Andalucia Wildlife Guides and more…

Are you going to the Birdfair this year? It is being held at Rutland Water UK and the dates this year will be 16th - 18th August 2013. Andalucia Wildlife Guides will have their full compliment of associates Manuel Mojarro, Peter Jones and José Luis Sánchez in attendance on their stand 'Andalucia Wildlife Guides' in Marquee 8 Stand 9. Do please come and see us, we would all love to see you. We are all very excited about being present at the most important international wildlife event of the year, especially having our very own dedicated stand for the first time at such a large event. AWG is an organisation where some of the foremost and most knowledgeable bird and wildlife guides have come together to form a network that covers the southern most province of Spain, providing day tours, nature holidays, specially tailored tours to suit individual nature lovers, heritage tours and all with the provision of highly acclaimed guides at all times. In short we provide an unrivalled service for those seeking guided tours to observe nature in southern Spain. Please do come and discuss nature in Andalucia with the experts.

AWG will also be representing Andalucia Bird Society and will have several pieces of their publicity with us and will also be able to enrol new members for and on behalf of this progressive Society. Hopefully we will also have copies of their latest Summer Edition magazine (front cover illustration below), always a great read and another reason why folk should join ABS, worth it if only to receive their 4 copies (published each quarter) of ‘Birds of Andalucia’ a year! So again another great reason to come along to Marquee 8 Stand 9 on any of the days of this year’s Birdfair 16th to18th August.

Here at home in my mountains, the weather has finally turned a corner, so now you can expect to hear complaints about it being too hot and dry. I’m due to head on over to the Osuna area in the morning where forecasts are for blazing sun and temperatures peaking at 38C… must remember to take my hat and sun cream! Exceptional light conditions can be good for photography, but as all those budding nature photographers know, too much bright sun can also be your enemy, but still looking forward to getting a few more snaps using the Canon point and shoot SX50 HS. I have managed one or two more snaps since my last blog, so I am using the opportunity to show some here.

Bee eaters cheering-up a dull and cool day in the Serrania de Ronda

Our Marsh Frogs can give severe earache with huge numbers 'singing'..

Thinking most of my orchids were over until I came across this Lizard Orchid

Rock Bunting are not so easy to spot during June

A distant shot (full zoom) of Little Owl characters and comical too!

Finally (for now) a landscape shot of my mountains in the Serrania de Ronda

You can read more about Peter's tours on Spanish Nature's website or if you want a day's trip in his mountains read about the details here

Out and About and Back Again

Most days of May saw me working leading groups either on tours or day trips. The combination of work and my age conspired to make the month pass by in no time at all. It increasingly feels like each month gets shorter and each day I have less time to do all those tasks I want to do! Being out and about so much I get to see a lot of nature, lots of people and also have fun at the same time. Truth is I could almost write a daily blog on activities warranting a comment or two, but of course read the aforementioned problems with finding time! I am forever grateful for being able to spend so much time in my local area the Serranía de Ronda and the Sierra de Grazalema, the local wildlife is spectacular and varied, so here I can show you one or two photos from the month of May and hope you enjoy them?

Cirl Bunting - Common resident

Sifting through the pile of photographs I took for May, more than normal, I thought I’d concentrate on those taken with a new point and shoot Canon SX50 HS. It might interest readers as it is a cheap and portable solution for me compared to the heavy equipment involved in Digital SLR with the accompanying heavy lenses! It has always been difficult for me to be in the business of getting photographs and guiding folk, the two are NOT compatible in terms of giving people your undivided attention and focus. However, many of my friends (clients to most other guides) tend to come armed with an array of cameras on either full tours or day trips, so it is easier for me to pack a simple and lightweight point and shoot for each tour or trip. I should add I never take shots without the permission of those using my services and only then when they too are involved with taking photos.

Phlomis purpurea

May is a time of plenty here in my mountains, but this year has been different due to a very wet winter and early spring, along with cooler than normal temperatures. Butterflies, despite a fantastic spring for flowers, are late and down in numbers, I assume due to the prolonged wet and cold. Whilst some birds have been late arriving and to begin the reproduction process, one very disturbing and worrying late breeder and with some nests failing is Bonelli’s Eagle, where the nest is productive it is reduced from 2 to 1 nestling, interested to see how many of these fledge. Maybe the problem for this emblematic eagle is lack of prey i.e. Rabbit and Red-legged Partridge? Rabbit is almost entirely absent in the higher elevations, so this may also impact on other raptor’s breeding success this year. Weekly sightings of Long-legged Buzzard kept my pecker up on the raptor front, so not too upset yet!

