Extremadura

4th-11th May 2005

Duraton

Sierra de Gredos

Monfrague

Trujillo

Alvaraz Lagoons

Puerto de Navacerrada

Introduction

Extremadura, located in central Spain, is a popular destination for birders wanting to see many of the Iberian peninsula's speciality birds, such as Spanish Imperial Eagle, Great Bustard and Azure-winged Magpie. The following pages give a taste of many of the species you are likely to encounter on a spring trip.

Duraton

Our first port of call was Duraton National Park, near the picturesque town of Sepulveda. The entrance road leading from Villaseca to the Hermitage of San Frutos is an excellent location for viewing a variety of larks, including the elusive Dupont's Lark, and other arid scrub species. Unfortunately, the Dupont's Larks were a bit camera shy when I was there and we only had brief views of flying birds. Luckily, some of the other 5 species of lark we saw (Crested, Thekla, Short-toed, Skylark and Woodlark) were not quite so elusive:

Thekla Lark (Galerida theklae)

Crested Lark (Galerida cristata)

Crested and Thekla Larks are extremely difficult to identify. There is a large degree of variation in plumage between individuals creating a high degree of overlap in their identification features. However, the individuals shown above can be identified on the basis of their bill shape: Thekla has a relatively short bill with a convex lower mandible, giving it an overall 'cuter' facial expression; whereas Crested Larks have a longer bill with a straight edge to their lower mandible.

Short-toed Lark (Calandrella brachydactyla)

Tawny Pipits and Corn Bunting were common...

Tawny Pipit (Anthus campestris)

Corn Bunting (Miliaria calandra)

...and there were also a few Black-eared Wheatears knocking about too.

Black-eared Wheatear (Oenanthe hispanica)

Black-eared Wheatear (Oenanthe hispanica)

Further down towards the Hermitage, the vegetation got a bit bushier and we encountered several other species, such as Orphean Warbler, Cirl Bunting and this Woodchat Shrike...

Woodchat Shrike (Lanius senator)

The Hermitage of San Frutos, an abandoned 14th century monastery, is situated on a spur of a spectacular flooded canyon...

Hermitage of San Frutos, Duraton National Park

Hermitage of San Frutos, perched on a spur of the Rio Duraton

Rio Duraton

The canyon walls are home to a breeding colony of Eurasian Griffon Vultures.

Eurasian Griffon Vultures (Gyps fulvus)

By mid-morning the vultures are soaring on the thermals and give spectacularly close fly-by views as they pass at eye level...

Eurasian Griffon Vultures (Gyps fulvus)

...above...

Eurasian Griffon Vultures (Gyps fulvus)

...or quite often below you.

Eurasian Griffon Vultures (Gyps fulvus)

There were also a couple of Egyptian Vultures flying up and down the river at quite low altitude.

Egyptian Vulture (Neophron percnopterus)

Crag Martins were numerous, but a bit trickier to photograph...

Eurasian Crag Martin (Ptyonoprogne rupestris)

There was also some interesting flora, including several of these gorgeous Yellow Bee Orchids.

Yellow Bee Orchid (Ophrys lutea)

Sierra de Gredos