The heatwave was forecast to ease slightly by day 4 (1st July) but it was still destined to be warm and sunny, and with the family happy to chill by the pool for the day, and me completely incapable of chilling, I made a plan with their approval for another early start to head back to Fuente De. Overnight between 30th June and 1st July the price of a ticket increased from 20 Euro to 30, but the operating times were extended slightly with the last car down at 1900, offering more time in the high mountains. I believe the operating times change again from 1 August so be sure to check this online before travelling.
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Alpine Accentor |
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Alpine Accentor |
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Alpine Accentor |
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Alpine Accentor |
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Alpine Accentor (juvenile) |
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Alpine Accentor (juvenile)
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This time I was on the first car up just after 0900 and was also the first to hike up the track towards Pena Olividada, hoping that by being so I would get more good views of alpine species before things got busier. This paid off with close views of a juvenile Alpine Accentor on the track before others started to catch up with me. A movement on the high cliffs of Pena Olividada caught my eye - but it turned out to be a couple of rock climbers scaling the intimidating rock face. Not long after though a Wallcreeper appeared on the lower slopes and although a good distance away I watched it at leisure flitting around the smooth slabs.
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Black Redstart |
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Alpine Chough |
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Alpine Chough |
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Alpine Chough |
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Alpine Chough |
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Alpine Chough |
By now others had caught up with me including a couple of Spanish birders who I spent most of the rest of the day with. One grew up in the area and told me that it was the best place in Spain to see Wallcreeper. He also advised that come noon we needed to be further along the track, taking a left fork for a couple of hundred yards at a crossroads in the track to scan the overhangs above, as the Wallcreeper often flew from Pena Olividada to this point and would be a bit closer as a result. Before doing so we had time to appreciate a large post-breeding flock of Snowfinch, with adults feedings youngsters on craneflies and other insects close to the track.
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Juvenile Chamois |
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Adult Chamois |
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Chamois |
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Chamois as it ran across the main track |
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Adult and juvenile Chamois |
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Chamois in the vast scree slope below Pena Olividada |
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A very sure-footed animal
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I followed their advice about the Wallcreeper site and tagged along but made the mistake of letting them get about 200 yards ahead of me when I paused at the crossroads in the last sliver of shade under a large boulder to break for lunch - at this point they almost stepped on a Wallcreeper as it fed on boulders in front of them! Unfortunately it didn't hang around. They showed me a small pool in the entrance to a disused mine which was apparently used by Wallcreeper for bathing, and it turned out to be a good spot to get out of the sun - the temperature in the mine must have been about 10 degrees and the cool air from within felt like aircon coming from the mountain.
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White-winged Snowfinch song-flight |
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White-winged Snowfinch (juvenile) |
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White-winged Snowfinch (adult) |
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White-winged Snowfinch (adults) |
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White-winged Snowfinch (adult) |
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White-winged Snowfinch (adult) |
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White-winged Snowfinch (adult and juvenile) |
My new friends headed back down to the cafe while I stuck it out hoping for more views of Wallcreeper. I gave up after 3 hours and started to head down but bumped into the Spanish birders on the way who were just heading back up. Again they advised that it was worth returning to the spot we had been in for about 1700 as Wallcreeper would come again once the cliffs in question went into shade. They had been right the first time so I had learnt to trust their judgement and tagged along again, staying closer this time just in case!
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Lefebvre's Ringlet |
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Lefebvre's Ringlet |
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Kestrel |
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Griffon Vulture |
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Griffon Vulture |
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Egyptian Vulture |
As we headed back up an adult Chamois with a youngster ran across our path giving great views. They had been disturbed by a couple of climbers who were sliding down a scree slope above having completed the climb I saw them attempting earlier. We arrived back at the Wallcreeper cliff and, sure enough, not long after 1700 the first Wallcreeper appeared. Unfortunately it seemed to come straight over the top of the cliff and keep going, heading back to the precipitous slopes of Pena Olividada. I watched it bounding away from me until it became little more than a dot.
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Small Tortoiseshell - these have become rare at home but quite a few were in the high mountains |
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Red-billed Chough |
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Red-billed Chough |
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Red-billed Chough |
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Painted Lady |
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Wall Lizard |
Things then went a bit quiet and my new friends taught me a neat trick of pretending to throw food out to attract Alpine Choughs, enabling more close photos in the shade which reduced the challenge of finding the right exposure. Then at about 1745 I picked up another Wallcreeper, a male, not far above us and we watched it as it fed vigorously around the cliff face. Suddenly there was a bit of a kerfuffle and a second bird, another male, arrived and chased off the first. We enjoyed extended views of this bird for the next 5 minutes until it too bounded off towards Pena Olividada, enabling a few ropey flight shots of the butterfly-like wings to be taken.
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Pena Olividada |
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Climbers on Pena Olividada |
We had an hour to get back to the cable car which was plenty of time but I strode out ahead of my Spanish friends in the hope of spending a bit more time with other alpine species around the cafe before heading down. Again I was not disappointed, with point blank views of Alpine Accentor providing excellent photo opportunities. I had a feeling I was unlikely to improve on my views of Wallcreeper from two days previous, and so it was, but I still enjoyed good views of at least 2 different males. Their brief contretemps over a stretch of cliff particularly amused me as there is plenty to go around up there!
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