Before making my way up to Cabranosa, I spent a while on the hilltop behind the villa. It was only 9-00 a.m. but on a lovely sunny morning, various raptors were already in the sky. Two Short-toed Eagles were close, with a pale Booted Eagle further away. A Peregrine and a possible female Merlin dashed over the hill within minutes of each other. A 360 degree scan showed at least five Kestrels in the air, three of which were flying close together. A Black-shouldered Kite made a brief appearance, hovering in various places over the hill and present for its second consecutive day for me. 56 Choughs were feeding close by, with 3 Ravens. Pipits and larks were passing over in large numbers, mainly Meadow Pipits. A party of 7 Northern Lapwing was more unusual. Short-toed Eagle from the hill. Stopping at Vale Santo farm further on, still no success with a Dotterel but a couple of White Storks had dropped in for a rest. At Cabranosa, I was met with a Common Buzzard on arrival, the only one seen on this visit. It felt a little quiet on the raptor front, until you began scanning very high up. A group of 7 or 8 Short-toed Eagles had been moving around for some time and, both a pale and dark Booted Eagle were noted too. In the middle of my lunch (!) I noticed three Bonelli's Eagles at great height and attempted to get some record photos and assess the ages. An adult Bonelli's Eagle. Juvenile Bonelli's (left) with adult (right). Juvenile Bonelli's (left) with both adults. Stroppy juvenile getting a telling off! As happened yesterday, the Griffon Vultures made their way towards the peninsula in their hundreds. Today they fell well short of reaching Cabranosa and were just impressive dots in the distance. There were many more birds on the ground too. In the space of a few yards, there was a Pied Flycatcher, Common Redstart and this fine Black Redstart all around the parked cars.
Margaret Crompton
22/10/2018 05:08:03 pm
Save some for next week, please! I remember our "best " Cabranosa day last year was 23rd October. Hoping they will still be on the move when we arrive towards the end of next week. In the meantime, great pics as usual, Nigel! Comments are closed.
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