As I type, we are over the English Channel, having waved goodbye to Exeter, thirty-seven thousand feet below. A quick zip over the channel, and then passing over Brittany, and on to Bilbao, Madrid and finally Malaga. After touchdown it will be pointing the rental car in the direction of Sierra de Grazalema. We are spending a fortnight on the margins of the Parc Nacional, staying in a villa, perched on the side of the mountain, placed to receive the golden combo of raptor passage, sunshine and cerveza.
I have been
researching eBird for a couple of weeks and armed with John Cantelo’s guide and
the Natural History guide to Western Andalucia, I hope to explore, despite the
heat and limitations of Covid-19. I will be keeping a record of the passage and
hoping to update the blog every day or two. Allied with this, my daughter
Isabelle is keen that I endeavour to find some of the local herpetofauna and
doubtless there will be butterflies aplenty.
Our
adventure began this morning with a 2am wakeup call. Extracting an 11-year-old
and a 9-year-old from their beds was tricky but within 30 minutes we were
upright and suitably caffeinated. The trip over to Leeds Bradford from East
Yorkshire was interrupted by no fewer than four Tawny Owls, one of which
was feasting on a rabbit carcass in the road on Garreby Hill. Five Red Foxes
were seen in Leeds, including a couple playing on a verge. We stopped,
showing the kids these two, seemingly oblivious to our attentions. Before long
we were parked at the airport and ready for our travels. After a challenging
year thus far with my health, it is fantastic to feel much better and I am
hopeful that my various ailments are resolving. Feeling better than I have in
nearly 6 months I cant wait for the first raptor from the veranda. Now, first
bird, what do you think? Feral pigeon or house sparrow?
