Thanks for sharing a great set of photos,you did well to get so many excellent photos on holiday with the family!
I think the Lesser Kestrels showing the diagnostic white toenails are a Classic.Can you remember the name of the site/town these were taken?
They don’t look like they were at the Bullring in Trujillo .
You were really too late for displaying Great Bustards , which tends to pretty much finish by mid April. The Little Bustards tend to display into May, but the long grass is a problem thankfully part of there display involves jumping up into the air, as you have beautifully demonstrated.
There is a bird photographer, Steve Fletcher who has been living in Extremadura for the last 3-4 years, and I believe he has some hides set up to photograph displaying Great Bustards! You might be interested in his website:
http://extremaduraphotos.webs.co ... esize=60&page=1
If other people are thinking of visiting the area and are more into birding rather than photography, Martin Kelsey is the main local birder. He runs a guest house with his family near Trujillo.
http://www.birdingextremadura.com/web/inicio.htm
I would probably stay with him and try to work the area by yourself, leaving a day or two at the end to get him to clean up the stuff you’ve failed to see. The tricky birds are generally Black Wheatear and Pin tailed Sandgrouse.
The third birder for the area is John Muddeman. He has written a step by step birdguide to the area , which is hard to get hold of(out of print) . Lynx have been talking about a reprint or revised edition for almost 4 years now and I’ve lost interest waiting for it to materialize.
http://www.lynxeds.com/product/birdwatching-guide-extremadura
I think his rate is about 50% more than anyone else and I don’t think he actually lives locally. He’s more of an all round naturalist.
Boletas are also a Spanish group you might be interested in. This is a place where they have a Vulture feeding station nearby, it is no where near Extremadura but they run trips to the region annually. Their hostel is near a Lammergier site. Rufous tailed rock thrush and Wallcreeper are also well within the realms of possibility here.They run photographic tours.
http://www.boletas.org/phototours.htm
The Crossbill guide: The nature guide to Extremadura is an interesting background read, but nothing like as detailed for actual sites as the Muddeman guide but at least you can get hold of it.
A lot of Monfrague can be easily done without a guide, but you need a car.
Get up the top of Monfrague castle from late morning or better in the afternoon when the Vultures are returning from their daily wanderings and it can be very good for Griffons photos.There are times you feel that if you reach out your arm , you could touch them.Take a torch as the steps to the top of the castle are poorly lit.
The Portilla del Tietar is a famous site for nesting Sp Imperial, Eagle Owl and Black Storks. Although the Eagle often uses a nest on the other side of the mountain if you stand at the Portilla the bird will come round at least several times a day. Your photo of the 2 Aquila eagles is great as it really shows the difference between the 2 shapes. Golden has that pinched inner wing(narrower wing base) where it joins the body, whilst the Sp Imp wing looks more rectangular .A helpful field when one is directly overhead.
There are 2 other sites besides the steppes and Monfrague to really consider if planning a trip are the reservoir at Arroyocampo(close to Monfrague) – for Purple Gallinule, Little Bittern, Squacco Heron, Black winged Kite and Savi’s Warbler. and the Sierra Gredos (2.5-3 hours away) – for Rufous tailed rock Thrush, Citril Finch, ‘Gredos’ (‘Blue spotted’) Bluethroat , Orotolan Bunting, Water Pipit, Crested Tit, Western Bonelli’s Warbler and that sort of thing.
This Iberian Azure winged Magpie is felt to be another Ice age split (like Imperial E)and doesn't have the pale tips to the end of the tail feathers as seen in Asia.
Drop me a note if you are planning to do it yourself as I have a lot of information on the area.
E
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Last edited by EricB at 1/06/2011 15:20 ]
