Castillo de Monfrague, Rio Tozo, La Cumbre, Río Tamuja near Santa Marta de Magasca, Llanos de Cáceres, Trujillo, Rio Almonte, Fields Near Torrejón el Rubio, Extremadura.

Leicester Ladies tour of Extremadura.

Full days Birding, Day Seven.

Mountains, Fields, more Fields and some water.

Short-toed Treecreeper (Agateador Común / Certhia brachydactyla).

Jane H, Sue, Jan and I headed up to the car park below the Castillo whilst Rona and Jane W had a day around Torrejon. We parked and then took a walk up through the woods to just below the castle and for the whole walk we could hear singing Golden Oriole (Oropéndola / Oriolus oriolus) but it was not until we were nearly back down at the van when a pair flew across infront of us.

Short-toed Treecreeper (Agateador Común / Certhia brachydactyla).

As we walked up we had Common Chaffinch (Pinzón Vulgar / Fringilla coelebs), Serin (Verdecillo / Serinus serinus), a singing male Subalpine Warbler (Curruca Carrasquena / Sylvia cantillans) as well as several Sardinian (Curruca Cabecinegra / Sylvia melanocephala) and a fine male Orphean (Curruca Mirlano / Sylvia hortensis) which showed well for us.

Corn Bunting (Triguero / Emberiza calandra).

We also heard and then saw a Short-toed Treecreeper (Agateador Común / Certhia brachydactyla),
Jay (Arrendajo / Garrulus glandarius), Griffon (Bultre Leonado / Gyps fulvus) and European Black Vulture (Buitre Negro / Aegypius monachus), House (Avión Común / Delichon urbica) and Crag Martin (Avión Roquero / Ptyonoprogne rupestris), Hoopoe (Abubilla / Upupa epops), Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula), a calling Red-legged Partridge (Perdiz Roja / Alectoris rufa), Spotless Starling (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor), Great (Carbonera Común / Parus major) and Blue Tit (Herrerillo Común / Parus caeruleus), House Sparrow (Gorrión Común / Passer domesticus), Barn (Golondrina Común / Hirundo rustica) and Red-rumped Swallows (Golondrina Dáurica / Hirundo daurica), Wren (Chochin / Troglodytes troglodytes) and as we got back to the van a male Cirl Bunting (Escribano Soteno / Emberiza cirlus).

Ocellated Lizard (Lacerta lepida).

We got back in to the van and headed south and stopped again at the bridge over the Rio Tozo where we scanned up and down stream finding European Bee-eater (Abejaruco Común / Merops apiaster), Great Reed (Carricero Tordal / Acrocephalus arundinaceus) and Cetti's Warbler (Ruisenor Bastardo / Cettia cetti), Nightingale (Ruisenor Común / Luscinia megarhynchos), White Wagtail (Lavandera Blanca / Montacilla alba), Golden Oriole, Red-rumped Swallow, Crag Martin, Crested Lark (Cogujada / Galerida cristata), Corn Bunting (Triguero / Emberiza calandra) and on one of the wire fences a newly arrived Spotted Flycatcher (Papamoscas Gris / Muscicapa striata).

Large Psammodromus (Lagartija colilarga / Psammodromus algirus).

We continued on down to Trujillo and then headed west towards Santa Marta de Magasca and out on to the fields. We drove out along the track and parked in the same area as we had a couple of days earlier but things were quiet, there were no Great (Avutarda Común / Otis tarda) or Little Bustard (Sisón Común / Tetrax tetrax) or the corvid like calls of the Pin-tailed Sandgrouse (Ganga Ibérica / Pterocles alchata). 

Barn Swallow (Golondrina Común / Hirundo rustica).

However we did record Calandra Larks (Calandria / Melanocorypha calandra), White Stork (Ciguena Blanca / Ciconia ciconia), Black-winged Stilt (Ciguenela Común / Himantopus himantopus), Mallard (Anade Azulón / Anas platyrhynchos), Grey Heron (Garza Real / Ardea cinerea), Little Egret (Garceta Común / Egreeta garzetta) and further along the track in the narrower parts between large dry stone walls we found a couple of Ocellated Lizards (Lacerta lepida), several Large Psammodromus (Lagartija colilarga / Psammodromus algirus), an Andalucian Wall Lizard (Podarcis vaucheri) along with the best views of the trip of an adult Spanish Imperial Eagle (Aguila Imperial Ibérica / Aguila adalberti).

Ocellated Lizard (Lacerta lepida).

As we drove back towards the tarmac we found European Bee-eater, Common Stonechat (Tarabilla Común / Saxicola torquata), a newly flying young Barn Swallow, Red-legged Partridge (Perdiz Roja / Alectoris rufa) and Woodchat Shrike (Alcaudón Común / Lanius senator).

European Bee-eater (Abejaruco Común / Merops apiaster).

We passed Santa Marta de Magasca this time even though the pull of the coffee was strong and stopped again by the bridge over the Rio Tamula where we again saw a couple of Viperine Snakes (Culebra Viperina / Natrix maura), Stripe-necked Terrapin (Mauremys leprosa), Perez's Frogs (Rana Común / Pelophylax perezi), quite a few birds already mentioned and half a dozen or so Blue-eye / Goblet-marked Damselflies (Erythromma lindenii).

Spanish Sparrow (Gorrión Moruno / Passer hispaniolensis).

We continued along this road and spent some time on the road along side the fields of Llanos de Cáceres where we again had good views of Roller (Carraca / Coracias garrulus) and Lesser Kestrel (Cernicola Primilla / Falco naumanni) which were still battling over a nest box, Spanish Sparrow (Gorrión Moruno / Passer hispaniolensis), Jackdaw (Grajilla / Corvus monedula) and a Raven (Cuervo / Corvus corax).

White Stork (Ciguena Blanca / Ciconia ciconia).

Once we were back at the motorway we headed back into Trujillo and to the Bullring where we had views of the Lesser Kestrels,  which swooped in and landed amongst the many Spotless Starlings and House Sparrows whilst a couple of Black Kites quartered the roof tops looking for some prey.

Tounge Orchid (Serapias lingua).

We started to make our way back to the accommodation via the Rio Almonte where we spent a short time finding Little Grebe (Zampullín Común / Tachybaptus ruficollis), Melodious Warbler (Zarcero Común / Hippolais polyglotta) and more European Bee-eater.
We returned to Torrejon and then went just down the road to check a spot where in the past I have seen a nest site of an Spanish Iperial Eagle but it was no longer there, however by a small pool nearby we found a Woodlark (Totovia / Lullula arborea), Iberian  Magpie (Rabilargo / Cyanopica cooki), Woodchat Shrike, Blue / Common Emperor (Anax imperator), many more Blue-eye / Goblet-marked Damselflies, Tounge (Serapias lingua) x100+ and Small-tongue Orchids (Serapias parviflora) x1.
Our final stop of the day was at the Embalse de Torrejón el Rubio which looked like a good spot but was quiet on our visit and we only added a Common Sandpiper (Andarrios Chico / Actitis hypoleucos), House Martin (Avión Común / Delichon urbica), Common Moorhen (Gallineta Común / Gallinulas chloropus) and a Blue Tit (Herrerillo Común / Parus caeruleus) before heading back to the apartment.

Small-tongue Orchid (Serapias parviflora).

Blue-eye / Goblet-marked Damselflies (Erythromma lindenii).