Sierra Morena Spring birding trip day 3 - Vultures, vultures, vultures (plus special guest...)

While everyday of my short trip to the beautiful Sierra Morena region of Andalucia has been cracking, the final day was probably my favourite.

Most of the day was spent in a dedicated vulture hide, with Egyptian Vultures as my main target species. These have been a bit of a bogie bird for me; we've seen quite a number at distance over the course of our trips to Spain in the last few year, but I've only really got decent shots of a juvenile to date. So I was really looking forward to getting a few at close range - and the hide certainly didn't disappoint!

The first Egyptian arrived before it was properly light, and we had around 30 fairly constantly around the hide throughout the session. Needless to say, my shutter count went up quite considerably over the course of the day!

Juvenile Egyptian Vulture 

Egyptian Vulture

Also present were about 50 Griffon Vultures. About a dozen came down to feed during our session, with the majority staying more distant over the hills in the background. There were almost innumerable Black Kites, weaving around gracefully to snatch a morsel here and there. I was particularly interested to spot one individual, who appeared to have no red pigmentation, giving it a unique white-headed appearance. 

Griffon Vulture

Black Kite - White headed

Black Kite - White headed

Black Kite

Also a large number of White Storks were present around the area, with a pair making their nest directly in-front of the hide. A few also came down to feed during the morning. We were told that some days there can be a hundred or so at the feed and I was fairly pleased this was not one of those days!!

White Stork feeding her chicks

Another real high point for me was getting some really close views of Black Vultures or as they are also known as, Cinereous Vulture- a truly huge and impressive bird; they make the Griffons look positively runtish! Again, this is a species that we have had some distant views of in the past, but I've been itching for a chance to get them lined up in my lens at close quarters! We had half a dozen visit the bait during our session, so I had plenty of opportunity to fulfill this dream. They are much more bicker-some than the Griffons, which appear positively demure in comparison. It's really quite something to see two of these enormous birds squaring up for a dispute!  

Cinereous Vultures fighting

I also enjoyed watching how they scuttle about at high speed on the ground, with their wings held out & down behind them, rather like the Skeksis from Jim Henson's film The Dark Crystal (if you are old enough to remember that one!).

As if the trip hadn't already delivered more than I'd hoped for, we were unexpectedly invited to watch a Iberian Lynx reintroduction at a secret release site, at very short notice. Naturally, it was drop everything and go, as opportunities to witness these stunning cats at close quarters really don't come along everyday. We were privileged to get a wonderful view of the young adult female Iberian Lynx as it made it's way past us to cover - at speed! I was then sent round to see if it was still lurking in the bushes, and was amazed to come pretty much face to face with it, taking a brief rest in the scrub. I was so stunned to be locking eyes with one of these rare and elusive beasties that I didn't even get my lens up until it moved off, but sometimes the moment is more important than the photo! Yes, even to me!

Iberian Lynx - (GPS collar cloned out)

An absolutely unforgettable end to a wonderful trip... already making plans for next Spring (although I'm sure I'll be back again in the meantime!).

Sierra Morena Spring Trip - Day Two; Eagles and foxes

Day Two of my short trip to the stunning Sierra Morena region was spent in the very well-appointed Spanish Imperial Eagle hide. For a full description of the set-up, see my post from my last trip in January.

It was a very early start to get to the private Finca and into the hide before the light started to come up, but well worth it. As we arrived, a solitary Griffon Vulture was roosting in one of the Stone Pines towards the back of the clearing, and it stuck around for most of the day.

We then got very excited when two huge, dark birds flew out of the gloom towards the clearing, before the sun had come up... however, it soon became clear that it was a false alarm & that it was a pair of Ravens, rather than the Eagles. Still very impressive birds; you forget just how big they can get, until you see them close up. They did briefly perch up, but light levels were still too low for a shot. 

The last couple of times I've been here, the first arrivals on the bait have been a huge, noisy flock of Azure-Winged Magpies. At this time of year, there weren't the same large flocks - presumably because most of the birds are on nests at present. However, a couple of pairs did briefly visits several times throughout the day, though they weren't hanging around; it was strictly a case of grab some grubs  head off to the nest.

Azure-winged Magpie

The pair of Imperial Eagles did show up not too long after the sun had come up, but initially assumed a watchful position in the tops of the trees right at the back of the clearing. The antics of a small group of Goldfinches kept us entertained as we waited, and it was also nice to see a couple of Crested Tit flying too & from between the pines. We also had a pair of Blackbirds about their business, and a pair of Spotless Starlings was busy ferrying a steady stream of maggots and grubs over to their nest.

