Pendleton Pages

Bird List, Capileira, Spain, 4-6 June 2010

Capileira

Along trail above town

Above Cebadilla

Alpine broom scrub

Goats in alpine area

Capileira is a village at 4700' on the slopes of the Sierra Madre in the Andalucia province of southern Spain. I spent three nights and two full days there in early June and hiked up into the mountains both days. On our first day we hiked up the valley via trail and road to the powerplant on the Rio Poqueira, then up along the feedstock pipeline to its source, then up to the ridge at about 8900' before descending to the trail along the Rio Poqueira and back to town. On our second day I did a little birding in the pine oak woods above town before breakfast, then did an afternoon hike up from the Puenta Bushite to a rock outcrop at about 8400' on the ridge across the river from the town.
Saw or heard 33 species altogether. The weather was mostly sunny, 55-80F.

SpeciesNotes Golden Eagle 1 Camara de Carga, 7800'. Dark eagle carrying stick Booted Eagle 1 Circling over town in AM Common Kestrel 2 Hunting over open alpine terrain 8500' Red-legged Partridge12 Flushed singly or in pairs in open and semi-open areas from 4000' to 8000' Rock Dove Common in town Woodpigeon Individuals and groups of 2-3 flying overhead in wooded areas up to 7500' Cuckoo 1 Open oak slopes Scop's Owl 1 Heard calling at night above town, Med pitch "tiuu" every 2 seconds or so Common Swift 10 Over town Thekla Lark 2 Crested lark in alpine terrain Crag Martin 1 steep slopes House Martin 5 in town Tawny Pipit 2 alpine areas Pied Wagtail 2 Near town in open area Wren 2 Heard in dense vegetation in stream gullies Robin 2 Heard in dense vegetation Black Redstart 3 Open areas w/ cliffs or buildings, 4800-8800'. Feeding young at Camara de Carga. Northern Wheatear 2 Pair at 8000' in alpine scrub and grasses Black-eared Wheatear 2 Pair along pipeline at 5500' in dry meadows and scrub. Buff back, white rump, black wings and mask. Mistle Thrush 2 Pine woods edge above town. Large thrush, gray-brown above with spotted flanks and dark around eye. Blackbird 5 Common in woods and shrubby habitats Blackcap 1 Oak woods Western Bonelli's Warbler2 Pine oak woods. Olive brown above, pale gray below (perhaps w/ hint of yellow). Faint pale line through eye, slightly darker line above eye. Rump and wing somewhat more greenish/yellowish than upper body. Song a semi-musical junco-like trill, ~1 second long, variable. Hovers occasionally while foraging. Firecrest 2 In cypress near La Cebedilla Coal Tit 4 Pines near Camara de Carga, also in oaks Blue Tit 1 in broom Jay 1 Oaks Magpie 2 River canyon Chough 7 Mostly up high but also down by powerplant in oak woods. Red bill, square wings, nasal "wheeah" calls. Usually in pairs. House Sparrow Abundant in town Chaffinch 10 Common in areas w/ trees Rock Sparrow 2 Pair on fence at Camara de Carga, plumage and size like Pine Siskin Serin 3 Open woods & terraces in river valley Rock Bunting 4 Open brushy areas