On to Madrid

We left our fellow birders at the airport yesterday afternoon, saying our goodbyes.   They flew home to the UK, while we headed into Madrid.   

I am posting a few more pictures from Extremadura, and wanted to mention a few things I'd forgotten to include on previous posts.  For one thing -- the town near where we were staying -- Trujillo -- had a huge bull-fighting ring.   The tradition is alive and well here in Spain.   The town also had a "hyper-mercado" or supermarket.    I kind of like the word.    Another thing -- no one here seems to doubt global warming.  This has been a very warm winter, and some garden flowers never stopped blooming.   On our drive, our local guide Fernando remarked on the already blooming almond trees that were on the roadsides -- "very strange, not normal."

Madrid was really hopping yesterday evening -- a Saturday.   We went out for tapas and to see the city --  so many people were out enjoying the evening, even if it was a bit chilly.   This is a pretty special place.   We really loved the fresh green olives, good wines, and "small plates" style of eating.   We loved seeing families out enjoying the evening.  

Today was Sunday, and we started the day with an amazing breakfast at our hotel -- fresh fruits, local cheeses, ham, baked items, "tortas", etc.   Plus fantastic coffee, as is the norm everywhere.   We got a reasonably early start to the day, heading off to the Reina Sofia museum first, which is where one can see wonderful paintings by Spanish artists, including Picasso's Guernica.  After this wondeful museum we needed a cafe break before we were ready to head to the Thyssen-Bornemisza, which (among other things)  had some great impressionist paintings.    

While out and about walking, we noticed a few things...at least one vegan restaurant.   One of the museums has a big banner "refugees welcome."    There are a few homeless on the streets here - one had a sign saying in Spanish "I am family-less."  Another had three sweet dogs, all with sweaters and their own dog beds. 

We went to the 300 year old Bothin restaurant this evening, regarded as the world's oldest restaurant. It is also known for its roast suckling pig.

Looking forward to tomorrow.

Days 5 & 6 -- views from bird towers and mountains

Day 5 of our birding began as a very rainy morning, so we started out "safari" style, looking for birds through car or van windows near Sierra Brava Reservoir, and along Campo Lugar Road.   A few highlights were seeing two Eurasian hares cavorting in the grass, and a Little Owl.   The Little Owl was sitting on top of a small rock outcrop, blending in perfectly.  But one of our guides, Mike, was nevertheless able to spot him.   The afternoon cleared up a bit, and we stopped at the reservoir, and then the bird tower, at Finca De Maya Alta.  The tower overlooks a series of terraced ponds that were great for spotting wading birds.  But the highlight here was either the hen harrier that every so often flew by, or the cute pair of black winged kites exhibiting some courting behavior that we watched through a scope.

Once again we had a lovely dinner at the Hotel Rural, including a paella-like first course of pasta and seafood, and a really wonderful white wine.

Today (day 6) was a better weather day all-round and so we headed up to the mountain in the Sierra de Guadalupe area about an hour's drive away.   Once again, we saw the stunning folded landscape, a bit like the American west in parts.   We passed the town of Guadalupe's beautiful and very old monastery, too.  At our first lookout point on the mountain, we ran into British birding celeb David Lindow ("the urban birder").   A very nice guy who showed us a Redstart through his scope.   Our guides, Fernando and Mike, were clearly happy to have encountered him.   Turns out that David has recently moved to Merida, and had much good to say about the Spanish people, landscape, and birding opportunities.  

We ate our lunch on the highest peak, Pico Villuvrces, 1603 meters or a bit under 5000 ft high, as the chilling fog and clouds rolled in.   Our search for the somewhat elusive Alpine Accentor was finally met with success, but alas, no wallcreeper, the other much sought after bird.   We also had a brief glimpse and heard the call of a green woodpecker, 

When we got back today, as it was our final evening here, we had options -- take a walk in the environs here or go for a brief shopping trip in Trujillo.   Don and I chose the latter, and picked up a little of the local acorn liquor, jambon pate, olive oil and smoked paprika.   Hope to cook a Spanish dinner on our return.

L

Wildllife photos

Common Crane

Little Owl

Iberian Hare

Iberian Grey Shrike

Griffon Vulture

Reservoirs and ricefields

Day 4 of the bird tour began as a very foggy morning, so the decision was made to go up to the Alcollarium reservoir, and then later to the lower elevation rice fields, in the hopes that some of the fog would burn off by then.   We hung out at the reservoir all morning, which got kind of chilly, so I was glad to have dressed in a "base layer," as well as three other layers of clothing.  We did see some pretty cool birds -- including a kingfisher, a spoonbill, blue-throat, and ferruginous ducks.   Almost as interesting were the many large working dogs that seemed to patrol the perimeter of every property, together with the herds of sheep and goats. These dogs were on the job and alert to any attempt to step onto their property.  Our local guide Fernando conveyed that you don't mess with them.  

