great with a deep wooded valley, with lichen on trees, a small fast flowing stream with the odd waterfall, where we hoped to see dipper, without luck but did see a grey wagtail. Along the track we encountered numerous butterflies including orange-tip, wall brown, large tortoiseshell, swallowtail, scarce swallowtail, holly blue, Chapman’s green hairstreak and Spanish festoon. Up towards Molinos reservoir we saw cirl bunting and goldcrest and from the dam white wagtail with peregrine and griffon vulture over the mountains. We decided to turn around instead of continuing the route as time was pressing on and we had more sites to visit.
We skirted past Guadalupe and took the turning off to Pico Villuercas, which at 1601m is the highest point in the region. The road climbed up round the mountain to an abandoned military site so we were surprised when four police or military motorcyclists dressed in green uniform pulled over and asked us where we were going! Bill showed him his bins and said we’re birdwatching and they seemed happy with that! On reaching the top it was very hot so we stopped for lunch and some water and admired the stunning views. Being up this high also made watching raptors a treat with them being at eye level or even being able to look down on them. Species included griffon vulture, bonelli’s eagle, 2 Egyptian vultures that showed very well and surprisingly male and female marsh harrier, a species we weren’t expecting so high up. Other birds in the area included subalpine warbler, a couple of black redstarts, raven, chough, robin, red-rumped swallow, swallow, house and crag martins and again surprisingly willow warbler. Brimstone, large white, small white, orange tip and large tortoiseshell butterflies were also noted along with Iberian rock lizard and Iberian wall lizard.
We headed back down the mountain and took the side road to our next destination, a beautiful route along the River Ibor, known as the ‘la carrera del Caballo’, a centuries old pilgrimage road from Madrid to Guadalupe. Another lovely walk along a stony track with a lichen-covered wooded valley dropping away to our right, with a mix of grassland, mixed woodland and heathland to our left. There was a selection of species seen earlier at Rio Guadalupejo, those typical of Britain, this time with some added ones including mistle thrush on grassland near the saw mill, goldcrest, singing nightingale, three woodpeckers - green, great and lesser spotted woodpecker, which while watching the last species Bill saw a marten species briefly. We also saw short-toed treecreeper, 2 crested tits, red-rumped swallow, serin, rock bunting, subalpine warbler and buzzard over. Other wildlife came in the form of Spanish festoon, small heath and orange tip butterflies and a red-striped oil beetle.
The temperature was again very hot and as the track seemed to go on further and further we turned around and headed back to the car. Just as we were about to cross the small bridge a lizard was seen and later identified by the photos as a large psammadromus. In the trees above the car were two nuthatches that showed well, a seemingly paler colour then the ones from the UK.
As we had not seen dipper there either we decided to head back and try another spot. We parked up at the 96km point on the EX-102 by the Rio de Guadarranque. This seemed a well-managed spot with a picnic area, new footbridge, footpath signage and bicycle racks. We saw a grey wagtail flit up the river and nightingale was singing loudly and got photos of a brown argus. Kingfisher and white wagtail were seen and a few specimens of hoop petticoat narcissus. Bill had noted some azure-winged magpies being fractious around a tree and suspected a scops owl might be present which we briefly heard.
Day 6 – 08.04.2011
We thought we would go to the La Serena plains again, as we had done really well with the species seen but would like better views of some. We had our breakfast and made our pack lunch and drove a different direction stopping at the dam over Embalse del Zujar. Here the were large number of house martins nesting and we also saw crag martin, a kingfisher, hoopoe, spotless starling, white wagtail, jackdaw with flyover bee-eater, black kite, grey heron and raven. We then turned on to the long straight road that crosses the La Serena plains, the BA-035. We again stopped at various points to scan the vast expanse of steppes, where we saw a couple of stone-curlews, two little bustard, quail, northern wheatear, marsh harrier, calandra lark and at a pond both ringed and little ringed plovers, greenshank, black-winged stilt, snipe and a black-headed gull. We got our first flock of sandgrouse of the day, which judging from the directions they were flying, which was quite fast, we must have had at least 50 pin-tailed and 30 black-bellied sandgrouse during the day, as well as around 25 collared pratincoles in a field, black kite, montagu’s harrier, common buzzard, 2 short-toed larks and some great bustards that showed really well with 3 males doing there full display, along with a group that flew across the road.
This time we took a track to the left, which would cross the steppe, and go round to Cabeza del Buey. The birding was excellent on this stretch and what we noticed was there were more migrants about, the previous time the winds were from the wrong direction and strong, whereas this time the winds had moved round bringing in with them more summer migrants. Birds we encountered on this stretch included 40+ great bustard, 4+ little bustard, 20+ pin-tailed sandgrouse, some of which we saw land but due to the distance and heat haze couldn’t see them well unfortunately, thekla lark, calandra lark, Spanish sparrow, white wagtail, little egret, great white egret, montagu’s harrier, booted eagle, short-toed eagle, lesser kestrel, kestrel, black kite, corn bunting, 12+ raven, a collared pratincole that was remarked about it’s distinctive flight making it recognisable – the flight of the pratincole! A froghopper, Cercopis intermedia, was found in the car.
