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Bristol to Ruppell's Vulture (3 Viewers)

cross-border raid on Extremedura's booty

Buzzing, and somewhat relieved and surprised that we'd seen the Ruppell's, we headed towards the spanish border, via the spectacularly located hilltop castle/village of Monsanto. We saw lots of Corn Buntings and Spotless Starlings on the way, and our first Iberian Magpie of the trip, a major iberian endemic icon since it's recent split from Azure-winged. Monsanto also produced our first 5 or so Blue Rock Thrushes, a couple of Thekla Larks, and superb views (and pic below) of our second Spanish Festoon. The strangest site here however, was surely a flock of about 50 Blackcaps, feeding frenziedly around a spring in the village. It was nice to hear quite a few Hoopoes calling from the plain below.

We then continued east, for what turned out to be an unexpectedly successful lightning raid on Extremedura in Spain, where I must admit it was nice to encounter junctions with helpful road signs, and to be somewhere where most of the vegetation was less suitable for rosellas, honeyeaters, pardalotes and koalas.

We aimed for Monfrague, mainly of course because there might be other birders there that we could grip off..er.. I mean inform about the Ruppell's vulture. En route to Monfrague our first new for the trip to pop up was a roadside Southern Grey Shrike. We made it to Monfrague that afternoon, and enjoyed a stop at Salto del Gitano, with it's big Griffon Vulture colony, Blue Rock Thrushes, and a nice Black Wheatear, before we continued out of the park to park by the road at Arroyo de la Vid, where we last parked up about 9 years ago. At Salto del Gitano we bumped into some American birders, but unfortunately they'd been to Africa, so were about as interested in the Ruppell's as they were in the Mockingbird that's currently on Gibraltar. Oh well. It was of course Spanish Imperial Eagle and Little Bustard that they were still after.

Next morning (March 16th) the roadside parkup by the arroyo had changed little in 9 years, with the exception that it was overrun with House Sparrows, and there was no sign of the colony of Spanish Sparrows that we stumbled on there last time. Good job we saw the Calshot bird for the trip it seems! A Kingfisher here was, rather oddly, new for the trip, and it was nice to see Red-legged Partridges here, and in the park, where presumably they're safer.

By lunchtime we'd done much better than we expected, especially considering that we'd had pretty good views of Spanish Imperial Eagle (probably the same bird) at 2 lookouts. We first picked one up distantly at around 10.30 from the Higuerilla (spelt wrong?) lookout, as it made a short dive at a Griffon Vulture. It gradually came closer, and was on view for long enough to get quite a few people from a small tour group to see it reasonably well through our scope. It appeared again a couple of times over the Portilar de Tietar (spelt wrong?) lookout when we moved on to there, where we also saw a roosting Eagle Owl, and a stunning Black Stork. This was the first time I'd seen the eagle within the park boundaries of Monfrague, in spite of several days of looking for it here in the past.

Other raptors that morning included 7 Short-toed Eagles, 3+ BlackVultures, 10+ Egyptian Vultures, Black Kites, Kestrels, Buzzard and Sparrowhawk. 4 Hawfinches and a Red-rumped Swallow at the castle above Salto del Gitano area were new for the trip, and that spot also produced Chough, Raven , Iberian Magpie and Crag Martin.

We figured that while we were on a roll we'd move on towards a spot between Trujillo and Cacares, and try for some steppe birds. The Americans had seen Great Bustards the day before, around the junction of the old N521 and C99 roads, a bird we were keen to see that we didn't know where to look for in this part of Spain. Most of the old N521 west of Trujillo is sparsely wooded with Cork Oaks (and/or olives?), but it opens out into steppe and farmland as you get nearer to Caceres. The heat haze was pretty full on, but frequent stops once the steppe started revealed that there were plenty of birds about.

We picked up our first zonkingly majestic Great Bustards a few km east of the junction with the C99. At first two flying birds, that joined two others as we followed them in the bins, then, wow! It ended up being around 50 Great Bustards in the air at once. We explored the first few km of the C99 northeastwards too before we managed to spot a group of about 20 on the deck, surprisingly unobtrusive considering their size and that they weren't that far away. These were great birds to watch using the van as a hide, and we got some pics of them before moving on leaving them to do their thing.

The whole area was heaving with Corn Buntings, larks (mainly Calandra and Crested), and Meadow Pipits. There were also lots of birds of prey, especially kestrels (probably Lessers too?), Buzzards and Black Kites. Also Griffon, Egyptian and Black Vultures, and 2 Merlins, a dark phase Booted Eagle and a Red Kite.

