From Calatrava Vieja we took a gravel road along the river, which didn’t carry any water at that time of the year. But the riverbank seemed very fertile. We saw olives, almonds, corn, wine and even pistachio trees growing there. The ripe grapes were very impressive.
The dry river made us expect the worst for the Tablas de Daimiel NP, which are lagoons along the river and a birder’s paradise, but maybe not at this very dry period? Luckily, we saw already birds before we reached the parking and jumped out with the big lens in hand and went to explore.
On boardwalks, we could walk to the Isla del Pan and the Laguna Permanente, where we saw a lot of birds, here are some impressions.
We were very happy with the result. We had been there at midday, and it was very hot. Next time we will stay there overnight and go bird watching in the evening and morning. But Spain experienced a heath wave in the middle of September and we were looking for a cooler place to spend the rest of the day.
We continued north-east and stopped at a dam called Embalse Torre de Abraham. We found a group of Eucalyptus trees which gave us shade and went for a swim in the lake.
At night, it was incredibly calm, nobody around, just a little fox walked past, looking for food. And the stars were shining down on us while we were relaxing in our chairs. That is Spain for us, you can find incredible spots in this country.
We will now continue our way past Talavera de la Reina into an area called La Vera – more soon!
Birder’s note:
Tablas de Daimiel: Greater Flamingos, Black-winged Stilt, Red-crested Pochard, Eurasian Coot, Common Moorhen, Common Pochard, Reed Warbler, Great Cormorant, Glossy Ibis, Greylag Goose, Grey Heron, Little Egret, Great Crested Grebe
Embalse Torre de Abraham: Great Crested Grebe, Egyptian Goose, Grey Heron, Great White Egret, Iberian Magpie, Pied Flycatcher