Travelling to Abalos in Rioja Province.

Goodbye to Santi and Howard in Silos and hello to Red Wines in Rioja !!!!

After breakfast Jayne, Barb and myself said our goodbyes to Santi and Howard who had yet again made us so welcome for our superb few days with them in Santo domingo de Silos and Burgos and started the drive over to our hotel for the next couple of nights in Abalos. 

We set the Satnav to shortest route avoiding motorways and it did, it took us on some very out of the way but bueatiful roads and on the way I picked up Common Buzzard (Busardo Ratonero / Buteo buteo), Common Kestrel (Cernicalo Vulgar / Falco tinnunculus), Griffon Vultures (Bultre Leonado / Gyps fulvus), Booted Eagle (Aguililla Calzada / Hieraaetus pennatus), Grey Heron (Garza Real / Ardea cinerea), Common Magpie (Urraca / Pica pica), Carrion Crow (Corneja Negra / Corvus corone), Raven (Cuervo / Corvus corax), Northern Wheatear (Collalba Gris / Oenanthe oenanthe), Common Chaffinch (Pinzón Vulgar / Fringilla coelebs), Pied (Papamoscas Cerrojillo / Ficedula hypoleuca) and Spotted Flycatchers (Papamoscas Gris / Muscicapa striata), White Wagtail (Lavandera Blanca / Montacilla alba), House (Avión Común / Delichon urbica) and Crag Martins (Avión Roquero / Ptyonoprogne rupestris), Barn Swallow (Golondrina Común / Hirundo rustica), Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula), Collared Dove (Tórtola Turca / Streptopelia decaocto), Woodpigeon (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus) and the third Hobby (Alcotán Europeo / Falco subbuteo) of the trip which was sat on dead roadside tree. 

We arrived at the hotel, had some lunch and then spent some time wandering around the village.

Southern / Blue Hawker (Aeshna cyanea).

Later we drove down the road a few KMs and had a walk around a lake at La Guardia where apart from seeing a few birds, butterflies and a dragon we picked a nice back full of Slows to put into some Gin!!!

On the walk round I picked up Great Cormorant (Cormorán Grande / Phalacrocroax carbo), Common Moorhen (Gallineta Común / Gallinulas chloropus), Eurasian Coot (Focha Común / Fulica atra), Water Rail (Rascón Europeo / Rallus aquaticus), Mallard (Anade Azulón / Anas platyrhynchos), Green (Andarrios Grande / Tringa ochropus) and Common Sandpipers (Andarrios Chico / Actitis hypoleucos), Greenfinch (Verderón Común / Carduelis chloris), Goldfinch (Jilguero / Carduelis carduelis), Cetti's (Ruisenor Bastardo / Cettia cetti) and Garden Warbler (Curruca Mosquitera / Sylvia borin), Common Whitethroat (Curruca Zarcera / Sylvia communis), Tree Pipit (Bisbita Arbóreo / Anthus trivialis), Song Thrush (Zorzal Común / Turdus philomelos), Robin (Petirrojo Europeo / Erithacus rubecula), Dunnock (Acentor Común / Prunella modularis), Common Stonechat (Tarabilla Común / Saxicola torquata) as well as Southern / Blue Hawker (Aeshna cyanea), Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria), Holly Blue (Celastrina argiolus) and Long-tailed Blue (Lampides baeticus).

Woodpigeon (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus) immature.

Later we drove down to Cenicero to check where we needed to be for tomorrows visit to the Winery of the Marques de Cáceres before going back to the hotel and having a very nice evening meal.