EXTREMADURA - 2002/4

Report of a visit by Alf Benton, Phil Cunningham, Simon Goodwin, Tony Gough, Stuart Hodson and Brian Vickers between 8th and 15th May 2002. Prepared by Simon Goodwin - email: simon@goodwin85.freeserve.co.uk

[With additional comments in italics from a second visit by Simon Goodwin with his daughter, Nell Jones, from 11th to 18th May, 2004]

Preamble

Extremadura

Typical oak-studded grasslands

Extremadura is about the size of Wales and is sparsely populated. The landscapes are dominated by vast steppes with grassland, scrub and arable crops, and holm and cork oak-studded grasslands. Adjoining these steppes are mountain ranges up to 8000 feet with considerable coniferous forests. Additionally the maturing of reservoirs and lakes has increased diversity. The main centre for birding, the Parc Natural de Monfrague, is situated in this area approximately 250 km west-south-west of Madrid. The climate is referred to as ‘Mediterranean’ but we arrived to the third day of torrential rain. Fortunately this cleared up although for the first few days it was cool and cloudy. However by the end of the week the temperature had reached about 30 degrees. The local farmers don’t seem to have come across agrichemicals and the sheer volume of flowers in the grassland was exceptional. We were impressed with the positive attitudes to conservation and pleased to note a good number of young Spanish birders with top-range optics. Overall the locals seemed friendly and didn’t complain about our birding antics.

Transport
We travelled by Easyjet (from Liverpool to Madrid) at the cheap price of £70 return. Liverpool airport parking cost £40 for 8 days. [In 2004 the return price was £53(!), the airport parking £30.] Two cars were hired: one in south-east Spain where one member of the party was temporarily living, the other at Madrid Airport. Apart from traffic jams on the Madrid equivalent of the M25 the roads were fast and quiet. Even the potholes on the minor tracks caused little concern. By UK standards, petrol is cheap. [Note that most motorways have recently been renamed. The main one to Extremadura is now called A5. Also the toll motorway R5 to the south of Madrid is now open. It is cheap and cuts out several bottlenecks.]

Accommodation

Hotel Carvajal

Most larger villages have at least one hotel (‘hostal’) providing accommodation at the English equivalent of one or two star status. Rates are charged per room with breakfast and evening meal extra. All rooms we came across were en suite, clean and linen/towels were changed daily. The daily rate was about £25 per double room. [£30 in 2004.] With breakfast and evening meal each individual was paying about £20 per night. Food was nothing special being concentrated around chops and large thin slices of meat with chips. However because of our mainly conservative tastes and our inability to read the menu, we probably didn’t make the most of the local cuisine. [In 2004 still had difficulty finding good local food. In retrospect next time we would go for some self-catering accommodation - in this case when searching the web look for 'casa rural' or 'apartmentos rurales'.] It should be noted that most of the locals do not speak English. A good phrase book and a little homework determining where to find in it sentences such as “What time is breakfast and how much is it?” would have been beneficial. [The best place for an initial search for accommodation is www.infohostal.com.] At this time of year you have about a 90% chance of rooms being free if you just turn up at a hostal. We initially booked over the internet at Hotel Carvajal (0034) 927455260 (carvajal@bme.es) in Torrejon el Rubio. This hotel is ideally situated 5km from Monfrague, and about 25km from the ‘bustard plains’. The rooms could have done with a little money spending on them but they were comfortable. [Breakfast (freshly pressed orange juice etc) was a tad expensive at 6 euros.] Nice atmosphere though and usually other birders to swop info with. [Also the bar was now open all day, provided one was willing to accept the endless bull-fighting on a big screen.] When we moved to the Gredos mountains we stayed in an isolated hotel high up in the middle of the coniferous forests. This was the Hostal Pepe near Guisando. The only complaint that we could think of here was that the beds were too soft. For our last day we stayed in the Cuatro Caminos at Calera y Chozas (0034) 925846174, a large, slightly grubby, noisy village but the accommodation was very modern and the food OK once we’d got over the concept of not having a menu. No cause for complaint when you are only 5km away from Great Bustard and Black-winged Kite.

