With many of our raptors showing well this month birds of prey have been a major birdwatching highlight of recent weeks, amply proving how rich and varied the birdlife down here in the Alpujarras can be. Looking back, we've had some fantastic encounters with some of Europe's most spectacular species...so many in fact that to review them all is quite a challenge. For me however there is one particular species that for sheer size and its majestic soaring flight has made a lasting impression...the Griffon Vulture.

The Griffon Vulture is a truly huge bird, clearly bigger than most of Europe's large eagles. On broad, deeply "fingered" wings the Griffon can travel great distances without flapping at all, using warm upcurrents to gain height, using its superb eyesight to spot the carcasses of dead animals on which it feeds. In recent years the provision of specialist feeding stations has been a major factor in securing a rise in the population, making the dry plateaux and mountains of Spain a European stronghold for this magnificent bird.

The arrival of BSE or mad cow disease however spelled disaster for Griffons and other carrion eating birds. EU legislation banned feeding stations, sending animal carcasses for incineration to prevent cross-contamination. Feeding stations were closed and the Griffon population appeared to be under serious threat...instances of this normally placid species attacking livestock where feeding points were closed only compounded the problem. Happily, conservation and agricultural pressure groups secured the re-regulation of feeding stations and they opened again to provide the Griffons with this much needed support once more.

Richard and Kiersten returned from a Spanish Highs mountain trek with some fabulous photos of Griffon Vultures over the summer but I had to wait until the first week of October for my first ever sighting. It was at the end of last month that I finally got the views I had been waiting for...up to 20 or so wheeling effortlessly over the hillside above the village, undoubtedly one of the most remarkable wildlife spectacles I have ever seen. Since then Kiersten has been lucky enough get some photographs, the best of which are posted here.

Research suggests adult Griffons rarely stray far from their territories, and are mainly year-long residents in Spain. Sub-adult and non-breeding birds stray further afield, and some of the Spanish population apparently reaches Africa. The seasonal arrival of Griffons over the hillsides above Lanjaron could well be part of this behavioural pattern, and may go some way to explaining this extraordinary set of images...

Our friends from the Horse Trekking Centre at Caballo Blanco woke recently to find this juvenile Griffon Vulture sat quietly in a paddock! Tired and hungry, it stayed with them for a couple of days before staff from the Pino Genil Junta Sanctuary collected it...the bird was fed for a week and successfully released. Note the pale brown "ruff" of this youngster...it could be up to six years before a juvenile matures sufficiently to breed, showing the white ruff and yellow bill of the adult. This in fact makes its adolescence one of the longest seen in any species of bird. Many thanks to Sarah at Caballo for these astonishing photos.

Having these immensely impressive birds on our doorstep over the last couple of months has been a real privelege, and I hope our photos go some way to doing them justice. We'll keep the updates coming in as the Christmas break approaches, please keep checking the Tour Diaries for all the news!