This year 2020
We hope you are well and that you and
yours have not suffered first-hand the horrible effects of Covid. Alfonso and I are well, our privileged seclusion
in the depths of rural Salamanca having had many benefits, not least a most
remarkable spring with birds coming close to the house and the surrounding
countryside free of the influence of sheep and cows eating up all the amazing
wild flowers including fields of orchids.. (see last blog).
The wet spring and early
summer brought bumper cereal crops and plenty of good breeding places for the Hen
and Montagu’s harriers, so many hours were spent in the field locating nests,
but lack of support from the authorities meant once again spending valuable
time finding and convincing local farmers not to harvest before the chicks fledged
- the Montagu’s in particular as they are late breeders – and in some cases to
no avail: some farmers failed to notify in time and nests were lost to the
harvester.
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| Looking for the harriers |
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| About to find a Montagu's nest |
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| Four Monty eggs |
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| Partridge |
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| Marsh harrier hunting |
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| Hen harrier |
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| Montagu's harrier |
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| Kestrel |
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| Female Montagu's harrier |
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| Iberian hare |
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| Male Montagu's harrier |
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| Male Montagu's harrier |
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| Black kite |
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| Spanish yellow wagtail Motecilla flava iberiae |
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| Three Montagu's chicks |
The heat of July and August and the influx
of unmasked visitors to the villages from Spain’s capital cities kept us
indoors most of the summer, avoiding the crowds, and venturing out for people-less
walks in some of our favourite spots.
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| Bee-eaters |
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| Hoopoe |
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| Black vulture |
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| Black-eared wheatear |
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| Black-eared wheatear |
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| Little and Great egrets and black storks |
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| Black storks |
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Banks of the Yeltes river
Ocelated lizard
Short-toed or Snake eagle |
During
July David Lindo came over to resume the Fam trip which had to be suspended in
March because of Lockdown. I took him to
the Sierra de Francia and Arribes area, and I’m sure he was pretty impressed.. |
| At Miranda del Castañar |
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| At Hotel Porta Coeli, San Martin del Castañar |
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| In Arribes del Duero |
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| With co-guide Carol (second left) and Clara and Mila from Hotel Mesa del Conde |
By
mid July the Montagu’s chicks were almost ready to fledge, but the farmers
wanted to harvest, so it was time to go in and fence off the nesting area to
protect them.. |
| Soon to fledge Montagu's chicks |
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| Fenced in to keep out terrestrial predators |
Alerted by a birder friend we went to see
a large group of stone-curlew as they gathered near a pool. These pools, often artificially made for the
cattle to drink, are a great place to watch as they can attract Sandpipers and
Kingfisher amongst many other birds..
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| King fisher |
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| Iberian magpie |
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| Green sandpiper |
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Stone curlews
 | Woodchat shrike with young
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In September we resumed some of our
outings with people from the region - travel restrictions falling into place
after a second wave of post summer infections – with strict safety protocols in
place such as hand cleaning with gel, facemask, distancing and disinfected
binoculars. We overcame the problem of shared telescopes with a simple but
handy eyepiece cover for individual use, made out of plastic bottles, dismantled
and disinfected after each outing but reusable except for a small piece of
cling-film which is discarded. Did the trick and avoided having to use nasty
sprays. |
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Home-made safety cover for scope
In
November we had a lovely long weekend away in the Sierra de Francia, with long walks
on moors and in chestnut and arbutus forests, not far from home but just what
was needed.
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| Fly agaric |
Now
the Cranes are back though in lower numbers, having had an unsuccessful
breeding year due I believe to drought in the north. Many couples are without chicks. We saw one individual which was ringed: it
turns out it’s from the Czech Republic.