The ever present and common Corn Bunting

Okay onwards and upwards with a few happy snaps from May. - - -

Lavatera - So common and a few different species too!

Bee eater arrived on time but locals delayed breeding!

The common Meadow Brown feasting on Sheep's Bit

PrayingMantis - Empusa Pennata (male) just praying?

Male Greenfinch looking very handsome

Okay I won't bore folk with more photographs, but I am impressed with Canon SX50 HS and as a highly portable point and shoot I have found it a useful addition to my guiding toolbox!

I hope to update folk on the progress of various raptors and other birdlife here in a separate blog.

You can read more about Peter's tours on Spanish Nature's website or if you want a day's trip in his mountains read about the details here

Birding Jaen and the Osuna Triangle

The diversity of Andalucia, a province almost as large as England, makes birding here such a pleasure, not least because the ever changing landscape is so captivating during my travels in the region. The number of protected natural areas ensures you are never far away from wild places and so it was we travelled to Jaen, more specifically to Sierra de Andújar the home of the Iberian Lynx. Of course the Parque Natural Sierra de Andújar also plays host to many of the larger birds to be found in the peninsula including Spanish Imperial Eagle, Black Vulture and Eagle Owl. My group on this particular tour were interested to witness firsthand the diversity of the province in terms of landscape and wildlife, so they had chosen Jaen and then, based in Carmona, to explore the Steppe of the Osuna triangle.

Our first port of call was Jaen and the Sierra de Andújar; we stayed a couple of nights and this allowed one complete day plus an afternoon to explore the area, not long enough for such a large and magnificent area! We needed more time here and our visit was further complicated by cold and wet weather, who would have believed that during the second half of May? The cold prevented us from hanging around too long in our quest to find Lynx, but we did observe close Black and Griffon Vultures plus good views of Golden Eagle. The usual local specialities gave good viewing and Azure-winged Magpie was as popular and showy as I could have hoped for! Typically I was without my camera when Golden Oriole came so close and perched for a full minute as we stood close to a river watch point. This species is fast becoming my bogey bird as far as photography is concerned.

Meet Sandra - female Iberian Lynx captured by Jose Luis's camera traps

Before setting off towards the Osuna Triangle, I managed to spend time with my friend and colleague in Andalucia Wildlife Guides Jose Luis Sanchez Balsera. Jose Luis showed me his new bird observation hide and some of his camera traps, which he has successfully used to capture photos of Lynx. The hide is a superb construction and part of the planning includes a purpose built pond, this provides water all year round and of course is an attraction to many local birds as well as mammals. I intend to revisit the area and hopefully spend time using the hide for photographing a few target bird species I have i.e. Spanish Imperial Eagle! To find out more about this facility see this LINK.

Good views of Black Vulture compensated a little for the cold & wet weather

As we left the higher sierra and made our way south, the weather brightened and the temperature rose to a respectable level for the time of year. We birded our way from Ejica to Osuna in balmy sunshine and wallowed as much in the temperatures as we did the birds. A thrill for all the group was close views of a hunting and hovering Black-winged Kite, whilst various waterbirds, seen on the local lagoons surrounding the main town of Osuna, also captivated us, especially the large flocks of Greater Flamingo. Our route was well planned to take a coffee break near to the back lanes leading to Marchena, where we were later to see breeding Stone Curlew, so much better named than the more recent rendition from anal academics i.e. Eurasian Thicknee!! Opportunities for other great birds ended our day in splendid contrast to the early morning.

Stone Curlew - a common breeding bird within the area of the Osuna Triangle

Our day spent in and around Osuna was highly rewarding, although distant ink black clouds kept us on the move whilst we had decent weather! First bird up for the day was a stunning Little Bustard as it flew across the road fluttering its display flight before landing near to us and proceeded to strut the strut and crack away for a female’s attention. Soon we had superb views of Montagu’s Harrier, Greater Short-toed and Calandra Lark, Roller and Lesser Kestrel, whilst a target bird, Spanish Sparrow, was seen in their hundreds! Visits to various lagoons produced both Gull-billed and Whiskered Tern, with swimming Avocets providing a strange sight along with a flyby of a Purple Heron. Black-winged Stilt amused everyone with their constant chatter and mobbing of any large bird passing by, including the innocent hawking of the local Lesser Kestrels. We ended by sitting and enjoying a large number of Collared Pratincole, a bird with attitude as one of our party remarked.

