Sierra Morena Winter trip - day 1

I'm currently in Southern Spain, on the first day of a winter trip to the beautiful Sierra Morena range in Andalucia.  It's a wonderful area for wildlife, with the possibility of seeing some really rare species, including the majestic Spanish Imperial Eagle, Black Vultures - and my main target species, the Iberian Lynx. I'll be spending the weekend in search of these elusive felines, but today the pace was a bit more relaxed, as I spent the day in a purpose-built hide for woodland birds.

As the site is quite shaded, the light is very low unil about 9.30am at this time of year, so I was quite pleased to get a little lie-in after a long day in transit yesterday!  The hide is located deep in mature Cork Oak & Stone Pine woodland on a private estate, with a view directly out onto a raised pool constructed from an old walled pen. It's very well set-up for extremely close views of the birds; if anything some were a bit too close for my 500mm lens! 

I've got masses of shots to go through from today alone, but I thought I'd share a few straight away to whet your appetite. These are pretty much straight as they came out the camera, apart from a quick crop - so bear with me!

Crested Tit

The day got off to a great start, with Crested Tits and Hawfinches making an appearance almost straight away. I had 4 different Crested Tits come to the pool - mainly in the morning, although one did stop in for a few seconds in the afternoon. I could hear more of them trilling away in the trees all around throughout the day too.

Crested Tit

   The Hawfinches ( or 'fat beaks' as they are known here) were coming and going frequently throughout the day. It was really nice to get a decent look at these shy birds, as they are generally very hard to get a good view of in the UK.

Hawfinch

Hawfinch 

Hawfinch

Another highlight for me was the Common Crossbills. I had great views of a female and a juvenile, but only managed record shots because they were just too close for my lens. Still, really good to see them.

Juvenile Common Crossbill drinking

I also had a couple of Greenfinches -  mainly in the morning. Several gangs of 12-20 Serins were present for much of the day, as well as very familiar woodland birds such as Blue Tits, Great Tits, Chaffinches, Robins,and a Dunnock. A solitary Pied Wagtails and a flock of Yellow Wagtails were also feeding on the ground around the site. The tits were particularly entertaining and I enjoyed watching their antics.

Greenfinch

Serin

Several Nuthatches came and went. They're one of my favourite woodland birds to watch; I love the way they hop up trunks like little wind-up toys.

Nuthatch

Several Griffon Vultures and a Buzzard flew by overhead, and the local Goshawk did put in a special guest appearance... frustratingly, by landing on the roof of the hide with a kill! So I only really saw the shape of the bird, but there is a decent population in the region, so I'll keep fingers crossed for a better view!

Off to watch the Imperial Eagles tomorrow, so I'm hoping for another sunny day - and obliging wildlife, of course!