One of Dave's important roles as a birding guide is to
constantly visit our favoured sites as many times as possible throughout
the year. This is essential in order to maintain and develop knowledge
of an area and it´s changing characteristics and bird life throughout
the seasons. That way, we ensure that our clients are taken to the sites
that are “at their best” whenever their visit may take place. That
today´s trip meant that we avoided having to go Christmas shopping only
seemed to reinforce its value!
Our destination was the vast upland Steppe of Castilla de la Mancha,
some 90 minutes’ drive due west from our home base of La Drova. To make
the most of the day we left home at 7am on a dark and windy morning.
Having driven through a beautiful day-break we left the main road and
headed out across the steppe.
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| Great Bustard |
The morning provided a good omen from the outset as
we immediately spotted a group of 23 Great Bustards strutting across
the fields just 200 metres from the road. Having parked the van, we left
the warm cab to be greeted by a bitterly cold wind that made it feel
close to freezing point…welcome to Castilla de la Mancha – it´s not
always warm in Spain! Despite this we enjoyed superb views of these
majestic birds for over 10 minutes before they took flight across the
plains.
Our next stop was a favourite lagoon. This time prepared for the
wind, we strategically parked the van so we could use it as a shelter as
we set up the scopes! The usual busy flocks of Rock Sparrow were
flitting around as were Goldfinch. A lone Fieldfare made a brief
appearance, followed closely by a female Black Redstart.
Crested Larks and Lapwings were around in good numbers too. On the
shore of the lagoon a Little Ringed Plover scurried around. Scoping
across the water revealed Shoveler, Shelduck and Teal. As we stood
there, proving that awful instant soup can taste heavenly when out in
the freezing cold, a Buzzard passed over and landed in the edge of a
nearby field. Then another highlight – a pair of Hen Harriers appeared
over the hill and flew characteristically low over the fields, giving
superb views. After a while we retreated to the van and headed on to our
next lagoon where we watched Teal, Little Grebe, Pochard, and yet more
Shelduck and Shoveler. A pair of Yellow Legged Gulls flew by before
settling on the water. A flock of Spotless Starlings landed on one of
the barns and Skylarks were also around in good numbers.
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| Cattle Egret |
After a welcome coffee break in a village bar we set off across the
steppe once more where we made various stops to scan around. We were
indeed rewarded by the day´s second view of a flock of Great Bustard,
probably the same birds as earlier but nonetheless great to see.
Skylarks and Crested Larks were plentiful as were Kestrels. A Little
Egret was feeding by the shore of a small pond and was soon joined by a
Cattle Egret. A raptor passed over but was too far away to give a
positive ID although Booted Eagle was the likelihood.
The third and final lagoon, beside which we sat in the hide gave
great views of Kentish Plover, Ruff, Flamingo, Wood Sandpiper and an
over-wintering Black Winged Stilt. Scoping across the water gave views
of huge numbers of Shelduck, Shoveler and Teal. A Marsh Harrier passed
by extremely close over the reeds.
Satisfied with a superb day out we headed back across the plains,
making a few more brief stops during which we had super views of
Stonechat, Green Woodpecker and Iberian Grey Shrike. As we all know,
sometimes you have to brave the weather and put in a little effort, but
when you do, the rewards are often fantastic! With some superb views and
a species list of 37, today had been such a day.
