Being the CEO and the Marketing Manager at the Trust, and raptors being part of our life for what seems to be 24 hours a day, you would think that for our holidays we would not want to see another feather. However, you could not be further from the truth, and in fact we love travelling the world to watch raptors in the wild. This year was no exception, and we have recently returned from a trip to the beautiful Picos De Europa in northern Spain. This was our second visit in two years, last year in April was our first, a trip that was drastically cut short when a freak weather front hit Spain and we were trapped in our mountain village apartment for 3 days. It's not much fun to open your window to see nothing but white, the car under 4 feet of snow, nothing on TV in English apart from ice skating, and all you have in the cupboard is a bottle of Fanta, two slices of ham and a couple of eggs!! A short break in the weather and the timely arrival of a snow plough led to a frantic digging out of the car, and a treacherous drive over a mountain pass in a group 'A' rented car, on sheet ice and roads that had only been cleared the width of a single car, and banks of snow either side at over 6 feet. It took nearly three hours to cover a 40-minute journey, with lots of pushing out of snow drifts, and a stiff drink at the journeys end. However we were determined to return to this beautiful area to view all the sights that we missed
.
So this June, along with falconer Jane Robinson, we returned, confidently armed with sun tan lotion and sunglasses! We landed at Valladolid airport and our first day was spent exploring the massif and plains of this area. First stop was Montealegre, a 14th century rural village that is currently undergoing a massive restoration project. We wanted to return to the church site where last year we had accidentally stumbled across a lesser kestrel colony. Imagine our disappointment when all that we found were swifts and pigeons. However, we decided to explore the rest of the village and ended up at the fortress. This was an impressive building with unrivalled views for miles over the countryside over 360 degrees. Here began our bird spotting with a linnet, a pair of hoopoes in the bushes and a short-toed eagle passing by. You can imagine our delight when suddenly a pair of lesser kestrel’s appeared from the walls of the fortress. Okay, so it wasn’t a huge colony, but it was a start.

We continued our drive across the plains, and were amazed at the number of harriers that were found there. Almost every hundred yards you came across hen, marsh and Montagu's harriers within a few feet of the road, added to this were the huge numbers of black kites wheeling about in the thermals. Two of the most amazing sights of the day were nearly 60 black kites sitting on a telephone line outside an abattoir, and an osprey flying over the middle of a small town where we stopped for an ice cream. We were travelling to the town of Benevente to stay the night, when we came across a strange, almost oriental like building in the middle of a field. As we were trying to work out what it was there was a loud bang, and suddenly almost 100 lesser kestrels took to the air. What an incredible stroke of luck! We then spent the next three hours watching these incredibly acrobatic birds catching insects on the wing and returning them to their chicks in nests under the roof tiles. What an eventful first day.

The second day was spent travelling to our base in the Picos, the village of Basieda. We decided to take all the B road routes and spent a wonderful day driving through the most beautiful countryside. It seemed that every roadside verge and field was covered in grasses and stunning wild flowers, awash with colour whichever way you looked. Of course this habitat was just a perfect wildlife location and sightings added to our list that day included ravens, a pale phase booted eagle, Montagu's harrier, honey buzzard and yet more black kites. Also in every village that we passed, every high point was occupied with a white stork nest and several large chicks. Often church spires were like high rise blocks with 3 or 4 nests stacked above each other.

Day three began with blue skies and warm sun and, after breakfast on the balcony, we travelled to a location nicknamed “Vulture Rock”, five minutes' drive from our accommodation, outside a village called Caloca. Here sits a huge granite outcrop, which is just alive with birds. Alpine choughs and ravens were constantly on the move, with their distinctive calls echoing through the valleys. From here you could watch griffon and Egyptian vultures taking to the air and using the thermals to travel off to their feeding grounds. Scanning the rock face also revealed nest cavities and several young vultures were spotted awaiting their parents' return. We spent most of the day here, before reluctantly travelling to the main town of Potes to stock up on supplies for the rest of the stay, but at least we rewarded with the views of booted eagles, sparrowhawks and even more griffon vultures on the drive there.

Day four was our major drive of the holiday, and took us on a circular route across the Cantabrian plains for a day's car tour. This began with a hair-raising drive through the Hermida Gorge, a narrow road with towering cliffs and low hanging rock faces over the road. It is not for the faint hearted, especially with lorries and camper vans racing through. It is also not helped by the shouts of Ashley saying “Look there are griffons and Egyptians up there can we stop to look”!! After finally leaving the gorge you are treated to a beautiful drive through stunning countryside, rustic villages, and no traffic. Through the route we watched buzzards, kestrels, honey buzzards and choughs over every field and even a baby red squirrel running alongside the car forcing us to slam on our brakes. Again wild flowers are everywhere and the colours and smells are just breathtaking. A favourite spot was a picnic area overlooking the village of Obeso. Here you could stretch out amongst the flowers and, whilst lying on your back, enjoy the vulture highway above. It was like a stacking system at a major airport, with flocks of griffons and Egyptian vultures constantly passing backwards and forwards above. Another highlight was stopping at the gorge outside the ruined fort at Cicera, with a picnic place with stunning views across granite valleys and peaks. However, you had to have a good head for heights, as the viewpoint was a small metal ledge that precariously stuck out of the hillside. Here you could see griffons taking off below you and watch them circling in the thermals.

A precarious vulture viewing station, but worth it for the views

Unfortunately we made the mistake of standing at the sides and looking down at them, and obviously with their fantastic eyesight they quickly moved off in the other direction. Other guests at our accommodation have said that if you sit back from the edge the vultures ride the thermals so close to you that you can touch them. Here we were also lucky to glimpse of the rare Spanish Ibex high on the mountainside.

A note of caution to anyone thinking of travelling this route, this part of Spain should have a large beware of the dog sign on it! Wherever you look you will see dogs walking along the roads, or stretched out enjoying the sun in villages. Do not make the mistake of slowing down to look at the cute ones as we did, only to be faced with a demonic dog trying to throw itself through the driver's open window to bite him, and then continue to chase the car as it drove off at high speed. Also beware of the large mastiff sheepdogs here, which you often come across on the mountain roads watching their flocks. Often they are on their own walking the sheep around the grazing area, wearing nail studded collars as protection against wolf attack. Again, do not think this would make a great photo opportunity, as the minute you step out of the car they think you are attacking their flock, and will quickly launch into attack mode.

To be continued ...

Click here for previous Behind the Scenes articles