Newsletter January 2015.

Newsletter January 2015.

One of John's first wolf sightings of the New Year!

Well here we are with the first Newsletter of the year, and indeed the year started auspiciously with a very good sighting of a wolf walking down the  path into the valley before turning into the heather moorland on a cool, but beautifully crisp January 2nd.


 Eva,our daughter,was here in the Sierra de la Culebra for New Year and such a wonderful wolf sighting was a bonus for her!

Over the New Year weekend, the glorious weather meant that we could enjoy lots of walking with Eva and we were able to share close views of Red and Roe deer and red fox.

Although certainly not the rutting season, this January has seen a lot of sparring among young stags here. These two were repeatedly testing each other out:-

The lovely light, sunny days continued for the first part of Chris and Keny's tour in early January and it was truly wonderful that only 2 hours after being collected from Zamora railway station, Chris was watching 2 wolves! As John called out in stage whispers, "Lobo, lobo!" Chris quickly got them in his scope and could savour this magical moment for him as he watched these two predators go about their business.Such a sight will no doubt live in Chris' memory as he reviews his wonderful tour of Spain. Indeed,en route to the Sierra de la Culebra from Zamora we saw our first white stork of the year, soaring high above us in the clear blue sky.Always a welcome sight! During their time here in the Sierra de la Culebra, which was planned as part of a grand tour of Spain undertaken by Chris from Maine,U.S.A.and Keny who had flown in from  India, Chris was.eligible to sign the book and the board having seen 'his' first wolf.

Chris examining some fresh wolf tracks

Good clear tracks and scat made walks exciting and meaningful .

On the first day, Chris and John were delighted to catch sight of crested tit after hearing their clear trill; other birds spotted were coal tit and rock bunting along with many red kites and common buzzards.

. Earlier in the morning wolf watch,Chris and Keny had been able to get excellent views of red and roe deer plus Iberian green woodpecker, in stunning sunrise light. This being Epiphany, our guests were invited to sample the traditional cake eaten at this time and it was appreciated.

Aaaaahuuuuu!

This huge,full moon on our first evening,completed a wonderful evening for Chris and provided us all with a clear light for our return back to the  hotel for one of Antonio's lovely,home cooked,Zamoran rice dinners.

The weather was not so kind on the final couple of days of Chris and Keny's tour, but that did nothing to dampen any enthusiasm  As Chris remarked,"It just adds to the atmosphere of the place!" When walking around the old villages, the open welcome from the local people was apparent to  Chris and Keny who soon realised that you can not go far in these villages without being invited in for a cup of tea or a glass of beer! There is always time here to share stories and we find the villagers are very proud to show their homes and to talk about their lifestyles with our interested clients.

  The calm hospitality served up by Antonio was appreciated here by Chris and Keny,as has been the case with so many of our clients over the years.

The weather has capriciously improved immediately after Chris and Keny's tour, and wolf sightings have been steady this month, sometimes with 7 from the same pack being spotted at one time. The attached video was taken by John on the morning of 14th January...hand held so apologies for the wavering! This was one of 2 wolves seen that morning by John:- 

All this bodes well for our future watches and John and I look forward to 2015 with its opportunities to share this wonderful part of Spain with many of you

Margaret.

".Keny and I had a lovely time.  It was really amazing, the combination of nature, wildlife, the unique atmosphere - thanks!  Your pictures are great... Again, thanks.  will be in touch.  hope to be able to return some day! " 

 . Chris (U.S.A.)