A couple of weeks ago, a keen eyed observer at RSPB Bempton Cliffs saw the Black-browed Albatross once again, flying in over the sea. It soon settled on its favoured rock face at Staple Newk. Hopefully, we will have another summer with this magnificent seabird showing spectacularly, as it did last year. At the moment, the bird is a little less predictable as it goes missing for a couple of days at a time. Also, one of its perches can be out of sight from the viewpoint and once seen flying in to the cliffs, one assumes it has perched there. Having been a 'life' bird for me last year, I returned yesterday to watch this amazing Albatross once more. The Albatross flying over its roost, among the Gannet population. Between long spells waiting for the Albatross to fly again, the Gannets are equally as wonderful as they begin another breeding season here at Bempton. In the late autumn at Sagres, I watch Gannets pouring South along the Atlantic coast. A count of one thousand per hour is not unusual on some days which, although a spectacle in itself, it cannot compete with the close proximity of the Bempton Gannets. Nest building is well underway and the first egg was laid last week, according to the Reserve. A Northerly wind provided a great up-draught on this visit.
Day 3 - Grasslands towards Caceres. With a clear blue sky and the sun rising steadily, we loaded the car with our birding equipment and refreshments for the day. Passing through Torrejon el Rubio once more, we took a right turn and headed out on the EX-390 towards Caceres. The landscape comprised mostly of cork oak woodland or 'dehesas' and before finally leaving this scene, we made a short stop at a nest site for White Storks. What surprised us here, on getting out of the car was the deafening sound of hundreds of Spanish Sparrows! The storks were nesting in the tops of various pine trees and each nest (of colossal proportions) was in turn, the nesting place for the Spanish Sparrows. This is a common happening where both these species occur. The White Stork presumably tolerates the many 'chirping' sparrows under its feet! A dark form Booted Eagle stooped into one of the pines and was probably also nesting there. We continued our drive, watching the landscape change slowly and trying to assess where would be a likely place to find our sought after 'sandgrouse'. Just as the the fields were starting to look a little more stoney and the vegetation thinning out, we were confronted with a massive solar farm extending for a considerable distance on one side of the road. Undeterred we made a stop here, as the other side of the road looked very promising indeed. The first sounds we heard came from a small Bee-eater colony on sandy ground by a nearby farm. A small lake at the farm had Black-winged Stilts and a Greenshank wading in the shallows. Larks were singing everywhere, Calandra Larks seemed to be the most numerous and were performing their flight songs around us. The Calandra is a large lark with a stout bill and conspicuous black breast patch. In flight, the black underwing shows well and a white trailing edge is also visible usually. Thekla's Larks were also seen in small numbers and two Short-toed Larks settled in front of us at some distance away. Chris saw a large bird flying into the field and called out 'Great Bustard'. It settled down on the ground and remained difficult to see, a long way off. It turned out to be the only Great Bustard we did see so we were pleased with that sighting at least. We moved on, looking for a different location and still hoping for our target birds. A difficult aspect turned out to be the few places to stop safely, as both sides of the road slope away for drainage and the land is fenced, always. We found another ideal location where, on dry-stoned walls, Northern Wheatears were seen. In the same place, smart Black Redstarts were hopping on the wall and I was hoping very much that just one bird would turn out to be a Black Wheatear. Scrutinising each bird carefully, I then noticed around ten pigeon-sized birds flying towards me, above the wall. I quickly called out to Chris and we both stood in awe as a small flock of Pin-tailed Sandgrouse passed in front of us. The Pin-tailed Sandgrouse was a new species for me. The fact that this was the only time I had left the car without my camera (!!) didn't lessen my delight, as I watched them fly close by, showing all the necessary features distinguishing them from the Black-bellied Sandgrouse. We saw numerous other species around here and there were always raptors in the air, between searching the fields. On the way back, another stop off by a river led to us finding a Purple Heron, which we hadn't anticipated at all. I've barely covered the fascinating birds and landscape to be found here - much more time is needed in this vast natural area. Day 4 - Castillo de Monfrague. Our final day before leaving for Madrid began at the Castle and Hermitage, set high on the hill where it gives the best views possible of the superb raptors. The