Newsletter October/November/December 2017

Newsletter October/November/December 2017.

This has been a tremendous period for wolf watching and I know that many of you will have kept abreast of these wonderful moments via the Wild Wolf Experience Facebook page, where John manages to post some of his sighting results just about as they happen. Alison arrived for her Watching for Wolves tour on 3rd October with John having had excellent views for the first two days of the month and so hopes were high. Morning mist hampered viewing on Alison's first wolf watch but she enjoyed watching red and roe deer in such atmospheric surroundings. A black vulture added to the excitement and the obvious wolf presence noted by scat and tracks during daytime walks merely served to heighten excitement and desire for a sighting.

The wolf when it showed could not have been better for Alison. At the beginning of the evening wolf-watch on a beautiful 5th October evening with visibility calm and clear with the promise of a huge harvest moon, John had just set up Alison's scope and was tending to mine, when Alison whispered breathlessly " Wolf!" and a lone wolf was watched by a transfixed Alison as it walked down the firebreak in front of our viewpoint only to pause and raise its head as if to acknowledge her presence before turning to the left to move soundlessly through the undergrowth eventually to be lost in the taller heather. It was an emotionally-charged moment during a day which held great personal significance for Alison and it could not have been bettered.Every time we see wolf it is special and exciting but occasionally we realise the lifetime memories we are giving so many of our clients and then we know why these tours are so special. Many of Alison's photographs and memories of this tour are to be found  at http://www.travelcounsellors.com/alison.kent.

In mid-month John was delighted to show Loraine fantastic views of seven wolves interacting for most of her watch, making her 70th birthday Spanish/Portuguese tour even more special. Again, memorable moments.

Iain, Rohanne, Alex and Isaac were very excited for their first ever visit to Northern Spain and they all quickly became proficient in using the telescopes, pointing out red and roe deer, vultures and wild boar during their watches, while seeing Iberian hare on two separate occasions. They had seen plenty of wolfscat and wolf evidence during daytime tracking expeditions, but the true infectious enthusiasm was when they were able to watch four wolves playing, running and generally interacting; an experience which was repeated the following morning.  The whole family entered into each watch experience whole-heartedly and gained much enjoyment through all the aspects of their time here in the Sierra de la Culebra.

Full of enthusiasm,Iain, Rohanne, Alex and Isaac left us on 27th October, exclaiming that this would not be their last visit, and we certainly look forward to seeing them again.

Just a couple of days later John collected Ian and Liz for their Watching for Wolves tour beginning on 30th October. Their first day was spent tracking and searching for signs of wolf and Ian and Liz were interested to find plenty of examples of fresh wolf tracks and scat in the mountains. This was exciting indeed but a tremendous first day was brought to a climax with the appearance of two wolves separately during the evening wolf watch. Each wolf had distinctively different colouring and they were moving about the area independently of each other; this was a treat indeed!

Liz in particular was overjoyed to achieve her aim of seeing wolf in the wild but the views just kept on getting better as on the following morning John, Ian and Liz were treated to an epic watch of eight wolves for a total of 2 1/2 hours! At one point, Ian had black vulture, red kite and wolf in his scope at the one time! The evening watch of 1st November was also fascinating with all of us watching the interplay between two wolves as they greeted each other on the plain in front of our viewpoint. Ian and Liz watched with determination during every wolf watch and even during some fairly squally weather when the Sierra de la Culebra experienced the first rain since May, they were not to be put off their watch, and this admirable attitude paid off when John, Ian and Liz were delightedly watching 7 wolves within minutes of setting up their scopes on a very rainy Friday 3rd November. Certainly they were the only wolf watchers there in such inclement weather, and this just made the experience all the more special. Liz was a happy lady to have achieved her aim of seeing a wolf in the wild and moments such as these make it very special for John and me too at Wild Wolf Experience.

Ian was keen to find certain birds too during this tour acknowledging that it is not the most productive time of year for birds here in the Sierra de la Culebra.  However he was delighted to notch up over 75 species during his tour with us.

Notable amongst these sightings were over 80 griffon vultures very close during their time at the Douro Gorge plus golden eagle, red kite, crag martin, sparrowhawk, crested lark, woodlark, rock bunting, rock sparrow, common buzzard and approximately 50 azure-winged magpies during that day visit. Time in Sanabria garnered siskin, great crested grebe, song thrush and red kite. Kingfisher, gadwall, potchard, mallard, teal,little grebe and great white egret were seen on the Rio Esla, and at Villafafila Ian, Liz and John watched a red fox stalking the waterfowl plus enjoying views which included great bustard, common crane, red kite, marsh harrier, hen harrier, common buzzard and Eurasian kestrel. Certainly Ian and Liz felt their time here with us had been so worthwhile and I know they have since enjoyed following the antics on Facebook of the young wolves they had been so fortunate to be able to see during their extended Watching for Wolves tour with us.


