Monfragüe

The summer holidays gave us the chance to travel a little further afield and visit Monfragüe National Park. Situated in Extremadura between Plasencia and Trujillo, and famous for its bird life, it had been on our to-do list for a while. We spent six nights in Villareal de San Carlos, the only village situated in the park itself. The village had plenty of wildlife to see. There were Barn Swallows nesting in the eaves of the houses and a pair of Golden Orioles in the fig tree beside the village. Red Deer ventured into the car park area to graze and one morning we came across a fox. And of course there was always the chance to see raptors passing overhead. 

Red Deer relaxing in the shade

Red Deer

Our first stop in Monfragüe was El Salto de Gitano (the Gypsy’s Leap). This rocky cliff is the most symbolic stop in the park and allows you to get incredibly close to the resident raptors. There are over 100 pairs of Griffon Vultures which nest here and we spent a long time watching them soaring around the cliffs and gliding across the water below. We also spotted an Egyptian Vulture, its bright white feathers, standing out against the rocks. In the evening a couple of juvenile Black Storks appeared and there were Rock Buntings, Black Redstarts and Blue Rock Thrushes on the boulders next to the lookout point.

Griffon Vulture

The nearby Castillo de Monfragüe, with its panoramic views, proved the perfect place to observe Griffon Vultures as they soared past at eye-level, often just a few metres from us. We also saw a Short-toed Eagle fly by and a few Black Storks crossing the valley below.

The view from the castle

Griffon Vulture

Griffon Vulture preparing to land

A little further into the park the road crosses the River Tajus, the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula. Here there is a fountain called Fuente del Frances which attracted Great Tits and Blue Tits looking for a drink in the heat of the summer. We also saw Chiffchaffs and numerous Two-tailed Pasha butterflies (Charaxes jasius). They are a medium to large butterfly which are found in sub-Saharan Africa and Mediterranean areas of Europe. In Spanish they are known as Mariposa del Madroño (Strawberry Tree Butterfly) due to the fact that their larvae feed on the Strawberry Tree. 

Two-tailed Pasha

Just north of Villareal de San Carlos a right turn takes you towards Portilla de Tietar. Our progress along the road was slow as we stopped every few hundred metres to look at something. Fortunately there are plenty of lay-bys which allow you to pull in safely. We got great views of Short-toed Eagles, Black Vultures, Griffon Vultures, Egyptian Vultures, Black Kites and Black Storks.

A ringed Black Vulture showing off its impressive wingspan.

And it wasn't just birds. There were Red Deer feeding on the shrubs beside the road and foxes too. Bee-eaters frequently passed overhead in noisy groups and we saw Long-tailed Tits, Chaffinches, Golden Orioles, Sardinian Warblers, Stonechats, Woodchat Shrikes, Jays and Azure-winged Magpies.

Red Fox

Red Fox

Portilla de Tietar, in the north-east of the park, is another rocky cliff home to many raptors. Shortly after stopping here we heard the distinctive bark-like "krao krao" call of the Spanish Imperial Eagle. We got great views of a pair of adults and a juvenile. 

Spanish Imperial Eagle showing its distinctive white edge on its wings

The cliff is also home to many Griffon Vultures and we spotted a juvenile Egyptian Vulture sitting in its nest. The adults were busy flying back and forth bringing food to the young bird and it was nice to be able to observe these birds so closely, especially as they are becoming increasingly rare. While Spain holds Europe's largest breeding population, with around 1,350 pairs, they are under threat from hunting, pesticide accumulation and wind turbines. The cliff was swarming with Crag Martins too and along the river Grey Herons, a Purple Heron, Cormorants and Kingfishers were also seen.

Egyptian Vulture

Since we had time, we decided to explore areas around Monfragüe. Valle de Jerte is a beautiful 40km long valley to the north, famous for its cherries, and a much more temperate climate. Here we found Nuthatches in the Pyrenean Oak forests as well as Robins, Hoopoes, Stonechats, Crested Larks, Pied Wagtails and Azure-winged Magpies.

Nuthatch showing off its ability to descend a tree.

At the Embalse de Portaje, a reservoir to the west of Plasencia, we observed Kingfishers, Little Ringed Plovers, Common Sandpipers, Black-winged Stilts, Lapwings, White Storks, Black Storks, Little Egrets, Great Egrets, Grey Herons, Night Herons, Spoonbills and Great Crested Grebes. In the surrounding countryside we saw Crested Larks, Ravens, Woodchat Shrikes, Iberian Grey Shrikes and Black Kites.  

Jersey Tiger Moth

At Saucedilla we borrowed keys from the town council which allowed us to enter the four hides overlooking the wetland areas. It was probably not the best time to visit (spring would be much more fruitful) but we did manage to get good views of Purple Herons, Great Egrets, Cormorants, Zitting Cisticolas, Black Kites, Red Kites and Booted Eagles among others. 

Purple Heron

Our final day trip was to the Guadiana Valley rice fields. This kind of countryside is quite different to what we have around Cordoba, so we were hoping to see some new species in particular Red Avadavats. Outside the town of Madrigalejo we took a small track surrounded by paddy fields. Bee-eaters were swooping in the air and White Storks paced across the flooded ground looking for prey.

One of the many dragonflies in the rice fields in the Guadiana Valley

When we stopped the car a Purple Heron took off from its hiding place and it wasn’t long before we saw a small red bird zipping past us. It was so small and fast it was hard to get it in our binoculars for a better view. We persevered and soon we saw a small flock and were able to confirm that what we were looking at were Red Avadavats. They are beautiful birds, deep red with a red beak, brownish wings, a black tail and eye stripe and white dots on the body and wing feathers. They are not native to Spain, but escaped caged birds which have formed thriving populations in areas like this. However they don’t stay still for long making them difficult to photograph. The reeds around the rice fields were also home to Goldfinches, Zitting Cisticolas and another introduced species, Waxbills. And of course there were plenty of raptors about, including Black Kites, Common Kestrels, Marsh Harriers and a Short-toed Eagle. We drove back towards Monfragüe through the pastures around Zorita. This steppe was rather deserted in the afternoon heat but the small detour was worth it as we spotted a Montagu’s Harrier sitting in a field.

Short-toed Eagle

Monfragüe certainly lived up to its reputation as a leading bird site and we were continually impressed by both the quantity and proximity of the raptors on offer as well as the facilities for birders. We will be back!