walk up to the hill is best done slowly and steadily, checking the surrounding trees for small birds like this brilliant Subalpine Warbler. Finally we reach the castle and the views are breath-taking. Now, we are among the magnificent vultures. Without a doubt, an experience never to be forgotten! The walk back down the hill saw us looking at a pair of subadult Golden Eagles, one of which was clearly giving a display flight. We made a final visit to Puente del Cardenal before saying goodbye to Chris and Sue there. The Egyptian Vultures were showing well once more and we added a Cirl Bunting to our long list of species found on this great trip. A timely adult Bonelli's Eagle completed our raptor list, flying gracefully across the river. * * * * * * *
Introduction. During our Autumn stays in Sagres, several of our friends have spoken of the Monfrague National Park in Spain. As an avid raptor watcher, they had impressed on me the absolute need to visit this magical place. I was told of Griffon Vultures gliding past at eye level, almost within reaching distance or seemingly so. A decision was made between Chris, Sue, Angela and myself to visit Monfrague during the Spring of this year. The plan was, that Chris and Sue would drive up from the Algarve, while we would fly out to Madrid and from there, drive to the National Park. As we hadn't been to Madrid before, a couple of days were spent there taking in the sights, utilising the hop on/hop off buses and the spotlessly clean metro system. Day 1 - The drive to the Monfrague National Park. Having selected which of ten lanes (!) to rapidly leave the traffic in Madrid and once the heart had settled down, we were cruising nicely along the R-5, on our way to meet Chris and Sue at Torrejon el Rubio. I was feeling the excitement of this trip already, passing Lesser Kestrels, a male Hen Harrier, Red and Black Kites, Griffon Vulture, Short-toed Eagle and even a Golden Eagle as the kilometres passed quickly. We met in the small town of Torrejon and rested by a small reservoir, just outside the town. Taking in the variety of small birds around us, we began to compile our list with Crag Martins, Red-rumped Swallows, Rock Bunting and a couple of Bee-eaters among many others. It was now late afternoon as we made our way to our accommodation at 'Hospederia Parque de Monfrague'. A very unique hotel in a lovely setting where we enjoyed the most excellent meals. View from the hotel room across the plain to the Sierra de las Corchuelas. Day 2 - Our first look at the vultures. Incredibly, I woke to the sound of rain pattering on the windows and the morning started off cold, wet and quite breezy. We set off towards our first stop at the famous viewpoint of Salto del Gitano and the rain was already decreasing to odd showers. These huge rock faces are home to hundreds of Griffon, Black and Egyptian Vultures. Griffons can be seen immediately, resting and preening either singly or in small gatherings. As the light was rather poor, we'll look at more Griffons later! This rock face has a small number of breeding Black Storks and we were able to pick out one such nest, across the river. Unlike Sagres where we encounter juvenile storks, these were splendid adult birds. The next large bird on the scene was a Black Vulture, soaring on its wide, straight wings. With so much going on in the air, you have to remind yourself to look around , there are birds to be seen everywhere! A Woodchat Shrike. A partially leucistic Blue Rock Thrush. Moving on, our next stop was at Puente del Cardenal, close to where the rivers Tejo and Tietar divide. We had crossed the river now and in doing so, seen Alpine Swifts and Crag Martins around the bridge. On the lower slope shown above, we had a sighting of a Black-eared Wheatear hopping about among the stones. This was a great migrant to add to the increasing species list and what a colourful bird it was too. Across the river, another Black Stork was nesting and behind us, isolated Griffons stood watching from aloft. One of the highlights I had been hoping for appeared, in the form of adult Egyptian Vultures. Going back to Sagres, only dark brown juveniles are seen there and these were my first adults in contrasting black and white, with a yellow face and bill. I remarked to Chris how they could well be a different species, with such a marked change in plumage compared to the juveniles. With a brighter sky in the afternoon, we returned to Salto del Gitano and spent more time among the Griffon Vultures. With better light, we could clearly see the various nests on the rock face and early signs of some successful egg hatching! Below, the presumed male arrives but is not taking part in the domestics and leaves almost immediately. In Part Two, we spend a day between Torrejon and Caceres, looking at grassland birds in fine, sunny weather. The final day sees us high up at the Castillo de Monfrague, overlooking the entire area and, a little re-cap on some of Day 2 sites.
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