By now we were well into November and many of you will have been amazed at the fantastic videos John has posted on our Wild Wolf Experience Facebook page; wolves adult, sub-adult and youngster being totally undisturbed by our careful, unobtrusive watching and we have all delighted in their pack interaction, greeting, playing, hunting large prey such as stags or small fry like voles; all in all it has been a fabulous time with some very special wolf action to be privileged to view and share.

So it was with high hopes that we greeted Mike at Asturias airport who was spending time with us on a Watching for Wolves tour having previously searched for wolf in Romania, Poland and Canada with little success. An experienced wildlife watcher, Mike was wanting to dispel the image of the wolf as his " bogey-animal"! So it was on the evening of the 29th November that Mike had his first watch which was interesting with its large number of red and roe deer, plus hen harrier and griffon vulture, but no wolf appearances. However, the first morning of Mike's tour, 30th November, was just tremendous!

In clear bright sunlight, Job and Mike were able to see three adult wolves  as they hunted on the plain in front of them,. One wolf sat down at one point and seemed to be watching for further signs while the other two adult wolves moved down the hillside, spreading out in their hunt over the frosty heatherland. Then 6 further wolves appeared, this time youngsters, who moved steadily and clearly through the vegetation and John was able to catch this movement as they fanned out over the hillside with the morning sun casting their strong, long shadows across the vegetation. The sight of a golden eagle atop a small pine tree was almost ignored in the excitement. Each day of Mike's tour gave wolf sightings, with the mornings having the best results. John and Mike spent the early daylight hours of 1st December watching and filming two young wolves interact and play, totally relaxed with each other whereas the following morning of 2nd December this number was swelled to seven wolves over a long time in superb clear light with no heat haze; just perfect viewing conditions.

The final wolf watch on 3rd December did not disappoint with a briefer view of wolf plus many red deer offering interest and excitement, and we were all pleased that Mike's dogged determination to see wolf in the wild had eventually paid off, with dividends.

Day visits enjoyed included good close views of griffon vultures galore at the scenic Douro gorge plus 2 golden eagles.  A special sight was that of black-shouldered kite on the return journey from Portugal.

The lagoons were incredibly dry at Villafafila where John and Mike watched several great bustards plus  hundreds of over-wintering cranes, filmed against a strong wind. Mammals seen included a red fox which was spotted stalking the waterfowl.They also enjoyed good sights of marsh harriers, numerous red kites, kestrels  at Villafafila plus kingfisher, two great white egrets and lovely grey wagtail on the Rio Esla.

Mike is a keen photographer, displaying and selling his photos; they are well worth a look.









"Hi Margaret and john

great trip - loved the wolves and the villages

Thinking about your offer of referencing my pictures on your blog sound a good idea

internet - etsy uk

my shop name is   mrexplorer     (all one word)

I will see you again to watch for Lynx - prob Jan 2019

have fun

Mike"

Reports of severe snowfalls in Asturias added a frisson of excitement as we prepared for our early morning road trip to Asturias airport on the final morning of Mike's tour, but really we did not need anything to create excitement as the events of this Watching for Wolves tour had been thrilling enough for all of us. However, just as John and I left our home village of Cional to collect Mike from the hotel at 5:50 on that morning of 4th December, we had a close encounter with a wolf as it ran alongside our road to turn left towards the lake! Each day something exciting to report!

The sightings have continued to thrill us here in this most special of Spanish settings, and I hope you have all enjoyed reading and seeing just some of these results over the past year.

John and I wish you all a very happy Christmas and look forward to sharing even more of our adventures here during 2018.




Margaret.

Newsletter August / September 2017

Newsletter August / September 2017.

August is usually the month of fiestas with small communities working together to produce spectacular entertainment, sport and family fun ensuring that the more mundane matters of everyday life are swept aside in  a positive tsunami of celebration

The incredibly dry spring and summer resulted in several forest fires in the region but fortunately the areas where our local wolf packs are have remained safe from this ever-present threat. A nearby fire in a neighbouring valley was quickly controlled by the amazingly brave, hard-working bomberos ( firemen).

The brave firefighters flying right into the heart of the fires

We enjoyed an abundance of passing migrants including several pied and spotted flycatchers on our woodland walks this month.

