Exremadura - Spain (2 Viewers)

[Ben H]

[
Interesting to note that Ben found La Serena disappointing. We found it to be by far the best steppe area (followed by the plains west of Santa Marta de Magasca) with all the specialities easily located. Of course, birds move around and what's good at one time may not be good at another time. We were there in mid-April and it was still COLD on the steppes, reminded us of spring birding in Iceland! A friend of mien went in June and said it was hopeless for birding in 44°C. Ironically Stone Curlew was commonest on the Belen Steppe (see Ben's post)! Definitely recommend John Muddeman's Birdwatching guide to Extremadura. Don't leave home without it.

Enjoy!


E[/QUOTE]

I think the lack of birds in La Serena when we were there can be directly attributed to the weather. In late May the temperature was approaching 40 degrees. Hardly ideal for birding! I'm not familiar with spring in Iceland, but I'm guessing April in La Serena was rather chilly.

 

[Edward]

Hi Ben, on La Serena on 19 April 2003 it was 10°C but it made it better for birding. No heat haze whatsoever and a temperature we're certainly used to here in Iceland. Bee-eaters were conspicuous by their absence until the sun came out a day or two later. I have fond memories of Stone Curlews here. Whilst looking at our first Woodchat Shrike we noticed our first Stone Curlew and whilst focusing on the Stone Curlew we saw our first Little Bustard behind it. I did get the impression though that the whole area would be unbearable in hot weather.

E

 

[Jane Turner]

I last visited la Serena in August!!!!! It was well..interesting them. Despite the oppressive heat and heat haze....it was still stunning. 200 Calandra Larks in the air is a sight and sound that will live with me for ever!

 

[Steve G]

La Serena undoubtedly has large numbers of all the important steppe species though use of insecticides in the last few years have affected the invertebrate populations (Locusts & various species of giant 'hoppers & crickets especially) and thus the birds. The main problem is that it is a huge site & the birds move around freely. To make the best of La Serena you really need good up to date "intelligence" on what is where otherwise it's a needle in a haystack job - hence the huge contrast in birding trip reports for this area which seem to range from brilliant to bird desert! I have little experience of Belen plains though it is undoubtedly good. The plains at Santa Marta de Magasca cannot in my (most humble) opinion be beaten. Everything can be seen from the car & there is no problem stopping almost anywhere on the road. Pin-tailed & BB Sandgrouse are usually the most problematic birds at any of the steppe sites but I've always found them fairly easy to locate on the large cereal fields to the south of the St Marta de Magasca road about 2 miles from the roads junction with the Torrejon-Caceres road. The pylons here hold nestboxes which are occupied by Rollers (though some of the boxes are falling to bits). It is the good varied steppe habitat here combined with friendly agricultural practice that make this compact area so good. The livestock fields are also always worth a scan as dead livestock are not uncommon here -attracting all 3 species of Vulture as well as Black Kites & Ravens. My wife is not a birder (& sadly I have given her lots of reasons to not like birding) but she was captivated by the sight of 3 huge Black vultures & about a dozen Griffon getting torn into a goat carcase in a roadside field & indeed it is memories like this that make her keen to return to Extremadura in the future.

 

[John Cantelo]

Re: places to stay in Extremadura
First time we went there we stayed in a small hotel in Torrejon el Rubio
Caravajal, Paseo de Pizarro 54, Torrejon el Rubio
Tel 927 45 52 54
www.bme.es/ctmonfrague/hotel.html
… which also has apartments -
www.bme.es/ctmonfrague/apartamentos.html

It’s a perfectly decent family hotel which stands on outskirts of the village conveniently on the T-junction with the road to Monroy (& B-s Kites). It also has apartments to rent which is a good deal if there are 3-4 of you (rather than a couple as we were). Torrejon is a one-street-village, but does sport a couple of restaurants. The far more expensive and more ‘swish’ Hospederia de Monfrague is on the other side of the village so marginally nearer Monfague.

Second time we went we stayed in Malpartida de Plasencia – a fairly typical little Spanish village (with Lesser Kestrels nesting on the church & B-s Kite reported in the area). Oddly, we couldn’t find an open restaurant in the village & so ate in the absurdly large modern hotel on the outskirts. The place we stayed in did a light breakfast, but not lunch/evening meals so the 5 min walk to the aforesaid hotel was convenient. La Posada de Amonaria is up a side street in the village and is a beautifully restored ‘posada’. Lovely rooms, old wooden doors, brass bedsteads, etc; well worth staying in to drink up the oh-so-Spanish atmosphere. It’s not so convenient as Torrejon for ‘birdy’ places, but it’s still only a short drive to Monfrague. I actually found the longer drive into the park via the EX108 & CC911 (rather than the more obvious route) much better for birds – my only Bonelli’s Eagle, Orphean Warbler & much else. If you also want explore the Jerte valley area (much recommended) then this is a better place to stay. I saw several species in this area that I didn’t get elsewhere; Ortolan Buntings, Honey Buzzards, Firecrest, Quail, Bonelli’s Warblers and, best of all, Bluethroat.

La Posada de Amonaria
Calle de la Luz 7,
10680 Malpartida de Plasencia, Caceres
www.amonaria.com

Details of this & many other attractive places to stay may be found in Alastair Sawday’s “Special Places to Stay in Spain”. Also have a look at www.casarural.net for places to stay (eg Las Canterras).

There’s also a camp site near the station which also rents log cabins. I’ve not stayed there, but those who have report it’s OK (and B-s Kite is sometimes seen over it). There are also a good number of places to stay in Trujillo which is a gorgeous must-see village; watching Pallid Swift, Lesser K’s, R-R Swallow, etc whilst eating good food & supping beer in the square is a not to be missed experience!

John Cantelo

 

[Edward woodwood]

The campsite mentioned by DJ Sideboard isn't really rough at all - it's actally quite nice and has a fine restaurant and swimming pool and there are some excellent birds right outside your tent.

Plus you're right on the spot, as Steve mentioned