to this cute Bluethroat
We were there in late spring, while love was in the still in the air for some species
For others their interactions were not as friendly,
with even the mild mannered rabbits turning aggressive
Notice how the rabbit’s coat blended into the background. It makes it harder for their predators (hawks, eagles, etc) to see them, increasing their odds of survival.
As usual for us, we also chased vultures. While most people consider vultures to be ugly, when you see them up-close they can be quite interesting
And even when they have only 1 head they are magnificent
This trip featured a lot of hides like this, where the bait was carefully laid out
which attracted a lot of uninvited poachers
Even when the invited diners showed up , some got greedy which their friends didn’t like
Some of the birds have already hatched their brood and heavy into feeding them, like this Little Owl, who we watch for an hour as he went hunting, and was successful more than once
Other birds were also actively hunting for food for their young, like this Eurasian Moorhen
A highlight was seeing ‘cousins’ of three of our favorite African birds who were spending their summers in the area. While these birds are different species in Africa and Iberia, they look pretty much the same, and all are as colorful as a tropical bird
European Roller (in Africa the Lilac-breasted Roller)
Crested Hoopoe (In Africa the African Hoopoe)
European Bee-eater (20 different species in Africa)
Seeing these ‘African’ birds reminded us how glad we are that we had scheduled an African trip next September.