We went on to visit the large lake 8km northeast of Cacares, where we bumped into 2 Great Spotted Cuckoos chasing each other, before being chased by Magpies. This spot was also full of Corn Buntings and Calandra Larks, and plenty of Thekla Larks with some Cresteds for handy comparison. We considered spending the night here, but bleak spots like this near cities can sometimes not make the safest parkups, so we decided to find a place to park in what felt like a non-dodgy edge of Cacares. This proved ideal, as it was within walking distance of the old town plaza, where we could begin our evening out, after one awesome day's birding, drinking beer and watching the White Storks, and Lesser Kestrels chasing the hoards of swooping swifts. There were heaps of Jackdaws here too, and we watched one actually physically strike a Lesser Kestrel in flight. The swifts were typically a nightmare to be sure about, and I could only positively clinch Pallid Swifts here. Anyone know what the ratio should be around Cacares at this time of year?

Next day we thought we'd have a walk around the lake northeast of the city before leaving the area. As it turned out it was much larger than we thought, so we turned back after having walked a few km. We turned round at exactly the right time. On turning round and looking back the other way, a rather distant 15 strong flock of something that had to be something interesting were in view. I raised my bins. Little Bustards! We couldn't believe our luck. I'd just sextupled my life total of this species in one blink. They wheeled around and we followed them for a while, but lost them as they dropped distantly below the horizon. The lake also produced 3 Southern Grey Shrikes, a Little Ringed Plover and a couple of Black-winged Stilts.

We made it back over the portuguese border, to the hilltop fortress of Marvao that afternoon, and wandered around the battlements in the mist before settling in for the night. Here we had quite a surprise when we bumped into a rather damp and dishevelled-looking Alpine Accentor. You can see Portas de Rodao 40km away on a clear day Dan, if you fancy trying your luck with the Ruppell's from here ;)

We have since made it to Lisboa, with a crisp little Brown Argus being the only notable trip addition on the way. Some great live Brazilian music.

So with the hairstreak being a green, we have:

25.Green Hairstreak
26.Brown Argus

and:

160. Corn Bunting
161. Iberian Magpie
162. Blue Rock Thrush
163. Thekla Lark
164. Southern Grey Shrike
165. Black Wheatear
166. Kingfisher
167. Red-rumped Swallow
168. Hawfinch
169. Spanish Imperial Eagle
170. Eagle Owl
171. Red Kite
172. Great Bustard
173. Booted Eagle
174. Merlin
175. Calandra Lark
176. Lesser Kestrel
177. Great Spotted Cuckoo
178. Little Bustard
179. Little Ringed Plover

some pics: 1. Spanish Festoon 2. Griffon eye to eye 3. can anyone id this montfrague frog? 4. Great Bustards
 

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and a few more pics:

1. Corn Bunting 2. our van at the lake near Caceres 3. surprise Alpine Accentor at Marvao 4. Brown Argus

all being well we'll be going to a free festival soon, and not heading for any serious birding for a couple of weeks. Anyone know when the White-rumped Swifts arrive, and what's the best site for them these days?
 

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I must admit it was nice... to be somewhere where most of the vegetation was less suitable for rosellas, honeyeaters, pardalotes and koalas.
So is Portugal full of gums?

When I spotted this thread I thought you were finally going to Africa but then thought that Ruppell's in Africa is hardly a tricky bird to find (Bristol to Picathartes maybe? ;))

But anyway... good to see you're on the road again.B :)
 
Here we had quite a surprise when we bumped into a rather damp and dishevelled-looking Alpine Accentor. Y

Actually, Marvão is the best place to see Alpine accentor in Portugal during the winter, the wintering flock is usually quite large and Marvão is a very nice castle, an nearby Castelo de Vide is worth some hours exploring.
 
of migrants and festivals

Thanks for the gen on the frog/swifts etc folks. Much appreciated.

While we've been bimbling around Portugal, more and more migrants have been arriving, which has been great. We spent a few days exploring the coast around Sesimbra and Setubal, finding some nice little parkups. We started hearing our first Iberian Chiffchaffs, which gradually built up in numbers, and heard our first Cuckoo and had Lesser Spotted, Great Spotted and Iberian Green Woodpeckers in the trees around our van at one spot. Green Hairstreaks were all over the place, and we saw some Orange-tips at what must be near the southern limit of their range.