Part of August was spent with returning clients Paul and Zoe who decided to try a Browsing for Bears tour after their very successful Watching for Wolves tour a couple of years ago.

The weather was kind and the bear viewing was tremendous, with eight individuals showing at various viewpoints over the time of their Browsing for Bears tour.

Two separate females with two cubs each could be watched as they fed on the hazelnuts.This year because of the cold early June and the ensuing dry summer the fruits of Alpine buckthorn have been in very short supply. A young sub-adult and a young male bear were also seen on different occasions.

During walks in the beautiful scenery of Asturias and in wonderful walking weather, John, Paul and Zoe had excellent views of Egyptian and griffon vultures along with birds which included nuthatch and red-billed chough. John captured some footage of a short-toed eagle on video, just losing the bird when it gathered speed to swoop down and snatch a snake right in front of them!

Here we can see the Egyptian vulture as it flew in the air close to Paul, Zoe and John's heads.

 A roe deer with two young fawns was a lovely sight to watch and added to the good views of red deer and chamois which occurred each day in the stunning surroundings of this incredibly scenic area of Spain.

In September Olivier and Natalie from Switzerland found the views and wide vistas at the viewing areas very photogenic and they were delighted to capture much of this atmosphere in their tour photographs, in between watching wolves which showed every day of their tour!

After a rewarding time at Villafafila spotting over thirty great bustards both in flight and on the ground, plus booted eagle, short-toed eagle, golden eagle, marsh harrier, hen harrier, Montague's harrier and common buzzard, the first wolf watch that evening offered an enjoyable time watching two wolves interacting with each other in superb evening light, to be capped by the sight and sound of a lone wolf throwing back its head and uttering a howl. An enchanting evening to begin their Watching for Wolves tour!

The views just kept coming each day for Olivier and Natalie as on the second day they first  watched five wolves and a young Bonelli's eagle, to be followed after a day of tracking and seeing much lupine evidence by a truly memorable evening watching  the progress of a female wolf  organising the six cubs of the pack to travel together to the river to drink.  All this was seen by us and was tremendous. The day visit to the Douro Gorge with its rugged beauty provided Olivier and Natalie with good views of black vulture and griffon vulture plus golden eagle and crag martins aplenty. The Roman settlement is being examined in an archaeological dig and this gave the viewpoint added meaning as the history of the area was being literally unearthed.

Later in September John and I were delighted to welcome Linda back on her fourth Watching for Wolves tour.

Each tour provides Linda with good wolf views plus the thrill of the stag rut, and yet there is always something and somewhere new to experience as well.

The sun sets on yet another successful evening's wolf watch.  Photo by Linda.

At the beginning of Linda's tour several griffon and black vultures plus ravens were noticed and sure enough it was not long before Linda and John were watching two wolves at a red deer kill.  As the vultures and ravens jostled hungrily and impatiently on the ground and in the trees while the kill was being devoured by two wolves to the background sound of the increasingly insistent stag rut, we knew we were watching a scene which had been enacted over centuries.
Here we watched the youngsters of the pack as they played and tussled  under the watchful gaze of a pack adult.

Linda was becoming increasing adept at her telescope skills and she was delighted to pick out a black vulture on the morning of 20th September plus being able to view six wolf cubs and two adults that morning too! The previous day John and Linda had found much evidence of otter activity by our village lake and they were amazed at the number of house martins clinging to the bridge soaking up the warmth and gaining strength before their autumnal migration.

The journey back to Asturias airport is a beautiful one and Linda appreciated the journey. Although it meant the end of her tour we could all look back on another most successful week of wonderful Iberian wolves in this most enthralling of regions.Margaret. Oct. 2017.

Thank you Linda for this photo...we so rarely get on the same shot together!

Newsletter June/July 2017

Newsletter June/July 2017.

The sweltering heat experienced during these summer months could have made wolf sightings even more difficult but on the contrary we have enjoyed some fantastic views recently, many of which John has put on the Facebook page almost as they happen!

Our first wolf sighting of June/July was on Monday 5th July with John spotting a wolf in the heather after noting the panic behaviour of two roe deer. The same viewpoint gave up excellent wolf views the next day, 6th June. Former clients and now firm friends, Ros and Terry, came to their adopted second home, the Sierra de la Culebra, mid-June for a month and the wolf sightings they enjoyed were indeed tremendous too. One large dark male wolf standing sniffing the air and then trotting across a freshly-cut field, his dark silhouette standing out against the yellow stubble, was a wonderful sight midway through their stay and this was capped by another good view of wolf plus five wild boar on their penultimate night in this area they have so grown to enjoy.

