Eagles sparring above the Lanjaron valley

After a fortnight back in the UK I have to say I’m more than a just little relieved to be back on the mountain above the village despite the unrelenting heat of the southern Spanish summer! The olive groves are strangely subdued currently after the all the activity of another breeding season but the birdwatching down here in Andalucia is as superb as ever. Today it was the turn of some of our local birds of prey to take centre stage and they didn’t disappoint.

It was the cries that first alerted me this morning. The familiar “hee-yaah” call soon had me staring skywards, and sure enough I soon found the source. A dark-form Booted Eagle, not soaring over the valley as usual but powering away over the house and up the mountainside. Higher up, the cause of its distress…a second Booted Eagle, pale-form this time and possibly its mate, furiously mobbing a much larger raptor.

Distinctive white patches on the underside of the wing, and snow white flashes on the tail as it turned in the sun…to be honest the sheer size of this spectacular bird left little room for doubt. A juvenile Golden Eagle, massively powerful, and with a wingspan of over six feet it looked twice the size of the smaller species. Fantastic!

The Booted Eagle however had its temper and its partner on its side…and the Golden Eagle seemed in no mood for a confrontation. The damage it could inflict with those huge talons would undoubtedly be considerable, but it turned effortlessly and chose to drift on, leaving the pair of Booted Eagles triumphant, at least for today.

Terrific birdwatching and so typical of what the Alpujarras have to offer. Keep checking the posts as we continue to report on another wonderful Andalucian summer, and keep you up to date with all the latest news!