We stopped at a stream to have a scan; again with lots of crowsfoot growing on it and a green sandpiper paid a brief visit. Amongst the vegetation we saw up to 3 broad-bodied skimmers and a blue-tailed damselfly. Further along we slowed down at a pool and while three of us were looking to the right, one was fortunately looking left and said eagle coming over. We jumped out of the car to have magnificent views of a sub-adult golden eagle drift over barely 50ft up! We had been checking all the suitable rocks for wheatears, picking up over 12 northern wheatears before finally nailing down a black-eared wheatear. One section had wire fencing either side of the dirt track with a raised mound of grass, rush and flowers parallel. A warbler was picked out low down and we deliberated on its id, which was difficult in the bright sunlight, before going for chiffchaff as it seemed to have dark legs and was pumping it’s tail quite a bit. Fortunately from photos it was actually a willow warbler, showing it’s longer primary projection. A bit further along a second warbler this time a female common whitethroat and we also saw up to four whinchat along this stretch.
Stopping at a remote farm 4+ short-toed larks were present along with more migrants in the form a male and female redstart and 2 willow warblers and a chiffchaff on a field margin. Another bird we thought we would’ve encountered by now was little owl and we finally found one perched on a rock. Corn buntings were often on rocks and posts, but the guy who kept checking them all week this time found a bird that was too pale for a corn bunting and turned out to be a tawny pipit of which we saw 3 in the end. Another sight we were pleased to see where vultures on the ground with 7 griffon and 4 black sat on the ground and some rocks. As we passed some rocks close to the path, what looked like a head sticking out was seen. Pulling over and looking back a large snake was seen coiled around the rocks, before it shot away, while on the other side of the road a lizard was found. We carried on but the road was deteriorating so we thought it prudent to about turn, stopping short of the rocks to look for the reptiles again. Fortunately the lizard was showing, with a second one too – a male, with a broader head, and a smaller female. The female crossed the road and allowed us to get some get views and photos, but we could but re-find the snake. Checking the reptile book later confirmed the id of the snake as Montpellier while the lizard was an ocellated.
Our next part of the journey was along the EX-103 towards Talarrubias where we had sparrowhawk, red kite, black kite, male and female montagu’s harrier, lesser kestrel and bee-eater from the car. We were using the Birding in Extremadura web site/book notes to check for water birds back at Embalse de Orellana. Our first port of call was down a track that followed a canal, Canal de la Dehesa, to the Diversion Dam of Casas de Don Pedro. This would take us to a point where we could find a couple of the islands mentioned for breeding terns. As it happened we came across a signpost, with Observatory on it, at a crossroads and probably took the wrong one, so parked the car and walked down the track with lots of lavender growing by the side, but which was just a good viewing point anyway. Across the way we could see a bird hide while the islands where covered in thick vegetation so definitely not suitable for breeding terns! Up to four black kites circled, azure-winged magpies were in the trees, along with hoopoe and a distantly heard golden oriole. Around the edge of the reservoir there were numerous cattle egrets with a few little egrets too, greenshank, common sandpiper, mallard and gadwall and another tawny pipit on the far shore. Within the lake were numerous fish including carp and pike. Several butterflies were seen on the lavender edged track with black-eyed blue, small heath, brown argus, clouded yellow, Portuguese dappled white, small white and large white.
We tried the next site mentioned in the book, again hoping for more water birds. The site, back along the track, across the road and following the canal road for 10km, which was done carefully as it was a bit of a drop in to the canal, to a point where we were on the look out for a large heronry in the middle of the reservoir on some tamarisk bushes. We found the track down but access was denied as a fishing tournament was on. We scanned from the top looking for a view down, from here we had sardinian warbler in the nearby pungent gum cistus, crested lark, woodlark, red-rumped swallow and a briefly seen male golden oriole shot past. Down at the heronry masses of cattle egret with a few little and grey heron seen, white stork further up and on the water several mallard, great crested grebes and moorhen. A pale phase booted eagle was seen in the distance and alongside a darker raptor that after some patience was found to be a dark phase booted eagle, our first for the break.
