Mary’s Blog – Extremadura

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14th May

A quiet day today with a trip to Talavan Reservoir and the surrounding countryside. Loads of Bee-eaters were seen on the way with 12+ on the wires at one time. At the lake all was quiet with House Sparrows, Spanish Sparrows and Stonechats seen from the hide, and a Cetti’s Warbler was heard only.

Swallows were flying over the water and a short walk by the lake added a singing Corn Bunting. On the lake there were several Mallard a couple of Gadwall, 2 Coot, a Great Crested Grebe and a pair of Black-winged Stilts.

At the other side of the lake a White Stork shared it’s nest with both House and Spanish Sparrows. A Spotless Starling also flew in briefly.

We had an interesting coffee stop in the pensioner’s club in Talavan, where the bar man seemed very excited to have some strange English people in there! Good coffee though.

We continued our drive round seeing a Grey Heron and a White Stork by a small pool. Both Crested and Calandra Larks were seen all along the road to Santiago del Campo and several Black Kites and a single Red Kite were in the air.

We passed through Monroy and headed back along the rural road. Driving through the dehesa we had plenty of sightings of Iberian Grey Shrike, Woodchat Shrike and Azure-winged Magpies.

We headed back to the apartment for lunch and to pack ready for moving on to Madrid tomorrow.

Species list – Great Crested Grebe, Grey Heron, White Stork, Mallard, Gadwall, Griffon Vulture, Red Kite, Black Kite, Coot, Black-winged Stilt, Collared Dove, Woodpigeon, Bee-eater, Hoopoe, Crested Lark, Calandra Lark, Swallow, Swift, House Martin, Stonechat, Blackbird, Cetti’s Warbler (HO), Iberian Grey Shrike, Woodchat Shrike, Spotless Starling, Azure-winged Magpie, House Sparrow, Spanish Sparrow, Goldfinch, Corn Bunting.