This blog has been created to share the beauty of Extremadura, one among the last paradises in western Europe. My pictures and videos are not high quality; they intend to show that with inexpensive means and an aficionado approach one can get hold of amazing experiences in this region, full of bio- and territorial diversity. I hope you enjoy what I love sharing. Unless stated otherwise, all the pictures and videos shown here have been shot by and belong to this blog's author.
This winter is being particularly rainy and with some strong winds. This means that together with a hectic time with various endevours, time for birding has been scarce. However, a few mini-trips to Los Barruecos, walks in the parks in Cáceres and a daytrip to the rice fields of Vegas Altas (Zorita and Madrigalejo are no longer suitable for cranes - no wonder with that disgusting shrieking noise of the solar power plants denounced here a few years ago when they were a project) has afforded a few nice pics, which I share, here.
Loads of wintering shoveller (pato cuchara, Anas clypeata) at the Sierra Brava reservoir. Wintering lapwing (avefría, Vanellus vanellus) by the pre-barruecos lagoons.
Resident white stork (cigüeña común, Ciconia ciconia) at the Barruecos.
Wintering female redstart (colirrojo tizón, Phoenicurus ochruros) on the Barrueco de Abajo dam, by the Vostell-Malpartida museum. Hide-and-seek-like shot, really, like the one for the great spotted woodpecker below, but at least in this case light was not fading away into the twilight.
A buzzard (ratonero común, Buteo buteo), perching on a decidous tree with the Sierra Brava as backdrop.
A pair of wintering greylag geese (ánsar común, Anser anser) by a common crane at the ricefields of Vegas Altas.
Rare great white egret (garceta grande, Egretta alba) in non-mating yellow-beak attire at one of the pre-Barruecos lagoon.
Same place for a beautifully proud grey heron (garza real, Ardea cinerea).
A family of common European crane (grulla común, Grus grus) and flocks in flight, and on ground below, wintering, at the rice fields in the Vegas Altas area.
At dusk, elusive but beautiful, a resident great spotted woodpecker (pico picapinos, Picoides major) at the Parque del Príncipe park, in Cáceres.
Two proud male Spanish sparrows (Passer hispaniolensis, gorrión moruno) at the Vegas Altas area.
domingo, 13 de mayo de 2012
It's been a long time now since I last posted any new material here. However, after a long and harsh and indeed dry winter, the driest in 70!! years, this period of mid Spring I have managed to take a few pics and videos that I like especially.
The large psammodromus (Psammodromus manuelae, ES lagartija colilarga occidental) was particularly spectacular in its firy attire for mating (11 May 2012)
Large Psammodromus (ES Lagartija colilarga - Psammodromus algirus) Los Barruecos, Malpatida de Cáceres, Cáceres, Spain
Then, another one is this, which I have finally thought I had been able to identify as Iberian Wall Lizard (Podarcis hispanicus, es lagartija ibérica), but it seems to be the Common wall lizard (Podarcis muralis, ES lagartija roquera). If someone can make them out, I would appreciate if they let me know. I particularly like the head pattern, don't you? That pattern and the magical place in the hollowed stone where I shot it, by the carving from the Bronze Age of an idol that gets lit by a beam of sun light only on the equinoxes, added to the haunting atmosphere of the place:
Also from the Los Barruecos area, I can show you a pair of Great-crested Grebes, a black kite, storks flying over the nests on the titan boulders of the Treasure Rocks of the Los Barruecos Natural Monument Reserve, some cattle egrets by a pond near the El Casar village, a spotless starling perching on the weather vane of the Museo Vostell-Malpartida museum, and a small owl perching on the telephone wires on our late road to Malpartida, before our last short leg back to Cáceres.
And now a few from the Cáceres plains, particularly from the local road from Cáceres to Santa Marta de Magasca: Montagu's harrier (ES Aguilucho cenizo, Circus pigargus), Buzzard (ES Ratonero común or Busardo - Buteo buteo), roller (ES Carraca, Coracias garrulus) and Great spotted cuckoo (ES Críalo, Clamator glandarius).