The Birds
Timing the visit was a bit of a dilemma. Earlier and we would have been more confident of seeing substantial flocks of bustard and sandgrouse, but missed some of the later arriving breeding birds like Roller. Going later the trip reports we read suggested there was considerable difficulty locating the bustards and sandgrouse but would be guaranteed White-rumped Swift. Indeed we missed the latter which hadn’t arrived at the expected site at the Castillo in Monfrague by 13th May. [We went three days later in 2004 but the spring was definitely more advanced: reduced numbers of Montague's Harriers were displaying, far smaller numbers of both Bustards, Calandra Lark, Rock Bunting etc.] Other significant misses included Great Spotted Cuckoo (rather embarrassingly as everyone else saw at least one), Red Avadavat, Golden Eagle (few and far between?), Black Wheatear (even fewer and further between?), any sort of owl except Eagle, [Golden Eagle, Black Wheatear, Little Owls seen in 2004.] Tawny or Water Pipit, Spectacled Warbler, Rock Thrush and Citril Finch (which we expected in the Gredos mountains). Also disappointing was the number and variety of warblers. However the compensations far outweighed these dips: 25 Great Bustards at one site and 18 at another, skies with raptors continually popping up all over the place, good numbers of Montagu’s Harriers displaying, Penduline Tit feeding young, Roller and Black-winged Kite in the same scope, Spanish Imperial Eagle just over the car, a group of Lesser Kestrels feeding on some type of lizard etc. The sheer volume of birds and the excellent views of nearly all species meant that the area can be recommended to any interested birders. Apart from birds there were ibex, wild boar, 3 foxes including one that came to take food out of the hand, an unusual red squirrel (sub-species arrui or moufflon that has been introduced very successfully from the Atlas Mountains), plenty of fish (and few fishermen), an unidentified snake, lots of small lizards, butterflies including Spanish Festoon, Bath Light, Clouded Yellow and Queen of Spain Fritillary, and numerous dragonflies and damselflies, the pick of which was a stunning adult male Scarlet Darter. [Additionally a stag, lots of terrapins and snakes up to 5 ft in length.]

The Sites and Simplified Itinerary

Parque Natural de Monfrague

Apart from optics and a bottle of water the only other essential is John Muddeman’s ‘A Birdwatching Guide to Extremadura’ published by Arlequin Press, ISBN 1-900159-31-7. Under no circumstances go without it. It is an excellent clear site guide which provides detailed instructions of the best possible places for viewing. Bear in mind that the Guardia do not appreciate parking on the main roads; find a track or farm entrance to pull into.
9th - Belen Plains, south-west of Trujillo (Muddeman Area No 12) specifically for bustards. We found the best site to be about 4km from Belen where a track crosses the road on the brow of a rise; the track to the north here being best. Try to get there early morning before the heat haze has built up. Trujillo to Monroy (Muddeman Area No 11) A rewarding road with plenty of stopping places that would have easily repaid a second visit.
10th - Monfrague Parc (Muddeman Area No 4) The public are excluded from a large proportion of the Parc but there is still plenty of variety in the available habitat and there are many excellent viewpoints. Don’t miss the Arroyo de la Vid, the Castillo, the Punte del Cardenal, Mirador de la Bascula (where some of us were filmed by TV watching Spanish Imperial Eagle) and the next two viewpoints to the east: the latter, Portilla del Tietar, being the nest-site for Eagle Owl and Black Stork. The village of Villareal de San Carlos provides coffee, ice-cream, information leaflets, naff tourist mementoes and is a magnet for lots of people at weekends
11th - Trujillo to north of Caceres via Santa Marta de Magasca. (Muddeman Area No 11) Another productive area although the track from (Muddeman) site 5 to site 10 gives extensive views and is hard work when looking for bustards and sandgrouse. At site 10 we turned right and proceeded to the viewpoint south of the Rio Almonte for excellent views of Short-toed Eagles (Muddeman Area No 9). We didn’t complete the circuit of Area 9 but only visited the reed-beds and wetland at Embalse de Talavan (site 8)
12th - Return to Belen plains for more views of bustards. Embalse de Arroyocompo (Muddeman Area Q1) for more wetland species. Then entry into Monfrague from the road to the north-east.
13th - The Castillo in Monfrague for a failed attempt at White-rumped Swift. Travel to the south side of the Gredos mountains and birding around Guisando. Lovely area with great scenery but generally both quantity and quality of birds were disappointing.
14th - More birding around Guisando then south to eastern Extremadura and visit to the reservoirs and wetland at Embalse de Azutan (Muddeman Area 6). Night at Calera y Chozas.
15th - Calera y Chozas (Muddeman Area 5) track from site 1 to site 2. This area, only a few km from Calera y Chozas, provided some of the best birding of the trip, in particular the track just north of site 1 and the area on the right just before the crossroads near the farm. With Embalse de Azutan nearby it is well worth spending at least one day in this area, indeed being only 130 km from Madrid it would be possible to cover this area in a long weekend.
[Try to get to Embalse de Caceres - go east from Caceres and turn north after 3 km. We had 50 Collared Pratincole, 40 Little Tern, 2000 Cattle Egret, nesting Black-winged Stlit etc there. Also a very good cafe for food and cold drinks.]

