Iberian Green Woodpeckers...March in the mountains above Lanjaron

A bright, sunny start to the day had Kiersten and I heading up into the mountains recently…only to be met by rolling, foggy clouds that brought our birdwatching day to a cold, wet and rather miserable end. Still, we managed to cobble together a day-list before the weather closed in around us, and there were [...]

 
Trip Report: Wheatears, Shrikes and Golden Eagles!

We had guests on board today as we once again headed off up the mountain, to get a good, end-of-the-month look at what the local hillsides have to offer at this changeable, busy time of the year. We ended up having a thoroughly good time today, and managed to put some interesting local favourites on [...]

 
Birdwatchalpujarras on the road! A field trip to Sierra de Morena

I’ve been looking forward to this for some time. Birdwatchalpujarras are heading west to explore Sierra de Aracena y Picos de Aroche, a hilly, forested region in the Sierra de Morena range north of Seville. A wonderful opportunity to take a closer look at the Cork Oak habitat on the Extremeduran border…and a terrific chance [...]

 
A day-trip report: July in the Alpujarras

It’s the first week of July, and with some new birdwatching friends all the way from Denmark the birdwatchalpujarras team are once again out on a day trip on the hillsides above Lanjaron. With a few of our local favourites on the wish-list for the day we headed for the first of some likely locations…and [...]

 
Hoopoes, Shrikes and a Golden Oriole - daytripping with the Birdwatchalpujarras team

It’s the start of another week, and we’re off out again with guests for the day. We hoped the sunny hillsides around the village would bring us a few summer favourites…and we were soon on our way up the mountain once more. Black Wheatear showed well on rocky outcrops above the road as we headed [...]

 
Siskins, Firecrests and Short-toed Treecreepers - January in Sierra de Huetor

It’s a bright but chilly January morning, and we’re off with local walking guide Martin Riley to explore the coniferous woodland habitat of Sierra de Huetor, a natural park to the north-east of Granada. Large expanses of the park’s forests were devastated by a huge fire in 1993, but there has been a programme of [...]

 
Day of the Griffon Vulture in the Natural Park of Cazorla

I recently spent a short break in the Cazorla Natural Park in the Jaén province of Andalucia. The park is huge and we spent the time we had there exploring in reality a very small area by 4×4. The Natural Park is teaming with wildlife but the highlight for us were the Griffon Vutlures (Gyps [...]

 
A trip to the Sierra Tentudia

Last weekend I went to visit a friend who lives in the Sierra Tentudia north of Seville, just over the border of Andalucia and into Extremadora. He invited us to stay at the Sierra Morena Mountain Refuge, a refuge that he is transforming to ensure it stays at one with nature and the environment. We [...]

 

With bad weather through the week had to make the most of the weekend…headed off on Sunday up the hillside to the east of the village, hoping for the best. I have to say the day couldn’t have started any better. Before very long we found one of the region’s most spectacular summer visitors, our [...]