Earlier this week, Yanina and I were delighted to provide a day of guided birding for a couple of returning clients from UK. Dave and Kate booked a day with us last year, when they enjoyed the bird life of Albufera de Valencia. Their return trip was to enjoy the steppe birds of Spàin, so we´d arranged to visit Castilla de la Mancha.
Scanning the steppe
After the usual coffee stop and chat about the target species, we headed for the vast plains of this harsh but beautiful region. There was a cool wind blowing, but we´d come prepared for the cold so parked the car at a favourite vantage point and enjoyed views of Crested Lark, Skylark, Stonechat and Black Redstart.
Black Redstart
The first lagoon of the day gave great views of Water Pipit as well as wildfowl including Red Crested Pochard, Shoveler, Teal and Shelduck. We then visited another small body of water where we´d recently seen the very rare Red Crested Coot. After a little scanning of a small group of Common Coot, did did indeed find it again.
Black Necked Grebe
The wind was now becoming quite cool so we headed back to the car and drove to the next lagoon where we parked in a sheltered spot and enjoyed lunch. The water held Greater Flamingo, and we were fortunate enough to see them fly from one side of the lake to the other. Flamingoes are absolutely spectacular in flight, and are always a sight to remember.
We also enjoyed good views of Marsh Harrier and Black Necked Grebe.
Spanish steppe habitat
The afternoon was spent exploring the high steppe, specifically looking for Great Bustard. We were not to be disappointed! Not only did we find them, but we saw seven different groups, some of which gave relatively close views for such a shy creature.
Great Bustards
The steppe also rewarded us with brief but good views of two other classic species – Black Bellied Sandgrouse and Calandra Lark. As we were nearing the end of the day, we found a couple of herds of Crane, always a stunning sight, but even more so in the peaceful winter evening light.
Cranes
As we drove through an old farming village on our way back to the motorway we stopped to check a small flock of birds on a telegraph wire, and found them to be Rock Sparrows. These hardy little birds spend the entire year in this harsh upland environment. When not huddled up to keep warm, the yellow throat spot is clear to see and is one of their key diagnostic features.
Rock Sparrow
The day had one more treat for us. Just before joining the motorway, something caught our eye in the field by the side of the road. Fortunately we were able to stop for a while, and in doing so were rewarded with fantastic views of a Southern Grey Shrike.
It had been a beautiful day up in this unique environment, and we´d been blessed with some great views of some fabulous birds.
The species list included…
Common Buzzard, Marsh Harrier, Carrion Crow, Mallard, Shoveler, Common Teal, Red Crested Pochard, Common Pochard, Gadwall, Shelduck, Flamingo, Lapwing, Little Grebe, Black Necked Grebe, Coot, Crested Coot, Yellow-legged Gull, Great Bustard, Crane, Black-bellied Sandgrouse, Little Owl, Southern Grey Shrike, Magpie, Spotless Starling, Crested Lark, Calandra Lark, Rock Sparrow, House Sparrow, Goldfinch, White Wagtail, Water Pipit, Stonechat, Black Redstart.
Written by Dave Warrington.
Bird Watching Guide at Valencia Birding.