John with friends Ros and Terry.

The heat built up to temperatures in the upper thirties for Lynn's Watching for Wolves tour. Lynn was fascinated to experience this unique area of Spain as she works with grey wolves in captive situations in UK. Smoke from some tremendously damaging and indeed fatal forest fires in Portugal actually hampered viewing for our first wolf watch on 19th June but all the other watches were in much clearer conditions. I have recently been sent an article from The Telegraph quoting the convoluted argument being put forward by some French farmers that wolves are to blame for the forest fires in France this week; it professes via quite a circuitous route to eventually reach this conclusion. Even the most unbiased reader would surely think reason was being unduly stretched to blame this already much maligned species with the damage from such events which happen each year in such tinder-try, baking hot areas of forested Europe, with or without wolves.

During the wolf watches Lynn could enjoy good views of Egyptian vulture, many griffon vultures,  black kite, common buzzard, Montague's harrier, turtle dove, rock bunting, bee-eater and booted eagle.

Lynn found the walks around the local villages fascinating as she could experience the way the communities here live alongside this apex predator. Several wild boar were seen during the morning and evening watches along with regular red and roe deer sightings and Lynn also saw Iberian hare, rabbit, red fox and Iberian wall lizard.

At 08:45 on 23rd June Lynn got her scope onto a light-coloured shape, spotted fleetingly as it loped through the undergrowth.  Sightings of a light-coloured wolf, corroborated by video, in the same area as Linda's had been seen, suggest that she possibly had indeed seen her first wild Iberian wolf.

Vlad arrived from New South Wales, Australia and almost as his aircraft dropped down to land, so did the temperatures and there were some cold early morning watches for Vlad and John during the first half of his Watching for Wolves tour. But the cooler times reaped success with some excellent sightings of three wolves interacting for over 45 minutes on the morning of 30th June.

Good views of black vulture, Dartford warbler, bee-eater and dunnock all contributed to make this morning special.

That Friday was also memorable owing to the co-incidence of two Vladimirs discussing the respective merits of Czech beers in their native language while standing in the churchyard at Villardeciervos, as our client Vlad became acquainted with Vlad the village priest! Quite a surreal moment, and topped by a very special opportunity to photograph the local multiple storks' nests from the top of the church bell tower!

The previous day Vlad - our client not the priest -  had enjoyed his first ever sightings of great bustard, about 20 in total, along with booted eagle, lesser kestrel, marsh harrier, short-toed eagle and black kite plus the distressing sight of one mink inspecting and trying to protect the body of another mink which had obviously been recently run over by a vehicle. Rather bad luck in an area so empty of traffic.

Vlad enjoyed a pleasant hike in the hills around the local villages, spotting booted eagle and raven but generally just appreciating the ambiance of the whole area he had traveled so far to experience. During an atmospheric evening watch on 1st July, Vlad and John spent some time concentrating on a stag which seemed to indicate that wolf was present. After standing stock still staring at some ground ahead, the stag then turned, whereupon John noticed a wolf beginning to gain pace in the heather where the stag had been originally focusing. The stag needed no further prompting as it hurtled off into deeper undergrowth.

Wolf was seen by Vlad and John at 08:00 the next morning 2nd July and this was an excellent start of a full day with the visit over the border to Portugal offering sights of alpine swift, red-billed chough, griffin vulture and crag martin to name but a few, against stunning scenery. During some interesting day hikes, Vlad recorded this fresh wolf-scat and found an excellent wolf track by a pool where Iberian water frogs could be seen and heard.

The wolf sightings just kept happening - right up to the weekend watch on the last weekend of July with Tinette and her family from the Netherlands who were all able to enjoy their first views of Iberian wolf on three occasions during their first watch with John on 29th July.  As well as excellent wolf views they also were treated to good sightings of large wild boar, several red deer, bee-eater, black kite and Dartford warbler plus a close view of red squirrel

John and I enjoyed a wonderful time relaxing with family too during July when the calm atmosphere of this special part of Spain helped my daughter Eva complete her Master's dissertation and her twin brother Iain continued his run of exceptional good wildlife viewing with a fantastic morning watching a wolf stalk, chase and kill a roe deer in an unforgettable wildlife episode. Here the wolf can be seen dragging the prey.

The next morning we could watch the wolf returning to its kill to feed and then carry it away.

