I joined a Naturetrek group on their wolf-watching trip to northern Spain between 23 October and 27 October. Arriving at Santander on Monday morning, we were met with tour leader Taea and taken to our base in a series of converted farmhouses at Cordovilla de Aguilar in Palencia, owned by Rosa and Iolo Williams-lookalike Tino. You can see Tino in this BBC programme:
It’s not everyday you leave Glasgow in the sunshine and arrive in Spain in the rain, but this is how it turned out. We only really had one day when the rain had held off. However, while occasionally soaked through, we still went out looking for wildlife everyday.
On the afternoon of the first day, we went off into oak woodlands for a picnic and a walk. The picnics were prepared by Rosa and served by Tino, our local guide throughout the week. The picnics were mainly stews of some sort, mainly beans or lentils, served with crusty bread and a side of meats for those who weren’t vegetarians. They were nutritious and filling, and just what we needed for the cold weather we experienced for most of the week.
The woodland was at around 900-1000 metres and for me it was quite amazing to see such densely vegetated hillsides at such an altitude. In Scotland, the mountains at this altitude are usually sparsely vegetated. I was of course further south where it’s warmer year round, but it was a striking contrast. We encountered some birds in the woodland that can be found in only small parts of Scotland, such as the Crested Tit. Tino also pointed out evidence of animal behaviour, such as the scat of Badger, Pine and Beech Marten, Red Fox and Red Deer.
The trees were mainly Pyrenean and Cantabrian Oak, and we saw lots of galls created by a wasp.
Arriving back at base, we heard an Iberian Green Woodpecker and saw the first of the many Griffon Vultures that we would see this week. Here they would be seen soaring over the nearby wooded hillside, sometimes accompanied by Red Kites, Common Buzzards and Kestrels. The telegraph wires were often lined by Rock Sparrows. Before dinner, I went out into the courtyard and saw a lingering Black Kite flying directly overhead, its mastery of the air giving an effect of simply floating across the sky.
Three course dinners were cooked and served by Rosa every night. We’d have traditional rustic home-cooking such as a delicious vegetarian paella or a chickpeas salad, finished by fruit desserts. I hadn’t eaten so well, yet so healthily, in such a long time. It was great to have simple but nutritious food throughout the week and not have any processed foods like I’d have at home.
We were picked up at 7:15 every morning and taken up into the mountains of the Parque Natural Montana Palentina. Being an hour ahead, this meant starting out in the dark. We’d drive up dirt roads with Broom Hares scampering off the roadside into the vegetation. As we approach the viewpoint at around 1500 metres, Tino would turn the vehicle lights off and we’d drive the final few hundred metres in darkness with the road only just becoming visible in the twilight. We’d then quietly exit the vehicles and pick our spot looking down into a series of ravines. Dawn would break just over our shoulders and illuminate the hillsides below, Ravens the first birds each morning, followed by the Griffon Vultures, while small flocks of Serin and Chaffinch would fly over our heads from tree to tree.
Some people brought scopes with them and everyone had binoculars. We scanned below for signs of life. It was really hard to get a sense of scale of the vegetation below: what looked like clumps of heather turned out to be small trees and in the distance I could see meadows with cave-pocketed limestone slopes behind, and browsing cattle, their bells carrying across on the wind. After an hour or so of patiently watching the valleys below, Tino was first to point out a small group of Iberian Wolves below. They were really hard to make out using the binoculars, but Tino pointed all the scopes at the right spot and we all got to see the wolves.
We spent a couple of hours in pretty miserable weather watching the wolves before it was time to head back down to a village for hot drinks. We’d visit the same cafe everyday in the local small town and I for one really needed a warming hot chocolate! We then headed out into the countryside for our picnic and then went for a drive looking for more wildlife in a landscape dominated by old churches and the occasional castle but almost entirely devoid of people; many of the villages around here are holiday homes for the summer and are now shuttered for the winter. We were really lucky to get a good view of a Wildcat and we’d be on the lookout for more for the rest of the week, but this was the only one to show. Still I was delighted to see this animal which in Scotland has been endangered by hybridisation with domestic cats and is now subject to a reintroduction programme.
Buzzing with excitement from the day’s sightings, I went for a walk around our village before dinner and was lucky to see birds such as Black Redstarts and Cirl Buntings, the latter generally only visible in Devon in the UK.
We went back to the same place the next morning. This was for me the best day. First of all, it was dry for most of the day and it felt much warmer, with temperatures reaching around 13 degrees Celsius, whereas yesterday they had fallen to just above freezing. As the sun rose in the still air and the distant mountains glowed red in the morning light, two Golden Eagles drifted no more than 30 metres above our heads, absolutely stupendous views! Red-billed Choughs were calling and tumbling in the air all around, accompanied by Ravens and Carrion Crows.
The wolves were visible almost immediately and stayed in view throughout the morning, with up to seven of the 10 animals in this pack giving us great views of rough and tumble play, with lots of tail-wagging and jumping over each other. It was a privilege to watch the wolves in such a relaxed state.
Red Deer are one of the main prey species for the wolves here and many had been quite visible on the hillside yesterday. But today only one or two were seen, but much farther up the hillside far from the wolves. Carrion Crows were calling deep down below, hidden from view by overhanging trees. And then one by one, Griffon Vultures circled down into the ravine, while a Red Kite or two joined them. It was clear there was a carcass far below, perhaps a deer killed by the wolves and that possibly some of the wolves may have been feeding below. I counted around 40 Griffon Vultures at any one moment. Some birds circled in the air above us and others far down the valley below, while others perched on rocks and were watching below, waiting for their turn to go down and feed. There seemed to always be more vultures coming over the horizon.