Systematic List
Little Grebe Occasional birds with a maximum of two pairs, at Embalse de Talavan.
Great Crested Grebe As above but with six pairs on this fairly small area of water.
Cormorant A single south at Puente de Silos, Embalse de Talavan was a surprise as this species is usually considered a winter visitor.
Little Bittern At least one bird over the reeds at Embalse de Arroyocompo. [Showing well 2004.]
Night Heron Six at Embalse de Arroyocompo, two at Embalse de Talavan and, more unusually, three from a bedroom window in middle of Calera y Chozas.
Cattle Egret Difficult to assess numbers but a few thousand at least. There were trees in the plains and along the roads that were covered in this species. Additionally, whatever the habitat, a few were always flying around.
Little Egret About half a dozen birds during the holiday but there may have been more in the Cattle Egret flocks.
Grey Heron No more than two birds on any day. One was seen fishing on the wing.
Purple Heron More numerous than above, especially at Embalse de Azutan where there were up to six.
Black Stork Mainly, but not exclusively, seen in Monfrague, with at least five there on 10th. Bird on nest at the Portilla del Tietar on the north-east road heading out of the Parc. “In western Europe Spain possesses the largest population, of some 200 pairs; Extremadura has a minimum of 150 pairs of these.”
White Stork Several hundred pairs during the week often on nests in their usual prominent places. Uncommon however in Monfrague.
Mallard Small numbers except at Embalse de Azutan where about 20 were recorded.
[Gadwall breeding at Embalse de Talavan.]
Shoveler A pair at Embalse de Azutan were unexpected as this is another species considered to be a winter visitor.
Honey Buzzard Two birds at the watchpoint above the Rio Almonte.
Black-winged Kite Having read many recent trip reports where birders were unsuccessful with this species, we were extremely pleased to be successful at our first attempt on the evening of 9th at the Monroe site (Muddeman Area 11 site 10). (Failure to locate this bird in the previous year may have been due to its having moved its nest site to an area south of the main road.) No more sightings until the last day at Calera y Chozas (Muddeman Area 5) with a distant bird from the track at site 1, followed by excellent views, near the crossroads north of site 2, of a juvenile mobbing a Red Kite and then perching out. [At both sites in 2004.]
Black Kite Between 20 and 50 a day for the first few days, than much reduced numbers as we moved further east.
Red Kite Approximately 35 birds in total in the first three days but very few after that.
Egyptian Vulture Mainly seen in Monfrague where they breed - maximum daily count of ten. Elsewhere an occasional bird.
Black Vulture The first four days produced totals between five and ten; after that only an odd bird. “Extremadura accommodates almost 500 pairs, about half of the Spanish population, with the world’s largest colony at Monfrague (over 225 pairs).” It was noted that this species tended to favour the grassland, several, for example, cruising over the Belen plains.
Griffon Vulture Like Cattle Egret another extremely successful species with at least 50 birds daily until we moved east. Approximately 15 together with one of the above species were feeding on a sheep in a nearby field outside Santa Marta. Half a dozen birds in the Gredos mountains were little recompense for the lack of raptors in this area.
Short Toed Eagle Not a problem. A total approaching 20 including two over the middle of Trujillo. The best views however were where the Rio Almonte crosses the Caceres/Torrejon el Rubio road. At this breeding site you could observe this species from above. Two birds with a noticeably different structure were believed to be of this species and considered to be juveniles.

