One of our favourite haunts in the Monchique hills, is the walk up to the small and picturesque village of Caldas. I have visited this site many times and usually come across something completely unexpected. There are always the 'residents' - plentiful supplies of Blackcaps, Nuthatches around the village square and, the Grey Wagtails along the stream, the source of the Monchique mineral water. There is a wonderful air of tranquility and quiet walking around Caldas, at the same time though, I felt the need to dig out some star birds in all this woodland. I got off to a good start with two Firecrests, following a tit flock and constantly checked all the Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs. A Jay and Great-spotted Woodpecker made their presence known vocally. Between two trees in a patch of blue sky, I saw two eagles passing over the valley. By the time I had configured the camera for bright sky, I had all but lost the birds behind distant trees. Looking over several images I took, I'm sure they were Golden Eagles and, this one, possibly a second/third year bird. I had no sooner taken those images when a Common Buzzard flew past, carrying a eucalyptus branch to a conifer tree in the valley. Nesting time already perhaps. These were the unexpected sightings I referred to earlier as, I have had little success with raptors here in the past, despite the ideal landscape. With my eyes back in the trees, another great bird to see at Caldas is the Crested Tit. The approach road has large pines on the left and these are likely places to check. Rather like the Firecrest, a 'zi-zi' is all that may be heard and they don't always show well among the pine needles. On the subject of bird calls, the Common Chiffchaffs which have spent the winter in 'silent mode' are now starting their 'chiff cheff chiff cheff' calling, more noticeably each day and, so it seems is the Iberian Chiffchaff with its completely different 'seeo' call. I found at least three at Caldas today and photographed this one many times, looking for visual differences. Identification by call is still the safest way, this particular Iberian Chiffchaff has some white on its forehead which is not normally found. An excellent day at Caldas de Monchique with the tiny Firecrest to the mighty Golden Eagle providing much enjoyment.
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