Turtle Dove were common in the Osuna area and great to know they survived hunting to arrive here!

We finished our day more or less in time to miss an absolute deluge, thunder and rained-on parade as Osuna celebrated its annual Feria, the poor locals all dressed in their traditional costumes and I guess that’s what was inviting the bad weather! Another tour ended and great fun it was too. It is always exciting to let folk put together an itinerary with our help and for me it is a pleasure to guide these tailor-made tours. I look forward to the next one.

Collared Pratincole - a wader with attitude!

To put together your own guided tour see examples on our website HERE

To accompany Peter on one of his local day tours see his page HERE

Birding La Mancha!

Moustached Warbler - Paul French

I have reached the conclusion I have become staid, happy to spend my non touring days in my own area. Most people would sympathise given the local area for me is the Serranía de Ronda, a veritable heaven for wildlife. Who needs to travel further afield when your local patch is so rich in fauna and flora? These facts have very much contrived to make yours truly somewhat a couch potato, comfortable, unadventurous and hence denying myself the pleasures of new discoveries. An obligation to help with organising an excursion for the Andalucia Bird Society led me to recently visit Castile La Mancha, an otherwise unheard of destination and certainly an area whose natural heritage is so understated. What gems the areas around or close to Almagro are! With open steppe, small mountain ranges, wetland and rich Dehesa, the question remains, why did it take me so long to visit this area?

Estefania and Vincente

My introduction to the La Mancha fauna and flora came via the able and expert guidance of Vicente Malagón Sanroma and his lovely wife Estefania. Their passion and local knowledge conspired to make my visit a huge success and left me wanting a whole lot more. If ever you get to this area, and believe me you should, then take a look at the guide’s own website for an idea of the excursions on offer by these two most impressionable guides. Our day started with a visit to the lagoon Navaseca and gave great views of terns, wildfowl, waders and small passerines frequenting the extensive reedbeds surrounding the large open body of the lagoon. Greater Flamingo gave colour, whilst Little Bittern provided excitement. With so many birds, it was nice to see Red-crested Pochard, Black-necked Grebe and also Coots feeding their busy youngsters.

Greater Flamingo

It was such a nuisance only to have one day in the area, it became obvious in a short time that I would have to return to appreciate all that was on offer. So many sites and no time to visit them all, but I was determined to take a look at and walk around the wetland natural park of the Tablas de Daimiel. There are boardwalk routes here taking you through reedbeds, linking various islets and walks through some of the most ancient Tamarisk trees in Spain. The area is home to many aquatic plants and birds, the most notable bird for me was Moustached Warbler, but that would be cherry picking as so many birds attracted my attention. Rather than write more on this occasion, I leave you with a few photos taken on the day!

Coot with young

Great-crested Grebe

Poppies create an island of colour

Red-crested Pochard

Why not join Peter on one of the many day tours he makes throughout the region, please see our website for more detailed information.

You can arrange your own guided holidays or long weekend breaks that include airport collection and transport, to find out more visit our tailored holiday webpage.

Orchids of La Serranía de Ronda – 1

Limodorum abortivum Violet Limodore

I guess orchids have as wide appeal as any plant family and certainly they attract special attention from visitors to the Serranía de Ronda. Of course the local area supports some spectacular plant families, with over 2,000 species and sub species the area has lots to offer the botanist and lover of wild flowers. Here I give you just a tiny glimpse of our orchids and I hope to feature other plant families in the near future. I hope you enjoy this small sample? For groups or individuals who require a guided tour to the plant hot spots of this area, please look here at the link for ‘walking in flowers’.

Ophrys tenthredinifera Sawfly Orchid

Ophrys picta  Small Woodcock orchid

Ophrys bombiflora Bumblebee orchid

Orchis italica Naked man orchid

Ophrys lutea Yellow Bee Orchid

Ophrys speculum ssp speculum  Mirror Orchid