As I was talking to Taea I spotted movement far below. Again it was hard to get a sense of scale of what we were seeing, but to see an object clearly with the naked eye made me think it was something substantial. My thoughts were confirmed; looking through my binoculars I saw the dark shape of a Cantabrian Brown Bear, making its way slowly over a relatively bare patch into the trees. Wow, that was totally unexpected! I watched it for around 20 seconds before it was gone. I was really surprised by how dark it was, almost black in fact. I had known that bears were present in the area, but I really hadn’t banked on seeing any, so this was the most pleasant surprise.
After lunch we drove to a viewpoint near La Pernia looking towards the Picos de Europa, a high mountain range in northwestern Spain, the highest point seen from here being Llambrión at 2642 m (8668 ft). Two livestock guardian dogs were roaming around the viewpoint, clearly at ease and off duty, but they had a quiet way with themselves that made you know you’d not want to mess with them when they were working.
During our lunch, we watched a domestic cat walking in the hillside not far away. Suddenly a young Golden Eagle came swooping in and tried to catch the cat, but the eagle was thwarted when just as suddenly it was mobbed by chasing Ravens. As the eagle rose back into the sky, the Ravens were joined by Common Buzzards while Griffon Vultures coasted high overhead. The cat just used up one of its nine lives thanks to some corvids.
The rain returned overnight and by the next morning, we were driving up through low cloud to the viewpoint again. We waited out the rain in a stone-built farmers’ shelter with attached cattle barn, the churned mud evidence that the cattle were there very recently. It was clear however that the rain wasn’t going to give way, and despite hearing a wolf calling when we had first arrived, we would never be able to see them. We descended the mountains and had lunch before searching for more Wildcats but it wasn’t to be.
We saw some wolf scat containing fragments of bone in a field only five minutes walk from our accommodation. Tino said the wolves are occasionally seen around the villages. It was thrilling to stand in a place, looking over the village roofs towards a plain and a distant escarpment and wonder that a keystone predator had been standing there not too long ago. I come from a country where our big predators have been absent for hundreds of years, and our landscapes have suffered with an over-population of Red Deer holding back the regeneration of woodland.
Luckily there are some glimmers of hope, with Beavers having been reintroduced and the protection of some landscapes allowing woodland to rewild the land again. There are talks of bringing back major predators again with hopes that we could begin with the Lynx. I hope I’ll be able to see these animals in Scotland in my lifetime. The people in Spain are learning to live with the wolf again. There are dogs living alongside the cattle to keep them safe from predators and I saw for myself how the wolves are often only seen from afar. They work hard to avoid encounters with people, and it’s possible that wolves and lynx could live a similar kind of life in a more heavily forested Scotland.
While Spain isn’t without its problems, such as hunting and more and more severe hot weather conditions in summer, I was astounded at the density of the wildlife. Not just the mammals, but the numbers of birds of prey seen just about everywhere. I would be hard-pushed to get the close views of Golden Eagles that I saw here, nor to ever see an endless stream of raptors such as Kestrels, Red Kites and Griffon Vultures almost everywhere. There was barely a moment when a raptor wasn’t emerging over the high land around us.
In Scotland, as in the rest of the UK, there’s a continual problem of persecution of raptors such that Hen Harriers, White-tailed Eagles and Golden Eagles should be more numerous than they are, often illegally wiped out to protect grouse moors and the money the grouse bring in for landowners from hunters.
Somewhat predictably, the sky cleared and the air warmed just before dinner. I stuck my head out the window and saw a Red Admiral butterfly out in the courtyard. They’ve been having a great year with large numbers of them seen all over, including on the Isle of May off the Fife coast where I’d seen lots of them below the summit lighthouse in early summer.
We were up early again the next morning for the trip back to the airport and then home. Despite some rubbish weather, we saw some fabulous wildlife, had wonderful hosts and travelled in beautiful landscapes. If like me you’re looking for restful sleep in complete silence, to observe superbly dark star-filled night skies, and to experience sensational wildlife moments then I’d highly recommend this trip.
Species seen
Birds
I saw 46 bird species in total (the group saw more but I’m only counting those I personally saw). This included 11 new sightings for me. List of birds I saw below with (N) for new birds for me:
Barn Swallow
Blackbird
Blackcap
Black Kite (N)
Black Redstart (N)
Blue Tit
Carrion Crow
Chaffinch
Chiffchaff
Cirl Bunting (N)
Coal Tit
Collared Dove
Common Buzzard
Cormorant
Crag Martin (N)
Crested Tit (N)
Dunnock
Feral Pigeon
Golden Eagle
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Great Tit
Grey Heron
Grey Wagtail
Griffon Vulture
House Sparrow
Iberian Green Woodpecker (N)
Jay
Kestrel
Magpie
Mallard
Meadow Pipit
Mistle Thrush
Raven
Red-billed Chough (N)
Red Kite
Robin
Rock Bunting (N)
Rock Sparrow (N)
Serin (N)
Song Thrush
Spotless Starling
Western Yellow Wagtail (N)
White Wagtail
Wood Pigeon
Wren
Yellowhammer
Mammals
I saw five mammal species, of which four of them were new to me:
Broom Hare (N)
Cantabrian Brown Bear (N)
Iberian Wolf (N)
Red Deer
Wildcat (N)
Insects
Red Admiral
Thoughts of Mind 
That sounds a splendid trip! I’ve heard that here (Haute-Savoie) there has been a decrease in livestock lost to wolves despite the latter’s numbers increasing. Maybe beginning to find a balance