Rio Almonte - breeding site for Short Toed Eagle

Marsh Harrier Mainly in the east either near Calera y Chozas or Embalse de Azutan. Both males and cream-crowns with a daily maximum of four.
Montagu’s Harrier Mainly elegant males which were one of the sights of the holiday; displays and food passes being seen. About ten on 9th and 25 on 11th when a high density was noted over the crops. After that none until a total of seven in the last two days in the eastern area. “A third of the European population, of 1,500 - 2,000 pairs, breeds in Extremadura.”
Goshawk A single bird from the Castillo in Monfrague.
Buzzard Less than 20 birds all holiday with about half of these on 9th.
Spanish Imperial Eagle A bird at close quarters just above the road at Arroyo de la Vid in Monfrague was the highlight. A pair with two active chicks was nesting on a pylon 4km from Torrejon el Rubio. (Take the Caceres road and after 4 km turn north down a track signed Tahina, park up and walk down 300 yds.) Staying at Torrejon el Rubio means you can pop out and see them before breakfast. An adult was observed from the ‘official’ viewing spot at Mirador de la Bascula in Monfrague, and two birds passed over the watchpoint between there and the Portilla del Tietar.
[Golden Eagle west of Santa Marta on the 'long, dodgy' track.]
Booted Eagle Mainly pale phase and some seen at close quarters. Recorded daily with totals varying between one and eight.
Bonelli’s Eagle Some Danes at the Hotel Carvajal said that to see a Bonelli’s Eagle, go to the viewpoint at the Castillo in Monfrague and watch over the main body of water at either 9am or 6:10pm. One member of our party was rather sniffy about this information. Still, nothing ventured, nothing gained. As it happens the Danes were wrong as the bird appeared at 6.05pm.
Lesser Kestrel Lots and lots of kestrel sp but many were often distant birds. The first Lessers nailed down were a party of six first-year males successfully hunting lizards over a small, obviously productive, spot. After that ten on 11th including several over the middle of Trujillo, six on 12th and five on 15th, but to a certain extent this reflects how much time we were prepared to devote to separation of the species.
Kestrel Our records indicate something like twice the number of the above species, but Kestrel sp tended to be put under this species, and the proportions cannot be relied upon.
Peregrine Three in Monfrague on 10th.
Red-legged Partridge Seen and heard on most days with a maximum daily count of about ten.
Quail A couple seen in flight but as usual mainly heard. Daily records show a maximum count of 15 but sometimes it felt a lot more than that. Interestingly a trip report from the end of May recorded just one. [Only two in 2004.]
Moorhen A few odd ones early on and then five at Embalse de Azutan.
Purple Swamp-Hen Or for those who’d seen one before, Purple Gallinule. Four at Embalse de Arroyocompo, five at Embalse de Azutan.
Coot Six at Embalse de Talavan. Singles elsewhere.
Little Bustard Along with Calandra and Crested Lark the sound of the plains. Its dry soft ‘prrt’ call often coming from thick grass only a few feet away from us. But not only heard, also seen flying, copulating or just hanging around. In the opinion of one party member the male, although overwhelmed in size by the following species, is more than a match for it in attractiveness. Something like 20 recorded on 9th alone. If there are that many close enough to the road to be heard how many are there altogether in these vast spaces? A trip report from the end of May noted that there were no calling birds. “This species is rapidly and unexpectedly disappearing from its strongholds in North Africa and Eastern Europe. Only the Iberian peninsula retains a significant population, much of it within Extremadura.” [Only 11 all holiday in 2004.]
Great Bustard The reason to be birding in Extremadura for at least one member of the party. Two displaying males and a female on our first visit to the Belen plains. Returning a few days later in the early morning to avoid the heat haze produced 18 birds. We thought that was it but at Calera y Chozas (Muddeman Area 5) on the track north of site 1 we found 25 with nine eventually flying past; getting that weight off the ground must be some achievement. “6,000 of the global population of 22,000-25,000 individuals inhabit Extremadura.” Considering the ease with which they must be able to be shot and the potential food value, one can only applaud the Spanish for not exterminating them. [Reduced numbers in 2004.]
Black-winged Stilt Three, along with a few other waders, on an obscure pool near Santa Marta (Muddeman Area 10, site 2).
Stone Curlew Two and one on Belen Plains on 9th and 12th respectively. Additionally singles near Santa Marta and Calera y Chozas (Muddeman Area 5).
Little Ringed Plover Three at both the Santa Marta area and Embalse de Azutan.
Common Sandpiper A single near Santa Marta and two at Embalse de Azutan.
[Lots of Collared Partincole at Embalse de Caceres.]
Black Tern Single birds, presumably on passage, hunting over water Embalse de Talavan and Embalse de Azutan.
Gull-billed Tern A surprise, given the location; two moving over the plains whilst watching Great Bustard at Calera y Chozas (Muddeman Area 5) on the track north of site 1.
Black-bellied Sandgrouse We had to work really hard to find any sandgrouse. Up to 11th we had only had fairly brief views of a party of six flying at Muddeman Area 11 somewhere near site 6. We continued spending many hours scanning ploughed and stony fields, and it wasn’t until we spent three hours on the track between sites 5 and 10 on Muddeman Area 10 that there was further success. Halfway along this road we disturbed two of this species who gave excellent views in flight. Then about four km short of the Caceres road just after a white house set back off the road on the left, we had distant views of six sandgrouse sp., followed by the excellent sight of 18, which included four of the following species. They eventually returned to the site from where they had been disturbed on the right of the road. Landing in a ploughed field only 40 m away they immediately became invisible, which suggested to us that all our hours of previous scanning had been pointless - it was just a question of waiting to see them in flight. Having put so much time into finding these species these views immediately became one of the highlights of the holiday and it was particularly rewarding to compare the two species in flight. Our pleasure was not diminished by the fact that Lee Evans and companion had previously driven past this spot about half an hour earlier with no success.
Pin-tailed Sandgrouse Four. For details see above species.

