Back to the Track in the Lynx area, Sierra Morena, Jaen, Spain.

Day three in the Sunny but Piggin cold Sierra Morena, Looking for the Lynx.

 

From the first shelter.

Again we were out and on site fairly quickly after breakfast and it was a cracking morning, the wind had eased right off but it was still cold, as soon as we arrived we went for a walk down to the next shelter along the road to warm up the joints and get the blood flowing a bit but this looked as though it would turn out o be a big mistake.

From the first shelter.

I looked back towards the car and the 5 people who had been at the shelter were all stood on the same side and were looking up onto the hill on the opposite side of the track, we turned around and walked back but by the time we got there everyone had settled down and we found out that a male Iberian Lynx (lince iberico / Lynx pardina) had walked across the slope but had disappeared behind a couple of rocks and they thought it had continued on and up the hill.

Our first view of the male Iberian Lynx (lince iberico / Lynx pardina) better than nothing!!!!!

We spent some time scanning but a few minutes later one of two German guys that were there came back up the track to say that his friend was watching the Lynx, which had decided to have a snooooooze in the sun but as it's head was behind a bush we could only see the bum end but it was a start and we knew he would have to move eventually.

A bit of a clean up required before I put on a show for the crowds

We stood and watched it getting good views as it sun bathed through the scope, after a while it rolled over, moved a bit and stated give it's self a bit of a clean.

Slowly moving off after a snooze and brush up.

Eventually he decided to move off and do a bit of hunting or maybe just have a stroll, he stood up and quickly moved off left and behind some trees, we relocated back to the Shelter where we had another brief view before he disappeared into the rocks.

Cinereous / European Black Vulture (Buitre Negro / Aegypius monachus).

After a while I picked him up again but he was way off to the left on another rocky outcrop but by the time we got the scope on him again he was off up hill and that was the last we saw of him unfortunately, we had good views but the photo's are not great as there was a surprising strong heat haze.

Common Magpie (Urraca / Pica pica).

We spent the rest of the day in this area with just a quick walk down the track again but this time we went down to the last of the shelters, on the way we saw Bath (Pontia daplidice), Western Dappled (Euchloe crameri) and Small White (Pieris rapae), Clouded Yellow (Colias corceua), Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas), Long-tailed Blue (Lampides baeticus), Small Heath (Coenonympha pamphilus), Red (Ciervo común / Cervus elaphus) and Fallow Deer (Gamo común / Dama dama), 2x Mouflon (Moflon / Ovis orientalis), Rabbit (Conejo / Oryctolagus cuniculus), Jonquil (Narcissus jonquilla), Angel's tears Narcissus (Narcissus triandus) and Andalucian Wall Lizard (Podarcis vaucheri) none bird wise.

Andalucian Wall Lizards (Podarcis vaucheri).

Bird wise we picked up Cinereous / European Black (Buitre Negro / Aegypius monachus) and Griffon Vulture (Bultre Leonado / Gyps fulvus), Iberian (Rabilargo / Cyanopica cooki) and Common Magpie (Urraca / Pica pica),  Spotless Starling (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor), Corn Bunting (Triguero / Emberiza calandra), Iberian Imperial Eagle (Aguila Imperial Ibérica / Aguila adalberti), Little Owl (Mochuelo Europeo / Athene noctua), Iberian Green Woodpecker (Pito Real / Picus sharpei), Common Chaffinch (Pinzón Vulgar / Fringilla coelebs), Serin (Verdecillo / Serinus serinus), Sardinian Warbler (Curruca Cabecinegra / Sylvia melanocephala), Long-tailed (Mito / Aegithalos caudatus), Great (Carbonera Común / Parus major), Blue (Herrerillo Común / Parus caeruleus) and Crested Tit (Herrerillo Capuchino / Parus cristatus), Robin (Petirrojo Europeo / Erithacus rubecula), Red-legged Partridge (Perdiz Roja / Alectoris rufa), Jackdaw (Grajilla / Corvus monedula) and a singing Woodlark (Totovia / Lullula arborea).

2x Mouflon (Moflon / Ovis orientalis).

We spent quite a bit more time at the shelter then Steve went just around the corner but came back a while later with a very nice picture of a Dunnock (Acentor Común / Prunella modularis), a species I still needed for the year list so I went for a look but didn't find the bird, I did see Black Redstart (Colirrojo Tizón / Phoenicurus ochruros), a male Blue-rock Thrush (Roquero Solitario / Monticola solitarius), Red-billed Chough (Chova Piquirroja / Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax), Rock Bunting (Escribano Montesino / Emberiza cia), Sparrowhawk (Gavilán Común / Accipiter nisus) and several calling Great Spotted Cuckoo's (Crialo Europeo / Clamator gladarius). 

Jonquil (Narcissus jonquilla).

We made our way back to La Caracola and had a very nice meal again thanks to Laura.

Blue-rock Thrush (Roquero Solitario / Monticola solitarius) male.