Birdlife
Birds of the Sierra Gredos, by David Tomlinson

The Sierra Gredos is an exceptional area for birds, and many interesting and unusual species can be seen here. Most obvious are the birds of prey: look out for black vultures (buitre negro), one of the largest and heaviest flying birds in the world, with a wingspan of up to 285cm. Black vultures are rare birds in Europe, and the Gredos is one of their most important strongholds. Much more numerous than the black vulture and almost as big is the griffon vulture (buitre leonado). The two species can often be seen soaring together. The griffon is a colonial, cliff-nesting species, but the black vulture nests in trees.

Several species of eagles can be found in the Gredos, including the golden (aguila real), the short-toed (aguila culebrera) and the booted (aguila calzada). The short-toed is a large, snake-eating eagle that is a summer visitor to Spain, as is the booted eagle. This is a small, buzzard-sized eagle, and is generally quite common. Two of the most conspicuous birds of prey are the red kite and the black kite (milano real and milano negro). They are extremely graceful fliers, and are often quite tame and approachable.

The most characteristic birds of the pine forests of the Gredos are the firecrest (reyezuelo listado), the crested tit (herrerillo capuchino) and the crossbill (piquituerto comun), while one of the special birds to look out for is the citril finch (verdecillo serrano). The citril finch is a highly localised bird, found exclusively in Europe. It likes alpine meadows.

Another speciality of the Gredos is the strikingly colourful bluethroat (pechiazul). The bluethroats that nest in the Gredos are the most southerly in Europe, as well as the most westerly. They are best looked for on dry, stony slopes densely covered in Spanish broom. The cock is the size and shape of a robin (petirrojo), but is easy to identify thanks to his distinctive blue-throat with central white spot.
In spring, one of the noisiest birds of the Gredos is the nightingale (ruiseñor comun), which can be heard singing where ever there is suitable habitat. Nightingales like dense, damp habitat, preferably by the side of streams or in hedges. The nightingale is a member of the thrush family, and so is related to the rock thrush (roquero rojo), one of the most handsome birds of the mountains. This species is a scarce summer visitor to the Gredos, but is well worth looking for.

Several of the villages in the Gredos have pairs of white storks (cigueña blanca), often nesting on the village church. They are numerous in the Extremadura, and they are usually tame and confiding, drawing attention to themselves with their noisy beak clapping.

The golden oriole (oropendula) is common along the river valleys in this part of Spain, as though this beautiful bird is more often heard than seen. The song of the pretty hoopoe (abubilla) is a typical sound in spring. Another bird more often heard than seen!, again common, especially along river valleys., is the nightingale (ruiseñor común) whose song is the most beautiful of all.

David Tomlinson is a British ornithologist, and is the co-author of the Birds of Iberia. He has visited the Gredos several times.

Flora

The Gredos is a paradise for botanists for its diversity of ecosystems rich in wild flowers. There are at least 11 species, which are endemic to the Gredos (only found in this region). Although the altitude is not especially great, the Cordillera happens to lie in one of the coldest zones in Spain, and temperatures resemble those of much more alpine regions. The northern slope supports a sub-alpine flora, with great stands of pine, large tracts of Genista purgans -Piorno serrano- and rich meadows. The southern slope borrows its sub-tropical flora form the Valle del Tiétar and La Vera (the so-called Andalucía de Ávila), with holm oaks, olives, citrus trees and such.