|
|||||||||||||||||
|
Ray Wilson
Bird & Wildlife Photography |
|
|
Page 1
|
Page 6 | Page 7 | Page 8 | Page 9 | Page 10 |
|
Introduction
Extremadura, located in central Spain, is a popular destination for birders wanting to see many of the Iberian peninsula's speciality birds, such as Spanish Imperial Eagle, Great Bustard and Azure-winged Magpie. The following pages give a taste of many of the species you are likely to encounter on a spring trip. If you wish to jump to a particular site, click on the links below: |
||||||
|
||||||
|
Our first port of call was Duraton National Park, near the picturesque town of Sepulveda. The entrance road leading from Villaseca to the Hermitage of San Frutos is an excellent location for viewing a variety of larks, including the elusive Dupont's Lark, and other arid scrub species. Unfortunately, the Dupont's Larks were a bit camera shy when I was there and we only had brief views of flying birds. Luckily, some of the other 5 species of lark we saw (Crested, Thekla, Short-toed, Skylark and Woodlark) were not quite so elusive: |
||||||
 |
||||||
|
Thekla Lark (Galerida theklae)
|
||||||
 |
||||||
|
Crested Lark (Galerida cristata)
|
||||||
| Crested and Thekla Larks are extremely difficult to identify. There is a large degree of variation in plumage between individuals creating a high degree of overlap in their identification features. However, the individuals shown above can be identified on the basis of their bill shape: Thekla has a relatively short bill with a convex lower mandible, giving it an overall 'cuter' facial expression; whereas Crested Larks have a longer bill with a straight edge to their lower mandible. | ||||||
 |
||||||
|
Short-toed Lark (Calandrella brachydactyla)
|
||||||
| Tawny Pipits and Corn Bunting were common... | ||||||
 |
||||||
|
Tawny Pipit (Anthus campestris)
|
||||||
 |
||||||
|
Corn Bunting (Miliaria calandra)
|
||||||
| ...and there were also a few Black-eared Wheatears knocking about too. | ||||||
 |
||||||
 |
||||||
|
Black-eared Wheatear (Oenanthe hispanica)
|
||||||
|
Further down towards the Hermitage, the vegetation got a bit bushier and we encountered several other species, such as Orphean Warbler, Cirl Bunting and this Woodchat Shrike...
|
||||||
 |
||||||
|
Woodchat Shrike (Lanius senator)
|
||||||
| The Hermitage of San Frutos, an abandoned 14th century monastery, is situated on a spur of a spectacular flooded canyon... | ||||||
 |
||||||
|
Hermitage of San Frutos, Duraton National Park
|
||||||
 |
||||||
|
Hermitage of San Frutos, perched on a spur of the Rio Duraton
|
||||||
 |
||||||
|
Rio Duraton
|
||||||
|
Page 1
|
Page 6 | Page 7 | Page 8 | Page 9 | Page 10 |
|
All images are copyright Ray Wilson
|
|