 minutes rest. En route, we saw Common Kestrel, Spotless Starling, Dunnock, Common Buzzard and a Stonechat on the wire. At the Villardeciervos layby, three Red-legged Partridge ran across the road.
We reconvened at 18:20 for a wolfwatch at la pista this time in bright light with a temperature of 18'C, although a cool wind made it feel distinctly less than this. There was about 50% cloud cover. Unlike last night, when what has been dubbed "Shirley's corner" provided the excitement of a speedy wolf, this evening we were only subjected to a clear view of a male cyclist dismounting to urinate at the very spot where our fleeting view had been, totally unaware of several sets of eyes, binoculars and telescopes. Two local Guardia Civil, regular attenders at local wolfwatching sites, arrived at 19:20.It is indeed good to discuss sightings with them and to realise the interest shown in wildlife tourism by the community, Jim was just getting into his "If I was a wolf" mode when we saw a movement around the rendez-vous site, but it was the male Hen Harrier floating effortlessly as two Ravens moved less silently overhead. By 20:10 the light was fading, but we still enjoyed a good sight of a Nightjar on the track as we returned to our base for a satisfying dinner of chicken noodle soup, chops and chips followed by homemade yoghurt dessert served with local Culebra honey.
Monday 15th October.
This was a cool morning of 3'C but very litlte chill factor so we settled down near Villardeciervos for our morning watch. There was a lot of deer noise, Stags roaring and Roe Deer barking, plus sounds of Iberian Green Woodpecker and Crossbill, as a flock of noisy Carrion Crows blustered across the sky. After noting Blackbird, Dartford Warbler, Jay and Common Buzzard, we were all interested in the sound of a Roe Deer barking for several minutes, with increasing urgency, and we marvelled as the sound echoed around this veritable amphitheatre of a valley. We all felt honoured to be part of the awakening of the countryside as the sun began to streak across the forest and fields by 08:50 and although there had been no wolf action, we appreciated such peace at the start of our day. During breakfast we discovered that the only creature caught on the stealth camera was a wild boar.
Once at Aldeia Nova where Jim felt the urge to do a spot of blood 'n thunder preaching at the little outdoor pulpit below the circling of distant vultures, we all enjoyed the sunshine and isolation of this incredible spot, and Crag Martin and Rock Sparrow were flying close to hand. Joep heard Cirl Bunting and Blue Rock Thrush whilst John heard Chough. The stroll to a different angled viewpoint delivered good sights of Iberian Wall Lizard and delicate Fritilleries. Just as we were returning to our vehicles,two majestic Golden Eagles soared into sight and we stood under the almond trees for several minutes as the magnificent pair soared, then dropped at speed performing their goldenball dives in sheer enjoyment, revelling in their ability to achieve such aerial stunts. We had to drag ourselves away and leave these awesome birds who were still putting on their performance as we wound our way up the track towards the road for Miranda de Duoro.
Lunch was a slap-up 3 course meal at Miranda de Duoro...or the" town of a thousand towel shops" as Shirley rechristened it... and we enjoyed watching Common Kestrel from our table as the conversation flowed.
We were at la pista by 19:22 however, spotting a Jay flying across the track and soon a cheery Dartford Warbler came close up to greet us. There were some impressive Stags on the track which we watched with interest, but secretly wishing it were a Wolf! The evening seemed to call out for a nightdrive, which was fun to do but reaped only one Nightjar and one leaf masquerading as a salamander. Such a clear night, in such an area free from light pollution, also demanded that we stopped just to look upwards to attempt to take in the myriad of stars, including a very obvious Milky Way, and we just had to continue to be out on such a night. So as we watched Pipstrelle Bats flying around the village church, we could actually hear some of their calls,and just as we were wondering as to the amount of insect life around at this time of year for them, one lucky individual snatched a large moth right in front of us!
Quite an eventful day and despite our excellent lunch, we still managed to do justice to Antonio's courgette soup, chicken and chips and custard pudding.