As usual, by 1 pm we were more than ready for a "comfort stop" at a local cafe, where we of course had to also buy an absolutely delicious "cafe" to warm our hands and energize us until lunch.  (Our small revolt against the relentless birding schedule is to drink as slowly as possible.) A bit later we stopped to picnic at an old train station, that is now being reused as a stop on a "rail to trails" route.   No train has gone through Mardrigalejo since 1964.   (The tuna in olive oil sandwich that Belena  had packed for me was absolutely delicious, BTW.)

We spent the rest of the afternoon at the rice fields, where we were happy to bird-watch "safari" style, i.e from the van windows.  We learned that the zillions of cranes we were seeing were originally drawn to the area by the acorns, but now also found food in the rice fields that were established some 20 years ago.   We saw many other birds as well, including small flocks of little red avadavits, some moorhens, another blue-throat.  

This evening we gave Juan Pedro and Elena a break and ate in Trujillo before coming back to the hotel to complete the day's bird list.    It was fun to chat a bit more with John, Helen, Jane and Jane, our four British tour companions, who all have very interesting lives, and to get their opinions on a few things (what do you think of Mr. Trump?  Should the UK stay in the EU?....etc.) 

On to tomorrow.  We have already seen so many of the birds on the list, that we now have "target birds" now -- those we are still on the lookout for.

Day 3 in the Extremadura

Just like yesterday, it was dark until almost 8 am -- not sure why that is.  We headed out after breakfast, driving through the picturesque, rocky countryside that is "old mountains" -- and much like our Appalachians -- worn down by time.    

We spent most of the day at Monfrague national park, where the spectacular folded rock geology that overlooked the river was home to griffin vultures, black vultures and other birds.   We stopped at various sites along the river throughout the day and also saw the spanish imperial eagle which was surprisingly, smaller than the griffin vultures.   So many beautiful and distinctive birds today!     Also saw lots of tiny wild daffodils.   

When we got back to our Hotel Rural in the evening, Juan Pedro and Elena had a surprise for us, inviting an olive oil expert to provide an olive oil tasting ahead of the scheduled wine tasting.   We learned so much, including how to tell if virgin olive oil is really virgin.   At the wine tasting, we tasted a white, a tempranilo and a heartier red -- all from Spain and all so amazing good, plus we learned some great tips about wine-tasting itself.    The dinner that followed was spectacularly good, starting with a rice, mushroom and walnut dish as a first course.   I don't know how they do it -- I really don't.

Well, am a bit exhausted, so that is about it, but will add pictures, too.

First Days in Spain

We arrived in Madrid on Saturday, spending the first night at a really nice little hotel near the airport.  Spain feels like Europe -- excellent coffee, excellent roads -- but maybe just a little more low-key, and of course, better winter weather.   We met up with our Limosa guides on Sunday (back at the airport) and after a bit of a snafu getting out of the airport, "caravaned" in two vehicles westward to Extremadura.   Due to our delayed start, plus an absolutely excellent lunch, we took the rest of the day to get to our hotel outside Trujillo.    The lunch gave us our first feel for Spanish cuisine -- a roadside restaurant enjoyed by the locals with amazing olives, small share plates of venison, prawns, salad with tuna, etc, all enjoyed with the ubiquitous "french rolls."   We also stopped at a marsh-nature area near a nuclear plant, where we got our first sense of the abundance of birdlife.  

Our hotel -- which we finally reach after dark at about 7:30 pm -- welcomed us with a fireside glass of  red wine before dinner.   The hotel is owned by Juan Carlos and Elena, who bought it 15 years ago and have been refurbishing this lovely historic property, which includes fruit trees and a garden.  Our meals here are centered around the homegrown produce, from which Elena prepares fresh marmelades, desserts, vegetable dishes and salads.   Local wines are offered.   The hotel caters only to birding tours now, as the weekend business from Madrid dried up in the wake of the financial downturn.

Today was "day 2" and really our first full day (9 to 6!) of birding, stopping at many local hotspots where our knowledgeable guides knew we would see both a large number and large variety of birds.  It was really pretty astounding, if at times windy and chilly.  My favorite birds were the hoopoo for its unusual head and bright color, and the bustard for being a bird so large it really shouldn't fly.   I also loved the tiny hummingbird hawk moth -- a moth that looks and behaves exactly like the tiniest hummingbird you've ever seen.    Also loved stopping in the small town for an afternoon coffee, and seeing the fully-loaded citrus trees in the town square.   And loved picking thyme, lavender and wild radish -- each way more pungeant and aromatic than the varieties we grow.   

Tonight's dinner, like yesterday's, was an education in spanish cuisine, with Elena explaining where everything comes from.  I am inspired to get a Spanish cookbook while here.  I will share some photos of the hotel.    More tomorrow.     

Monfrague National Park

Monfrague National Park

Griffon Vulture