The Dovestep team are all set to smash their own fundraising records for Turtle Doves in Spain this February, and what an adventure awaits them…

What’s not to love about Turtle Doves?  Behind that gentle appearance, delicately-patterned plumage and soft purring song masquerades a tough migratory traveller, a great conquistador of distance, completing a 7,000 mile return trip to Africa each year, crossing the Sahara and running the gauntlet of legal and illegal hunting on the way.

How sad that on arrival back in their N European breeding grounds there is no warm welcome, just intensive agriculture, disease spread by introduced birds, and lack of the seed food from wild plants they need to regain their strength.

The impacts of these challenges are proving disastrous. In the UK only three birds remain for every hundred there were in 1970, and numbers are still in free fall.

Before our move to Spain, the ‘Bustards’ devoted a large chunk of our careers to trying to halt their catastrophic decline in the UK. It’s something that will always be close to our hearts, particularly as our UK breeders will soon be stopping to rest here at Huerta Grande after crossing the Straits of Gibraltar on their way home.

For this reason, we and the Huerta Grande team are chuffed to bits to be able to support our own softly-purring conquistador of distance, Jonny Rankin, and his delicately-plumaged crew as they embark on DOVE STEP 3 – an epic on-foot crossing of Spain to raise money for Turtle Dove conservation .

 

The first Dove Step journey, a 300 mile walk for Turtle Doves, was completed in April 2014 and saw Robert Yaxley, Andrew Goodrick and Jonny Rankin walk from Lakenheath Fen RSPB to Saltholme RSPB, covering the core UK range of Turtle Doves in the process.

The second, in May 2015, was a 700 mile triathlon and included a Channel Crossing equivalent sea kayak, 570 mile cycle and 140 mile walk, connecting Suffolk to Spain.

The third, beginning on 5 February this year, will be an exhausting on-foot exploration of the Spanish leg of the Turtle Dove’s journey.

Walking from south to north with back-to-back marathon distances each day for over 700 miles, the lads will be starting their adventure on Tarifa beach just down the road from us, and concluding on the northern coast looking out into the Bay of Biscay.

To date, the Dove Step campaigns have raised £9k in support of Operation Turtle Dove.  This impressive amount has been used to fund such projects as habitat creation on UK farmland, and satellite tags to better understand what happens to the birds during migration.

They want to make this year the biggest yet, with a fund-raising target of £10,000. We’re thrilled to have the chance to greet them with Fumitory garlands, put them up and help them out logistically on the first legs of their tiring journey.

Over to you! Please dig deep for the Dovestep conquistadors by visiting their Justgiving page, catching one of their talks and supporting them during their journey via Facebook and Twitter!

Don’t leave home without yer bins!

Rule No 2 of Bustard Club – Don’t leave home without yer bins!

There’s some other ones about not spilling alcohol, but that’s the main one, something I would have done well to note when we popped down the shops in Pelayo the other day.

Living and working at Huerta Grande eco-lodge, we find ourselves at the edge of Los Alcornacales natural park, so a quick stop at the pub on the way back from the grocer’s is enough to put you in the middle of some prime habitat.

While supping a well-earned Cruzcampo on the bar’s terrace, Simon soon picked up on a calling Yellow-browed Warbler in the Cork Oaks nearby!

Being in the doghouse for breaking Rules 1 & 2, it was left to me to settle the tab and run home for the camera, leaving Simon in hot pursuit!

Luckily this plucky little Phylloscopus was not going anywhere. It was in with a group of Firecrests and Crested Tits and seemed quite at home feeding in the trees so many miles from its normal wintering grounds and migratory route.

Yellow-browed Warblers (‘Mosquitero Bilistado’ in Spanish) occur here even less frequently than in the UK, with only 77 records being approved up until 2009 for mainland Spain and the Balearics.  On a par with North-west Europe, however, numbers have been on the up in recent years, with 70+ being recorded in November 2015 alone.

It is thought these are birds that have failed to re-find their traditional trajectory to South-east Asian wintering grounds after deviating west, and are wintering at an unknown location in Africa through a process of ‘parallel migration’

Apparently there are now some overwintering birds in mainland Spain after the largest Autumn influx ever recorded for the country in 2016.

