Wild About Spain Blog

Castle Rock

24/6/2013

Spanish Ibex - capra pyrenaica

Following the sighting of a Two-tailed Pasha in the Rio de-la Miel by friend Allen Hartley, I took a trip up the Valley and climbed Castle Rock at the top in search of the elusive butterfly. No luck with that particular quest but there were some interesting sightings anyway. For example I inadvertently disturbed this female Ibex with two kids who made their getaway around the near vertical west side of the Rock. Mother led the way so the two youngsters had to follow, leaping and clambering across the treacherous cliff face. It was incredible to watch, one slip would have meant certain death but to my relief the wonderfully deft and sure-footed animals made their escape without mishap. Just like mountain goats, oh...wait a minute?
They are mountain goats!

Spanish Ibex - capra pyrenaica

Although I did not find the Two-tailed Pasha I did come across this exotic Scarce Swallowtail, a very large and handsome butterfly. Not actually scarce within its normal range, the English name simply describes its status in Britain.

Southern Gatekeeper - pyronia cecelia

Other species sighted include the Southern Gatekeeper. This one has no underside wingspots, unlike its relatives the Common and Spanish Gatekeepers.

Meadow Brown - maniola jurtina

The Meadow Brown is a very plain insect with a single white spot in the "Eye" and no distinct underwing patterning. This is very different from the intricate marbled patterning of the diminutive Grizzled Skipper which blends in with its surroundings very effectively. Camouflage in action.

Grizzled Skipper - pyrgus malvae

Thread-Winged Lacewing - nemoptera-bipennis

This one is not a butterfly, it´s a close up look at the very delicate and beautiful Thread-winged Lacewing which thrives on the hot dry side of Castle Rock.

The Dusky Heath is another brown butterfly identified by an underside rear wing-spot which is set forward and isolated from the other five.

Thread-Winged Lacewing - nemoptera-bipennis

Dusky Heath - coenonympha dorus austauti

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Odds and Ends, & Charca de Suarez News

21/6/2013

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Large Pincertail - onychogomphus uncatus

Since returning from Extremadura it has been a busy time but I have managed to get out on couple of occasions with my new 180mm lens which so far has given some good results. For example this Large Pincertail Dragonfly is a nice sharp image which bodes well for future shots.

Large Pincertail - onychogomphus uncatus

It also happens to be a new species for me, a welcome and handsome addition to my dragonfly list. I believe it is a Large not the more common Small Pincertail, because of it´s size and small variations of the black and yellow patterning of the thorax.

Epaulet Skimmer male -

Here´s another sharp image, this time of a nice male Epaulet Skimmer. Like the Pincertail it was perched on the rocks along the Rio Chillar riverbed above Nerja. This is a very scenic walk which leads through a narrow gorge, in shade and wading in the water which makes it a popular thing to do on a hot summer day.

Long-tailed Blue - lampides boeticus

Butterfly numbers are down after a cold wet winter. I did pick up a new species though, this Long-tailed Blue at the picnic site above Alcaucin

Long-tailed Blue - lampides boeticus

Spanish Gatekeeper - pyronia bathseba

After an abundance of Spanish Festoons earlier in the year there now appears to be lots of Spanish Gatekeepers around, a very attractive insect. Others sighted include False Ilex Hairstreak, Brimstone, Common and Holly Blues, Cardinal Fritillary, Geranium Bronze and Marbled White. I hope to catch sight of a Two-tailed Pasha, recently spotted by a friend Alan Hartley in the Rio de-la-Miel Valley.

Whiskered Tern - chlidonius hybrida

Bird photos have been few and far between. I took this Whiskered Tern on a field outing with the ABS (Andalucia Bird Society) it was hovering over one of the ponds to the North of Osuna. It was an occasion when due to the time of year (June 14th) birds were quite scarce, and with a large number of vehicles in convoy it is difficult to get close to anything.

