ESTEPAS DE YECLA

ESTEPAS DE YECLA

After the comfortable birding of Alicante’s wetland wonderland at Clot we decided to ‘do the miles’ and go inland. It's not difficult, but it requires time and effort. We gave it both and we enjoyed it. We knew we would need a siesta. Our usual turn off-point on A 31 for Claudette is easy to follow, but the topography of the area has been transformed. Mountains of earth have been moved and sit in large embankments with new roads already open. It's a massive job and the same applies to Caudette road with more work going on there and who is footing the bill?

Estepas de Yecla we knew was going to get very hot and so we made an exceptionally early start and arrived there before 7am and before the sun cracked the top of the ridge. It was our earliest breakfast on ‘the job’ too as we ate banana cake and zipped our tea in a freezing 17C! By then our birding had already started. A Stone Curlew flew over and another one was spotted in a field.

Our first stop immediately yielded two Ravens with a third flying away.  Three Mistle Thrushes were on display near a line of pines. Wood Pigeons seemed to be everywhere. We heard a Common Buzzard and also Great Spotted Cuckoos were heard as well. Then two flew and eventually the cameraman got his shot. Magpies were also evident here.This has always been a good spot for us to stop and see birds. An Iberian Green Woodpecker called and we later saw two more in different locations. Goldfinches and Linnet were easily heard and seen. Somewhere a Greenfinch ‘trilled’. We viewed only one Bee-eater all day!

We moved on seeing a plethora of rabbits, domestic and feral pigeons with some Collared Doves.

Soon we were amongst fields of cabbages and this seems to be the normal crop at the Caudette end of the valley. The edges of the fields were covered in dry vegetation but signs of life were minimal.

We looked at an old Bee-eater nesting area and that was devoid of life with not even a Rock Sparrow present. However there was a large pile of plastic tubing that had been used for irrigation and was now dumped. I will investigate the chances of it being recycled.

CORN CRAZY

On previous occasions the rocky fields near the buildings were just that rocky fields. On this visit we could see that it had been planted with corn which had now been harvested. We wondered at the value and cost of sowing marginal land with crops. Further on even more corn and it was clear to us that the birds that we can see here are elsewhere as the habitat has changed. We did not see a single Wheatear, but had terrific views of Little Owls. A Buzzard flew across.

We expected to see numerous larks but we had to make do with a few Crested, the odd Calandra but we did have some good sightings of Short Toed. We will have to wait until the summer is over for viewing all the Larks that are normally here. Later a Golden Oriel called distantly and was our first for this year together with GS Cuckoos. On one occasion we could hear Pin-tailed Sandgrouse calling from three different points but not one did we see. We know they are there and it could have been possible to hear Quail, but we didn't.

Traveling slowly on through this valley we saw very little and so we carried on to the other end where we have previously viewed Golden Eagles but not today. In fact our peace was broken by lorries delivering animal manure. It looks as though another stony field will be planted but that is much better than tons of artificial fertiliser!

On the return we included a loop that brought us back and around the farm buildings that is a well known nesting site for Lesser Kestrels. We saw and heard Combine Harvesters at work and then we saw, and counted, at least nine Kestrels flying above a machine. The photograph will prove that they were Lesser and their feeding habits indicate the same. We saw them too, flying to and from, the farm buildings and suspected they were feeding young.

We did not have a great list from today, but the GS Cuckoos and the number of flying and feeding Lesser Kestrels made up for any disappointment. Habitats do change and we will have to work with that and see how it all pans out for the birds as we approach autumn. The grain eaters should be well fed and that could bode well for sandgrouse. 

Absentees includes Chough (perhaps in the mountains), jackdaws and crows, wheatears were totally absent and only one Woodchat Shrike, and that is unusual for they are normally easily seen. Eagles were absent too, but we did have one un-identified distant raptor. Nevertheless it was good to get out, feel the space and see birds.