Centro de Recuperacion de Fauna Silvestre and Guadalentin Steppe by Barry Chambers

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Short toed Eagle by Bryan Thomas©
Short toed Eagle by Bryan Thomas©

Seventeen members met at the car park of the Centre and on entry we were shown around by our Spanish guide, Nurina. Rex was our translator for the day and he did a sterling job. First we saw a slide show about the centre and then we started our tour, first being shown two species of tortoise native to Spain, hedgehogs, mountain goats, and wild boar, some of these animals were taken to the centre due to being injured and some were found abandoned as young. We then went through a nocturnal area where we saw Barn Owls, Long Eared Owls and Eagle Owls. Finally we arrived at the large aviary which contained various Raptors including Red Kites, Short Toed Eagles, Buzzards and Booted Eagles. There was an opportunity for questions before we ended our very enjoyable tour. We left the centre and walked to a nearby bar for coffee followed by a walk through the pine forest. The walk yielded only Blackcap, Chaffinch, Serin and a party of Long Tailed Tits but we did have the pleasure of seeing large numbers of Wild Gladiolus in full bloom. We returned towards our cars calling in at the visitors centre to gather more information and maps of the area.

Booted Eagle by Bryan Thomas©
Booted Eagle by Bryan Thomas©

We left the car park heading for lunch, unfortunately not everyone found their way to the restaurant, but those who did enjoyed a good meal. After lunch we headed for the plains at Guadalentin where we quickly added birds to our sparse list. We soon saw Stone Curlew, several species of Lark, Booted Eagle and 2 Marsh Harriers. We continued our drive around the plains hearing and seeing many Corn Buntings. We stopped by a reservoir adding Little Grebe, Coot, Little Ringed Plover, Stonechat and Tree Sparrow to our growing list. Before we got back in our cars Kathy spotted a Northern Wheatear which obligingly gave us good views. As we approached the end of our trip I found some Spectacled Warblers which eventually were seen by all the members that remained, it was a good end to a very different CBBC trip. In total we saw 34 species

 

Our guide Nurina and Rex who translated - by Barry Chambers©
Our guide Nurina and Rex who translated – by Barry Chambers©