Day five saw us drive to the lake area of Aguilar de Campo, where artificial nest sites have been put up surrounding the lakes, and at this time of year are full of young storks. Taking a small dirt track off the main road, we came to a wild flower meadow with beautiful views over the lake. A perfect place for lunch and here we had our first view of a red kite. We enjoyed the sunshine here for most of the afternoon and were rewarded with views of black kites, griffon vultures, hoopoes, shrikes and a pairs of displaying bonelli’s eagles. Reluctantly we dragged ourselves away to face the journey home across the mountain pass in thick fog, something this area, due to its climate, is prone to. It is not much fun crawling down mountain road with sheer drops to your side and only being able to see a few feet in front of you, especially when you have to slam on your brakes as roe deer throw themselves in front of your car, but fortunately we made it home without a scratch.

Day six dawned with fog and low cloud, but after visiting the local market we decided to brave the journey to the cable car at Fuente De. On our last visit we had not made the trip due to the snow, and we thought that we were going to thwarted again. However as we arrived the clouds began to thin, and the mountainside was bathed in sunshine. The cable car ride is amazing, covering 800 metres in three minutes, and the views from the top are stunning. Almost immediately you start to walk up the mountain paths, it resembles a scene from Hitchcock’s The Birds, when you are surrounded by alpine choughs, obviously looking for titbits from the tourist’s picnics. Here griffons and Egyptians are constantly crossing in front of you between the mountain peaks, and it is amazing that they do not fly into the cable car wires. Unfortunately due to recent back surgery I was unable to carry on the walk, and left Ashley and Jane to carry on the mountain trek. I, on the other hand, became the official Picos photographer, taking images on every couple's and group's cameras in front of the mountains, and spending most of my time telling American tourists that the griffons were not eagles. However the adventurers completed a three hour walk through stunning alpine meadows with views of shrikes and snow finches, however the elusive wall creeper that can be found in that area eluded them.

Day seven and yet more fog! We decided to brave the long drive to the village of Covadonga, where at the viewpoint of Mirador de la Reina there is a vulture feeding station. A short walk from here can also be found the glacier lakes of Enol and Ercine whose images grace most of the visitor guides. On our last visit we had to turn back from the twisty mountain road that leads you there as blizzard like conditions made it impossible to drive . However it seems that we are doomed never to see this site because, despite seeing several griffons in the air as we travelled up the road, the fog became thicker and thicker. We bravely crawled up the hill and made it to the feeding station, further than we had travelled before, but struggled to even see the cows that were a few inches in front of us, let alone feeding vultures. We stayed for a while in the hope the sun would burn through, but to no avail, so we reluctantly turned back and decided to visit Covadonga Zoo. This is a small collection, but with an incredible range of birds both native and more exotic. However the conditions they are kept in leave a lot to be desired, and make you appreciate the exacting standards that we have to meet for our zoo licence in this country. On leaving it appeared that the clouds had lifted, but again halfway up the hill the fog was just as heavy, we and we finally had to admit defeat.

Day eight - our last day, and still cloudy and foggy. We had decided to have a lazy day as we had a long trip to the airport the next day, and caught up on those best sellers that we had brought with us to read. Ashley, on the other hand, sat on the balcony peering down the telescope for views of wild boar and brown bears that can be found in the area. This had been a daily occurrence, but with no success, although he was rewarded with views of griffons, goshawk and a hobby. We decided to have one more visit to vulture rock, with views of damp looking griffon and Egyptian vultures on the cliff side vainly waiting for the weather to clear, and honey buzzards trying to find some lift. Lunch was taken at the small restaurant in Calcoa, a wonderful rustic village which looks like a village that time has forgotten. Old men sit carving walking sticks, and livestock are kept in the downstairs of family homes. We ate out several times during our stay and every meal was fresh, hearty and plain home cooking. No fancy cordon bleu here! The Spanish also like their meat, vegetarians beware, and many of the local menu of the day (a huge three course lunch often costing only a few Euros) consisted of large slabs of cured meat, and very strange lumps of animal fat and sausages. All tasted good though. The other thing to beware of is they do like to flavour it with a lot of salt!! No high blood pressure allowed here. However we do have to recommend the local white wine, which was very good considering that is a renowned red wine producing area.

Sadly the next day we were returning home and had an early 6am start, but even with our bleary eyes we managed sightings of short toed eagle returning to a nest with a huge snake in its talons to reward a waiting chick, two beech martins crossing the road, and a pair of vultures at the bottom of a steep gorge trying to climb up the hill obviously damp from the overnight rain and unable to take off
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Reference books state that there are 22 species of raptors in the area and we had managed to see 19 in 8 days, not bad going. For anyone thinking of taking a bird watching holiday I would heartily recommend this area. Not only for the stunning scenery, beautiful wild flowers, the lack of tourists, friendly locals and the wide range of bird species but for how accessible it is. For someone like me who is currently walking on crutches it is easy to get frustrated and feel left out, not being able to get to areas to see things. Everywhere is easy to drive to, and birds can be viewed within a few steps of a car, so everyone can enjoy the experience together - and what a wonderful experience it is. Of course you can be more adventurous and travel the many walks and mountain paths in the areas, and no doubt you will be rewarded with even more stunning sights.

Just don’t forget to check the weather forecasts before you go!

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