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Saturday 4 December 2021

La Yecla PNat, Santo Domingo de Silos, Burgos Province, Spain.

Back amonst the Vultures but still no Wallcreeper.
Ebird List.

Griffon Vulture (Bultre Leonado / Gyps fulvus).
I again visited the La Yecla gorge as it was so close to the house it is easily reached for a quick bit of birding. Again as usual there were lots of Griffon Vulture (Bultre Leonado / Gyps fulvus) and many of the species seen yesterday were still there but I did add Jay (Arrendajo / Garrulus glandarius), Red-billed Chough (Chova Piquirroja / Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax), Raven (Cuervo / Corvus corax), Carrion Crow (Corneja Negra / Corvus corone), Short-toed Treecreeper (Agateador Común / Certhia brachydactyla), White Wagtail (Lavandera Blanca / Montacilla alba), Spotless Starling (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor), Rock Bunting (Escribano Montesino / Emberiza cia) and Common Chaffinch (Pinzón Vulgar / Fringilla coelebs).

Friday 3 December 2021

La Yecla PNat, Santo Domingo de Silos, Burgos Province, Spain.

An hour or so watching Vultures.
Ebird List.

Peregrine Falcon (Halcón Peregrino / Falco peregrinus).
I have always like visiting La Yecla as the views of the Griffon Vultures (Bultre Leonado / Gyps fulvus) are very good but they were difficult today as the light was very bad and the drizzle didn't help.
Griffon Vultures (Bultre Leonado / Gyps fulvus).

Griffon Vultures (Bultre Leonado / Gyps fulvus).

Any way I stood at the top / upper end of the gorge scanning the cliffs for the
Wallcreeper (Treparriscos / Tichodroma muraria) that had been seen a few days earlier but I didn't have any luck with that.
Griffon Vulture (Bultre Leonado / Gyps fulvus).
I did however see a Peregrine Falcon (Halcón Peregrino / Falco peregrinus) perched high up on the crags, Red Kite (Milano Real / Milvus milvus) and Common Kestrel (Cernicalo Vulgar / Falco tinnunculus).
Red Kite (Milano Real / Milvus milvus).

Lower down in the trees, bushes and along the stream I also saw
Blue (Herrerillo Común / Parus caeruleus), Coal (Carbonero Garrapinos / Parus ater), Crested (Herrerillo Capuchino / Parus cristatus), Great (Carbonera Común / Parus major) and Long-tailed Tits (Mito / Aegithalos caudatus), Firecrest (Reyezuelo Listado / Regulus ignicapillus), Common Chiffchaff (Mosquitero Común / Phylloscopus collybita), Robin (Petirrojo Europeo / Erithacus rubecula), Wren (Chochin / Troglodytes troglodytes), Song (Zorzal Común / Turdus philomelos) and Mistle Thrush (Zorzal Charlo / Turdus viscivorus) and Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula) before I went back to the house.

Thursday 2 December 2021

Peña Carazo, Dehesa de Contreras (Sad Hill), Burgos Province, Spain.

Amongst the Thrushes and Magpies.
Ebird List.