Interesting wildlife sights abound in this area every month. On 29th July, while walking near Linarejos after an excellent lunch, John and I were delighted to video this young gallipato, a type of salamander which is greatly under threat in several areas of Spain owing to the invasive presence of the American crayfish.  We appreciated the time spent watching this fascinating creature in a crystal clear pool hidden away in a secluded part of this peaceful valley and I am happy to share such a lucky view with you all here.

Friends from the Basque region, Ixi and Jon, arrived for the final weekend in July and could only manage one wolf watch which was interesting but without wolf. However their return journey delivered astounding views of a lone wolf against a stunning night skyand they were able to snap some shots from their car window one of which I reproduce below. Wherever you go, at whatever time of day or night, it is always an interesting journey here in the Sierra de la Culebra!

Margaret.

A lucky snapshot from the car window! Thanks to Ixi and Jon.

Newsletter May 2017.

Newsletter May 2017.

The category "owlflyantlion" seems to cover every eventuality for this impressive creature seen in Asturias this month

The month started very well with 2 wolves on 1st May on the first evening watch of Richard and Winnie's wolf part of their combined wolf/bear tour. In diminishing dusk light on May 1st near the end of the evening's wolf watch, John saw two wolves on the distant hillside and managed to get one in the scope as it moved along the track to go off into the neighbouring field. This sighting set the tone for Richard and Winnie's tour as superb sightings of both target species and more besides were enjoyed generally in very good weather for visibility and tracking.

Richard and Winnie's journey to the Sierra de la Culebra from Asturias airport had already offered up two species of eagle, two species of kite, Montague's harrier, kestrel, buzzard, white stork and red-rumped swallow en route. During the wolf watches  this first week of May there were plenty of  opportunities to view red and roe deer, red fox and the birds were displaying throughout. 

 A displaying dunnock was a regular sight during the watches along with hen harrier, Montague's harrier, Bonelli's warbler, sub-Alpine warbler, Dartford warbler, bee-eater, linnet, rock bunting, Iberian green woodpecker, stonechat, cuckoo, swift, blackcap, coal tit, great tit, golden oriole and nightingale.

Winnie saw her first nightingale this week, during a walk around the lake at Cional, thanks to John's skill in locating such a secretive bird. Time spent tracking garnered good tracks which included wolf, red fox, otter, badger, wild boar. During a walk everyone was delighted to see an Iberian hare running along the track ahead of them, again near Cional. The Iberian frogs were vocal as well as visible and the Iberian wall lizards could be seen on several occasions. Blue rock thrush was seen during a lovely visit to the Rio Esla.

Then on 5th May it was time for John to travel up to Asturias with Richard and Winnie for the bear part of their very successful combined tour, and this was immediately followed by a bear tour with Steve and Karen and then another one with Eddie and Tina who were to sample our Browsing for Bears tour this year after enjoying Watching for Wolves tours for the previous two years. For ease of reporting I shall put the result of all these three tours together; all three were very successful in their wildlife views and experiences.

As Steve and Karen were scanning during a bear watch, John noticed a change in the behaviour of the herd of chamois which had previously been grazing on the mountainside.  Scanning to the left of them, he could hardly believe his eyes, and Steve and Karen could hardly believe their ears, when he whispered "Wolf!" and all three of them could watch the lone wolf as it stalked the chamois until they hurtled downhill leaving the wolf to climb up the mountainside and over the rocky summit.  This is such a special sight as wolves in Asturias are notoriously difficult to find!

Steve and Karen appreciated this wolf sighting and then later in the tour they were lucky again when during a walk they were able to see a golden striped salamander, once again not on your everyday list of creatures to be seen here.

This short-legged species is endemic to North-west Spain and northern Portugal and is predominantly crepuscular or indeed nocturnal so this was a rare sight indeed.  For food, it captures small arthopods with its sticky tongue and requires a good supply of these plus very unpolluted water to ensure survival.

Steve and Karen also saw Spanish capercaillie understandably which delighted them. Normally very reclusive, the Spanish capercaillie was also seen by Eddie and Tina the following week, which was again a special treat.

For Richard and Winnie, a special wildlife moment was their excellent view of a pine marten as it ran across the road in front of them on 7th May. This was one day after some tremendous views of wild boar family parties with John capturing excellent video of the young wild boar piglets suckling as the mother grazes. John was able to catch this view on the video shown above.

Bear sightings in this early part of May were incredible as you will see from the attached videos which John was able to take during the tours. In the above video we have a huge male bear sniffing the air and the ground in his spring search for a female.

