Today we set off along the old road to Caceres and took the first turning towards Santa Marta. This was another nice road to drive along for scenery. Black Kites were nearly always around and Azure winged Magpies and Woodchat Shrikes were seen when passing through areas of Dehesa. We passed through Santa Marta and headed back towards Caceres on the road we had come to Santa Marta on earlier in the week. As we passed an area of open moorland we saw a large group of Griffon Vultures in the air with some on the ground. We stopped by the river where a pair of Little Ringed Plovers were new birds for the week. We also saw Red rumped Swallows and a small group of Great Tits here. Continuing along the road we came to the area where we saw a single Roller on Tuesday and were pleased to be able to count at least nine of them today. Perhaps they are not in trouble after all. When we reached the Caceres road again we headed to the Embalse de Guadiloba for a quick look but there was little to see there. We crossed over the motorway and travelled through several nice villages, seeing a Black Redstart in one of them. As we approached the village of Botija, on another scenic road we saw the Bee eater colony we had read about, next to the small river. More Griffon Vultures were seen in the distance along with several Red and Black Kites. We stopped for a picnic near the village of Plasenzuela and saw our only Golden Eagle of the trip. Sadly this week we had not managed to see Bustards or Sandgrouse of any type and had also missed out on seeing a Black Shouldered Kite. On the road back from La Cumbre to Trujillo we saw another Roller, our only Cattle Egret of the trip and good numbers of Swifts. It had been an interesting drive round with some new areas explored and good numbers of species seen, although most had already been seen during the week.
Species list – Little Grebe, Cattle Egret, Grey Heron, White Stork, Mallard, Griffon Vulture, Red Kite, Black Kite, Buzzard, Golden Eagle, Lesser Kestrel, Collared Dove, Swift, Bee eater, Roller, Hoopoe, Skylark, Crested Lark, Crag Martin, Swallow, Red rumped Swallow, House Martin, White Wagtail, Black Redstart, Stonechat, Blackbird, Southern Grey Shrike, Woodchat Shrike, Spotless Starling, Magpie, Azure winged Magpie, Jackdaw, Crow, House Sparrow, Corn Bunting.