Black-crowned Night Heron - nycticorax nicticorax

I don´t think this Black-crowned Night Heron at the Rio Velez is the same bird that picked up a sizable snake here a week or so earlier. It looks younger with less distinct plumage.

Changes at the Charca

Marbled Duck - marmaronetta angustirostris

The Charca de Suarez has been very quiet for some time now. The Reserve is being enlarged and developed significantly. The old car parking area is fenced off and "Turtle Dove Alley" is blocked by a chained gate. A lot of work is being done to develop the newly enclosed area and much planting and landscaping is going on inside the old part. I hope it pays off eventually but this year there have been fewer birds than I can ever remember, the works seem to have scared the birds off and there has been nothing much worth visiting the site for. Where have the Marsh Harriers gone? No Snipe, no Crakes, very few Herons, the Egrets have left, even the Coots and Moorhens have largely deserted the place. I haven´t seen a Purple Swamphen for ages, disastrous really. Today however there were a few Little Grebes again, a good sign as they were not there last time I came. There is an imported Red Knobbed Coot although half throttled with a ridiculous neck ring, and wonder of wonders, a Marbled Duck! This is a rare and endangered species so it is great to see, but I wonder if it is a natural visitor, or if it was brought in like the Coot?

Red-knobbed Coot - fulica cristata

Following the sighting of a Two-tailed Pasha in the Rio de-la.Miel by friend Allen Hartley, I took a trip up that Valley and climbed Castle Rock in search of the elusive butterfly. No luck, but I did photograph this Scarce Swallowtail, a very exotic insect.

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Extremadura

8/6/2013

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The Penefalcon at Monfrague National park

Five days of intensive birding in Extremadura this week with the Axarquia Bird Group. June is a bit too late for migratory species and the breeding season has almost finished, but there are always birds to enjoy in this special location.
For example it must be the best place in all of Europe for Raptors, Monfrague National Park alone has at least fifteen breeding species, including three vultures and four eagles.

Griffon Vulture - gyps fulvus

One raptor you can´t miss in Extremadura is the resident Griffon Vulture. There are tens of thousands of them in Spain. Their numbers dwindled in the 1980s when EU rules banned "Muladares", places where farmers would traditionally bring dead livestock for disposal. This practice is again quite widespread.

One of my favourite raptors is the little Lesser Kestrel, most towns and villages in Extremadura have summer breeding colonies. They do not build nests but lay 3 to 4 eggs on roofs and ledges of old buildings. They do well here because the regional agriculture is not heavily dependent on the use of insecticides.

Lesser Kestrel male- falco naumanni

Lesser Kestrel female- falco naumanni

Another incredibly prolific raptor is the Black Kite. We spotted evening gatherings probably numbering in the hundreds, and while Britain has its crows, here the Black Kite is the common scavenger of the countryside. Red Kite and Black-shouldered Kites are also present in Summer but in much smaller numbers. We did see Montagu´s Harrier quite frequently, quartering the dehesa and open steppes. Buzzards were quite numerous and we were lucky to have distant but good views of a Peregrine Falcon over the Penefalcon.

Montagu´s Harrier - circus pygargus

Buzzard

Extremadura is well worth a visit for its raptors alone, let alone all the steppe birds, storks, rollers, cuckoos etc. On our previous visit in March last year we managed twelve raptor species in a single day. Where else can one find that?

Black Kite - milvus migrans

Red Kite

Little Owl - athene noctua

I captured this Little Owl through a gap in the rails of a roadbridge. There was a pair and I suspect they may have nested somewhere underneath the span. They are known to be quite tolerant of human activity which might explain why they are the most common of all the owls.

White stork - ciconia ciconia

Another bird tolerant of humans is the White Stork. They nest on buildings, in trees or on man made platforms anywhere close to open farmland and marshy wetland. They are not persecuted as they are seen as as good omens.

