Our first and only full day at the watch point was pretty quiet but i don't think it was helped by the very hot weather. The following day the heat peaked and we had massive thunderstorms, strong winds and rain. Very unsettled after that so we left a day early and planned to have an extra day in Extremadura. I think we were quite lucky with the weather here last year.
Several mid sized Hawkers were watched along the fast flowing river in Tardets. They patrolled the banks very discretely, keeping low over the water checking every nook and cranny. But when chasing prey they transformed into turbo charged idiots, to fast to follow them with binoculars.
Heavy rain brought out some enormous Common Toads, Fire Salamanders and Slugs.
Most adult males migrate south having not yet started their moult, this being done on their wintering grounds. This individual needs to reach its winter quarters fairly soon before the loss of any more feathers hinders its migration.
This reservoir is just south of the Pyrenees and last September we saw a migrant Osprey eating a fish on a dead tree close to the waters edge. We passed by there again this year and sure enough an Osprey was sitting in almost the same tree as last year. Could easily have been the same individual as most Ospreys will use the same stop-over sites and perches year after year.
A few days in Monfrague and the steppes before heading down to Tarifa. It was extremely hot during the day and much of it was spent in the shade. Very different to the same time last year when we had torrential rain and thunderstorms in Monfrague. This adult Spanish Imp was digi-scoped sitting on the Tietar Rock.