Spotless Starling

Spotless Starling

Eventually, the Griffon Vulture came down to feed on the bait (most of a deer carcass, in this instance). Another tried to join it, but the original bird soon saw it off by hissing and posturing aggressively.

Griffon Vultures

I was delighted when an Iberian Red Fox vixen put in an appearance, after an hour or so. I've been hoping for an encounter with one of these stunning creatures every time I've visited this hide, but no joy - until now.  The Eagles weren't quite so pleased to see her, though. As soon as she started attempting to feed on the bait, they moved forward into the closest pines and made their displeasure very clear.Indeed, one even got so riled up that it swooped down on the fox, and managed to grab it, as she fled toward the cover at the side of the valley. It was quite something to witness, as the bird lifted the vixen off the ground; however it can't have had a proper grip, as the fox was able to escape, apparently unharmed. 

Spanish Imperial Eagle -Pair

Iberian Red Fox

Both eagles looking for the fox

Shortly after this, a small herd of about 6 Red Deer hinds, plus one surprisingly well-grown fawn crossed the far end of the clearing. I'm always happy to see a deer or two!

Eagles beating up a Griffon Vulture

The Eagles came and went throughout the course of the day, though they didn't actually come down to the bait to feed; seemingly more interested in guarding their larder from all intruders. I also enjoyed watching a Goshawk coming & going in the distance over the valley; clearly taking food back to the nest. A third Griffon made a appearance, however it didn't seem hungry for it left after a short stay. 

We did also get another visit from a second Vixen in the afternoon. Interestingly, the Eagles didn't seem at all bothered by her, which seems surprising, considering their attack on the first fox during the morning. This one, really wasn't hanging about; she grabbed a huge hunk of meat and promptly dragged it off with her. I really like the light effects on this photo of her.

On the way back to town we were privileged to stop off to check out a little owl sight. We did find the wee chap though not coming out of the trees. Further down the road another was posting nicely on top of a wooden electricity pylon but by this time my battery had run out and I had stupidly left the spare at home!!

Little Owl

Another very memorable day in this beautiful place. Final installment of the trip to follow tomorrow.

Sierra Morena spring birding trip - day 1; a bedazzlement of Bee-eaters

Welcome to the first installment of my slightly time-lapse write up of this week's short birding trip to the beautiful Sierra Morena area of Southern Spain. I had planned to do live daily updates (with a little help from my editorial assistant). However, after a very stressful two-hour game of hunt the passport seriously eroded my already limited pre-trip sleep time on Monday night, I was so flustered that I managed to leave without my memory-card reader, or my spare battery!

After flying into Malaga on the first flight out on Tuesday morning, my 3 guests and I met our local guide, Agustin, for a pleasant drive up into the Sierra Morena mountain range. The trip got off to a great start, with plenty of sightings along the way, including Black Kites, Buzzards, Griffon Vultures and Imperial Eagles. 

Arriving into the area, we spent some time driving around the Finca looking for the local male Lynx, as Agustin had had an amazingly close view the previous evening, and it had been spotted again earlier in the day. No luck, but we did see lots of other wildlife, including Barn Swallows, Red-Rumped Swallows, House Martins plus Common, Pallid and White-Rumped Swifts, Ravens and Hoopoes. A highlight for me was spotting a tiny Hare Leveret by the side of the road. Obviously only a few days old, we weren't 100% sure that it was a hare rather than a rabbit, until it put it's enormous ears up - just before dashing off into the undergrowth!

We also had some great views (through a scope) of one of the pairs of Spanish Imperial Eagles on their nest, with the chick clearly visible. It's wonderful to see these iconic birds doing so well in this area. We also saw several Little Owl nest sites, and one of the birds close to the side of the road.

We then split into two small groups for the afternoon, to visit our choice of bird hides. I had a fantastic few hours watching a Bee-Eater colony at their nest sight on the river bank. I absolutely love Bee-Eaters; they are one of my favourite birds and always a pleasure to send time with. From my pop-up hide, I had over 20 birds directly in front of me most of the time, with well over a hundred zipping around in the fields & scrub.

Interesting displaying posture, which was followed but the male catching a bee and feeding it to the his partner

Passing a ladybird to the female

Bee Eaters copulating

There was lots of courtship behaviour going on, with the females begging the males for food, and pairs displaying to each other. Some pairs had clearly already established strong bonds already, spending all their time close together and much passing of food going on. We also witnessed lots of mating activity. It was really interesting to see how similar much of their courtship behaviour is to kingfisher - their close relatives - albeit passing insects to their mates as little billet-doux, rather than fish! I was also surprised to see them eating ladybirds, as well as the more familiar hoverflies, dragonflies - and of course, the eponymous bees.

