WATCHING RUFOUS-TAILED SCRUB ROBINS

Sunday morning we spent watching Rufous-Tailed Scrub Robins, only 60 k from the house as the crow flies but 1.5 hours by car.

As soon as we arrived we saw the first Black-Eared Wheatears of the day, together with Linnets, Blue Tits, Thekla Larks, etc. Lots of Sardinian Warblers were singing and we also later heard (and glimpsed) an Orphean Warbler.

Once we started walking we passed through territory after territory of Rufous-Tailed Scrub Robins – a real joy. In all we saw 8 territorial males in a 2 k stroll. But the best of all came when one we were watching a long way off through the telescope decided to to come towards us to bathe in a brook. The best thing about it was that it was the bird itself that decided to come up to us rather than us chasing him.

First of all a quick bramble-top recce to make sure there’s no danger before dropping down to bathe.

 Slowly he hopped towards the brook along along the path

Until he finally had a long bath, which he seemed to enjoy

We also saw Booted Eagles and loads of Black Kites.

A perfect morning, especially after the victory the night before of BARÇA!!!!!!!!!!!

JUST TO KEEP THE BALL ROLLING

For reasons too boring to explain I haven't been able to get out in the country much lately. But this fetching mother and her fledgling son came to see me in my own house, so I took the chance of a few snapshots from inside our living room. Hope I can soon get back to making trips a bit further afield!

SUBZERO IN MAY

SUBZERO IN MAY

We spent last weekend in Gredos, the high mountain range (2600 m) behind our house. On the first day (Saturday) we walked up from the car park at La Plataforma (1800) to the mountain pass called Puerto de Candeleda (c. 2000 m). The weather was bad at the start of the walk, with wind and driving rain, but then bucked up and we were able to see and hear Bluethroats on the way up to the pass (better was to come the next day). A calling flock of Choughs flew over our head.

 Lots of Wheatears, Alpine Pipits and some lovely Yellow Wagtails, like this one perched atop the broom.

  

Lots of mountain goats, as usual, and a few Cinereous Vultures among the Griffons.

  

One the Sunday we left the hotel at 5.30 in the morning with the temperature at -2 degrees and a strong ground frost on the way up the mountain!!!!! The first Bluethroats were all puffed up against the cold.

 Maybe because of the low temperatures we saw few Rock Thrushes, but when the day warmed up a bit we saw this lovely pair at the top of the climb near Circo de Gredos, quite a long way off, together with two Alpine Accentors that stayed outside camera range. Here are two photos of the male and female Rock Thrush.

  

Skylarks were up in the air singing nearly all the time but this bird came down to the broom scrub to sing from atop a bush.

 The ubiquitous Dunnocks are also worth a snapshot.

  

On the way down, with the temperatures now much higher, we found that the Bluethroats had sleeked down a lot.

 We're used to seeing Bluethroats singing and displaying with their tails cocked upright but this bird did a strange little strutting dance with his head pointed skywards too. Really curious to watch.

The Bluethroats of Gredos either have a white spot on their blue breasts or none at all, but this bird seemed to have a reddish spot like the northern European race

  

 

TWENTY KILOMETRES IN TWO AND A HALF HOURS

The photos posted in today's blog entry were taken only 20 K from our house here in Villanueva de la Vera. The trouble is that to get there we have to drive right round the massif of Gredos mountain range (1.5 hours) and then walk up the high-mountain broom scrub where they breed. Two and a half hours to get to a site that is only 20 K from our house as the crow flies! The bird in question is the beautiful Bluethroat, for me one of the handsomest high mountain birds, together with the Rock Thrush. On the morning last week when I took this photo the Bluethroats were very restless, still squabbling to settle their territories and hardly staying still a few seconds. I'm going up there again this weekend to see if I can get better photos of the Bluethroat, Rock Thrush, Wheatears, Yellow Wagtails, Alpine Pipits, Skylarks and all the other high-mountain birds that breed so close and yet so "far" from our house.