Leaving the Elche area, I headed up to Valmojado, southwest of Madrid. This area consists of low rolling oak savannah and is a good location to see Spanish Imperial Eagle. I started by checking out a riparian area near the town of Casarrubios del Monte. Originally I had planned to drive a quite a few kilometers along the stream valleys in the area but it was immediately apparent that the first road I had chosen was not drivable, whatever Google Maps thought. I ended up parking the car and walking the track.
I was hoping to find Melodious Warblers in the riparian area and they proved fairly common. After having several good views of this species, I decided to work on actually seeing a Nightingale, several of which were singing along the creek. This time I was able to coax a bird out into full view at close range with some playback and enjoyed a couple of minutes of watching it sing. Subsequently, I saw two more singing out in the open but not at such as close range. Given how common and widespread this species is in Spain, I was struggling to see why it is continuing to decline in the UK, especially as the warming climate should favor species like this.
I had no such luck with Turtle Dove or Golden Oriole, both of which remained heard but unseen. There were plenty of other common birds in the valley, including the first Woodchat Shrike of the trip as well as Corn Bunting (even more ubiquitous than Nightingale), Bee-eater, Spotless Starling and Spanish Sparrow.
I moved on to a nearby area that seemed to be fairly reliable for the eagle sightings. After a slow start with just a few Wood Larks, I picked up an Iberian (formerly Azure-winged) Magpie and an Iberian Green Woodpecker. The woodpecker sounds and looks rather similar to the birds in the UK and is more worthy of subspecies status in my view. The magpie looks identical to the birds in East Asia but is very geographically isolated.
Eventually, systematic scanning turned up a distant large raptor sitting in a oak. The bird was all dark but extensively pale on the head, indicating an adult Spanish Imperial Eagle. I noticed there was a large nest in a nearby eucalyptus tree and decided to walk closer. Approaching the area where I thought the nest would be located yielded Woodchat Shrikes and more calling Turtle Doves and Golden Orioles. After a bit of searching, I was able to locate a Turtle Dove perched up in some bare branches in the top of the tree and succeeded in getting some good looks. Sardinian Warblers were common throughout the area and a Short-toed Eagle passed over. I eventually located the eagle nest but it appeared to be unoccupied except for Spanish Sparrows and Spotless Starlings nesting in the sides.
The mewing call of a Common Buzzard drew my attention skyward and I was excited to see the buzzard was mobbing a much larger raptor, which turned out to be an adult Spanish Imperial Eagle. Although rather distant, I was able to see the distinctive white inner forewing a few times as well as the shape, very different to a Golden Eagle, all dark plumage and golden-buff hindneck. Definitely a better experience than 40 years previously but not as good as I wanted. I headed back to the car where I ran into a Western Orphean Warbler that obliged with good looks.
Next on the agenda was visiting the classic Extremadura birding locations of Monfrague National Park and the plains around Trujillo and Caceres. However, some pre-trip research mentioned a location near Talavera for Great Bustards en route, where it was easier to see them closer than at the Extremadura sites. Some sleuthing around ebird showed this site was in fact just west of Calera y Chozas and it was even possible to determine roughly where the lek was, although I was clearly too late for the main displaying season.
I arrived at the site in mid-afternoon just as a major heatwave was ramping up across Spain. Unsurprisingly, there were few birds to be seen and certainly no bustards. The first few kilometers through the fields produced a diet of Corn Buntings and Crested Larks with a couple of White Storks but I then found a tractor that was mowing a large field. This activity was attracting raptors and I hung out there for a couple of hours seeing several Black Kites and Marsh Harriers, a Cinereous Vulture, a Red Kite, and a few Lesser Kestrels, a couple of which showed pretty well. The hoped-for Spanish Imperial Eagle did not materialize and the only ring-tail harrier was too distant to definitively say it was a Montagu’s. After a run back into town to grab some food from a supermarket, I headed back out hoping for an increase in bird activity, which duly happened at around 7.00 PM. I had several Greater Short-toed and Calandra Larks come in to dustbathe on the track and managed to find all three sparrows – Spanish, Tree and House as well as several Iberian Gray Shrikes. Quails were calling in several places.
Eventually, persistent scanning revealed a distant male Great Bustard on the edge of a mowed field. The scope was not really effective due to heat haze so I decided that I could potentially get closer by climbing the fence and taking a route up behind a rise where I would not be immediately visible to the bird. Careful scanning as I approached the area of course failed to reveal the bustard (in retrospect, the idea that I could sneak up on something so wary was patently ridiculous). However, I was rewarded with exceptional views in perfect light of two hunting male Montagu’s Harriers, while a couple of Black-bellied Sandgrouse flew by. Just as I was about to turn back, I flushed the bustard only about 40m away and got very good flight views, certainly my best ever of a Great Bustard.
After returning to the car and beginning the drive back, I noticed another medium-sized gray raptor that I initially assumed to be another Montagu’s but on closer examination was a Black-winged Kite, another species I had missed on my first visit to Spain. A Stone-Curlew (Eurasian Thick-knee) was hanging around the same area as well.
I repeated a visit to the same area the next morning and this time was immediately successful in finding three male Great Bustards in the lekking area, but they were some distance away. I briefly saw one displaying through the binoculars but by the time I had set up the scope, they were wandering around feeding. Since the general level of activity was lower than the previous evening, I decided to move on to the fable birding location of Monfrague National Park, a site I had spent a couple of days at during my visit 40 years ago.