Bee Eater with no blue colour

There was lots of other wildlife to be seen along the river bank, too. At times, there was a veritable frog chorus, with what sounded like hundreds croaking away merrily. Lots of waders in action too, including Little-Ringed Plover, Common Sandpiper, Black Winged Stilt, several Little Egret and a Grey Heron fishing. A kingfisher passed by several times, and on one occasion, landed right by my hide - however as soon as I moved my lens to try for a shot, he was off in a flash of electric blue! It was also nice to see both types of Yellow Wag-tail & Hoopoes darting back and worth caring various insects to their waiting chicks.  

Little Ringed Plover

Common Sandpiper

Iberian Yellow Wag-tail

Yellow Wag-tail - Juvenile 

As the evening wore on, the softer light showed up the dazzling colours of the Bee-Eaters to best advantage. There is lots of variation in their plummage, with some being really intense azure blue, with vibrant coppery backs & wings, and other being much more slately blue-green on the body. It was interesting to also see one with no blue at all (photo shown). Needless to say, I took rather a lot of shots of the course of the session! 

My other guests,Piotr and Manny also had a great session in the Bebedero (woodland drinking pool) hide, with 5 visits from their target species, Hawfinch, as well as Jays, Nutchatch, Greenfinch and other woodland species. All in all, a brilliant first day. Check back tomorrow for the next installment! 

Hawfinch (I took this one at the same hide back in February)

Sierra Morena Trip Day 5 - Little luck with Lynx

Today was my last day in the Sierra Morena, and sadly I haven't managed to see my number one target species. I always knew there would be a lot of luck needed to get a sighting, and conditions were against us again today. There was torrential rain in the morning, so we didn't get going until late morning.

We spent the afternoon driving round likely tracks on two private Fincas, where there are known to be a healthy population of Lynx. The scenery is really spectacular, with rocky crags rising up above dense Cork-oaks and Pine wooded slopes, interspersed with golden grassy glades and pastures. 

Spanish Imperial Eagle - 3rd year bird

The first Finca we visited is the same one on which the Imperial Eagle hide is located - although we were exploring on the slopes on the other side of the estate; a good area for golden Eagles. While I didn't see them today, I did get some great views of one of the young Imperials, which circled round the Landrover a couple of times while we'd stopped to eat lunch. From the coloration, it looks to be a third year bird, just starting to moult into it's adult plumage. We also had several small groups of Griffon Vultures fly overhead, and I was befriended by the resident woolly sheepdog. He looked like he'd met a Lynx or two, judging by his scars!

Red Deer yearling

There are large numbers of Red Deer on the estate, and I really enjoyed getting up close and personal with several groups.We encountered a wide range of different ages on our way around - from does with yearlings, to subordinate young 10 pointers. Seeing some of the really mature dominant stags with 12 points or more is always a bit of a thrill. The Red Deer in the South of Spain are a lot less shaggy-coated than the UK population, so their musculature is much better defined and they tend to look sleeker.

Red Deer Stag

We  passed another large flock of Azure-winged magpies in the woods - this is definitely the area to come to for a good look at these engaging little corvids!  I was also interested to see large numbers of Wood Pigeons; while hardly a rare bird in the UK, you don't see too many in Spain as they are hunted quite extensively. However this Finca is a non-hunting estate - no wonder it's so good for wildlife. We also saw various Thrushes, Redstarts, Black Redstarts and a good number of Ravens.

Little Owl

On our way to the second Finca, we stopped off to look for Little Owls, and I was delighted to spot one lurking on a hollow stump. As many of you will know, they're one of my favourite birds to photograph and I'm always pleased to get them in different surroundings.

Little Owl

No luck with Lynx on the second Finca either, though we stayed out looking until dark. However, we were really surprised to see a fairly large flock of House Martins, plus one Crag Martin at dusk. These are birds that wouldn't normally be seen back in this area until spring is well underway, so they are extremely early. I wonder if the mild winter has lulled them into making an over-early return?

I may not have seen everything I'd hoped to, but it's still been a very enjoyable few days and I think I've come away with some decent shots - particularly of the Crested Tits. Now for a lot of sifting and editing when I get home. Better pick up some nice Spanish cheese on route home to keep Louise happy!