Hi-
Ronda is great with plenty of easy to visit sites nearby and of course the GORGE!
Grenada is at a higher altitude and has more of a sierras feel:
( we did Air BnB at both sites )
Easy local birds near the gorge were Pallid Swift , Blue Rock Thrush , Serin, Spotted Starling, Sardinian Warbler - Alpine Swift, Chough, Rock Sparrow, Booted Eagle etc.
Sierra de la Nueves reserve just out of Ronda was great for Roadside birding- as you drove up into the upper areas-
It was hard to tell with only 2 visits if we were seeing local breeding birds or migrants- it was full of Subalpines, Sardinians, Cirl Buntings, Rock Buntings, Cole Tits Nuthatches, Short Toed Creepers Firecrest Chough, Western Orphean warblers,
Also Woodchat, Redstart, Short Toed Eagle, Woodlark, Bee eater,
Casares area then down to a lcoastal lagoon reserve near Malaga airport was good- Griffon Vultures , Lesser Kestrels etc- on the way and great waders on the pools-
KP, Audouins, Gull Billed, Marbled, White Headed, - fill in the blanks :)
The best M.O. as usual was to work an area slowly for an hour or 2 and then move to another- have lunch and do the same after:
Laguna Fuente da Pedra Reserve is like a Spanish Titchwell- great birds on a pool right by the car park- Temmincks, Whiskered, Red Rumped, Red Crested : Calandra , Short Toed and Crested in the area
Sierra de Camarolos was a bit muddy and rainy but we saw Cirl, Rock Bunting -Bonellis and Subalpine Warbler,
Teba Gorge and en route to Grenada:-
Bonellis Eagle, Black Wheatear, Honey Buzzard, Iberian Shrike- Thekla Lark,
Gorafe- a small village on a road through a valley was a good area- we parked and walked a mile or so- roadside Birding
Great Spotted Cuckoo , Rock Sparrow , Golden Orioles, Black Eared Wheatear, Whinchat, Pied Fly, Peregrine, Griffon, Nightingale-
Later we climbed up a mountain pass and investigated a Ski Lodge on the main road- Crested Tit, Nuthatch , Firecrest- local Long Tailed Tits,
Up at the treeline the next day we had 4 spp of Eagles
135 Species- Not bad for 10 days
We used the Where to watch birds in Southern and Western Spain- Garcia : and my 40 year old Jonssons Birds of the Med and Alps:
S
For advice about Birding, Identification,field guides, binoculars, scopes, tripods, etc - put 'Birding Tips' into the search box
So were you 4 UK birders or did you have a local guide, prior knowledge or just the books? Sounds a superb trip
I planned the trip using the book once I knew where we would be staying- I left the flights and accom to Stavros as usual- he finds great places !
I wouldnt normally use a guide in Europe :)S
That's quite a list for a ten day stay.
I've no knowledge of Spain as to how built up or rural the area where you stayed. I am aware there are plenty of open spaces, likewise I'm also aware Spain has some very built up areas, tourist or otherwise, so I'm curious to know where you stayed.
Mike
Flickr: Peak Rambler
Hi Seymouraves, so good to hear form you again. You certainly seemed to have had great time and 126 species, well done.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
we stayed in Ronda- legendary historical town- and then Grenada - famous for the Alhambra... which we visited ;)
Spain has an interesting geography- it's almost medieval ( or similar to some American states?) literally miles and miles of open steppe or mountains with scattered villages then a city often on high ground or a river with a more dense population :
Lots of birds in the open areas and the agriculture isnt quite as intense as here- there are more flying insects - but pesticides seem to be slowly taking their toll- more info would be needed to prove if that is correct but that was my impression-
135 spp in 10 days isnt too bad- we stayed in 2 sites and didnt move around- I would expect 140 spp in Lesbos on a similar visit but we weren't in migrant hot spot areas- we were mainly tracking down breeding species ;)
:)S
Recount- 135 species :))
That's a very impressive list S and interesting to hear what sightings you got and areas you travelled to. Have you been as far as Australia yet ? have my brother over from there at the moment and he keeps showing me photos of the different birds he gets there - I'm just a tad envious when I look at these wonderful species !! Thanks for letting us share your sightings,
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Regards, Hazel
Hi Hazy
not been to Australia or Antarctice - not that bothered due to their weather- New Zealand looks good though because of the seawatching:)
Bush Curlew (Beach thick knee), Figbird, Blue faced honey-eater, white naped honey eater, pheasant coucal, darter (which to me looks a bit like cormorant ! ), dollar bird, Whistling Kite, sea eagle, Olive backed Oriole, noisy miner, willie-wagtail, cuckoo-shrike, little grass bird, Richards Pipit, spotted Harrier, Black-necked stork. eastern Spinebill, Brolga, Mistletoe bird, wedge tailed eagle, sacred kingfisher, brahminy kite, silvereye double-barred finch, red-browed fire tail; that's just a few of what he sees within 40 kms from his home in Northern New South Wales. I've yet to book a plane ticket. LOL.