Extremadura, Spain. Trip Report. Day 2

Day 2. February 21^st
Weather: Sunny.

From the hotel in Olivenza, Lesser Kestrel had been seen and Spotless Starlings were perching on the roof.  The morning would be a trip to the Alqueva reservoir. On the way we would stop off at some cork woods which were very productive for passerines. A good list of birds were seen including: Short-toed Treecreeper, Thekla and Crested Lark, Hoopoe, Cirl Bunting, Hawfinch, Woodlark and Serin.

Cirl Bunting

Short-toed Treecreeper

Short-toed Treecreeper

Hoopoe

Thekla Lark

Thekla Lark

 At the reservoir we saw Cattle Egret, Golden Plover, Osprey, Stonechat, Zitting Cisticola and Hoopoe. A gathering group of Griffon and Black Vultures were high overhead.

Osprey

Black Vulture

After a picnic lunch we headed to Badajoz town which is situated on the Guadiana river, this is the border between Spain and Portugal. Here we would do some “Urban birding”.  Along the edge of the river are a series of long thin islands, these have small trees, scrub and reeds and are home to a great variety of birds. We also saw Otters here. The birds seen here were: Common Kingfisher,  Little Egret, Great Egret, Purple Swamphen, Little Bittern, Penduline Tit, Cetti’s Warbler, Grey Wagtail, Chiffchaff and Common Waxbill.

Chiffchaff

We then headed to the town of Alberquerque. As the sun was setting we would wait for an Eagle Owl, which returns each evening to announce it’s territory on a rocky outcrop near the town. A little dark for photography, but great to see such a bird fly in and sit on the rocks.