Day 2 The Day We Left Madrid

Day 2 – The Day we Left Madrid

After a few days in the Spanish capital of Madrid we were excited to be leaving for the Spanish Countryside.

 To do that we had to meet our Spanish Bird Guide [of British descent] Steve West and I had to pick up a van from the Madrid airport. Both of these elements were achieved early in the day. I met Steve, who had driven down from near Barcelona the previous day in a Nissan Van fully equipped with a dead Chaffinch in the radiator grill, while he was in the midst of delicate car rental negotiations. Soon, well only half an hour after the car rental business had promised the vehicle, all was resolved and we were on our way. Steve, despite not having driven an automatic car for years, was driving an automatic Mercedes van while I, who had not driven a manual for years, was driving a manual Nissan Van. Obviously my left hand kept looking instinctively for the invisible gear stick while my right hand, that had never had the gear-changing pleasure had to be pressed into action.  Despite that minor inconvenience my fourteen months driving experience in North America kicked in and I quickly felt back at home on the right side of the road – even in a manual.

Steve and I picked up the group from the Travelodge and were soon on our way circling the city from the east to the south before heading west towards Extramadura.

First stop, after a couple of hours, was lunch at a service station. No bacteria filled Aussie hot box here but our first Tapas; olives, fresh bread, chicken, pork, rabbit, omelette, calamari washed down with café con leche y coke cola. It was mwee bien [bloody brilliant] or as Russ put it, ‘a ripper’. 

Crested Lark

Our first birding stop was a nearby wetland that had our first Swamphen, Coot, Gadwall, Little Bittern, Grey and Purple Herons on or near the water while Barn and Red-rumped Swallows plus a flotilla of Sand Martins sped around. Raptors were everywhere; Eurasian Griffon Vultures, Marsh and Montague’s Harriers, Black and Red Kites, Booted Eagle plus four Lesser Kestrels flew over us. White Storks were conspicuous while, closer to the ground Crested Lark and Zitting Cisticolas gave us something to look at while Cetti’s Warbler and various Reed Warblers sang invisibly.

Distant Short toed Eagle

Lizard spp?

Lizard spp 2?

Melodious Warbler

Melodious Warbler

Nightingale

Nightingale in song

Savi’s Warbler sang – if that is the correct word as their song is an insect like trill - but refused to show well. I’m sure we got very distant views of this bird on The Stick but they were unconvincing. More convincing was our first Kingfisher – The Kingfisher – as in Europe there is only the one.

Driving and raptors continued; Black Vulture, Short-toed Eagle and, when we stopped, Bonelli’s Eagle. This stop yielded Nightingales, Nightingales and more Nightingales plus warblers; Melodious, Sardinian but we missed an Orphean that had been singing also. Woodchat Shrike, Crag Martin, White Wagtail were also seen at this ‘Warbler Alley’. Two lizard species were recorded here also.

Warbler Alley

Warbler Alley

Bucolic Scene

Before calling it a day we had one last stop for Thekla Lark, Corn Bunting and yet another warbler, Dartford Warbler. I had missed Dartford Warbler in the UK, over twenty years previously, and was delighted to get good views of this bird among this Spanish vegetation, rich as it was with beautiful wild Lavender.

Corn Bunting

Dartford Warbler

Dartford Warbler

Some cool birds encountered enroute included Bee-eaters, Hoopoe, the endemic Iberian Magpie, Jay [that I worked out late in the evening after it flew past my windscreen earlier in the day], and the impressive Egyptian Vulture.

Finally we were treated to an excellent three course meal with local red wine at our hotel. All in all a bloody great day! 

Oh and while we were eating we could watch tits outside the dining room; Blue tits had taken up residence at a nest box. Let me repeat; All in all a bloody great day!