Black Storks are far less common than their white cousins. Monfrague is well known for black stork nests, two of which were visible from the viewing platform at the Penefalcon. It is delightful to be able to watch the parent birds tending to their chicks in safety, it is not possible to get close and even though visible the nests are virtually inaccessible.

Black Stork - ciconia negra

We stayed in the delightful town of Trujillo.The countryside around town is mainly dehesa, which is open grassy grazing areas, sometimes rocky, interspersed with oak forest. The oak trees provide cork and acorns to fatten the black Iberian pigs for the production of valuable Iberica Hams. The area is criss-crossed by rivers and stone bridges are a beautiful feature worth stopping at for the birds and just the pleasure of the scenery.

Bob the Birder by a Bridge in Extremadura

Roller - coracias garrulus

The Roller is a wonderfully coloured bird which is often seen on roadside electric cables. Some far sighted authority once decided to place nest boxes on the telegraph poles which are well utilised by Rollers and Lesser Kestrels.

Roller preening - coracias garrulus

Lesser Kestrel brings food for young

Here is an example of a nest box being utilised by Lesser Kestrels, who must be feeding young as we saw both the male and female coming and going with food.

Speaking of food, here´s a sequence showing a Cormorant (phalocrocorax carbo) tackling a sizable catfish. I am constantly surprised by the amount birds can swallow whole, this fish is clearly bigger than the cormorant´s throat but it appears to be no problem.

Hmm, wot have we here?

But its a very big catfish

Nearly done..

A catfish dinner methinks

Oh well, here goes..

Ok, I think I´ll go and have a nap now.

Another stone bridge,

The cormorant sequence was photographed at Embalse Almaraz Arrocampo, This stone bridge was one of our stops along the way there. I thought it was picturesque enough for inclusion

Common Cuckoo - cuculus canorus

A full list of birds sighted on the trip can be seen on Bob Wrights blog "Birding Axarquia 2", I believe it stands at 103 which is pretty good for the month of June. None of them however gave me as much pleasure as this Common Cuckoo. It is the first one I have seen in Spain and in fact the first since my boyhood days in the 1950s and 60s in England. It is no longer "common" having been in decline ever since. Nothing evokes the coming of Spring more than the song of the Cuckoo and people always noted their first cuckoo of the year. Now many people probably never hear it at all and the world is worse off as a result. As I walked up the country lane trying to get a closer shot it tantalised me by moving along ahead of me, keeping a safe distance between us. I like the photo anyway, it´s a special bird.

One of the main birding attractions of Extremadura is the chance of sighting steppe birds, such elusive species as Bustard, Stone Curlew and Sand Grouse. We were lucky enough to see both little and Great Bustard on several occasions as well as a Pin-Tailed sand Grouse, but as usual the sightings were distant and not good for photography. I post this record shot of a female Great Bustard, taken to the west of Trujillo on the CCV99 past the village of Santa Marta, the same area as the Cuckoo, the Little Owl, the Sand Grouse and the Rollers, very productive.

Purple Heron - ardea purpurea

The Embalse Almaraz Arrocampo held few surprises. Savi´s Warblers were plainly heard and occasionally seen in the reeds. Purple Herons outnumbered Greys by about 4 to 1. Great Reed Warblers made lots of noise, and A few of the other birds can be seen below.

Great Egret - casmerodius albus

Gull-billed Tern - gelochelidon nilotica

Purple Swamphen - porphyrio porphyrio

Idyllic landscape from Extremadura

Rock Bunting -

Rock bunting -

Calandra Lark

Small birds were not really abundant. Hirundines were plentiful of course but a total of just six warblers is not many. Here are a few of the small birds anyway.

Red-rumped Swallow

Blue Rock Thrush

Corn Bunting

I think we all enjoyed our birding week in Extremadura and thanks must go to Bob who organised and led very effectively. Elena is sorry to have missed it but she is in Russia visiting family and sorting business, I personally look forward to visiting this special region again before too long and next time she will be there to share it.

Axarquia Bird Group in Extremadura

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