Day 7 – 09.04.2011
Our final full day, we decided it best to stay fairly local so that we could get back in the afternoon in order to clean the house and the car. We thought we would have a look a site we had passed in the car earlier in the week, at the 2km point on the EX-116 just past the Rio Gargaligas. We had noted standing water on the fields previously but this had obviously drained away or evaporated. It was noticeable that we had not seen many people on the lands earlier in the week and it seems that the week we were there the warm weather had kicked in, the flooded lands had drained away, so that it had to be a turning point in the agricultural season as lots of ploughing commenced and we saw a lot more people and tractors about in the last couple of days. We searched the area seeing wheatear, southern grey shrike, common waxbill, crested lark, house sparrow and our first tree sparrow, a fly over ringed plover, some white storks with the sad sight of one that was hanging dead in a tree, probably caught by it’s foot in the crook of a branch. In the distance we saw several black-headed gulls and the odd lesser black-backed gull following a tractor as well as a tern species, again thought to be gull-billed, but to faraway to confirm. Looking back towards the hills vast flocks of birds could be seen stretching for a large distance, containing several tens of thousands of birds. After scrutiny we came to the conclusion that they were feral pigeons, quite an impressive sight.
Some notes from a previous trip report suggested heading to a spot along a side road after Madrigalejo. It mentioned a Ferdinand V road on the left 1km after the town, we could not find it so kept going and eventually after 3.5km we found Fernando V and drove down it. We came to our farmhouse on the right with lots of bird activity, seeing azure-winged magpie, spotless starling and several bee-eaters, some of which were very close to the road on a barbed wire fence. Further along seeing and hearing numerous zitting cisticolas, stonechat, crested lark and common waxbill we came to a ploughed field where we heard a bird call outside. Getting out we found up to 15 collared pratincoles, either sitting or flying about. In the area we also saw hoopoe, could hear more bee-eaters at the back and down a track long-tailed and blue tits, cetti’s warbler and sedge warbler with linnet and greenfinch too.
Carrying on in the car some more birds zipped out of the ditch that turned out to be red avadavats. In the instructions it mentioned a pipeline, which we reached, noting a lack of water again on the fields ahead we turned immediately left and stopped at a small bridge crossing the Rio Ruecas. There was lots of reeds and sedge with trees overhanging and the noise was amazing. Nightingale and cetti’s warbler singing along with 3 great reed warblers coupled with singing serin and the bubbling brook overwhelmed our auditory senses! We could tell the great reed warblers were close but they resolutely remained hidden, we picked up a reed warbler before eventually get brief views of it’s larger relative.
We then drove to Vegas Altas, which was meant to have wet fields, being an area of rice fields. As we drove round the land was dry, areas were being ploughed and we saw few birds, a very tall white stork nest being notable. It seems from searching the net that the production of rice has declined so that the wet areas are no longer present as they were.
We turned back to go to our patch number one on the EX-116. As it was getting towards midday there was less bird life about compared to our previous visits though we still saw booted eagle, male marsh harrier, ringtail montagu’s harrier, griffon and black vultures, both kestrel and lesser kestrel, black kite, black-winged kite and common buzzard, a pair of which we noted were harassing another larger bird that turned out to be a honey buzzard. That made it 11 species of raptor standing in just one spot for less than an hour, and we had also seen red kite and osprey from the same spot previously too! Along with white storks a black stork flew over, in the water little and great white egrets, grey heron, little grebe and moorhen while in the dehesa zitting cisticola, azure-winged magpie, corn bunting, hoopoe and woodchat shrike.
Something we had mentioned all week was to visit the old church in Acedera to photograph the white storks and lesser kestrels that nested there, so we headed there on the way back. The storks were easy to photo whereas the lesser kestrels flew in the small nesting holes with speed just like swifts. Patience was needed and finally we managed to get he shots we wanted, including spotless starling.
Day 8 – 10.04.2011
Time to head back to Madrid airport, we decided to visit a couple of sites en route. We had planned to go to Arrocampo and also Jaraicejo as it was close to the main highway and not far from Arrocampo. We got to this beautiful area of heathland early morning as the sun was rising making it an atmospheric scene. We saw and heard dartford warbler of which there probably over 5 pairs encountered. One of the specialist birds here was spectacled warbler, that was picked up as it did a flight song, flew across the track and back before disappearing and not seen again. There were a few thekla larks about as well as woodchat and southern grey shrikes, bee-eater and linnet. We strolled down the track and saw Sardinian and western orphean warblers in some trees.
We then went to our final destination, the wetland at Arrocampo. We stopped at the bridge by hide 4 and scanning the reeds saw purple heron and briefly a pair of little bitterns. A tern was picked up and this time we could definitely identify it as gull-billed, third time lucky with gadwall on the water and little and great white egrets about too. A black-winged kite, amazingly our 6th of the trip, mobbed a marsh harrier before flying across. On the other side of the road, a brief view of a penduline tit with singing savi’s and reed warblers. More herons cold be seen in the distance but the heat haze was making viewing difficult. A second pair of little bitterns were found, this time the male gave good but brief views sat up on some reeds. We then went to the visitor centre and drove down to hide 1 with a sand martin that allowed a close approach on a fence. It looked weak and from photos taken it could later be seen a mite was on it’s head near the eye. We saw quite a number of purple herons, zitting cisticola and corn bunting singing loudly, black kite, kestrel, griffon and black vultures in the distance, great crested grebe on the water. We got good views of purple swamphen and this time a moorhen was nearby to give a good comparison and show how large the swamphen is. It also gave its odd loud call too.
