The Spanish Tour for WINGS - Day 9 - 8th May 2023

A pre-breakfast farewell to Monfragüe with the local Hoopoes singing madly and the Crag Martins put on a fantastic show as we were packing the vans for the next leg of our north bound journey.

Crag Martins

The Hoopoe deterrents did not work...

Our first stop was near the town of Saucedilla (sorry, but for some reason I could see a giant HP Sauce bottle with lots of teeth terrorising the countryside) where the vast Arrocampo Reservoir is to be found with its amazing cooling (if I remember correctly) towers.

We arrived to discover two other groups just departing but they did not linger to chat about what they had seen.  Little Bitterns were quite literally flying all over the place with several adults and already fledged youngster going back and forth over the closest reedy pool.

Little Bitterns

A single gleaming Squacco in white and orange with a carmine bill drifted by and Purple and Grey Herons, Great White, Little and Cattle Egrets were all seen from our initial viewpoint. A Purple Swamphen plucked roots from the edge with its outsized toes and snipped them with that secateur bill and a couple of tiny not quite Red Avadavats bounced around and occasionally perched up.  I think I had only seen this non-native species in the Nile before.

Purple Swamphen

Purple Swamphen

Purple Heron

Cattle Egret

Cattle Egrets

A Savi’s Warbler briefly reeled and Reed and Cetti’s Warblers were in fine voice as we drove the short way to the first hide.  The ramp to the hide offered views over the reeds and lagoon but was a little wobbly and uncomfortable on the slope but we persevered and spent an hour watching breeding Purple Herons and close feeding Spoonbills, fishing Gull-billed Terns, more Swamphens and Herons while Great Reed  Warblers and three more Savi’s sung but seeing either well proved frustrating.  Zitting Cisticolas bounded around us and a male Stonechat came to perch on the hand railing but it was the family of Bearded Tits that we were most happy to see as this is the only place in Extremadura where they occur.  It took a bit of effort but we got everyone on the eventually.

Gull-billed Tern

Gull-billed Tern

Purple Heron

Spoonbills

Water Rails were heard and a Kingfisher flashed by and we were treated to two good views of different male Ferruginous Ducks as they flew down to our end of the lack but both landed out of view.  This was another excellent bird for the site but suddenly the call of a Common Tern was heard and we picked it up as it passed back and forth.  John was particularly pleased as this was the first one that he had seen in the region.

Ferruginous Duck

Un-Common Tern

Marsh Harriers hunted the far reeds and upset the Purple Herons who reacted in a flurry of wings legs and flared crests while an Otter was seen porpoising for just a few seconds. Raptors were always on view with several Griffon stacks, Black and Red Kites and a Common Kestrel. It was very hot so we retreated for a cold drink on the other side of the road passing a dapper little male Banded Groundling on the way.

Banded Groundling

Spotless Starlings were feasting on the Mulberries and a pale Booted Eagles put the wind up all the local House Martins and Swallow followed by a Hobby doing just the same thing.  As is the norm with me being abroad, it was good to bump into Adrian Thomas, one of my good friends from my time with the RSPB where he still works tirelessly.

Booted Eagle

Spotless Starling

Spotless Starling

Suitably refreshed, we moved on north again on a long main road drive before heading straight for the zig-zag road up and over the Puerto del Pico. The views back down to the plains to the south was stunning and we stopped in the cool air at the summit viewpoint adding a singing Whitethroat and our first Queen of Spain Fritillaries in the process. Jim saw a couple of Red-billed Choughs as we descended the other side into what felt like a proper Alpine glaciated valley.

This young man (Kevin I think his name was) offered to clean the windows

Puerto del Pico

Before too long we had arrived at Almanzor, our lodgings on the outskirts of the picturesque Navarredonda de Gredos.  There were birds to be seen immediately and our sumptuous lunch was somewhat disturbed but hearing Iberian Green Woodpecker and getting our first good views of Robin, Coal Tit, Nuthatch, Cirl Bunting, Jay and a pair of fabulous Iberian Pied Flycatchers.

