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Message: <blockquote data-quote="john-henry" data-source="post: 907376" data-attributes="member: 15559">Two weeks in Spain… 1st May – 15th May.    (Part 3)7th May…Today gave many of the birds seen yesterday plus 2 – 1st summer Mediterranean Gulls, 4 Greylags, Shelduck, Common Sandpiper, Cattle Egrets and Bee-eaters. A drive along a couple of tracks found Lesser Kestrels breeding on ruined buildings plus a novelty - Red-legged Partridge singing from the roof of one,  which I found very amusing for some reason, probably to do with weather vanes. The Lesser Kestrels were a warm-up for what I was to see at Otero de Sariegos, there were dozens of them, perched on roof-tops, overhead wires etc, breeding in cracks in walls and under roof tiles, one roof even had wooden nest boxes built into it with just the hole in the front showing for them to enter and leave, if you want to get to grips with Lesser Kestrels this is certainly the place to come to, brilliant.Other birds seen here include Chiffchaff, Melodious and Garden Warbler, Black Redstart, Tawny Pipit, Crested and Calandra Larks and a singing Golden Oriole – but I believe this was a Spotless Starling mimicking one as there was hardly a tree to be seen let enough to breed in!It was really hot now and no good for photography, I’d seen about everything I’d hoped for so decided to use the heat of the day to travel down to Extramadura, arriving at Torrejon el Rubio about 4 hours later and booking into the Alojamiento Monfrague (formerly Pension Monfrague) for 4 nights.8th May…Spent most of the day in Monfrague Parque Natural. Starting at the Arroyo de la Vid, a Black Stork in the river started the ball rolling followed by several Red-rumped Swallows and Crag Martins, Blue Rock Thrush, Crested Lark, Sardinian and Subalpine Warblers, Bee-eaters, Black Redstart and a Black Kite. The lay-by a little way up the road gave Hawfinch, Orphean Warbler, Cirl and Corn Buntings, Woodchat Shrike, Woodlark, Azure-winged Magpie, Short-toed Treecreeper, Hoopoe, Great and Blue Tits and Griffon Vultures overhead. On to the castle next, Rock Buntings, Rock Sparrows, more Blue Rock Thrushes and Black Redstarts, Short-toed Treecreepers, another Hawfinch, Long-tailed Tits, Bee-eaters and Crag Martins, several breeding Griffons at close range plus those constantly in the air and two Black Storks rising on a thermal. No Choughs to be seen or heard this time and also noticed was a definite lack of Swifts – the air is normally filled with them at this time of year but very few were to be seen.Down to Salto Gitano next, as usual the Griffon Vultures stole the show, scores of them sitting around on the Pena Falcon rock-face or in the air, it never fails to impress no matter how many times you see them here. The usual pair of Black Storks were nesting in their small cave, two young in the nest, Blue Rock Thrush, Rock Bunting, Black Redstart, Short-toed Treecreeper, Serin, Nightingales etc a Peregrine and single Black Vulture overhead before the loud-speaking woman nearby made up my mind it was time to move on.A quick stop at the Bridge area down the road revealed more of the same birds plus Subalpine Warbler, Blackcap, 4 Alpine Swifts, 100’s of nesting House Martins and two coach-loads of schoolchildren!! Another stop at the far end of the bridge found a pair of Blue Rock Thrushes fly-catching from the tops of the trees, never seen this before so spent a little time watching and found they were quite adept at it, very few misses, Red-legged Partridge, another Subalpine Warbler, 4 Black Vultures, several Black Kites and a Black Stork before moving on again.Next port of call was the Mirador de la Tajadilla, seeing Short-toed Eagle, Red and Black Kites, Griffon and Egyptian Vultures, Nightingales and a male Black-eared Wheatear on the way. Azure-winged Magpies and House Sparrows helped me eat my sandwiches while Great Spotted Woodpecker drummed away across the other side of the river and Nightingales, Subalpine Warbler etc made their presence known.On to Portilla de Tietar for more vultures etc but no sign of the Eagle Owl, holed up somewhere out of the heat of the day I expect, I should have been as well as temperatures were around 30 deg C.After an hour or two here in the shade of the hide I suddenly remembered Almaraz and the Embalse de  Arroyocampo was not that far away so on the spur of the moment set off for it, glad I did as I had a great 1½   hours birding here – Black-shouldered Kite, Black Kites, pair of Marsh Harriers, Kestrel, Penduline Tit, Savi’s, Great Reed, Cetti’s and Fan-tailed Warblers, 5-6 Waxbills, Crested Larks, Bee-eaters, Magpie, White Storks, Night, Purple and Grey Herons, 3 Purple Gallinules, Moorhen and 50+ Cattle Egrets flying in to roost. On the way back Buzzard and Southern Grey Shrike were seen, and talk about good luck, I arrived at Portilla just as a lone Spanish birder had located the Eagle Owl, he kindly offered me a look through his scope, a real gentleman, especially as it disappeared again within a few minutes.But all was not over yet, just before Fuente de los Tres Canos there was something on the road ahead, it couldn’t be, but it was, a beautiful Red-necked Nightjar, gradually I drove closer until I was only 6ft away, even then it didn’t fly until I got level with it. I saw another four between here and the Plasencia road.</blockquote>

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