With time pressing we headed back to the car, so we could put our equipment away, have a spot of lunch and hit the road back to Madrid airport. A quite outstanding holiday bird wise with a final tally of 155 species seen, including excellent views of a lot of the specialist species too, along with others that the group had only seen once or twice before. Accompanied by wonderful scenery, interesting plants, insects and reptiles and above all a great laugh with the lads.
Species
Gadwall
Teal
Mallard
Red-legged Partridge
Quail
Little Grebe
Great Crested Grebe
Little Bittern
Squacco Heron
Cattle Egret
Little Egret
Great White Egret
Grey Heron
Purple Heron
Black Stork
White Stork
Spoonbill
Honey Buzzard
Black-shouldered Kite
Black Kite
Red Kite
Egyptian Vulture
Griffon Vulture
Black Vulture
Short-toed Eagle
Marsh Harrier
Montagu's Harrier
Sparrowhawk
Buzzard
Spanish Imperial Eagle
Golden Eagle
Booted Eagle
Bonelli's Eagle
Osprey
Lesser Kestrel
Kestrel
Hobby
Peregrine
Moorhen
Purple Swamphen
Little Bustard
Great Bustard
Black-winged Stilt
Stone Curlew
Collared Pratincole
Little Ringed Plover
Ringed Plover
Snipe
Greenshank
Green Sandpiper
Common Sandpiper
Black-headed Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Yellow-legged Gull
Gull-billed Tern
Black-bellied Sandgrouse
Pin-tailed Sandgrouse
Rock Dove/Feral
Woodpigeon
Collared Dove
Great Spotted Cuckoo
Cuckoo
Scops Owl
Eagle Owl
Little Owl
Long-eared Owl
Alpine Swift
Swift
Pallid Swift
Kingfisher
Bee-eater
Roller
Hoopoe
Green Woodpecker
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Lesser Spotted Woodpecker
Calandra Lark
Greater Short-toed Lark
Crested Lark
Thekla Lark
Wood Lark
Sand Martin
Crag Martin
Swallow
Red-rumped Swallow
House Martin
Tawny Pipit
Meadow Pipit
Yellow (Spanish) Wagtail
Grey Wagtail
White Wagtail
Wren
Dunnock
Robin
Nightingale
Black Redstart
Redstart
Whinchat
Stonechat
Wheatear
Black-eared Wheatear
Black Wheatear
Blue Rock Thrush
Blackbird
Mistle Thrush
Cetti's Warbler
Zitting Cisticola
Savi's Warbler
Sedge Warbler
Reed Warbler
Great Reed Warbler
Blackcap
Western Orphean Warbler
Whitethroat
Spectacled Warbler
Dartford Warbler
Subalpine Warbler
Sardinian Warbler
Chiffchaff
Willow Warbler
Goldcrest
Long-tailed Tit
Crested Tit
Coal Tit
Blue Tit
Great Tit
Nuthatch
Short-toed Treecreeper
Penduline Tit
Golden Oriole
Southern Grey Shrike
Woodchat Shrike
Jay
Azure-winged Magpie
Magpie
Chough
Jackdaw
Crow
Raven
Starling
Spotless Starling
House Sparrow
Spanish Sparrow
Tree Sparrow
Rock Sparrow
Common Waxbill
Red Avadavat
Chaffinch
Serin
Greenfinch
Goldfinch
Linnet
Cirl Bunting
Rock Bunting
Corn Bunting
Sawfly Orchid
Naked Man Orchid
Conical Orchid
Mirror Orchid
Woodcock Orchid
Tongue Orchid
Barbary Nut
Tassel Hyacinth
Broad-bodied chaser
Blue-tailed damselfly
Egena empusa
Cercopis intermedia
Holly Blue
Black-eked Blue
Common Blue
Green Hairstreak
Chapman's Green Hairstreak
Brown Argus
Wall Brown
Large Tortoiseshell
Orange-tip
Large White
Small White
Portuguese Dappled White
Spanish Festoon
Swallowtail
Scarce Swallowtail
Iberian Hare
Rabbit
Stone Marten
Iberian Wall Lizard
Iberian Rock Lizard
Large Psammodromus
Ocellated Lizard
Montpellier Snake
Marsh Frog
European Pond Terrapin