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| A poor photo of a singing Black Wheatear. Delightful birds |
The dawn view from Ronda is quite spectacular. A sheer cliff face offers views out over the mountains, and as the sun was rising Blue Rock Thrushes, Lesser Kestrels and Choughs got about their morning business. There was no time to hang around though. Today was my only day in the Sierra de Grazalema, meaning if I didn’t see Bonelli’s Eagle or Black Wheatear, I wouldn’t again on this trip, and they were the only 2 birds on my main target list that I could only realistically bag at just one site.
The weather started poor, and it was on and off all day, with wet showers and fog turning to occasionally sunny spells. As we drove upwards, on serpentine roads that weaved between cloud-shrouded peaks, Griffon Vultures, Ravens and Blue Rock Thrushes were the commonest birds. The first destination was the village of Montejaque, where the plan was to take a track out to the west where, with luck, I’d be able to see Bonelli’s Eagle, Black Wheatear and Rock Sparrow.
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| A view over Ebalse de Zahara, in Sierra de Grazalema |
Poor would be a generous word to describe the track, but the slow drive suited my constant peering out the window. It wasn’t long before I picked up a dark bird perching in a rocky sheep field and, low and behold, I had my first
Black Wheatear singing away. A brilliant start. We’d overshot the suggested Bonelli’s Eagle lookout point, so turned around and headed back to the spot, where we pulled over, got the scope together and began a waiting game at 09:15.
The aforementioned fog and rain wasn’t promising, and bar a handful of Griffons, there were no raptors up as we gazed over the north side cliffs. Sardinian Warblers and Serins kept us entertained, but we were thinking of completing the track with a view to come back here for lunch as the weather seemed to not be playing ball. However, at around 09:55, a group of 25 or so Griffon Vultures rose from seemingly nowhere on a thermal, and almost immediately after I’d counted them my attention was drawn to 2 birds to my left.
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| An Iberian Grey Shrike on wires in the Osuna farmlands |
1 was a Lesser Kestrel, but the other was an eagle, and as soon as I got my binoculars on it I was pretty sure. I swiveled the scope and, bingo! A
Bonelli’s Eagle soared magnificently over the cliff top, the black carpals, dark underwings and pale wings showing well. We stayed on the beast for about 3 minutes before it disappeared north, not to be seen again. I was over the moon – aside from not being confident at getting lucky with this species in my limited time here, I was able to get great views (allowing easy ID) and it only took 45 minutes!
We continued up the track and another lifer,
Rock Sparrow, quickly became apparent as I clocked the calls from the car. We got out, and found a few nesting in some cliffs, with the adults flying down to an adjacent field where they fed. In the bushes and scrub further up a few warblers were present, with Subalpine, Melodious and a single Western Bonelli’s all noted, along with a few Cirl Buntings and a pair of Thekla Larks.
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| The expansive and open Osuna farmlands |
At the end of the lengthy track we turned around, but fortune rained on us again as we noted 2
Black-eared Wheatears in the furthest field up, another lifer! Having got good views of all the targets in a far shorter time than expected, we decided to head to the picturesque village of Grazalema for coffee and lunch. We could now change our plans, and decided to ambitiously try for White-rumped Swift at Zahara, before stopping off at the Osuna farmlands (always in the plan but we now had much more time here) on our way to Andujar, where we were staying for the next 2 nights.
Before I continue, I must thank John Cantelo for his Birding Cadiz notes. They are simply wonderful, extremely detailed, and it’s no exaggeration to say his work got me Bonelli’s Eagle. Great work! We left Grazalema (Where some sort of triathlon was taking place), passing a Black Wheatear and circling Short-toed and Booted Eagles, as we wound down to the huge reservoir at Zahara. Unsurprisingly, given the time of year, there were no Swifts here, just a few Swallows, and 2 each of Common Sandpiper and Little Ringed Plover on the tiny patch of mud.
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| Two Rollers in bad light |
More than happy with our work here, we decided to head in the direction of Andujar. Osuna is literally on the way so, as we were ahead of schedule, we could allow a couple of hours checking out the vast, steppe farmland that is mentioned as a hard but possible site for Little Bustard, and a long shot for Great Bustard and Black-bellied Sandgrouse. With these species around in much greater density elsewhere in Spain, and indeed the continent, I had none of them down as targets, with Osuna more a convenient stop off in the middle of a 2 ½ hour drive.
It was an eerie place. The flat land stretches for miles, and we saw 1 vehicle (a tractor) on the huge road the whole time we were there. An uncompleted motorway runs through the area, adding to the almost post-apocalyptic feel. It was also windy, very windy, and despite some early Gull-billed Terns and an Iberian Grey Shrike, our first stop and scan produced zilch. We moved on and stopped at a bridge, which John’s notes suggested were a good place to scan for Bustards. Again, we had nothing, but we wanted to explore this weird landscape so continued over the bridge and along a dirt track to the north.
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| Territorial Great Bustards - what a find! |
Short-toed Larks were singing here, and my first Alpine Swifts of the trip flew overhead with Commons. I was scanning hard, to no avail, until, to my astonishment, I picked out 2 massive
Great Bustards far away to the north. Unbelievable! I had absolutely not expected to see these, and we edged closer, desperate to get better views without disturbing them. As we got nearer it became apparent it was 2 territorial males, not a pair, and we snuck up behind a farm building, before careering into a ditch where I was able to get respectable (for me) shots of these simply magnificent birds.
What they were doing was odd – it was like 2 boxers at a weigh-in, as they stared each other out. 1 flew off, but landed not far away, and the other soon followed. We left them be. This was undoubtedly the surprise bird of the trip, and as we headed back to the car the sound of Stone Curlews on the nest was explained by the presence of 2 Ravens. This habitat, and the surprise find, had us captivated, so we chose to drive and explore, with ruins of some sort taking our fancy, and I wasn’t surprised to see a colony of about 30 Lesser Kestrels in it.
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| A non-typical Great Bustard view |
We headed past the ruins and through an olive grove, opening out into another series of vast fields, these ones holding 7 Calandra Larks and a Montagu’s Harrier. We took in the view (whilst looking for Bustards), and after a while decided to head off, and get to our accommodation early. The Osuna farmlands had a couple more treats for us though as we exited – a pair of roadside Rollers (my only ones of the trip), a displaying pair of Montagu’s Harriers and a big flock of Spanish Sparrows. Wonderful. Not hugely bigged up in books or reports, I thoroughly recommend this area if you’re nearby. The heavens truly opened as we followed signs for Cordoba, and by the time we pulled up at our lodge in the hills of Sierra de Andujar it was pouring down with rain.