And here in the above video is indeed a female in the same area whose main priority is of course to protect her cub from the predatory male bear. Wonderful wildlife filming here from John!

In the video above, taken during Eddie and Tina's tour, look out for the chamois which appears at the end of the filming, incredibly close to the large male bear! Eddie and Tina were very pleased to get such good views of a peregrine and three young, which are featured on John's video below.

Birds seen during the tours included peregrine with three chicks, golden eagle, sparrowhawk, griffon vulture, common buzzard, common kestrel, honey buzzard, stonechat, rufous-tailed rock thrush, rock bunting, Spanish capercaillie, Iberian green woodpecker, great spotted woodpecker, grey wagtails breeding, blackcap, song thrush, nuthatch, short-toed treecreeper, dipper, mistle thrush and chiffchaff. Red squirrel put in a welcome appearance during Eddie and Tina's tour. Eddie and Tina also enjoyed an early morning observation of displaying hen harriers in the hills above their hotel  where tree pipits were seen performing their typical parachuting display.

Thanks to Eddie and Tina for this photo of a white spotted sable seen on their tour this month

Back in the Sierra de la Culebra later in May a visitor was creating much interest. John saw a red-footed falcon on 26th May as we were driving along to San Vitero. A first for us in this area which always brings up new exciting sightings and experiences. And the sightings continued successfully from the very first day of the month to the very last with John watching Iberian hare, red deer, roe deer, red fox and a pine marten very close by during his final watch of May on 31st. A fulfilling and exciting month packed from the very first to the very last!

Newsletter April 2017.

Newsletter April 2017.  

The first days of April saw John in the Sierra de Andujar with John, Janet, Frank and Andrew, looking for Iberian lynx. A paucity of rabbits meant that lynx had not been seen for several weeks and the possible sighting that John had was but fleeting, but as keen birders and naturalists, there was never any moment or watch without its excitement.

So much was spotted during the tour that I am grateful to John and Janet for allowing me to reproduce their list, rather than write all these down. 

	Iberian Lynx Watching In Sierra Morena 30th April 2017 to 3rd March 2017
		30th	31st	1st	2nd	3rd
Iberian Lynx					?
Rabbit		X	X	X	X	X
Iberian Hare					1
Red Fox					1
Red Deer		X	X	X	X	X
Fallow Deer				X	X	X
Iberian Ibex				1
Wild Boar			X		X
Mouflon				X	X	X
Greater Mouse Eared Bat			X	X
Daubenton’s Bat				X
							11 species
Mallard			X		X
Red Legged Partridge		X	X	X	X	X
White Stork		2				X
Black Stork				3
Cattle Egret		1				20+
Cormorant			X		X
Black Kite		200+				1
Red Kite		1
Osprey			1
Black Vulture		1	1
Griffon Vulture		X	X	X	X	X
Short-toed Eagle				2	2
Sparrowhawk		2
Goshawk		1	1
Common Buzzard		1		1
Golden Eagle				1
Spanish Imperial Eagle		2	2	1
Booted Eagle		4			1
Kestrel		X	X	X	X	X
Green Sandpiper			1

Yellow Legged Gull	X
Rock Dove/Feral Pigeon	X	X	X	X	X
Stock Dove				X
Woodpigeon	X	X	X	X	X
Collared Dove	X	X	X	X	X
Common Cuckoo	X	X	X	X	X
Little Owl	2		2	2-3	1
Scops Owl			1H	1H
European Bee-eater	3+	9		9	25+
Hoopoe	X	X	X	X	X
Iberian Green Woodpecker	X	X	X	X	X
Great Spotted Woodpecker		2		H
Crested Lark	X			X	X
Woodlark				H
Crag Martin			X	X
Swallow	X	X	X	X	X
House Martin	X	X	X	X	X
Red-Rumped Swallow	X	X	X	X	X
White Wagtail	X	X		X
Grey Wagtail		1
Meadow Pipit		1			H
Wren		X		X	X
Robin		X
Nightingale			X	3
Black Redstart			X
European Stonechat		X		X
Blue Rock Thrush		X	X	X
Blackbird	X	X	X	X	X
Mistle Thrush	X	X	X	X	X
Cetti’s Warbler		X		X
Dartford Warbler			X	X
Western Orphean Warbler				1
Sardinian Warbler	X	X	X	X	X
Subalpine Warbler				1
Blackcap		X	X	X
Willow Warbler				X
Western Bonelli’s Warbler			1
Chiffchaff	X	X	X	X
Pied Flycatcher				1m
Long Tailed Tit	X	X	X	X	X
Blue Tit	X	X	X	X	X
Great Tit	X	X	X	X	X
Nuthatch		X		X	X

