Friday 16 June
Collected by my friend Derek Etherton so that we could drive up to a lovely spot in the hills a few kilometres north of Andujar in Jaen Province, one of the best sites for finding the Lynx at the right time of the year. A very journey in very warm weather with the outside ambient temperature reaching 42 by early afternoon! The main sightings on the drive north via Cordoba were
Buzzard,
Black Kite and
Raven with other sightings being replicated once we had arrived. In addition, a stop at the local Visitors Centre produced a happy
Turtle Dove singing happily away from the top of a dead tree immediately opposite the car park.
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| One of two Little Owls Mochuelo Comun Athene Atthis |
With the reception not yet open at our hotel, we took a drive down to the beautiful local river Jandular set in most beautiful surroundings and were adding
Azure-winged Magpies by the score or more. We also found (Common)
Magpie along with
Woodpigeons then started to record the usual summer birds including both
Barn and
Red-rumped Swallow along with
Blackbird,
Spotless Starling,
House Sparrow and
Goldfinch. Once at the dam where the
House Martins were nesting and feeding we also added a
Grey Wagtail and a
Green Woodpecker as we made our way back to the hotel.
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| Red-rumped Swallows Golondrina Daurica Hirundo daurica on the wires |
Having checked in, had a siesta followed by a swim, we set off to drive down a country track in the hope of finding the breeding Whinchat that we had been told about before departing. No such luck. But we also had Bob and Lynn Carr in the car who were also staying with us at the hotel. What we did find, apart from the swallows and
House Martins, were very many
Woodchat Shrikes, both adult and juvenile. A handful of
Hoopoes were recorded along with a couple of
Little Owls and
Jackdaw. Needless to say, there were many more
Azure-winged Magpies and a fair number of their common cousins, the
Magpie. Lovely to see not just individual
Red-legged Partridges but also family groups with up to a dozen little balls of fluff scurrying along with their parents. Many
Corn Buntings and as well as
Greenfinch along with a small flock of
Serin before we found a single
Great Spotted Woodpecker.
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| One of very many Red Deer Cervus elaphus does seen on the journey down the valley |
And so back to the hotel for a very late dinner and even later call to bed.
Saturday 17 June
Up early for the 8.30 start of the
Andalucia Bird Society's field visit to the area under the superb leadership of local guide and ABS member Jose Luis Sanchez. Nine of us were to spend a fabulous day enjoying the beauty of the hills and valleys as well as seeing some wonderful birds. But, being very hot, we arrived back at the hotel, our starting point, at 2pm for an afternoon rest before setting off once again at 7pm for three hours spent enjoying the absolutely beautiful river scenery that we had visited yesterday afternoon.
Travelling in just four cars and well spread out we had very many sightings of the numerous local
Red Deer and a small herd of
Fallow Deer. On our left as we made our long way down the very rough track to the reservoir and its dam we had close views of the protected fighting bulls; magnificent beasts.
House Martin and
Barn Swallows as soon as we left the hotel and not long before we added
Blackbird and
Bee-eater. The first of very, very many
Golden Orioles was heard and then seen. We, similarly, added
Woodpigeon,
Collared Dove and
Magpie but had to wait a "considerable" time before the numerous
Azure-winged Magpies put in their expected appearance. Not so much the two
Little Owls but the handful of
Chough that aught our attention early on before adding
Woodchat Shrike and
Goldfinch. On the opposite field there was a pair of
Mistle Thrush and foraging
Crested Lark whilst the odd
Hoopoe flew past.
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Red Deer fawn Red Deer Cervus elaphus not far from Mum
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Moving well on down the track and noticing the
Red-legged Partridges we eventually came to a long stop where we watched very close
White-rumped Swifts feeding and returning to their nests in a culvert under track. These birds use discarded nests of
Red-rumped Swallows which we also recorded. Then a short walk to an observation point and, whilst we saw some very anxious
Magpies, we could not locate the potential resting pace of a
Lynx. Meanwhile, overhead, we had first a visit from a handful of
Griffon Vultures before a couple of
Black Vultures put in an appearance. However, the sight of the morning was first a magnificent female
Spanish Imperial Eagle and just a few minutes later she was joined by the smaller male. The pair remained with us for ages and we even managed to pick up
Iberian Grey Shrike and
Dartford Warbler at the same sight.
On reaching the dam wall of the depleted reservoir we saw hundreds of
House Martins resting on the shaded stone work whilst they and both
Red-rumped and
Barn Swallows were in the air. We also had the occasional
Crag Martin fly past the cliff face opposite and also picked up a
Blackbird and a couple of
Jays. A pair of juvenile
Mallards were on a small pool below and in the tunnel at the far end of the dam we saw all four of the Bat species that rested within. Amazing to see that a large bat the size of a Blackbird and with, potentially, a 40mm wing span could fit into such a small hole with an approximate diameter of 25mm.
