Some Fair Birding in Extremadura

The 3rd Bird Fair in Extremadura was a good excuse for me to make the long haul in my “trusty” white Rover from Lleida to Cáceres province for the last weekend in February.

So it was not really a birding trip – I was not there to make a concerted effort to search for interesting birds, but rather to check out a few new areas, to drive back and forth from the fair, to take some landscape shots, etc. Even so I still managed to see a pretty good selection of our feathered friends. Here is the roll of honour:

Imperial Eagle at Monfragüe

 Imperial Eagle

The Imperial Eagle is the one in the middle 

Bonelli’s Eagle – 2 soaring over the fair car park on Saturday

Short-toed Eagle – the first of the year in Monfragüe

Golden Eagle – 1 at close range in Monfragüe

Black-winged Kites – 5 different birds in one day, to the north of the park.

Great Spotted Cuckoo – 1 noisy bird, another first of the year.

Egyptian Vulture – 2 in Monfragüe, also my first for 2009

Black Vulture, Hawfinch, Azure-winged Magpie – relatively easy at various locations

 Azure-winged Magpie, Cyanopica cyanus, Rabilargo

Azure-winged Magpies seem to be very conspicuous at this time of the year 

Spanish Sparrow– groups at 3 different sites

Spanish Sparrow, Passer hispaniolensis, Gorrión moruno

Spanish Sparrows – aren’t they cute? 

Black Stork – 1 at Monfragüe

Black Stork, Ciconia nigra, Cigüeña negra

The timid Black Stork 

Great Bustard – 7 or 8 on the plains near Cáceres

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