Short Toed Treecreeper		X
Southern Grey Shrike	X	X	X	X
Woodchat Shrike			X	X
Golden Oriole					H
Chough		X	X	X
Magpie	X	X	X	X	X
Azure Winged Magpie	X	X	X	X	X
Jay	X	X	X	X	X
Jackdaw	X			X
Carrion Crow	X		X
Raven		8			3
Spotless Starling	X	X	X	X	X
House Sparrow	X	X	X	X	X
Rock Sparrow		1
Chaffinch	X	X	X	X	X
European Serin	X	X	X	X	X
Greenfinch	X		X	X	X
Goldfinch		X	X	X	X
Linnet		1	X	1
Rock Bunting		1		1
Corn Bunting	X	X	X	X	X
Cirl Bunting				H	H
						79 species
Iberian Pond Frog		X
Wall Lizard
Ocellated Lizard			X	X
Spanish Psammodromus			1
Ladder snake			1
European Pond Terrapin			X
Spanish Pond Terrapin				1
						7 species
Clouded Yellow	X	X	X	X	X
Brimstone
Orange Tip	X	X	X	X
Portuguese Dappled White		X	X	X
Small White				X
Red Admiral			X
Painted Lady	X
Small Copper			X

Brown Argus		X	X
Lang’s Short-tailed Blue			X
Small Heath	X		X	X
Spanish Festoon		X		X
Swallowtail		X	X
						13 species
Orchis champagneuxii			X
Ophrys tenthrebinifera			X

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It was a pleasure for John to be with John and Janet again who had enjoyed a successful Watching for Wolves tour with us in 2016 and along with Frank and Andrew, the group boasted some depth of knowledge.

At one point during a watch at the dam, two short-toed eagles, three black storks and a Spanish ibex could be seen in one view! 

The weather was excellent throughout and afforded everyone fantastic views of Imperial eagle from the first night. 

Watches were often accompanied by Dartford and Sardinian warblers  with goshawk, black vulture, red-rumped swallow, hoopoe and a daily little owl showing well throughout the tour. A false alarm from Andrew did not produce the hoped-for lynx sighting but everyone got onto red deer because of this. 

Wild boar were spotted on two days of the tour with this family party providing particularly pleasing views.

 This is the best time of year to be here to experience the orchids and wild flower meadows.

On the last day there were good views of mouflon.

A fabulous ocellated lizard made its way across the road in front of everyone one evening in the glorious Sierra de Andujar.

The day after the Looking for Lynx tour John collected Story and her mum Ruth who had flown in from the USA solely for a Watching for Wolves tour. Once again John enjoyed the company of dedicated and knowledgeable enthusiasts.  Ruth and Story's Watching for Wolves tour sightings started straightaway with a black vulture above them on the road out of Madrid.

White stork returning to its nest atop the church at Otero de Sariego. Photo: Story Warren.

A stop off at Villafafila meant that John, Ruth and Story were treated to approximately 150 great bustards, some in full lekking mode, with red kite, raven and a superb booted eagle atop a dovecote, plus lesser kestrel at Otero de Sariego .Cormorant and otter were seen at the Rio Esla.

Ruth and Story's first wolf watch on the evening of 4th April was interesting with red and roe deer able to be watched clearly through the telescopes. The next morning Ruth, Story and John were excited by the skittish behaviour of the many red deer, as these creatures often serve as a barometer for wolf presence.

Photo: Story Warren

 The deer were rushing around in a type of panic which later subsided with a few left to play fight. Roe deer came into view plus good clear views of coal tit and two red kites. Ruth and Story found some excellent  wolf, deer, wild boar and badger tracks during their tracking that day plus fresh wolf scat, and a highlight of the day was a stunning sub-adult golden eagle flying just above them,carrying unidentified prey, along the Boya/Cional road.

Traditional farming methods happening just outside Ruth and Story's hotel.

The evening wolf-watch of 5th April began with a perky red fox popping up and down, in sight then out of sight, plus stags and roe deer and Story located a party of five wild boar in the decreasing evening light so we shared that view until darkness stopped our searching. Earlier that evening Ruth had also been fascinated by her find of several pine processionary moth caterpillars moving together in their line along the track looking extremely snake-like as is the intention.

There were two foxes at the viewing site the next morning and plenty of red deer plus some roe deer. One red deer could be identified several times during the tour because at that stage it had only lost one antler.

