Coto Donana & the Alentejo with Bird Holidays 28th April - 5th May - Part 2 Mertola

Driving from Huelva we followed the coast road in to Portugal, crossing the Rio Guadiana then heading north to Mertola which is also on the Guadiana.

Mertola

We made  brief stop at a bridge over the river and added Blue Rock Thrush and a small lizard, the Large Psammodromus.

Large Psammodromus

After dropping off our bags at the well placed Hotel Museu we did a short trip around some of the upland meadows of the Alentejo. 

flower fields of the Alentejo

The flowers were spectacular but so were the birds and we soon added Little Bustard and Thekla Larks to our growing list.

Little Bustard

The Little Bustard was inevitably distant but still gave good views through a telescope, especially when it puffed out its throat in display and jumped in the air.
Both Crested Lark and Thekla Larks occur here so their separation is quite a challenge! The Thekla Lark has a shorter, stubbier bill and has darker black markings on its breast but you would need to spend some time here to grasp the subtleties of the two species.

Thekla Lark

Back at the hotel we could now see several occupied Lesser Kestrel nest boxes on the side of buildings below the castle. Something to check out tomorrow!
The following morning we set off towards Castro Verde and had not driven far before a large bird of prey appeared against the hillside; an immature Spanish Imperial Eagle. It was being mobbed by a female Montagu's Harrier but dropped away from us over the top of the hill and was lost to view. A little further on we followed the track at Monte del Aprica where nest boxes have been erected for Roller and Lesser Kestrel. We saw at least three pairs of Roller but stayed in the vehicle as we passed the nest boxes to minimise disturbance of what is becoming an increasingly rare bird in Europe.

Roller

As we watched from a safe distance one bird flew in the air and twisted from side to side in a display flight that gives the bird it name.
More Little Bustards and several Great Bustard were seen against the hillside and there strange mating calls carried across the grasslands. A party of around 30 Black-bellied Sandgrouse broke the skyline and circled before dropping out of view. At the visitor centre at Herdade de Vale Goncalinho we saw more Lesser Kestrel in man made nest holes and a single Red Kite. After lunch we drove a little further and a lone bird of prey circling over the hillside turned out to be a migrating Honey Buzzard.

Honey Buzzard

We heard several Wryneck in both Spain and Portugal but finally found a bird sitting in the open on a dead tree and calling repeatedly that everyone managed to see.

Wryneck

In the evening I returned to the Lesser Kestrel nest boxes at Mertola. The birds were out hunting during the day but returned to the nest boxes to roost which gave a good opportunity for some photos.

Lesser Kestrel - adult male

Lesser Kestrel - malereturning to the nest box with a large millipede

Lesser Kestrel - female

It was an early start the following morning, we did a similar route to yesterday but setting out at 06:30. The birds were more active at this time of day and one of the birds we were keen to see rewarded us as first one Great Spotted Cuckoo, followed by a second bird crossed the road and landed together on the hillside.

Great Spotted Cuckoo - a pair

As we drove further on we came across a pale buzzard sat on a low hill. It was clearly a Long-legged Buzzard of the North African race cirtensis the so called Atlas Long-legged Buzzard. They are smaller than the Eastern race I have seen in Turkey and Greece and lack the long, narrower winged appearance of that bird. Confusingly intergrades occur with Common Buzzard, called the Gibraltar Buzzard so its difficult to know if this was a pure Long-legged Buzzard on our views, it was rather tatty in any case.

Long-legged Buzzard

Close by a female Great Bustard popped up by the roadside and had a good look at us before walking off to a safe distance.

Great Bustard - female

A visit to the river at Pulo do Lobo produced Crag Martin sat on its cup shaped nest and both Rock and Cirl Buntings. 

Pulo do Lobo

We also had several Woodlark singing by the entrance gates which circled overhead whilst delivering their lovely song. 
All too soon the day was over bringing our bird filled week to an end but with some fantastic experiences, memories and great company.