On Saturday June 27th, and with our target birds either in the bag or dismissed as being elsewhere, we spent the morning hiking in the mountains not far from the hotel.
We had stopped off the previous day to look for White-throated Dipper, and stopped at a new place also without luck. We then proceeded to a very busy trail head but were able to pass the families and get to a quieter spot. The highlights of the early part of the walk was a pair of Egyptian Vultures, several Rock Thrushes - so much closer than the day before - and a distant Alpine Marmot snoozing on the rocks.
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| Egyptian Vultures |
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| Rock Thrush |
But the morning's highlight was seeing a group of Griffon Vultures feasting on a dead cow. This was straight out of a television nature documentary with the pecking order being reinforced by the more powerful birds, and some birds sitting well away from the action knowing their turn would be a long time coming.
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| Griffon Vultures |
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| More vultures waiting their turn |
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| Eurasian Griffon |
Our hike ended at a great spot. After we scrambled through a narrow saddle we came upon a green, U-shapped glacial valley that was entirely different to the rocky landscape we had come up with its screes and boulders.
We stopped for lunch soon after getting back to the car and headed to a wooded spot where we were able to add a number of species to our trip list - including Robin, Nuthatch, Garden Warbler and Marsh Tit - and then stopped and this time found a dipper en the way back to the hotel.
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| Garden Warbler |
On arriving back, I reminded Pau that Firecrest would be a lifer for me and one soon responded to tape, allowing good views even though it was involved in a tussle with a Blue Tit.
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