Needle in a haystack No.1 - Looking for sandgrouse

Feral Pigeon Several hundred on 9th with usually double-figure counts after this.
Stock Dove Just two pairs. Wood Pigeon Between three and ten daily.
Collared Dove A pair on each of three days.
Turtle Dove A party of at least 20 feeding around a muck heap at Muddeman Area 11 site 6 was either (a) exceptional or (b) suggestive of how many of this species were hiding in the oak trees along with Great Spotted Cuckoo. Elsewhere about half a dozen birds were either seen or heard.
Cuckoo Roughly ten birds, heard or seen, throughout the stay.
Eagle Owl The nesting site is in the crags at Portilla del Tietar on the road going east out of the Parc Monfrague. That’s the easy bit. Finding the birds there is another matter requiring knowledge of their favourite bit of crag or luck in seeing their brief movement from one position to another. About five hours of viewing produced the full view of one adult partially hidden behind a tree, the top of one adult’s head, and one chick (losing its downy feathers) which obligingly came out into the open for a few minutes. Once the chick had settled back into cover only bits of it could be seen whilst it was sleeping and it was amusing trying to convince many Spanish birders that a small patch was indeed part of a chick. Most of them thought we were making it up until after an hour or so the chick made some small movements, at which point the Spanish must have thought that we had super-human eyesight. [Additionally breeding at Pena Falcon and near the bridge at Punte del Cardenal. At latter site park in layby (next to track which goes down to reservoir passed some strange huts) walk back along road 200 yds towards bridge, climb banking and scope rock face just above tree-line.]