Birding between mouthfuls

We all loved the bespoke plates

Nuthtach

There was time for a wander around the grounds before our afternoon jaunt up into the high Gredos. The Iberian Pied Flycatchers were particularly accommodating and intriguing baring more than a passing resemblance to Semi-collared especially with the coldness of the plumage tone and median covert bar on the female and suggestion of a paler collar along with big wing patch.  The male also had a large conjoined white forehead patch more like Collared and importantly, the already split Atlas along with a big primary patch, extended white onto the outer greater coverts and a hint of a pale rump.  Surely if Atlas is deserving of full species then Iberian should at least be a form of that?

Iberian Pied Flycatchers 

Rock Buntings and Western Bonelli’s Warbler were to be heard along with Goldcrest, our first Carrion Crows and a flopping Hoopoe going to its nest.  A fine blue headed male Schreiber's Green Lizard briefly paused by the drinking pool.

Rock Bunting

Schreiber's Green Lizard - Jim Hully

A lilac tree was in full bloom and attracted a host of Butterflies with Large Whites, Small Tortoiseshells, Green Veined Whites, Small Heath, Queen of Spain Fritillaries and a fabulous Striped Hawkmoth that hovered energetically. Orange Tips zipped around at ground level but were trumped by the outrageous yellow and orange Provence Orange Tip.  There was not the slightest chance of getting a shot as both species never seem to stop.

Striped Hawkmoth

Striped Hawkmoth

Small Tortoiseshell

Queen of Spain Fritillary

Queen of Spain Fritillary

Large White

Small Heath

Red Kites tumbled overhead

Not sure on this Wall Lizard yet

We soon headed up the road and started to climb up into the rocky pasture land and Broom scrub.  It was a lovely evening and a completely different suite of birds were encountered.  A pair of Red-backed Shrikes were found on the way up in a Bramble clump – this is about as far south as they get in Spain.  Knapweed Frits and both Small and Iberian Sooty Copper were new to the Butterfly list.

Queen of Spain Fritillary

Bath White

Iberian Sooty Copper

Tarantula burrow - no one was home

Red-backed Shrike

As we climbed we started to notice Dunnocks singing from the boulders.  In Iberia they are a mid to high altitude species and they certainly ‘felt’ different to the birds we encounter back home being browner and sleeker and with a different cadence to the reedy song.  I have read that there is a move to create a three way split with Iberian, Caucuses and the rest of Europe. 

Tree Heath

Iberian Dunnock

Iberian Dunnock

There were Skylarks up here too which sounded slightly different and the couple I saw on boulders looked quite short billed. Perhaps the Gredos is holding other cryptic species? Ortolan was a new songster for me and I was not expecting them in habitat similar to Cretzschmar’s as I had imagined them as a forest edge, big garden species.  Like their congener they loved to sing from the top of big boulders and blended seamlessly with the orange and green lichens.

Ortolan

Skylark

Water Pipits and Iberian Wagtails were dotted around the boggy areas but we could not find the relict Snipe population. A couple of smart male Northern Wheatears were seen and at least one male Bluethroat of the completely blue throated local race was found out on the hillside. He was a little far off by the scope did the job and we all saw him singing from the top before displaying and flashing his rufous tail patches.  My friend Kevin Hazelgrove was here a week later and had a bit more time than us and got some amazing shots of these and the Buntings which has allowed me to use here.

Northern Wheatear

Bluethroat 

Ortolan - Kevin Hazelgrove

Bluethroat  - Kevin Hazelgrove

Black Redstarts, Rock Buntings, Whitethroats, Dartford and Sardinian Warblers were all in song and up above us an adult Golden Eagle cruised through and out over such a vast landscape view that it took my breath away.

Whitethroat

Dartford Warbler

Golden Eagle

Rock Bunting

Rock Bunting

Rock Bunting

We retraced our steps finding a sow Boar with some stripy piglets across the valley and had another look at the Shrikes before returning to our second fine meal at Almanzor.  A Striped Hawkmoth was in the lobby and as we made our way to our rooms we could here Scops Owl ‘pooping’ and the high speed calls of Iberian Tree Frogs to round of another fantastic Spanish day.