In a previous post. on Little Bustard, I wrote about various areas where the species might be looked for in the province. I ended by piece by adding that “One final area that deserves mention … the track that runs from the A2228 to Malcocinado. ….. With so many places to explore, I never got round to exploring this track until last year. However, a local birdwatcher told me that this was a good area for Little Bustard. I’ve not yet seen them here, but the habitat does look suitable and worth a look”. I even showed where it was on the map that was posted with that entry.
'Painted Fields' near Benalup
My initial sortie along this track had been one very hot day in the late summer not long after being encouraged to look there for bustards by local birder Luis-Mi. Not surprisingly, I didn’t see any bustards. This spring, however, I hoped to have a closer look, but given the hours I’d spent in the field looking in previous years I wasn’t too optimistic about my chances. Not that I was despondent as the whole area was so densely carpeted with bright purple, yellow and pink flowers that it was impossible to contemplate the view without feeling cheerful.
Map of area
As usual my first stop when driving along the road (CA 2228) from Alcala was ‘Benalup Bridge’ (a). Here the dense eucalypts conceal a large colony of House Sparrows amongst which a few Spanish Sparrow are adept at concealing themselves. Exactly how adept I fully appreciated after 10 minutes fruitlessly looking! So thinking this not a good omen, I turned onto the track (b) and headed for another large clump of gum trees. Still no Spanish Sparrows, but Melodious Warblers showed well and a couple of Iberian Green Woodpeckers couldn’t resist laughing at my antics. This was a good sign as they were the first I’d seen in this area and evident signs of their slow expansion south. A calling Quail helped too!
Passing the track on the right (c) I made a mental note to check this out at some point. Given how long it’d taken me to explore the track I was driving down and how good the area now looked, I didn’t want to leave it too long! Inevitably most of the birds along the track proved to be either Corn Buntings or Stonechat - both ubiquitous in the area. Equally inevitably, the excellent track soon went down with that chronic Spanish condition … ruts! So with progress straight on somewhat compromised, I turned left back up towards the A225 as the track here still looked good. But I didn’t get too far before a superb Montagu’s Harrier persuaded me to stop. Scanning round it wasn’t long before I picked up a Little Bustard flying with an oddly crabbed wingbeat over a distant field! Result! Well not entirely since Robin, my companion that day, somehow missed it … and it was a lifer!
Passing the track on the right (c) I made a mental note to check this out at some point. Given how long it’d taken me to explore the track I was driving down and how good the area now looked, I didn’t want to leave it too long! Inevitably most of the birds along the track proved to be either Corn Buntings or Stonechat - both ubiquitous in the area. Equally inevitably, the excellent track soon went down with that chronic Spanish condition … ruts! So with progress straight on somewhat compromised, I turned left back up towards the A225 as the track here still looked good. But I didn’t get too far before a superb Montagu’s Harrier persuaded me to stop. Scanning round it wasn’t long before I picked up a Little Bustard flying with an oddly crabbed wingbeat over a distant field! Result! Well not entirely since Robin, my companion that day, somehow missed it … and it was a lifer!
Driving back along the track I spotted a peculiar insect rapidly crawling across the track. Having seen a dead one a few days previously I impressed myself by instantly identifying it as a Mole Cricket which, despite not being a bird was something I'd always wanted to see! A bizarre cross between a normal cricket and a bulldozer the wee beastie quickly lived up to its reputation by boring into the loose and and out of sight. One of the best moments of the holiday as far as i was concerned!
Benalup (d) - here be Little Bustards ....
Robin never did see the species there, but there was a handsome consolation prize the following day in the shape of six Little Bustards on our jaunt to the Osuna (Seville) area. These birds (viewed from the second bridge over the new high speed trainline west of Osuna) put on a fantastic display, but some disappointment persisted as, once again, I dipped on Great Bustard here.
Roll on a week and I had two more birding buddies, Jim and Allan out for a visit. This time I knew exactly were to go and not much more than 30 minutes after leaving the house we arrived at the same spot. This time a couple of Little Bustards showed well – both in flight and on the ground with a possible third gently blowing raspberries of appreciation! Several Montagu’s Harrier desperately tried, and failed, to upstage the bustards which, given Allan is nuts about these raptors was pretty impressive! A tick for both and a great start to the day.
Roll on a week and I had two more birding buddies, Jim and Allan out for a visit. This time I knew exactly were to go and not much more than 30 minutes after leaving the house we arrived at the same spot. This time a couple of Little Bustards showed well – both in flight and on the ground with a possible third gently blowing raspberries of appreciation! Several Montagu’s Harrier desperately tried, and failed, to upstage the bustards which, given Allan is nuts about these raptors was pretty impressive! A tick for both and a great start to the day.
There's a Little Bustard in here somewhere ... honest!
Later in the week we returned to look at the other end of the valley (which you can approach from Los Badalejos or Malcocinado) to look for the phantom raspberry blowers. One of the advantages of looking for the species in spring is that they regularly, if vulgarly, indicate their presence by a soft, yet far carrying, 'brrrrp'! Hence it didn’t take long to locate another 2 or 3 birds. These included one male that was thrusting it head out above a glorious sea of pink flowers; an image I’ll not forget in a hurry! Nor did I forget to explore that other track (c). This solid well maintained track twisted and turned its way up into the hills passing much habitat that deserved a closer look. Then, just as it reached a wide open bowl set between a couple of low ridges, the track lost patience with us and metamorphosed into the drover’s road from hell with deep water filled ruts attractively set off by large clumps of grass. Roads do things like this in Spain! Given that we’d seen a distant procession of BoPs (Griffon Vultures, Honey Buzzards, Black Kites, Booted and Short-toed Eagles) drifting over these hills all morning I made a mental note to return for a raptor watching session at a later date .,.. but that will have to wait until next year.
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