Needle in a haystack No.2 - Eagle Owl site

Red-necked Nightjar Two calling birds half a km south of Hotel Carvajal on the Torrejon el Rubio/Trujillo road at 10pm. We t*p*d one bird which came to have a look at us but then decided we were of no interest.
Alpine Swift Not that many. Three in Monfrague at Punte del Cardenal and three on 11th.
Common Swift Or should we say swift sp. Between ten and at least 50 every day.
Pallid Swift Sorted out about half a dozen on 11th and then ignored them. No idea what the actual proportions of the two species were.
Kingfisher Singles at Monfrague, Embalse de Arroyocompo and Embalse de Azutan.
Bee-eater Good numbers: between ten and 20 every day.
Roller Starting to get worried about this species until 11th when we saw seven north of Caceres (Muddeman Area 10 site 10 (approximately)) sitting on posts alongside the road. Two at the Black-winged Kite spot (Muddeman Area Area 5 north of site 2) gave even closer views. Cracking bird. [Exactly same spots in 2004.]
Hoopoe Around 20 birds on 9th, but then only a daily maximum of five.
Green Woodpecker One at Embalse de Azutan was no doubt of sub-species sharpei but we didn’t get a good look at its facial pattern.
Great Spotted Woodpecker Singles on 12th and in the Gredos mountains next day.
Calandra Lark A very common bird around grassland and arable crops where it seems to fill the niche that Skylark does in the UK. Far fewer birds around Calera y Chozas.
Short-toed Lark. Very disappointing numbers with just a single at Muddeman Area 11 site 8, and two at the ‘sandgrouse spot’ in Muddeman Area 10.
Crested Lark All birds were taken as this species unless proved otherwise. Daily totals varied between at least ten to well over 50.
Thekla Lark Sorting out this species from the above was something to do when there was nothing else going on. At least one bird was confirmed on each of the first three days with about ten on 12th. Certain birds were clearly Thekla, some clearly Crested, but there seemed a significant number that mixed the features of the two species. This is clearly down to our inexperience with these birds and means that we are unable to give a satisfactory estimate of the proportions.
Woodlark Three, all singing birds, recorded on each of three days: 9th, 11th, and 13th.
Sand Martin Small numbers with a single on 9th, and about five on both the following two days.
Crag Martin At least ten per day rising to around 50 at Embalse de Azutan.
Swallow A minimum of 20 per day.
Red-rumped Swallow About half as common as the above species.
House Martin Plentiful with over a hundred on 10th.
Grey Wagtail A single on 11th and three in the Gredos mountains.
White Wagtail No more than two on any one day.
Dipper At least one in the mountains. ~
Wren Singles in Monfrague and at Guisando.
Robin Relatively shy and retiring birds: a single on 11th and up to three in the mountains.
Nightingale Many heard with a maximum daily count of 15, but hardly any good views.
Black Redstart Four records of singles, two of them on buildings in Arenas de San Pedro.
Stonechat Really quite a lot darker than those that we are used to. Seen every day with a maximum count of 10.
Whinchat A single, presumably a migrant passing through, on 9th was unexpected.
Black-eared Wheatear Disappointing numbers: four on 11th and one the following day.
[Black Wheatear. Trujillo/Monroy road. Park car on south side of Rio Almonte. Walk west on path on south side of river for about 300 yds until path finishes. Should be around rocks there. Was there as well in 1999.]
Blackbird Between five and ten every day.
Blue Rock Thrush The main stronghold was Monfrague with six there on 10th. Only one seen outside the Parc. [Breeding at Pena Falcon.]
Mistle Thrush Two on the first day.
Cetti’s Warbler Five at both Embalse de Arroyocompo and the Gredos mountains, two at Embalse de Azutan.