A spot I like to visit, good memories.
I drove just up the road from Santi's and parked at the entrance to the Sad Hill site and walked out to the famous Grave Yard from the Good, the Bad and the Ugly classic film and almost straight away I was finding good numbers of Mistle Thrushes (Zorzal Charlo / Turdus viscivorus) and had a smart Iberian Green Woodpecker (Pito Real / Picus sharpei) fly off calling into the Juniper trees on the slopes.
A view down to the center circle.
I walked down to the centre circle where the gun fight took place when I heard some calling Fieldfare (Zorzal Real / Turdus pilaris) off to my right on the slope, so I went for a look.
Fieldfare (Zorzal Real / Turdus pilaris) x4.
Fieldfare (Zorzal Real / Turdus pilaris) and two more.
A short way up the slope I started to find more and more Mistle Thrushes and good numbers of Iberian  Magpies (Rabilargo / Cyanopica cooki), not sure if they have moved into the area in recent years but don't remember them from earlier visits.
Fieldfare (Zorzal Real / Turdus pilaris).
Just a little further up and I started to see the Fieldfares flying up into the trees ahead of me and by the time they flew off I had counted at least 18 birds. I carried on along the slope seeing the first of 3 Redwings (Zorzal Alirrojo / Turdus illacus), Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula), a single noisy Ring Ouzel (Mirlo Capiblanco / Turdus torquatus), Wren (Chochin / Troglodytes troglodytes), Robin (Petirrojo Europeo / Erithacus rubecula), Red-billed Chough (Chova Piquirroja / Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax), Jay (Arrendajo / Garrulus glandarius), Griffon Vulture (Bultre Leonado / Gyps fulvus), Woodpigeon (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus) and Red-legged Partridge (Perdiz Roja / Alectoris rufa).
Redwing (Zorzal Alirrojo / Turdus illacus).
I dropped back down and crossed the valley and then walk back to the car on the opposite side where I added Great (Carbonera Común / Parus major), Crested (Herrerillo Capuchino / Parus cristatus), Coal (Carbonero Garrapinos / Parus ater) and Blue Tits (Herrerillo Común / Parus caeruleus) which had formed a flock and were joined by several Common Chiffchaffs (Mosquitero Común / Phylloscopus collybita) and a pair of Firecrest (Reyezuelo Listado / Regulus ignicapillus).
As I continued on I finished off with Common Chaffinch (Pinzón Vulgar / Fringilla coelebs), Goldfinch (Jilguero / Carduelis carduelis), Linnet (Pardillo Común / Carduelis cannabina) and 2 Rock Bunting (Escribano Montesino / Emberiza cia) before driving back to the house.

Wednesday 1 December 2021

Laguna Navaseca, Ciudad Real and Fields South of Madrid, Toledo, Spain.

Heading North to Santo Domingo de Silos.
Ebird List for Laguna Navaseca.