Monfrague is an area where two rivers, now damned, pass through some hills with rocky outcrops creating excellent breeding habitat for raptors, swifts and other species preferring rocky cliffs. I was to spend over two days here and Paul and I revisited this great area a few days later. I have taken the liberty of using a few of Paul’s photos from our later visit in the post here.
I entered the park from the NE point near the Portilla del Tietar, one of the two large outcrops that serve as bird nesting ‘highrises’. There were large numbers of Eurasian Griffons perching and thermaling around the rock, occasionally joined by the odd Cinereous and Egyptian Vulture along with a few ever present Black Kites.
I spent some time looking around the relatively shaded roadside woods. These held a nostalgic mix of familiar British species, such as Chaffinch, (European) Robin, Great and Blue Tits, Blackcap and Wren, along with increasingly rare (in the UK) species such as Nightingale and Turtle Dove. Spicing up the birding were Subalpine and Orphean Warblers, Short-toed Treecreeper, Golden Oriole, Blue Rock Thrush and Rock Bunting. I was surprised to find Subalpine Warblers sharing the relatively tall woodland with Blackcaps.
The next main stop was the Salto del Gitano, another rock outcrop with a large aggregation of breeding birds and where species such as Black Stork and Gray Heron were more conspicuous.
One bird I was hoping to see here was White-rumped Swift. This species colonized Monfrague subsequent to my previous visit in 1984, although I did seen one at a known site in the far south of Spain. A review of ebird checklists had shown that the species was regular around the Salto del Gitano and the nearby Castillo. However, it was often missed and I was thinking it was one of the three to four target species I was most likely to miss. Naturally, I then found a pair flying in and out of the cliffs on the far side of the river immediately after getting out of the car! The Salto was also alive with (Western) House and Crag Martins and (European) Red-rumped Swallows, all giving great looks.
After checking into my hotel in Torrejon El Rubio and taking a brief break, I headed back out to the Portilla del Tietar for a long evening session. I earlier had met a birder at another pull-out who told me that the (Eurasian) Eagle Owl nest was high up the rock, but the birds were harder to see this year because there was only one youngster. I arrived just before 7 and there was quite a crowd of folks with telescopes and big camera lens starting the vigil for the owl. I was also on the look out for the Spanish Imperial Eagles that regularly pass by here. One soon obliged but flew close-by but directly overhead in a manner that prevented me from seeing any of the main diagnostic plumage features. Three and a half hours later as darkness fell, I gave up on the owl and drove back to the hotel.
The next day I got up pre-dawn and headed down to the Llanos de Caceres. I was hoping to see more of the plains species I had already seen as well as getting a look at a Great Spotted Cuckoo. My impression was that this species appeared to be commoner further to the northeast by this date but I wanted to give it a try here as well. I had no luck with the cuckoo but had numerous good looks at Calandra Larks along with Pin-tailed Sandgrouse, Greater Short-toed Lark, Short-toed Eagle, a Little Owl, a fly-by Great Bustard, two Stone-curlews, several Lesser Kestrels and a couple of vultures. I had good looks of a second-year ‘ring-tail’ harrier that seemed to show some features of a Pallid. However, given my lack of experience with old world harriers in recent decades, I wasn’t willing to put a name on it. I had a few Rollers but my impression was that this species was a fair bit commoner 40 years ago. Little Owls are likely doing well though, given the number of abandoned stone houses and buildings out on the plains that offer ideal nesting sites.
You may have noticed by now the lack of any mention of Little Bustard. This species has declined by 75% in recent decades and become much harder to see, especially this late in the season when the males are no longer displaying and the females are on eggs. Although it had been recorded in prior weeks in several of the sites I had visited, this species seemed most reliable up in northeast Spain at this time of year and I was relying on success up there.
A return to Monfrague by late morning saw me walk up to the castillo to look for raptors and swifts. In addition to lots of eye-level passes by vultures, I added Red Kite, a dark morph Booted Eagle and a Peregrine to the raptor list and got closer looks at the White-rumped Swifts. Along the drive around to the Portilla del Tietar, I picked up a Short-toed Eagle and a pair of Black-eared Wheatears, the male of which was of the black-throated form. I drove a bit beyond the Portilla del Tietar to look for Rock Sparrows, which apparent occur in open oak savannah here with no rocks. Although I was fairly certain I could hear a singing Rock Sparrow, I could not get a visual. As I was getting back into the car, I noticed a large, dark eagle flying towards the Portilla just ahead of me. Since the bird was heading into the sun, I floored the accelerator and raced back to the Portilla to get ahead of it for favorable light conditions. Jumping out the car, I was able to great looks at both this eagle and a second bird that appeared that showed really well, including good looks at the white leading edge to the inner wing and golden-buff hindneck. I could now finally say I had had great looks at Spanish Imperial Eagle. I was too tired to hang around long for the Eagle Owls and went back to the hotel for an earlier night.
The next morning, I opted for a later start and checked a couple more spots around the west side of Monfrague and saw Alpine and White-rumped Swifts, Hawfinches, Rock Buntings and Blue Rock Thrushes prior to positioning myself for raptor watching as the thermals developed. A pair of Short-toed Eagles was a good start and I then headed to the Puerto del a Serrana, which is the northwest gateway to the park. I had noticed a couple of recent Bonelli’s Eagles records from this area. Upon stopped under a thermal that had attracted a few vultures, I was delighted to see a Bonelli’s and a pale morph Booted Eagle soaring above the vultures.
At this point, the only eagle species I was missing was Golden. This species was common during my previous visit 40 years ago, but based on my observations on this trip is now much less frequent.
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