We stayed a couple of nights by a little reservoir at Vale de Galo, where we heard a couple of Quail calling, and Nightingales singing, more Cuckoos, Hawfinches, a Night Heron, plenty of White Storks and butterflies etc. It was hot enough to drag our bed outside and sleep under the stars listening to the nocturnal bird and insect sounds.

We then ended up returning to Lisboa in order to pick up 4 of our mates from the airport, who we were to take to the festival (they're still with us now.) We couldn't make it to the festival site in one go, but stumbled upon a lovely spot to park up by the banks of the Tejo at Ameira do Tejo, just when it was getting late and dark, and when we were starting to think that finding a spot for a van and 3 tents would not be easy. In the morning we couldn't believe how peaceful and beautiful this spot was. I even got one of our mates quite into birding, and we had our first Bee-eaters and Whitethroats of the trip. A couple of our new crew were picking up on identifying Nightingale song too, which was nice. On the way to the festival we saw our first Sand Martins.

As the festival was the main focus of this trip, I'll have to give it a few lines. An event like Freequency Free Festival is (shockingly) no longer possible in the UK, or much of europe any more. Basically there were NO police, No security teams, NO people in hi-vis telling you where you could or couldn't put your truck/van/tent. No people saying you couldn't make loud live music/pump out sound systems/ have a bar going round the clock for days on end, In fact no-one telling you what you could or couldn't do unless you were obviously heading for an accident or were obviously being out of order, in which case people around you would sort it out. Just a few thousand people spanning a few generations and nationalities, in a very large field with cork-oaks, having a wild, free, creative and bloody good time. For me there was the added bonus of eg. far more Corn Buntings than at eg Stonehenge, a Black Vulture and a light phase Booted Eagle (spotted by Nicky), and Bee-eaters sailing over the van. We even ended up parking at the right distance from the nearest sound system to enable us to hear the nearby Nightingales in the hedges jamming with the music. AND it was all free, except you'd have to be pretty tight not to whack a fair few euros in the donations bucket to cover incurred costs. Paradise.

So we all ended up at a campsite in Evora yesterday to have a shower, and hit the town for pizza. There's a male Subalpine Warbler in the hedge by the van, Cattle Egrets in the field on the other side of the hedge, and Iberian (Azure-winged) Magpies popping by every now and then. Think we're going to pop over the border into Spain later, look for somewhere nice to parkup, and think about heading south. Maybe I'll get a chance to have a go for my next target bird, Western Olivaceous Warbler, soon, but it's still a bit early for them. And to be honest, I'm not that bothered right now!

180. Iberian Chiffchaff
181. Lesser Spotted Woodpecker
182. Cuckoo
183. Quail
184. Nightingale
185. Night Heron
186. Bee-eater
187. Whitethroat
188. Sand Martin
189. Subalpine Warbler

27. Common Blue
28. Orange-tip
 
Onwards into Spain

Thanks Mike I certainly am feeling more chilled than that time in that cafe when you hit us with the news of the Philippine Duck!

I missed a few species for the trip list. Green Sandpiper was new at the lake at Vale de Gallo and there have also been a few introductions that I haven't added yet. Ring-necked Parakeet has been common in Lisbon and Seville. Crested Myna was an unexpected find on the beach west of Lisbon. There were actually flocks of (what I'm pretty sure are) Crested Mynas there. I've even decided to be extra generous and include any free flying birds we see on the trip list. So will also whack on the Muscovy Ducks in Lisbon and 2 free flying Cockatiels that we also saw in Portugal.

Still with 3 friends in tow we crossed the border into Spain and found a nice park up among stone pines in some low hills at a spot that roughly translates as 'Asparagus Camping'. The continued checking of 'Bath White type' butterflies can prove very frustrating, mostly because they rarely settle. I was especially pleased at Asparagus Camping to finally nail my first ever Green-striped White. Especially considering that I had just had great views of a settled Western Dappled White that I thought may even be the same individual butterfly! Our camping spot was surrounded by singing Thekla Larks and Woodlarks and also a Black Stork, a passing flock of Spanish Sparrows, Cuckoo, Dartford and Sardinian Warblers, Short-toed Eagles, Griffon Vultures, Corn Buntings, etc.

Next day we drove onwards towards Seville, seeing several Black-eared Wheatears and Woodchat Shrikes en route. We felt incredibly lucky to find a free place to park by the river in the centre of Seville for a couple of nights while we experienced the city's spectacular Easter festivities. A zonking Caspian Tern powering up and down the river in the middle of the city was a reminder of how wonderful Spain is for birds even when you're not birding.

