Black Vultures

The final day was spent in the mountains of the Sierra Aracena, another part of the Seirra Morena, north of and between Seville and Huelva. Much of the habitat was similar to the Sierra Norte, though there appeared to be more chestnut trees in the area. Here we had more success with amphibians, finding Bosca’s Newt and Southern Marbled Newt in a pond near Alajar. Many of the bird species were the same, with woodland birds abundant.

Once more, as the day drew on, the vultures took to the air, and this led to the highlight of the holiday. We parked near a view point, with the road heavily wooded on either side. If the birds had flown in any other direction, at best they would have been a glimpse of a second or two, at worst we would have missed them altogether. Fortunately they flew right down the road towards us, not more than twice the height of the trees, and with the sun right on them. They were huge birds, like giant eagles, with black, broad underwings with long fingers, and their pale feet stood out. Black Vultures, and a good enough view to age them as adults, we watched them for several minutes as they gained height and soared over us, and then suddenly we noticed more birds flying down the road to join them. These were clearly Griffons, and they provided excellent comparison. In the end there were about 10 birds soaring together, gaining height until they were little more than dots, but the Black Vultures always seemed to remain a little seperate from the rest, seemingly not wishing to associate with the riff raff.

The following day it was back to the airport at Faro, and the flight back to Liverpool, but not before we had one last look at the fabulous Caspian Terns at Praia de Faro. The holiday ended as it had begun, with some quality birding.