Lost Geordie On Tour 2018 - Extremadura & Gredos Mountains

Black Kite, Hotel Peru, Belén

May 11th

Departed Luton via EasyJet at 06:30 and arrived in Madrid around 9am local time. I had no trouble picking up my car from Europcar. I'm glad I took the trouble to look around it first. There were more scratches than paint. It was then surprisingly simple to leave the airport and circumnavigate Madrid to the E5 motorway to Extremadura. Constantly repeating my new mantra "Just keep right, just keep right".

As always, at a new destination, I have a bad habit of photographing everything in sight just incase I didn't see it again. I should not have bothered. So at the first stop, for a drink & food, my camera was out...

BIG MISTAKE NUMBER 1...I had left my binoculars at Luton. AARRGGHH!!! I was absolutely gutted.

Improvising with the camera view finder I soon found a few things, though I soon found out that they were all very common.

Male White Wagtail, E5 rest stop.

White Stork

Crested Lark

Moorish Gecko

I decided to visit the reserve at Arrocampo, Saucedilla as I would pass it any way. I saw my first Cinereous and Griffon Vultures en route.

At Arrocampo I only visited hides 1 and 2 but there were some good birds. Great Egret, Little Bittern, Spoonbill, Zitting Cisticola, Savi's Warbler, Great Reed Warbler and the very common Spotless Starlings. Some of the flora was nice too, St. Bernard's Lily and Mediterranean Linseed. I was too late for the orchids...at least I didn't see them.

Black Kite

Male Lesser Kestrel

Eurasian Magpie of the Iberian subspecies melanotos

Mediterranean Linseed

Purple Heron

Red Kite

Spotless Starling

St. Bernard's Lily, Anthericum liliago

Female Stonechat rubicola

Male Stonechat rubicola

Zitting Cisticola

From Arrocampo I headed straight to my accommodation, the Hotel Peru (link in Spanish but can be translated) between Belén and Trujillo. Inexpensive, clean, decent food and friendly staff, it was central to most of the places I wanted to visit. The area around is a bit industrial but not busy, there was no noise and the wildlife was plentiful. Birds seen included Booted Eagle, Red-necked Nightjar, Hobby, Cuckoo and Cinereous Vulture.

Booted Eagle, pale phase

Painted Frog (?)

Red-rumped Swallow

Serin

Trujillo

May 12th

Up early today for a visit to the, nearby, Belén grasslands in hope of Bustards. There were lots of raptors there including the ubiquitous Black Kite, Honey Buzzard, Common Buzzard and vultures.

Black Kite, Belen

Common Buzzard

Breakfast on the plains. EEWWW! Anyone got ketchup?

I travelled further along the road, scanning all the way. A single Pin-tailed Sandgrouse called as it flew over. Every other post had a Corn Bunting or a Crested lark attached. A pair of Crested Larks displaying caught my attention so I pulled over, disturbing a Calandra Lark hidden in the grass. A quick look into the fields and my eyes were pulled to two brown rocks that appeared to be moving. They were several hundred metres away so I scoped them and saw my first Great Bustards.

On the other side of the road a Fox was seen jumping in the long grass.

Displaying Crested Lark

A distant male Great Bustard

I went back to hotel for breakfast before heading for Monfragüe national park. A look at the garden, first, where I found a young Edible Frog and showy Spotless Starlings.

Edible Frog (?)

Spotless Starling

I then trundled off to the famous Monfragüe National Park to see the raptors. It was absolutely heaving with visitors. However, I did find a space and watched the huge numbers of Griffon Vultures either on nests or in the air. Amongst them were Black Storks, Egyptian Vultures and Peregrine. No Cinereous Vultures or Eagle Owl to be seen anywhere. Smaller birds included Hawfinch, Blue Rock Thrush, Black Redstart and Crag Martin. It was too busy and I left after a short while.

Eurasian Griffon Vultures, Monfragüe

Black Stork

Crag Martin

Male Peregrine with a Common Swift

Clouded Yellow

Long-tailed Tit of the race tilti

Small Heath

On the way back I stopped at a large stone bridge over the Almonte river where there is a large open grassy area. Nightingales were singing everywhere and there was also a very loud croaking noise which turned out to be European Terrapins, and lots of them. Spanish Sparrows at a nest were good to see.