Our Bilistado (now known as ‘Billy’) was indeed a scruffy little blighter, and we think there’s a good chance it was the same bird that we recorded here in October and November last year.

This means it had foregone a winter in Thailand to survive a winter in Andalusia! What a fighter! It can join our club anytime!

During the autumn and spring months it is clearly apparent that just about anything can turn up here at the bridge between continents from migrating raptors, storks and waders to eastern gems like this Yellow-browed Warbler.  Why not  join us on one of explorations to see what they all find so appealing?

If you’re reading this in the UK, chances are 2017 started with a hangover, some soon-forgotten vows to shed the Christmas belly and a realisation that the long cold nights will have to be endured for a few more weeks.

Well we can’t help with the first two, but we can at least offer you some reassurance from Iberia that Spring really is on the way!

We spent our Yule in Portugal’s Algarve region, where, among the many species on the trip list, sightings included Barn Swallows, House Martins and Ospreys.

We are close enough to Africa that some birds overwinter here, notably Ospreys. However some of our sightings were probably early returners, intent on burning off the Christmas belly by beginning their traverse of the globe.

The springlike trend continued on New Years Day – we have, perhaps foolishly, accepted the 2017 bird race gauntlet thrown down to us by David Lindo, aka The Urban Birder. Keen to get off the blocks, we headed down to local birding hotspot La Janda – just a short drive from our base at rural eco-lodge Huerta Grande – to bag a few wetland and farmland lovelies in this superb birding area.

Among the dozens of species, we again picked up Barn Swallow and also added Black Stork, and a cheeky Garden Warbler.

Reflecting on our progress outside a favourite bar in Tarifa, we had Lesser Kestrel overhead (probably an overwintering bird) and Yellow-legged Gull in full breeding cry.

And, to my delight, while walking the woods of Huerta Grande this morning, I found a stack of Fumitory in flower. If you’re aware of the plight of the Turtle Dove, you’ll understand why this plant is such a welcome sight to us, involved as we were in Turtle Dove conservation through the RSPB’s Operation Turtle Dove for many years.

So fear not, ye dwellers of Northern darkness! Though it may yet seem a distant dream through the fug of washing up and mince pie crumbs, Spring is coming, and Nature’s annual Revolution has begun!

If you fancy shaving a few weeks off your winter and exploring these areas with us, then why not get in touch..?

Happy New Year from the Inglorious Bustards and Huerta Grande xx

 

…and all through Huerta Grande,

The creatures were stirring cos the weather was dandy.

Dozens of vultures float high in the air

As Katrin is hanging her baubles with care!

The Chiffchaffs are busy and Crested Tits sing

As Blackcaps and Firecrests enjoy ‘second spring’

At 15 degrees with bright sun in the sky

The ‘Bustards wear t-shirts to eat their mince pies!

Our behaviour’s been bad so St Nick won’t be here

But we’re dreaming of trips we can bring you next year!

With tours of the Straits and Morocco and more

We can’t wait to show you those lifers galore!

So check out our tours page and get yourself booked

One raptor-filled trip and you’ll surely be hooked!

We hope to soon see you, but till you alight

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

xxx

Extremadura is a real Spanish Mecca for many a birder, but there’s plenty to see without going anywhere near the usual honeypots.  We spent this weekend exploring some of these lesser known hotspots with our friend David Lindo, aka The Urban Birder.

Without so much as whispering the word “Monfrague” we jammed into avian delights galore, off the beaten birding track.

Keeping true to David’s moniker, our first stop was a Saturday morning wander round a park in Merida. In true urban style, no sooner had we set foot outside the car than we were greeted by an Iberian Grey Shrike, perched up on a statue!

Set next to the city’s beautiful river, it wasn’t long before the park yielded many more delights – Serins, Black Redstarts, Hoopoes and Crested Larks mosied about the playgrounds and pathways, Penduline Tits called from the reed-fringed lakeside, and we got some great flybys from introduced (but still splendid!) Monk Parakeets and Waxbills (aka ‘Spambirds’!).

Another urban stop by the river in central Badajoz gave us chance to watch House, Spanish and Tree Sparrows feeding together, and muse on their chosen sexual dimorphism strategies (So do they fancy each other??)…

 

Next day it was time to get in the automobile and go rural. The plains and farmland north of Merida are truly spectacular at this time of year, as the skies and fields are teeming with tens of thousands of Common Cranes going about their graceful, musical business.

