Spanish Travels Part Two, El Pinillio

El Pinillio is the name of the station where I get the train to before beginning my strenuous hike up through the pinewoods and on up into the mountains. It can be hard work in all senses but this year turned out to be rather more interesting than in some previous visits.

Bonelli's Warbler and Little Owl.

Having walked up to edge of the town I found myself at the first of the pines where two Hoopoes were feeding beneath. Passing through the tunnel under the motorway brought me into the woods proper and resulted in the sighting of a pair of Long-tailed Tits. These are pretty scarce around here or at least have been in the past but today I saw several other pairs. Today was in fact something of a tit fest as I also caught up with Coal, Crested and Great. This trip was also far better for Bonelli's Warblers than usual, most years I don't see any whatsoever but this time around I saw them in three different locations. I watched at least two feeding amongst the pines but couldn't say if they were migrants or resident. At least two separate Turtle Doves were displaying, so good to see them doing well. The dominant bird son in the woods is Chaffinch though the rattling song of Sardinian Warblers runs them close.

Thekla Lark and Stonechat.

Leaving the woods behind and entering into more open country brought a different selection of  birds to enjoy. A pair of Thekla Larks showed well while Linnets proved to be common, they seem to prefer higher levels here in Summer at least. Continuing on and I flushed a Little Owl which flew into a rock crevice and glared at me from within. Higher up I found a pair of Black Wheatears evidently nesting in a rock fissure, I didn't want to disturb them so there are no photos this time around. I reached the summit of the closest (and smallest!) mountain before turning around as it was beginning to get a little on the warm side.

Crossbill and Greenfinch.

Retracing my steps brought me back under the road and also to several Crossbills which were feeding on the buds of a deciduous tree on the edge of town. Even reaching the train station did not bring an end to the interesting sightings as I enjoyed watching a few Red-rumped Swallows collecting mud for their nests before my train arrived.

Red-rumped Swallows.