View across the misty Laguna.
I started out early to make my way up North to stay with Friends Santi and Howard for a while, on the way up I stopped off at Laguna Navaseca, a spot I alway like to visit as there are always good birds.
Common Crane (Grulla Común / Grus grus).
I parked by the hide and scanned the lake but could not see a great deal to start with as the fog was fairly think but as it started to lift I started to see birds including a calling male Pheasant (Faisán Vulgar / Phaisanus colchicus) behind me on the car park, White Wagtail (Lavandera Blanca / Montacilla alba), Common Magpie (Urraca / Pica pica), Greater Flamingo (Flamenco Común / Phoenicopterus roseus), Eurasian Teal (Cerceta Común / Anas crecca), Mallard (Anade Azulón / Anas platyrhynchos), Northern Shoveler (Pato Cuchara / Anas clypeata), Great Cormorant (Cormorán Grande / Phalacrocroax carbo), Eurasian Coot (Focha Común / Fulica atra), Common Moorhen (Gallineta Común / Gallinulas chloropus), Water Rail (Rascón Europeo / Rallus aquaticus) heard only and down in the reeds the first of a few Spanish Sparrows (Gorrión Moruno / Passer hispaniolensis), good numbers of Corn Buntings (Triguero / Emberiza calandra) and calling Cetti's Warbler (Ruisenor Bastardo / Cettia cetti).
A distant Ferruginous Duck (Porrón Pardo / Aythya nyroca).
Male Ring-necked Duck (Porrón acollarado / Aythya collaris).
Male Ring-necked Duck (Porrón acollarado / Aythya collaris).
I had a walk along the road down to the far corner where you can view the far end of the pool better and started to check through the Common Pochards (Porrón Común / Aythya ferina) finding a Tufted Duck (Porrón Monudo / Aythya fuligula), Ferruginous Duck (Porrón Pardo / Aythya nyroca) and a nice male Ring-necked Duck (Porrón acollarado / Aythya collaris) which had been around for a few days.
Marsh Harrier (Aguilucho Lagunero Occidental / Circus aeruginosus).
Marsh Harrier (Aguilucho Lagunero Occidental / Circus aeruginosus).
Marsh Harrier (Aguilucho Lagunero Occidental / Circus aeruginosus).
In the same area I also saw Bluethroat (Pechiazul / Luscinia svecica), Shelduck (Tarro Blanco / Tadoma tadorna), both male and female Marsh Harriers (Aguilucho Lagunero Occidental / Circus aeruginosus), Little Grebe (Zampullín Común / Tachybaptus ruficollis), Gadwall (Anade Friso / Anas strepera), Snipe (Agachadiza Común / Gallinago gallinago), Dunlin (Correlimos Común / Calidris alpina), Little Egret (Garceta Común / Egreeta garzetta), Grey Heron (Garza Real / Ardea cinerea), Common Crane (Grulla Común / Grus grus) and 2 flyover Pin-tailed Sandgrouse (Ganga Ibérica / Pterocles alchata).
Grey Heron (Garza Real / Ardea cinerea).
I walked on along the Northern edge of the laguna where I saw more Spanish Sparrows,
Common Chiffchaff (Mosquitero Común / Phylloscopus collybita), Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula), Common Chaffinch (Pinzón Vulgar / Fringilla coelebs), Crested Lark (Cogujada / Galerida cristata), Goldfinch (Jilguero / Carduelis carduelis), Reed Bunting (Escribano Palustre / Emberiza schoeniclus), Dunnock (Acentor Común / Prunella modularis), Linnet (Pardillo Común / Carduelis cannabina), Song Thrush (Zorzal Común / Turdus philomelos) and an amazing 15+ more Ferruginous Ducks.
Spanish Sparrows (Gorrión Moruno / Passer hispaniolensis).
As I made my way along the eastern shore I was surprised to see a winter plumage Spotted Redshank (Archibebe Oscuro / Tringa erythropus) with 3x Black-winged Stilts (Ciguenela Común / Himantopus himantopus), a Green Sandpiper (Andarrios Grande / Tringa ochropus), Eurasian Spoonbill (Espátula Común / Platalea leucorodia), Western Swamp-hen (Calamon Común / Porphyrio porphyrio), a female White-headed Duck (Malvasia Cabeciblanca / Oxyura leucocephala), Woodpigeon (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus) and Spotless Starling (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor).
Eurasian Spoonbill (Espátula Común / Platalea leucorodia).
Spotted Redshank (Archibebe Oscuro / Tringa erythropus).
Along the Southern shore on my back to the car I picked up White Stork (Ciguena Blanca / Ciconia ciconia), Common Stonechat (Tarabilla Común / Saxicola torquata), Meadow Pipit (Bisbita Pratense / Anthus pratensis), Lesser Black-backed (Gaviota Sombria / Larus fuscus) and Black-headed Gull (Gaviota Riedora / Larus ridibundus), Common Kestrel (Cernicalo Vulgar / Falco tinnunculus), Collared Dove (Tórtola Turca / Streptopelia decaocto), Common Magpie (Urraca / Pica pica), Great Tit (Carbonera Común / Parus major) and Robin (Petirrojo Europeo / Erithacus rubecula).
White Stork (Ciguena Blanca / Ciconia ciconia).
Once back at the car I set off for the north againm between the Laguna and a spot 100KM or so from Madrid where I again pulled off the motorway I only added Red Kite (Milano Real / Milvus milvus) to the list.
Female Ferruginous Duck (Porrón Pardo / Aythya nyroca).
Female Ferruginous Duck (Porrón Pardo / Aythya nyroca).
Out on the fields off the side of the motorway I saw more Red Kites, Common Buzzard (Busardo Ratonero / Buteo buteo), Stone Curlew (Alcaraván Común / Burhinus oedicnemus), Skylark (Alondra Común / Alauda arvensis), Jackdaw (Grajilla / Corvus monedula), Red-legged Partridge (Perdiz Roja / Alectoris rufa) and a group of a dozen or so Little Bustards (Sisón Común / Tetrax tetrax).
Little Bustards (Sisón Común / Tetrax tetrax).
I had to wait until I was a little further along the motorway and had come off for fuel to find any
Great Bustard (Avutarda Común / Otis tarda), just after I had fueled I found a group of 28 birds close to the slip road back on to the motorway but had a loorry right behind me so I coud not stop typically.

Sunday 28 November 2021