As we chomped on our lunchtime bocadillos, huge flocks of passerines hurried past included Corn Buntings, Spanish Sparrows, Meadow Pipits, Skylarks and even the odd ruby -coloured Red Adavadat. Raptors came thick and fast too – as well as dozens of Red Kites and Griffon Vultures, the ever-growing list soon included Merlin and Cinereous Vulture. And just to top it all off, five Great Bustards flew over to visit their Inglorious cousins.

Hanging out at Embalse de Alcollarin was a proper joy. Again there was a real bustling atmosphere, as Little and Great Egrets bickered with Cormorants and Grey Herons and we picked through thousands of Common Coots moving in and out of the shoreline.

The whole reservoir surfaced was dotted with wildfowl.  We found Black-necked Grebes amongst the many hundred of Great Crested and Littles. A solitary Black Stork lingered on the banks. And, after much searching through a plethora of Mallards, Teal, Wigeon, Shovelers, Pintails and Tufties, we happened upon two Ferruginous Ducks, two Ring-necked Ducks and a red-head Smew – the latter being a first for Extremadura!

 

We had a cracking weekend with David and it gave us lots of ideas for trip destinations to chat about on the way home to Huerta Grande. Which was lucky as Niki realised after an hour on the road that she had left her trusty Leicas behind, hence doubling the length of the automobile stint…

If you fancy joining us to see all the best-known haunts of Extremadura as well as its lesser-known gems, why not check out our tours page or drop us an email..?

Apart from the sanitation, the medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, the fresh-water system, and public health, it seems we can add ‘fish sauce’ and ‘great places to go birding’.

The well-preserved ruins of a Roman town, Baelo Claudia, are a mere stone’s throw from our base at the eco-lodge of Huerta Grande, and the flower-rich meadows and farmland scrub in which they are set make them a popular attraction for history buffs and wintering birds alike!

We were entertaining guests this week so we took the opportunity to explore a bit of local history- naturally with bins in hands!

The town’s prosperity came from its coastal farmland location, giving it access to salt, tuna, ceramics and beeswax – all the things needed to make, store and transport garum, a seasoning thought to be the predecessor of modern-day fish sauce.

These same features and the fact the location is protected from development now make for a very pleasant stroll for the biodiversity enthusiast. It’s around 17oC here at the moment and well into ‘second spring’ so there’s lots of wildlife activity going on.

As we wandered through ancient Roman equivalents to shopping malls, entertainment multiplexes and erm, ‘nightlife areas’, we were treated to scratching Sardinian Warblers, jangling Serins and some very obliging Common Chiffchaffs, Stonechats and Crested Larks.

Plenty of butterfly action too, as Monarchs, Painted Ladies, Red Admirals and Clouded Yellows all made use of the warm sun and the late burst of flowering plants.

To our surprise we even witnessed a group of around 50 White Storks crossing the Straits from Morocco – maybe they too were on a day trip to the Bolonia area…

Baelo Claudia fell into decline around the 6th Century AD, as Southern Spain was riddled by earthquakes, the Roman Empire collapsed and presumably people started scrawling “Romani ite domum” on the walls…

Many civilisations have come and gone in the Straits, but we enjoy thinking that all of them, at some point, would have looked up and admired a migrating flock of White Storks.

As the long, hot autumn season draws to a close at our base of Huerta Grande eco-resort, the rains have finally arrived, clearing the air, refreshing the ground and filling the streams.  They bring with them the region’s ‘second spring’, as the parched soils are brought back to life with fresh water and lingering summer warmth.

A wander around the grounds soon  supplies some great ingredients for a free meal!

It’s mushroom gatherer’s heaven out there this week as the resident fungi make a grab for moisture. 

We know we’re on safe omelette-making ground with the Parasols, but we think we’ll leave the range of decidedly dodgy-looking Agaricales and Russulales to the experts!

For the accompanying salad we’re all set – the forest floor is now a blanket of deliciously sour Wood Sorrel.

