Birding

This is a wonderful area for bird watching. The highlight has to be the birds of prey and in terms of numbers alone, the Griffon Vulture (Gyps fulvus), takes the prize. We know of three large colonies in the valley, one with over forty pairs. Two colonies are visible from the aldea and we’ve seen juveniles pairing very close to the village.
These truly enormous birds are always around, crossing the valley throughout daylight hours. You really have to ascend to the heights to be able to see these birds close up. A visit to the top of the calars in the early hours can provide some great photos as the vultures warm themselves in the morning sun.
There is a feeding area nearby, where carcases are left by the park authorities. This is a perfect spot for viewing these and other carrion eaters.

Just down the valley from the house a pair of Golden Eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) have an eyrie high up on a rock face. We’ve seen them there for the last few years.
Our neighbour, Genaro claims to have seen a Golden Eagle carrying a goat kid in its talons down the valley - if only he'd had a camera.

The Spanish David Attenborough, Felix Rodriguez de la Fuente, shot a famous scene of a Golden Eagle taking a Cabra Montes calf to its nest. This impressive sequence was shot in the area, but as with several other of the scenes from his famous 70s documentary series, it used a tethered animal and a trained eagle!