{"id":64520,"date":"2023-09-19T10:03:35","date_gmt":"2023-09-19T10:03:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/turismocabezadelbuey.com\/birding\/"},"modified":"2024-10-14T17:17:26","modified_gmt":"2024-10-14T17:17:26","slug":"birding","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/turismocabezadelbuey.com\/en\/birding\/","title":{"rendered":"Birding"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-page\" data-elementor-id=\"64520\" class=\"elementor elementor-64520 elementor-62487\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-364dd4f elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"364dd4f\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-fe30087\" data-id=\"fe30087\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4a4d224 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"4a4d224\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><!--[if lt IE 9]><script>document.createElement('video');<\/script><![endif]-->\n\t<div class=\"wp-playlist wp-video-playlist wp-playlist-light\">\n\t\t<video controls=\"controls\" preload=\"none\" width=\"1178\"\n\t\t height=\"663\"\t><\/video>\n\t<div class=\"wp-playlist-next\"><\/div>\n\t<div class=\"wp-playlist-prev\"><\/div>\n\t<noscript>\n\t<ol>\n\t\t<li><a href='https:\/\/turismocabezadelbuey.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Video-sin-titulo-\u2010-Hecho-con-Clipchamp-2.mp4'>Video-sin-titulo-\u2010-Hecho-con-Clipchamp-2<\/a><\/li>\t<\/ol>\n\t<\/noscript>\n\t<script type=\"application\/json\" class=\"wp-playlist-script\">{\"type\":\"video\",\"tracklist\":true,\"tracknumbers\":true,\"images\":true,\"artists\":true,\"tracks\":[{\"src\":\"https:\\\/\\\/turismocabezadelbuey.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/09\\\/Video-sin-titulo-\\u2010-Hecho-con-Clipchamp-2.mp4\",\"type\":\"video\\\/mp4\",\"title\":\"Video-sin-titulo-\\u2010-Hecho-con-Clipchamp-2\",\"caption\":\"\",\"description\":\"\",\"meta\":{\"length_formatted\":\"0:27\"},\"dimensions\":{\"original\":{\"width\":1280,\"height\":720},\"resized\":{\"width\":1178,\"height\":663}},\"image\":{\"src\":\"https:\\\/\\\/turismocabezadelbuey.com\\\/wp-includes\\\/images\\\/media\\\/video.png\",\"width\":48,\"height\":64},\"thumb\":{\"src\":\"https:\\\/\\\/turismocabezadelbuey.com\\\/wp-includes\\\/images\\\/media\\\/video.png\",\"width\":48,\"height\":64}}]}<\/script>\n<\/div>\n\t<\/p>\n<p>  If Extremadura is well known for being one of the ornithological paradises of Europe, within this region there are regions that shine with their own light in terms of wild bird watching. This is the case of La Serena, where almost all of Extremadura&#8217;s biotopes are represented, and where there is a rich and still abundant avifauna. Cabeza del Buey is located in the heart of the region of La Serena and in its 475 square kilometers of municipal area there are different ecosystems (steppe, mountains, pastures, wetlands and urban areas) that make up an ideal area for a large number and variety of birds.  <\/p>\n<p>Among the biotopes and landscapes existing in La Serena, one of the most representative is the one known as &#8220;steppe zone&#8221;, a huge area (more than 100,000 hectares) almost completely devoid of tree vegetation and characterized by a peneplain destined to natural pastures and, to a lesser extent, to agriculture, based on dry cereal crops. Most of this area has been declared a Special Protection Area for Birds (SPA), and one of the best ways to observe the steppe landscapes and their rich bird life is by taking a trip along the road known as the &#8220;Carretera de La Golondrina&#8221; (Swallow&#8217;s Road). This is the BA-035 road. This peculiar name comes from its beginnings in the sixties of the last century, when it was created as a track for access to farms from the town of Cabeza del Buey, as well as to connect with the newly built reservoir of Z\u00fajar. The end of that track was at that time in the estate &#8220;La Golondrina&#8221;, and hence the name.<\/p>\n<p>Today it is a paved road, with huge straights, which runs between the town of Cabeza del Buey and the Presa de La Serena, crossing a huge open space full of ornamental riches. It is one of the few roads that is not accompanied by electricity or telephone lines (let&#8217;s hope it continues like this forever), which allows us to enjoy a clean landscape with the same quality as always. The Carretera de la Golondrina invites to an unforgettable day of &#8220;pajareo&#8221;, which begins in Cabeza del Buey, and runs in a northerly direction. Before continuing, it is worth remembering that you cannot park on the shoulders, and that to do so we must take advantage of side lanes and tracks, and eventually entrances, without blocking the accesses. We are talking about a huge straight road on which some people (who are not exactly ornithologists) reach extremely high speeds.    <\/p>\n<p>Our safety must come first, in order to enjoy a pleasant field session that does not end in tragedy. And having said that, let&#8217;s go into some details: If we prospect the area with binoculars or a telescope, we will soon observe birds such as the Great Bustard or the Little Bustard, which are easy to spot due to their size. Sometimes they are found a little more than a hundred meters from the road. Other typical steppe species such as the Iberian Sandgrouse, the Black-bellied Sandgrouse and the Stone-curlew are much more difficult to see due to their cryptic plumage. But if we pay attention to their sounds, it is very likely that we can distinguish them in flight. Harriers are also easy to see, especially the Montagu&#8217;s Harrier, but also the Northern Harrier. These birds take advantage of the sowing areas to install their nests, although it is also easy to observe them in pasture areas while scanning the ground in search of small prey.      <\/p>\n<p>And if we visit in winter, the harrier family will be represented by the Pallid Harrier, although the Marsh Harrier is still frequent. If the visit is in winter, watch out also for the short-eared owls, which can surprise us just a few meters away. Canasteras and other smaller birds such as calandrias, cogujadas and terreras are equally frequent, although more difficult to observe due to their habits and size. Something similar happens with wheatears, pipits or stonechats. Some of the eucalyptus trees along the road are used by booted eagles, black kites and storks to build their nests. Given how vulnerable they are during the breeding season, if we make an observation it should be brief and from a distance. Many of the farmhouses that can be seen from the road have colonies of lesser kestrels on their roofs, some of them conditioned for this purpose thanks to the agri-environmental aids developed by the Junta de Extremadura, which also implements other conservation activities such as the Harrier Rescue Campaign. And although they are not steppe birds, we cannot forget the large birds of prey that frequent these peculiar spaces in search of food, especially carrion, which is certainly abundant given the enormous livestock load that it hosts.       <\/p>\n<p>It is not difficult to observe griffon and black vultures, as well as golden eagles and Bonelli&#8217;s eagles. A variant for the more adventurous is to follow the dirt track that leaves from km 15.5 in an easterly direction, crossing the &#8220;Pavorosa&#8221; farm and leading to the vicinity of Zarza Capilla. We will surely make observations of the most representative birds of the steppe zone. Ornithological rarities are frequently observed in the municipality of Cabeza del Buey, highlighting the presence of birds from very distant places or seriously threatened as sociable lapwings, ibis eremites, Born\u00ed falcons or Bonelli&#8217;s harriers.   <\/p><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-11a743f elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"11a743f\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-76d191f\" data-id=\"76d191f\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If Extremadura is well known for being one of the ornithological paradises of Europe, within this region there are regions that shine with their own light in terms of wild bird watching. This is the case of La Serena, where almost all of Extremadura&#8217;s biotopes are represented, and where there is a rich and still&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":63438,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/turismocabezadelbuey.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/64520"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/turismocabezadelbuey.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/turismocabezadelbuey.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/turismocabezadelbuey.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/turismocabezadelbuey.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=64520"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/turismocabezadelbuey.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/64520\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":64521,"href":"https:\/\/turismocabezadelbuey.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/64520\/revisions\/64521"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/turismocabezadelbuey.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/63438"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/turismocabezadelbuey.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64520"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}