Trujillo and Belem Plains, Extremadura.

Leicester Ladies tour of Extremadura.

Full days Birding, Day Five.

Almost a rest Day.

Serin (Verdecillo / Serinus serinus).

The Ladies and I travelled south to the town of Trujillo where I dropped them off so that they could have a wander around the Castillo and the annual Cheese fiesta in the town centre which seems to be on every time I go to look around.

Eurasian Coots (Focha Común / Fulica atra).

Whilst they were there I went and check a couple of pools nearby but they were generally quiet and at the first the Estanque del Albuera I only picked up Mallard (Anade Azulón / Anas platyrhynchos), Gadwall (Anade Friso / Anas strepera), Eurasian Coot (Focha Común / Fulica atra), Common Moorhen (Gallineta Común / Gallinulas chloropus), Little Grebe (Zampullín Común / Tachybaptus ruficollis), Common Sandpiper (Andarrios Chico / Actitis hypoleucos), Zitting Cisticola (Buitrón / Cisticola juncidis), Common Buzzard (Busardo Ratonero / Buteo buteo), Barn (Golondrina Común / Hirundo rustica) and Red-rumped Swallows (Golondrina Dáurica / Hirundo daurica) and Common Swift (Vencejo Común / Apus apus).

Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas).

The second stop was at another lake called Estanque de San Lázaro which was on the edge of Trujillo, there were severl pairs of breeding Black-winged Stilt (Ciguenela Común / Himantopus himantopus) as well as Little Ringed Plover (Chorlitejo Chico / Charadrius dubius), White Wagtail (Lavandera Blanca / Montacilla alba), Collared Dove (Tórtola Turca / Streptopelia decaocto), White Stork (Ciguena Blanca / Ciconia ciconia), House Sparrow (Gorrión Común / Passer domesticus) and as I walked back to the Van a very smart male Serin (Verdecillo / Serinus serinus) was singing from a wire and it sat nicely for the camera.

Red-underwing Skipper (Spialia sertorius).

At the nearby bull ring I had  view of a couple of Lesser Kestrels (Cernicola Primilla / Falco naumanni) as they approached their nests in the roof along side loads of Spotless Starling (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor) and a couple of passing Black Kites (Milano Negro / Milvus migrans).

Spanish Sparrow (Gorrión Moruno / Passer hispaniolensis).

I made my way into the centre of town where I found the ladies just about to have a coffee so I joined themand then later we headed out on to the Belen Plain and then to a track a few KM where we parked and looked for plants and butteflies and found Southern Red Bartsia (Parentucellia latifolia), Yellow Lupin (Lupinus luteus), Rabbits bread (Andryala integrifolia), Pitch Trefoil (Psoralea bituminosa), Barbary Nut (Moraea sisyrinchium), Ox-eye Daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare), Red-striped Oil Beetle (Berberomeloe majalis), Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas), Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina ssp hispulla), Small Heath (Coenonympha pamphilus), Clouded Yellow (Colias Común / Colias corcea), Common / Southern Blue (Polyommatus icarus / celina), an Lythria sanguinaria Moth and Montpellier Snake (Malpolon monspessulanus).

Red-striped Oil Beetle (Berberomeloe majalis).

Further along the track we stopped again and found Green-underside Blue (Glaucopsyche alexis), Red-underwing Skipper (Spialia sertorius), Small White (Pieris rapae), 4x Turtle Dove (Tórtola Europea / Streptopelia turtur) which rapidly flew passed the van and away.

Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina ssp hispulla).

As we drove back towards the village we added Rabbit (Conejo / Oryctolagus cuniculus), Thekla (Cogujada Montesina / Galerida theklae), Crested (Cogujada / Galerida cristata) and Calandra Lark (Calandria / Melanocorypha calandra), Common Magpie (Urraca / Pica pica), Corn Bunting (Triguero / Emberiza calandra), Whinchat (Tarabilla Nortena / Saxicola rubetra), Griffon Vulture (Bultre Leonado / Gyps fulvus), heard a calling Little Bustard (Sisón Común / Tetrax tetrax), Common Stonechat (Tarabilla Común / Saxicola torquata), Iberian Grey Shrike (Alcaudón Real Meridional / Lanius meridionalis), Jackdaw (Grajilla / Corvus monedula), Raven (Cuervo / Corvus corax),

Common / Southern Blue (Polyommatus icarus / celina).

Our last stop was on the way back North at the Rio Almonte where we had a good look at both sides of the river and were very pleased to have brief views of a pair of Otter (Nutria / Lutra lutra) playing away up stream. Other species included Little Grebe (Zampullín Común / Tachybaptus ruficollis), Great Cormorant (Cormorán Grande / Phalacrocroax carbo), Grey Heron (Garza Real / Ardea cinerea), 2 distant passing Black Storks (Ciguena Negra / Ciconia nigra), more Griffon and

Lythria sanguinaria.

European Black Vulture (Buitre Negro / Aegypius monachus), Common Kestrel (Cernicalo Vulgar / Falco tinnunculus), Rock Dove (Paloma Bravía / Columba livia), Woodpigeon (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus), Linnet (Pardillo Común / Carduelis cannabina), Common Cuckoo (Cuco Común / Cuculus canorus) heard, Pallid Swift (Vencejo Pálido /Apus pallidus), European Bee-eater (Abejaruco Común / Merops apiaster), Hoopoe (Abubilla / Upupa epops), House (Avión Común / Delichon urbica) and Crag Martin (Avión Roquero / Ptyonoprogne rupestris), White Wagtail (Lavandera Blanca / Montacilla alba), Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula), Cetti's (Ruisenor Bastardo / Cettia cetti), Great Reed (Carricero Tordal / Acrocephalus arundinaceus), Reed (Carricero Común / Acrocephalus scrpaceus) and Sardinian Warbler (Curruca Cabecinegra / Sylvia melanocephala), Nightingale (Ruisenor Común / Luscinia megarhynchos), Iberian  Magpie (Rabilargo / Cyanopica cooki), Spanish Sparrow (Gorrión Moruno / Passer hispaniolensis),

Lythria sanguinaria.

Woodchat Shrike (Alcaudón Común / Lanius senator), Great (Carbonera Común / Parus major) and Blue Tit (Herrerillo Común / Parus caeruleus), Common Chaffinch (Pinzón Vulgar / Fringilla coelebs), Spanish Sparrow (Gorrión Moruno / Passer hispaniolensis) and as we walked back to the van we had a pair of Hawfinch (Picogordo / Coccotraustes coccotrauetes) fly off but not before they made it onto the list.

Thekla Lark (Cogujada Montesina / Galerida theklae).

During the evening Rona showed us a shot she had taken in the fort and we were then able to add Black Wheatear (Collalba Negra / Oenanthe leucura) to the trip list s well.