birds

[fkjaer]

When I walked from St. Jean-Pied-de-Port to Burgos in June last year I saw the following birds:

Near Port de Cize between St. Jean and Roncesvalles a couple of  _Golden Eagle_  (Aquila chrysaetos).

Between Azqueta and Los Arcos a  _Black Kite_  (Milvus migrans) was circling above a field of golden wheat.

Near Eremita de la Trinidad de Cuevas outside Logroño I saw the  _Hoopoe_  (Upupa epops) in a harvested field. I had never seen one before and didn't identify it at first because the comb of feathers on its head was not raised. It took off and joined three or four others taking off from a tree. Here in Denmark they are called 'Hærfuglen' - meaning 'the army bird' because they are very rare in Northern Europe and in days of old people regarded them a bad omen, a prediction of war.

As I entered a pedestrian tunnel under a hignway somewhere between Logroño and Burgos young birds starting chirping above me. I looked up and discovered a nest but was not able to determine what kind of bird it was. While I was standing there the adult bird returned from hunting but did not approach the nest because of my presence. It was a  _Kestrel_  (Falco tinnunculus). I backed futher into the dark of the tunnel and eventually the bird landed and fed its young ones.

Walking along the highway into Santo Domingo de la Calzada I saw 7 enormous birds circling abowe me. At first I could not make out if they were eagles or vultures, but eventually I saw the lighter brown of the front of the wings and the darker brown at the back:  _Griffon Vultures_  (Gyps fulvus) looking for animals killed by the traffic, I guess. The wingspan of the Griffon Vulture is between 2,4 and 2,8 metres (Between 8 and 9 feet)!

Like Lisa and Howard I saw lots of the  _White Stork_  (Ciconia ciconia) and their nests on top of towers and chimneys.

During earlier visits to that region of Spain I have seen lots of the  _Red Kite_  (Milvus milvus) but to my surprise I didn't see any last year. I remember also seeing the  _Golden Oriole_ (Oriolus oriolus), the  _Short-toed Treecreeper_ (Certhia brachydactyla),  _Alpine Chough_  (Pyrrhocorac graculus) and the flying jewel: the  _Bee-eater_  (Merops apiaster).


Frans.