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| The distant shots of the Spanish Imperial Eagle Aguila Imperial Iberica Aquila adalberti and then to rest on top of the tree. |
The return journey produced first a
Common Kestrel and then an adult
Golden Eagle immediately overhead and it was 2pm by the time we returned to our hotel for an afternoon siesta before setting out once again for an evening at the river.
Just the seven of us on the evening trip, setting off at 7pm and with Olly already on site and finding, amongst others,
Nuthatch,
Short-toed Treecreeper,
Blue and
Great Tits,
Greenfinch,
Goldfinch and
Kingfisher. Once we had joined Olly and parked up near the outflow from the dam we soon added both
Grey and
White Wagtail, A pair of
Kingfishers were nesting under the bridge upon which we were standing so they were in constant sight of us. A small number of
Bee-eaters were present and then we found a distant small flock of
Rock Sparrows.
As the light faded and the temperature dropped to a "mere" 36 or s having reached a high of 43C on the drive down, so the birds came out to play - well feed actually.
Common Swifts arrived from very high above and there was a constant supply of very viewable
Golden Orioles. A
Great Spotted Woodpecker flew into the tree immediately opposite us and then a
Green Woodpecker was seen to cross the river. But, at last, as well as distant flight sightings, I got a decent view of the
Hawfinch that I had been trying to find. With light fading I found a
Nightingale under a tree on the far bank and no sooner had I pointed out the bird than it was joined by a male
Sardinian Warbler. Derek and Jose Luis also managed to pick up a calling
Blackcap.
Driving back to the hotel we stopped to look in awe at stag
Red Deer with spread antlers containing at least seven spurs. The animal was just content to stand and feed. Strange to recall that it was feeding immediately next to one of the stone-constructed barbecues! Should have brought the charcoal and some chips! Needless to say, it was just after 10 when we arrived back in the dark and then got to work on the shandies and en evening meal before, yet again, a late retirement for the night.
Sunday 18 June
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| Yet another Little Owl Mochuelo Comun Athene Atthis |
Having said our goodbyes, Derek and I accompanied by Olly took a drive a little further north to take a look at the
Pantano del Rumblar near the hilltop village of Banos de la Encina. Starting off with a
Kestrel we soon added both
Magpie and numerous
Azure-winged Magpies along with
Woodpigeon,
Collared Dove,
Blackbird and
Spotless Starlings. As we drove through the olive groves approaching the water, apart from the scores of
Azure-winged Magpies and a lone
Magpie, we added both
Woodcat Shrike and
Hoopoe.
The dam, like others we had seen, was obviously much in need of water and with very steep banks. Overhead we had
House Martin,
Barn Swallow and
Common Swift plus the occasional
Crag Martin. Crossing the dam we then followed the track to its end but were unable to rejoin the water at any point. The olive groves offered up most of the birds already seen but we did manage to add both
Crested and
Thekla Lark. A close sighting of yet another
Little Owl was very enjoyable and on the return journey we managed to find a
Turtle Dove. At the far end we saw a handful of
Griffon Vultures over the mountain tops.
And so ended a lovely week-end which only left the drive back to the coast for a late lunch at home before Derek continues on to his home above Malaga and the knowledge that we had recorded almost sixty species during the visit.
Birds seen:
Mallard, Red-legged Partridge, Black Kite, Griffon Vulture, Black Vulture, Spanish Imperial Eagle, Golden Eagle, Buzzard, Kestrel, Woodpigeon, Turtle Dove, Collared Dove, Little Owl, Swift, White-rumped Swift, Kingfisher, Bee-eater, Hoopoe, Green Woodpecker, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Crested Lark, Thekla Lark, Crag Martin, Barn Swallow, Red-rumped Swallow, House Martin, Grey Wagtail, White Wagtail, Nightingale, Blackbird, Mistle Thrush, Dartford Warbler, Sardinian Warbler, Blackcap, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Nuthatch, Short-toed Treecreeper, Golden Oriole, Iberian Grey Shrike, Woodchat Shrike, Jay, Azure-winged Magpie, Magpie, Chough, Jackdaw, Raven, Spotless Starling, House Sparrow, Rock Sparrow, Chaffinch, Serin, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Hawfinch, Corn Bunting.
Check out the accompanying website at http://www.birdingaxarquia.weebly.com for the latest sightings, photographs and additional information.
