This morning I was invited to visit the Military Horse breeding facilities in Jerez de la Frontera. There are two locations close to one another: Cortijo de Vicos and Garrapilo. Together they have over 1600 hectares. The horses being bred here are the Pure Spanish horse and high quality Arabian horses. It was great to see these beautiful animals in an absolute quiet environment.
Although my main purpose during this visit was to see horses, I was astonished by the presence of some unexpected bird species! I had a first time ever encounter with two spectacular Golden Orioles, although I only managed to catch a glimpse of them while they flew off.
The bird I saw most today might have been the Jackdaw. They gathered in large flocks and it was interesting to see them interact with each other. They are so beautiful with their shades of grey and striking blue eyes.
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| The omnipresent Jackdaw |
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| Jackdaw uttering its loud call in a tree |
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| Jackdaws feeding together |
The landscape in this area is varied and inviting for another visit. Spring clearly seems the best season, converting everything in a green and in some places very colourful birdwatching paradise. As there are many rabbits it is not surprising that many birds of prey are frequent visitors to this site.
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| Some of the beautiful horses grazing in a field |
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| Beautiful trees all around |
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| Kestrel looking straight into the lens |
I was almost caught by surprise when I saw two Green Woodpeckers flying between the trees, but the Canon 90D did a great job focusing fast and capturing one of the birds hanging on a tree in the shade, producing a clear image even at 6400 ISO! |
| Iberian Green Woodpecker |
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| Crested Lark |
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| European Serin |
Even though I didn't focus on birds all the time, I still managed to observe over 20 different species. One of them was the Little Owl, which I unfortunately did not capture on camera.
Henry.