The date of Friday April 7th 2017 will remain highlighted in Ruth and Story's calendar as the day of their first Iberian wolf.But not just one, rather three individuals over the course of this day's wolf watches. At first, everyone at the morning watch was concentrating on a very large wild boar with its persistent foraging for food but John spotted a large wolf inside the wood.  A short stand-off occurred between the wild boar and the wolf before the wild boar went on its way and the wolf moved off to the right.
During the evening watch  another wolf, probably a female, was spotted in the heather fairly close to our watching site as it trotted in beautiful evening sunlight resolutely towards the edge of the wood. The heather there was low and we could all watch its progress through the vegetation, up onto the track and eventually to disappear into the darker depths of the trees. Relaxed smiles were on everyone's faces but our sightings for that night were not finished yet! Not long after this sighting we were all watching the large form of the dark male wolf in the gloom of the pine wood as it moved in measured steady pace between the tree. What a day!

In between these amazing wolf encounters John, Story and Ruth had enjoyed a fabulous trip to the Douro Gorge where they watched a spectacular display of a golden eagle mobbing a griffon vulture, tumbling down into the gorge only to regain aerial composure and return to the horizon to display to an interested female.

Egyptian Vulture. Photo; Story Warren.

The gorge also afforded everyone very close views of three Egyptian vultures, hoopoe with its crest erect, red-billed chough on three occasions with one particular pair flying very close by giving their characteristic "chow" call, red-rumped swallow, lovely views of crag martin, white stork, booted eagle, short-toed eagle, blue rock thrush, Iberian shrike, woodchat shrike and Moorish gecko. The following video shows one of the several griffon vultures with young on the crags at the gorge.

Ruth and Story were able to photograph a large, ocellated lizard and some Iberian water frogs plus black kite during explorations in the Gallegos area and then they moved on to enjoy the very pretty villages with fruit trees in full bloom. A most interesting walk behind these seemingly calm hamlets meant a hissing encounter for John, Ruth and Story with a Lataste's viper!

Ruth wrote the following testimonial about their Watching for Wolves tour and we are happy that our work here can elicit such good feelings and memories.

"For anyone who longs to really get away to experience nature, exotic wildlife and birds, culture at its oldest and finest, and some of the nicest people in the world, this is the trip to take. My daughter and I were treated to a custom exploration of the land of wolves in Spain, with morning and evening “stakeouts” to try to view wolves, and afternoon adventures to neighboring villages and Portugal. We did see wolves! And we met the local rangers, and learned much about how the Iberian wolf survives alongside humans and livestock in Northern Spain.  The sights were beautiful everywhere we went.  We have never seen so many enormous birds: Bustards, golden eagles, Egyptian vultures, white storks and more.  John is an expert birder and naturalist. The local people are welcoming, happy, and loud! The Remesal Hotel where we stayed was just lovely, and breakfast and dinner were delicious local foods.  John and Margaret are the best hosts ever, and we miss them already."   

During Easter week John and I went to Zamora to watch the film Cantabrico which is lauded as a " deep look into the hidden secrets of a wonderful place of the world." It demonstrates the beauty in all seasons of the Iberian peninsula and its variety of wildlife, with some particularly harrowing but mesmerizing footage of a pack of Iberian wolves bringing down a feisty stag.

At this time too John spotted a first for us in this area; an avocet wading and swimming in the lake at Cional.

The 20/23rd April saw the International Congress on " Wolf Management and Conservation in North America and Europe; An Unresolved Conflict." hosted at Puebla de Sanabria and John attended the whole congress.  He felt privileged to be the guide chosen to take Dr. David Mech amongst  others out on a wolf watch on the morning of Saturday 22nd April. The course was well attended and different viewpoints were aired and discussed in a constructive atmosphere.  As well as David Mech, there was an impressive field of speakers from around the globe and space limits me as I highlight only a few ; Dr Shannon Barber-Meyer, ( USA), Dr. Djuro Huber, ( Croatia), Dr. Juan Carlos Blanco Gutierrez (Spain),  Dr. Andrea Amici (Italy),Dr. Francisco Petrucci-Fonsecca ( Portugal) and Dr. Jose Angel Arranz Sanz (Spain).

Another busy month and I have enjoyed sharing these experiences with you here. Already as I publish this, John is experiencing great success with our Browsing for Bears tours in Asturias and I shall be highlighting some of the fantastic videos and photos from these tours in the next newsletter....already looking forward to it!

(With thanks to John and Janet for the use of their list and to Story for the use of three of her photos.)

Margaret. May 11. 2017.