There is a pond to the north of Daimiel not far from the Tablas de Daimiel National Park called the Laguna de Navaseca. It’s not very big but is always full of life. It is a delightful place for any birder, or even one not so interested, who loves to […]
BIRDS
Bearded Reedlings – a Year Round Resident One of my favourite passerines is the elusive, but well worth the effort of finding, Bearded Reedling (Panurus biarmicus), also known as the Bearded Tit but it is not a Tit, which is a year-round resident in Castilla la Mancha, Central Spain. They […]
On Wednesday night I had a brief dream about Spoonbills. I don’t know why, maybe because it was coming up to International Wetlands Day. Who knows? I did however wonder about how one might interpret it. I knew I had seen Eurasian Spoonbills (Platalea leucorodia) and taken photos of them in […]
As mentioned in my previous post about Calatrava la Vieja, the Knights of Calatrava moved from near Carrión de Calatrava to their new castle near Calzada de Calatrava in 1217. It is a most impressive structure high on a rocky hill overlooking a pass through the mountains from the Sierra […]
Castilla la Mancha in central Spain is a great place for birding, of that there is no doubt. However there is more to the region than just birds. Here in the first of a series of entries about the regions cultural richness I will start with the first part of […]
A Booted Eagle goes Hunting I was out at the house/building site yesterday and as I was watching the workmen skimming walls with cement something far more exciting was happening 50 metres away over the park. Now, I didn’t have my big camera with me so these shots are from […]
The burst banks of the Guadiana, where I sat for my interview. Approximately 40km west of Ciudad Real on the “road to Portugal” lies Luciana at the point where the Rivers Bullaque and Guadiana meet. It’s a picturesque spot, popular with families who like to go there for a picnic […]
Oretani Wildlife is based in a village called Picón in an area called Montes, which is a comarca, or region of Ciudad Real made up of a few small towns and pueblos or villages. Known formally as Montes, the area has set up an association between the towns and villages […]
Walking in the Atalaya just over a week ago, a park on the outskirts of town, I came across something which I thought really had no place there, nor anywhere for that matter – a bird trap! Trap in a public park It was made from fine chicken wire with […]
Pied Flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca) I had just been explaining to Mrs. HibernoManchego this past weekend what an LBJ was. An LBJ, if you don’t know, is what birders tend to use when referring to the many passerine birds of less notable plumage that are somewhat lacking colours that are not […]