Zitting Cisiticola Small numbers heard most days outside of Monfrague.
Savi’s Warbler A reeling bird watched at Embalse de Arroyocompo.
Reed Warbler Three at Embalse de Arroyocompo and four at Embalse de Azutan.
Sedge Warbler A non-breeding species in Extredamura so a single at Embalse de Azutan was a surprise.
Great Reed Warbler Three at Embalse de Talavan were making their usual racket. Additionally singles were heard at Embalse de Arroyocompo and Embalse de Azutan.
Melodious Warbler Two in Monfrague, three in the mountains and five at Embalse de Azutan: all singing and showing well. One of the few warblers that didn’t disappoint.
Dartford Warbler Very poor. A brief glimpse of one as it flew across the road in front of the car in Monfrague. ~
Subalpine Warbler Not at all the frequency we were led to expect; just eight records all holiday. Noted as the commonest warbler by a trip report from end of May.
Sardinian Warbler Only four records until 14th when we saw eight around Embalse de Azutan. Noted as “widespread” by a trip report from end of May.
Orphean Warbler Two heard in the Gredos mountains.
Blackcap Only seen in the mountains with three on 13th and five the following day.
Bonelli’s Warbler Two singles near Guisando.
Long-tailed Tit Apart from five in Monfrague on 10th only a few singles noted.
Crested Tit An adult feeding young above the dam in Monfrague, and two in the Gredos mountains.
Coal Tit Two at Guisando.
Blue Tit No more than ten birds all week.
Great Tit Just a few more than above species.
Nuthatch A single at a nest-box by our hotel at Guisando.
Short-toed Treecreeper We came across about a dozen birds at various sites.
Penduline Tit Excellent views of an adult nest-building, frantically twisting pieces of reed, and another adult feeding four youngsters, all at Embalse de Azutan. [Young at latter site 2004.]
Golden Oriole Good sights of one in Monfrague on 10th, at least three just outside the Parc on 12th, two in the mountains, five at Embalse de Azutan and two at the ‘Black-winged Kite site’ near Calera y Chozas.
Southern Grey Shrike Numbers tailed off after at least ten per day in the first half of the holiday.
Woodchat Shrike Over twenty birds spread over the first four days.
Jay Five in the mountains, with three recorded in Monfrague.
Azure-winged Magpie Very common in the oak woodland with at least 50 seen on 9th. None seen around Calera y Chozas and just one near Guisando.
Magpie Between five and 15 seen most days.
Chough At least one at close quarters around the Castillo in Monfrague.
Jackdaw 20+ seen all holiday.
Raven Small numbers daily with maximum count of five.
Spotless Starling Despite being a ‘lifer’ for one member of the party, ignored. 20 was a low daily count.
House Sparrow Too common.
Spanish Sparrow Something like 40 birds with half these seen on 11th.
Tree Sparrow Not seen until Embalse de Azutan where 15 were recorded.
Rock Sparrow Initially three seen with a large flock of House Sparrow at Muddeman Area 11 site 8. Then a pair feeding young at Arroyo de la Vid in Monfrague. [At bottom of rock face below the Castillo.]
Chaffinch Fairly common in the mountains with about five/day seen elsewhere but none in the eastern areas.
Serin Reasonable numbers heard and seen with daily maxima of ten.
Greenfinch A total of five birds, mainly in the Parc.
Goldfinch Between five and ten most days.
Linnet About ten birds all holiday.
Hawfinch Two drinking at Arroyo de la Vid in Monfrague and a single on 13th.
Cirl Bunting One bird on the wires at Guisando.
Rock Bunting Easy to find and confiding, particularly at Monfraque - at least 20 birds during the holiday.
Ortolan Bunting A male showed well at Muddeman Area 10 site 8.
Corn Bunting Everywhere on appropriate habitat. Challenged House Sparrow for the most abundant species.