In terms of protein, the Cork and Holm oaks are hung with delicious sweet acorns, said to be the foodstuff that gives Iberian ham its special flavour. We’re debating whether to eat them straight from the tree or follow the example of Extremadura friends and brew them into Licor de Bellota, a delicious acorn liqueur guaranteed to ward off the forthcoming winter chills…

Whatever the outcome of our culinary attempts, we can be sure of a fantastic cabaret. The rains have brought with them a cacophony of Mediterranean Tree Frog song, worthy of Paul McCartney himself!

Que Aprovece!

When a third of a region’s expected annual rainfall comes pouring down in under 12 hours, we could be forgiven for thinking that the apocalypse is coming to Spain. 

As a wet front coming in from the Mediterranean hits the mountains of the Alcornacales Natural Park, it is being forced to unceremoniously dump its moisture on the Cork Oak cloud forest, turning roads into streams and reeking havoc as it tears through villages. 

Coastal towns are being hit hard as the waters converge at the base of the hills. Parts of Tarifa were underwater, and there have been deaths in nearby Malaga. As a descendant of the Yorkshire town of Hebden Bridge, I am no stranger to scenes like these, but it doesn’t make them any easier to watch on the news. 

Here at our base of Huerta Grande eco-lodge, it’s been torrential rain for 5 days straight and the Inglorious Bustards are preparing to reach for a hammer and chisel and the animal register. 

Tucked up safe in our valley, we can only marvel at the tropical moisture-laden air and our beautiful bubbling stream which has by now become an awesome torrent.

​

​There will be winners in Nature from this deluge as the soils, plants and streams are refreshed, Mediterranean Tree Frogs and Fiery Salamanders generally have a lovely time, and ground-feeding birds gather insects washed off the trees.

In the meantime we’ll sit and watch wintering Chiffchaffs valiantly looking for insects on the underside of leaves, and hope that we won’t have to shepherd Huerta Grande’s 126 recorded bird species two by two onto a shambolic Ark carved out of a fallen Cork Oak!

There’s nothing better when travelling than to connect with a place that you really feel at home in.

This is exactly what happened to Simon of the Inglorious Bustards when he first found Huerta Grande eco-resort and met Katrin and the team ten years ago, and we’re both extremely happy to now be able to call this special place home!

It’s situated in the wooded hills above the Strait of Gibraltar, at the edge of the Parque Natural de los Alcornocales (Natural Park of Cork Oaks). Its peaceful 7 hectare grounds are nestled within a forest of Laurel and Cork Oak trees, making it the perfect spot for nature lovers or indeed anyone looking for a bit of peace and tranquillity!

Los Alcornacales itself is one of the largest cork oak forests in the world.  Its latitude and mostly coastal location make it a totally unique habitat – the Mediterranean warmth and continuous moisture captured from the sea air even in the driest months mean the density of the trees and the diversity of the ground flora is exceptional.  So as well as being home to the Inglorious Bustards, it’s also home to a wealth of wildlife whatever the season. When the rock’n’roll lifestyle of a ecotour guide gets too much, I love walking around its tiny paths surrounded by wizened trees, bubbling streams and birdsong. No two days are ever the same.

So when you visit, what will your home be like?

Well there’s something for all tastes. Ewok wannabes can chill out in one of the  secluded log cabins in the woods, watching our resident Firecrests and Short-toed Treecreepers flit through the trees around them – Beechawawa!

Or if you fancy yourself as a bit of a James Bond type, you could play at espionage in the ‘Spy House‘, from where Italian and German spies kept track of Allied shipping movements through the Straits during WWII.

Those with delusions of grandeur may enjoy the Commandante’s house, once a summer holiday residence for military top brass. It has also served as an open prison for General Milan de Bosch, one of the ringleaders in a failed 1981 coup attempt against Franco’s regime. We can certainly think of worse places to be imprisoned, and if the General wasn’t a birder, he certainly would have been by the time he left!

Whatever the season, these places provide fantastic bases for exploring the birds and wildlife of Los Alcornicales.

In migration season, with a favouring wind, you can enjoy the spectacle of thousands of raptors, storks and bee-eaters drifting over you as you float in the eco-resort’s open air pool!

A wander through the grounds will bring you up close with resident species such as Crested Tit and Hawfinch.