Dirección General de Educación Superior y Liderazgo(Vicepresidencia Segunda y Consejería de Economía Comercio e Innovación de la Junta de Extremadura)
Vicerrectorado de Estudiantes y Empleo (Universidad de Extremadura)
Consejo de Alumnos de la Facultad de Estudios Empresariales y Turismo
Last weekend a group of students went on a trip to visit the FIO 2010 Birdwatching Trade Fair, held at the Villarreal de San Carlos hamlet, the heart of Monfragüe National Park, in Extremadura.
On Friday there were over 50 of us, who had the opportunity to visit the FIO fair. We then went on on a guided tour of the national park. Our excellent guide, Jaime, took us to the Peñafalcón view point where we could watch Griffon vultures galore, but also a very active Peregrine and even a Spanish Imperial Eagle, though it soon vanished behind the massive cliff across the river Tagus.
A pair of Black stork was apparently waiting for us, for there they were, at ease, on a rock top nearer the waters of the Tagus.
At the Tajadilla viewpoint we had lunch and there it was, awaiting also on the top rock, as crowning the cliff, a proud Egyptian vulture, overlooking the visitors of the park, across the tributary of the Tagus, the river Tiétar, roaring with the rushing waters let from the revervoir nearby. Our friends, the Azzure-winged magpies had also part of our lunch, and some keen photographer took one nice shot of one of them. Below, on the river bank across, a few cormorants were drying their feathers or diving into the light brown waters seeking fish.
Then we followed the winding road and over the damm to the La Báscula viewpoint, where Jaime explained about Black vulture nests on cork oaks.
But the route would bring further amazing sights. Apart from the not few Red deer does seen from the coach, we had a remarkable sight of a pair of Egyptian vultures perching on dry branches of an old tree. And only but a few hundred metres away a pair Black vultures, one on the nest, the other nearby on guard. Beautiful. And all this from just the vantage point over the Tiétar at the La higuerilla ("the little fig tree") viewpoint.
Back to the coach we still had the time to see another pair!!! of Black storks on their nest on a rocky ledge by the waters of the Tiétar.
We finished with an incredible sight of the amazingly beautiful Blue rock thrush, a sight that made for the much missed Eagle owl, elusive this year even for the more skilled and experienced birdwathers around.
On Saturday we started the route earlier because the weather outlook was far from promising. We were over a score and a half. A more reasonable number for birdwatching. The route was the same but the gloomy and windy day seemed to bear down on the birds, that did not show up in the variety and numbers of the day before. Yet, a few of us had the luck to watch a neat sighting of a Bonelli's eagle, flying along the La Tajadilla cliff.
We went back sooner because the Xynthia gusts had made the authorities close the fair for the day. Most of the pavilions uphill in Villarreal had been blown down by the wind. Fortunately, our fellow students working in the main exhibition area were safe and safe we all got back to Cáceres city.
Those who attended the stall of our Faculty of Business Studies and Tourism on Sunday found everything in place the next day. The FIO opended regularly and lots of people poured in eager to visit and see the exhibits. I also called in to see our students and have my own third route of Monfragüe in three days. The day even had some sunny spells, and the crows at La Higuerilla of Saturday had left, to the advantage of the pair of Egyptian vultures, that were back, giving company to the breeding pair of Black vultures.
This is our fifth year at the FIO in Monfragüe and as always it has been a pleasure to count with scores of enthusiastic students trying to learn about the manifold opportunities that nature can offer as regards sustainable tourism activities. Thank you all so much.
Damselflies (Sp caballitos del diablo) and short-toed eagle (Sp águila culebrera) in a gorge at La Vera , spoonbill (Sp espátula) and yellow wagtail (Sp lavandera boyera) at the Los Canchales resevoir and snipe (Sp agachadiza), thekla lark (Sp cogujada montesina) and otter! (Sp nutria), at the Embalse de Talaván reservoir under the spell of the call above, of crane flocks.
Otters
playing, at ease, on the reservoir quiet waters
at Talaván
Thekla lark
Snipe Great bustards Yellow wagtails Spoonbill Short-toed eagle green damselfly azzure Damselfly
For me the call of bee-eaters, this colourful bird, represents the sound of a typical warm and shinySpring day inExtremadura. I hope you like it.
This video was shot within a 20-minute drive from home, from Cáceres.
And here you have a closer look at them, though neither of them in the picture seem to dare look at the other... Well, just for the sitting of the picture, really.