Tuesday 16th October.
07:50 8'C It was a bit of a misty start at la pista, and we were cheered by the regular Black Redstart just outside our hotel door. Nothing much was to be seen, until at 09:00 6 hinds and a stag were spotted moving in the heather then crossing the track in good view. One hind remained further back, looking wary, sniffing the air. There were sounds of stag roaring as the mist slowly lifted, then silence. Even a pine cone dropping in the copse behind us created a frisson of expectation. The morning chirrups of small birds, their behaviour being confused by the resolute low cloud, broke the weighty silence and we were able to hear Crossbills amongst other calls. Just as a Raven flew noisily across our view at 9:30, a hind ran across the heather looking very ill-at-ease. By 9:50 we left la pista to look for evidence at Boya, where we saw Dunnock, White Wagtail and old wolf scat. As well as Red and Roe Deer tracks, however, we were interested to look at clear Wild Boar tracks with evidence of recent rooting activity.
We thought we had better have breakfast before going to check the carcase, which was a good idea as the remains were not to be viewed on an empty stomach! With Red Kite and Common Buzzard circling overhead and CarrionCrow just lifting upon our arrival, plus more pretty little specimens such as Chaffinch and Blackbird, we could see very fresh fox scat with a strong berry component and probable gorged wolf scat. Our much-heard but seldom seen Iberian Green Woodpecker put in an appearance too. The carcase was well-chewed with not a lot left; there was much evidence of Wild Boar, but not really enough now to tempt lupine palettes when there is ready meat awaiting capture in the forests. Looking at the meagre remains prompted Jim to philosophise, "If I was a Wolf......I'd go to Portugal". This was probably reflecting the wolf's protected status just over the border, but also highlighted the fact that there wasn't much to attract a wolf to this particular spot any more!
Along the road to Fleches, a shepherdess was taking her herd of well-tended cows and an impressive bull to water and fresh grazing, while an Iberian Grey Shrike looked on. There was a clear Stonechat on a roadside bush near some examples of fresh and older wolf and fox scat, plus some oldish tracks, probably wolf, amongst the many sheep tracks. We enjoyed our wander around the village of Fleches, noting a Black Redstart posing on the roof of the ancient church cross, and a male Blackcap on a fig tree. Jim spotted Dunnock, Great Tit and Grey Wagtail on the river bank while Shirley scouted out the 'Se Vende' dwellings. A Griffon Vulture and two Common Buzzards circled closely to us as we took the road back, past the abandoned slate quarry to reach the Gallegos road, with two Red Kites above us and two very ardent hunting dogs running at our car from the roadside! We saw the Wild Boar wallowing pits at the pond here, where a Grey Heron was looking hopefully for amphibians, in the company of two Mistle Thrushes, Spotless Starlings and Northern Wheatears. After seeing House Sparrows and Crested Lark in the quiet village of Gallegos del Campo, where it was remarked that there were more wheelbarrows than people, our enthusiasm was fuelled again at the sight of a Black-shouldered Kite hovering and landing by the telegraph posts by the crossroads. Our eyes were focussed on this special sight for quite a while, not giving too much attention to the low-flying Common Buzzard and Red Kite which were also present.
The abandoned quarry behind San Pedro is always worth looking at, and we watched 4 Mallard as we walked to the now defunct shooting hide at Fleches, where there was no recent wolf evidence found. Jim saw two Crossbills and a Stonechat near a junction further towards our village, where there was fairly fresh wolf scat on top of old.
Having popped in to our rooms for extra layers of clothing as the evening promised to be cool, we arrived at our watch at la pista in time to see 2 hinds and 1 calf on the track, with a Dartford Warbler calling. By 19:15 there was a big twelve-pointer Stag on the track as well. This was probably the very one that Shirley spotted at 19:40 as it re-appeared on the track and then paraded grandly into the