When looking out for migrant passerines on their travels, anything could turn up! We’ve yet to have our first Siberian Accentor but we did have a Yellow-browed Warbler this October which made Huerta Grande its home from home for several days.

We hope you decide to do the same!

We’ve been high…in the Mountains of Ronda where we delighted in showing the best wildlife to our group who not only had the best encounters with the nature of the area but also some of the best food and culture of these two wonderful areas on our “Unknown Vulture Spectacle tour”

This tour had two bases – a mountain hotel  with our friends and hosts David and Ivan – who provide the warmest of welcomes and the best food in the quirky and fabulous blue village of Juzcar and the tranquil eco-lodge and our home of Huerta Grande in the village of Pelayo near Tarifa.

We yielded a great quality bird list from mountain habitats, coastal and inland wetlands, salt pans, farmland and cork oak forest as well as views of thousands of migrating and resident Griffon Vultures in the Straits itself.  Highlights included excellent views of raptors Including no less than three Bonelli’s Eagles just metres overhead, Short-toed and Booted Eagles provided near daily sightings, Ruppell’s Vulture, Black-winged Kite, Lesser Kestrel and Osprey.

The group also had close encounters with many species including, Black Wheatear, Blue Rock Thrush, Rock Sparrow, Crag Martin, Red-billed Chough, Hawfinch, Firecrest, Short-toed Treecreeper, Northern Bald Ibis, Audouin’s Gull, Purple Swamphen, huge flocks of White Storks and some exciting Spanish rarities in the form of a Yellow-browed Warbler at Huerta Grande and an Atlas Long-legged Buzzard that whizzed through.

Non avian stars came in the form of Iberian Ibex sauntering along a cliff face, daily encounters with Monarch Butterflies and Portuguese Sundew.

One of our first stops was at Los Riscos, an imposing rocky limestone outcrop at 1400m above sea level.  After pausing on the way up through olive groves and cork oak trees to admire an Iberian Grey Shrike, several Common Chiff-chaffs and Blackcaps and large flocks of farmland birds, we ensconced ourselves in a viewing area high up in the crag.  Here we enjoyed the aerial antics of Crag Martins as well as some great views of Wood and Thekla Lark and a female Hen Harrier flying down the valley.  We were also treated to brief glimpses of Rock Bunting and Alpine Accentor before we travelled on.

While we prepared a delicious open air picnic for the group, the group had some time to wander around the caves and crystal blue streams at Cueva del Gato.  This awe-inspiring beauty spot – whose streams and pools are frequented by Black-bellied Dipper and Grey Wagtail – forms the downstream end of a vast 8km cave system of which the group would be birding both ends today.   We ate while Griffon Vultures and Crag Martins swirled overhead, and Cetti’s Warblers skirmished in the undergrowth, so busy with their antics they were oblivious to our gaze.

We made a stop for coffee and local apple and nut cake before continuing on to the final stop of the day at Cueva del Hundidero.

This second cave lies at the base of a spectacular mountain gorge and forms the northern end of the Hundidero/Gato cave system. From our viewpoint at Montejaque dam, we spent a spectacular afternoon observing the canyon’s nature, listening to Cirl Buntings and Iberian Green Woodpecker as many species passed through and eventually came in to roost among the crags and scrub.  A mammalian highlight was a majestic Iberian Ibex sauntering along the skyline.  The group had superb views of four Black Wheatears and several Blue Rock Thrushes flitting among the boulders.   As the afternoon wore on, the scrub filled with groups of roosting Rock Sparrows and Hawfinch, and Red-billed Choughs and Griffon Vultures lined up along the rock faces.

We returned to the hotel as the sun was setting over the impressive scenery, to more fabulous food including a sensational fennel and manchego risotto!

No sooner had we arrived at our base at Huerta Grande in the Straits than a massive kettle of hundreds of Griffon Vultures formed overhead, providing the group with an awe-inspiring spectacle! along with large groups of Red-rumped Swallows.

The ‘unknown’ Vulture spectacle did not disappoint as several groups of Griffon Vultures numbering well over 1000 birds – and at least one Ruppell’s Vulture – were drifting around the hillsides.  A sheep carcass at one of the farms brought the birds down spectacularly low as we observed them spiralling down to eat.

….and you can never fail to be impressed with thousands of Griffon Vultures just metres overhead!