We have now continued with our friends to Cadiz, picking up Glossy Ibis, and 2 delicious male Montagu's Harriers along the way. Cadiz too is alive with Easter festivities and there are Monk Parakeets here as well as Ring-necked Parakeets.

29. Green-striped White

190. Green Sandpiper
191. Ring-necked Parakeet
192. Crested Myna
193. Muscovy Duck
194. Cockatiel
195. Black-eared Wheatear
196. Woodchat Shrike
197. Caspian Tern
198. Glossy Ibis
199. Montagu's Harrier
200. Monk Parakeet

We are soon to be travelling without our mates again, and plan to head towards Tarifa, where we'll probably be birding more actively.
 
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an unexpected rarity

Some pretty strange synchronicitous things have been happening since the festival, and today something pretty jammy happened that's to do with birds. But first...

Just after I last posted, I had a nice birding experience in Cadiz. Walking through some narrow streets in the city centre with no vegetation except a few plants in pots, in a spot where I would only expect a House Sparrow at most, I glimpsed a bird pop behind a plant pot with a cocked tail. I walked up to the plant pot and out popped a Nightingale, which just sat there looking at me. Great.

We left Cadiz with only one extra passenger, and headed south, parking up on a hill north of Tarifa, overlooking Tarifa and Africa. Lots of Bee-eaters passed by in the morning. I'm in love with their wonderful call at the moment. Just down the hill were some Roman ruins where we saw Green-striped White, Crested and Thekla Larks and some green lizards which were much bigger than I thought would occur in Europe.

We then hit Tarifa where we've been for 2 nights so far. There are loads of live-in vans here all over the place, and we're in a car park by the beach. Today something totally unexpected happened. I noticed a car in our car park today that had a sticker on the back with an Andalusian Hemipode on it. If it had been parked even elsewhere in our car park, or facing the other way I wouldn't have noticed it, and as it turns out, it was lucky it was even in this car park, as it wasn't the nearest car park to, er, the bird.

I happened to be looking when the owner of the car returned to his car, and I waltzed over to see if he was a birder. He was, and he was English. He asked me if I had seen it. Uurgh? No I'm just a very hungover pillock in socks who just happens to be parked up here, who has no idea what "it" is. He then tells me that there is a Cream-coloured Courser, if I've heard of one of those, about 200 metres away that's been there a couple of days! Cool. All we had to do was leave a note on our van that we'd be back in a bit, so that our mate would see it when she came to get her phone that some locals had found and returned to us today, as she'd lost it whilst rolling about in the gutter last night before the police came along and carried her to her hostel.

The bird was a real cracker, and we had pretty close views of it from the boardwalk on the edge of town, as it slinked about in a very sandy field. There were also a few Short-toed Larks at this spot, and Balearic Shearwaters were arcing in the high winds out over the sea.

The nice now local birder also gave us a spot nearby that he reckoned might be good for our next target, Western Olly, which I'm hoping might be arriving especially to be unblocked, any time now. This guy also happened to be one of the half dozen or so people to see the Bateleur Eagle that may well be around here still somewhere. I got to see his gripping pics of this monster find near Algeciras last week. He was (as you can imagine) still on one almighty buzz from it.

201. Balearic Shearwater
202. Cream-coloured Courser B :)
203. Short-toed Lark
 

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Great stuff, Larry! One request: where have you seen Iberian Green Woodpecker? I'll be in the Lisbon area myself in a few weeks time, and although I know that the pecker shouldn't be difficult, I'd feel a bit more relaxed if I had a few reliable spots to try...
 
Your lizards will be Ocellated Lizards; one of, if not the biggest Lacerta lizards in Europe.

Lovely shots of the Courser!
 
Thanks Richard. The nearest point to Lisboa that we saw the woodpecker was in the Serra d'Arrabida, not far to the south. It was at a picknick spot to the west of Setubal, nearer to Sesimbra, just south of a junction where the coast road from Setubal curves inland and hits the road to Sesimbra. Sorry, no map here, so can't do better than that. The few we've seen and heard on this trip have been in fairly broken country with rather sparse mixed trees. We had one a couple of days ago near Tarifa too. Good luck with it, I'll try and pin point the exact spot when I next post and have seen a map.

I wonder if they might even occur in the large wooded area to the west of central Lisboa (Monsanto??)

And thanks Jacana too.
 
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CCC - bah humbug, these sort of things never seem to turn up when I'm in that part of Spain, and I can't get out there any time soon either. :(

Great shots.....

We ringed several W O W's in the Guadiaro valley east of Jimena last year, and the year before.
 
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