Day 5 The Long Road North...

Vince, Maria, Ken, June, Karen, Steve, Russ, Jan, Ray and Norm. 

Today was a big day with a big drive with some big birds and a big [nay, enormous] meal to end.

We started near Monfrague National Park and we started quite early, leaving our hotel at about 8am after a good continental breakfast.  We drove north through the National Park, passing the wonderful birds and scenery of yesterday and hit the highway.

The first stop for the day was for a big dip. Our big dip was Dipper. Now I like the sound of that but I detest the meaning. For Steve he informed us, a little too casually that this was the only time he had dipped on Dipper at this place. Still it was a nice place and one oculd easily see why Dippers would like it. We had to content ourselves with White Wagtail and a real Bimbo for many - a Grey Wagtail.

No Dipper Bridge

Dippers? De nada.

Now an explanation is in order about the use of the term, Bimbo. The subject came up, innocently enough when a Van drove past with a large, 'BIMBO' sign on it. Russ enquired regarding the nature of the sign, obviously intrigued about the possibilities of a van filled wih Bimbos. It turned out that Bimbo is a brand of bread. Now Steve also informed us that Bimbo is a Spanish birding term for lifer.

So now the hunt for Bimbos was on! I've never looked so hard for Bimbos and, for once, we didn't have to wait long.

At a reasonably high pass in the hills we saw....

Whitethroat - a Bimbo for some

Bimbo #1 - Ortolan Bunting - singing

the crappiest picture of an Ortolan Bunting that has ever been put on a blog...

for some Bimbo #2 - Linnet

And for others Bimbo #3 - Dunnock.

Dunnock

Another lizard spp?

That is a fast Bimbo rate.

Still we drove on; past Carrion Crows, Kestrels, Red and Black Kites and the occasional Booted Eagle and even a male Montague Harrier.

Another stop yielded a zoom past of a Firecrest but another, more convincing Bimbo - Western Bonnelli's Warbler. A Eurasian Hobby did a fly by also.

The drive north continued.

Lunch punctuated the drive. Tapas.

Northward driving across the plains. Plains. Plains. More Plains. Birds of the Plains. Small villages, each with old churches with bell towers with nests of White Storks. White Storks seem primed to take over all of Spain.  

And then, almost suddenly, snow on mountains through the heat haze and dust. The Picos de Europa. The drive north turned from the horizontal towards the vertical and upward we climbed.

A brief pause for anothe Bimbo Warbler; the Iberian Chiffchaff. An identical bird to the normal chiffchaff of England and elsewhere but where the normal Chiffchaff goes steadily Chiff - Chaff, the Iberian has a more excited faster tempo. From British ornithologist, Brian Small, "The typical and most well-known song of Iberian Chiffchaff is a characteristic rather short song phrase, made up of short rising and falling notes followed by a simple rattle: this is often transcribed as ‘huit huit huit hweet j-j-j-j-j-j’, or variations on that theme."  

Skylark

Vince, Karen and Ray obscured

Upward, ever upward. At One thousand and six hundred metres elevation we paused; Wonderful scenery with the left over winter snow still clinging to the highest rocks. Birds? Song Lark, Dunnock again, Linnet again, White Wagtail again. Coal Tit singing. Griffon Vulture soaring. And a bimbo for some; Red billed Chough.

Linnet

Higher again to higher hills and greater views. And a bear statue signalling the ongoing presence of the European Brown Bear in this area of Spain.

A full hour after leaving the high slopes of the hills and the big rock bear, and a full twelve hours after leaving our hotel in the morning we rolled into the carpark of our hotel for a two night stay. After being in the hotel for some ten minutes, I already cannot wait to return with my wife.

The hotel has stunning views to the mountains beyond and trade on the bear too, with its motiff being found on signs, pictures and even towels. The hotel is great however I must make one serious complaint; the food is excellent but the portion sizes are huge. I started with a local soup [which was made with pork and beans] - it arrived in a small cauldron. As an entree it was a meal in its self for two and needless to say I did not get near finishing it.  could only sit in a fat and bewildered stupor drinking the house red wine while i waited for the main. Pork steaks plus fries plus grilled capsicum [peppers]. Again I bravely ate on but, alas, was defeated. My only plausible explanation was that they thought we were Americans.

Tomorow thankfully a small sleep in before heading up into the mountains.....