It is motorway all the way to past Murcia and then follow the big brown signs. We were up the mountain and listening and watching for birds as we went . The temperature was surprising warm at 15 C. We had a couple of short stops on the way up that yielded nothing. We parked outside the information centre and we could hear Crossbill, Coal and Crested Tit, Chaffinch and Woodlark and Bryan’s knowledge did the translation. Our views were limited.
We moved onto a viewing point and on the way two Golden Eagles appeared briefly, but we had good views of them once we had parked. Here there were two Crossbill - either female or juvenile male - and we heard Woodlark again. However this was not our final destination as we wanted to go much higher. Our target was the ‘ice caves’ and the water source by them. It was an interesting twenty minute walk and although it was sunny and the temperature around 15C part of the track had snow and other areas were either crisp or wet. We met other birders/tourists on route and it is good to stop and chat with others as we search for birds
There was bird song and calls all around us amongst the pines. We waited for a while at the caves with not much to make the trip worth while apart from the pleasure of being there out in the mountain air. A Rock Bunting obligingly perched for the photograph and it was in full summer plumage.
A Cole Tit, Robin and Linnet showed well and up the slope there was a cacophony of sound that included the whirring Red Legged Partridges and Chough called frequently. We heard and saw flying Raven with one perched high on a ridge.
We were too late for both Mistle Thrush and Ring Ouzels and I will have to wait to next winter for them.
Wildlife apart, this Sierra and surrounding ones, have a good deal of history which can be viewed on Murcia Today and other sites. There are intact ‘ice houses’ there too and some were constructed in the 1500’s.
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