Doñana National Park has its own pilgrimage. Bird watchers flock to the place from all over the world and for very good reason …
A Day In Doñana …
El Rocio …
Modern roads lead to the edge of El Rocio and then stop. In the town the roads are sandy, much better for the horses.
Although the town is small it’s currently preparing itself for an influx of about a million pilgrims. They will walk or ride or arrive in old fashioned caravans drawn by tractors. A few will come in carts drawn by bullocks. The women will be dressed in their flamenco finery. The roads will be blocked with traffic, some already are. No cars will be parked in the town.
They will be coming to pay their respects to the Virgen Del Rocio or Virgin of the Dew but they may well have a party while they’re there. The tradition dates back to the 13th Century.
Mass will overflow from the lovely old church. A grandstand has been erected in the square to hold some of the overflow.
Guadalupe …
After a day’s birding in the Villuercas park we slipped over a pass that led to a point looking down on historic Guadalupe …
It is the home of one of the Black Madonnas. It was here that the Spanish monarchs Isabel and Ferdinand signed the documents that authorized the first voyage of Christopher Columbus to the New World in 1492
The Vultures of Monfragüe …
Spain is home to four species of vulture. The Lammergeier is rarely seen outside the Pyrenees but Black, Griffon and Egyptian Vultures are more widespread. A great place to see these three is in Monfragüe National Park.
Trujillo …
Francisco Pizzaro came from Trujillo. He was the conquistador who subdued the Inca Empire in 1533. Today his statue dominates the town square but otherwise the centre of town has changed little.
You can dine in the square. Late in the evening I sat with a wine in front of me watching Common and Pallid Swifts sweep low through the plaza. White Storks are nesting on the surrounding buildings. They take no notice as the bells ring out right beneath them.
Extremadura …
Not far from Trujillo.
Farewell England …
Next stop Spain.
Ely Cathedral …
Ely is about 70 miles slightly east of north from London not far from Cambridge.
An abbey was founded here by St Ethelreda, the wife of a Northumbrian king, in AD 673. The Norman Conquest brought a new standard of church architecture, the present magnificent structure was built in stages from 1081.
Ely is not a big city but its cathedral has the third longest nave in the UK. The Lady Chapel, completed in 1349, is the largest in the UK.
It has one of the few remaining resident choirs. During services they would be seated on either side of the photo above. In the video below they are standing in the Lady Chapel.
Henry Vlll’s reformation imposed a more austere regime on the great churches. Statuary and ornamentation were taboo. The Lady Chapel had a series of figures of the Madonna which would have been brightly painted. Sadly their heads have been knocked off (rather like Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard).
For more information about the cathedral click <HERE>.
Fishers Green …
I was born in Hackney and lived in Wick Road until the entire neighbourhood was razed as part of the slum clearance program. Then it was Leyton until I left London to go to university.
My father was a policeman and a keen angler. The police had fishing rights to a stretch of the River Lea not far from Waltham Abbey. The opposite bank of the river was a gunpowder factory. It was the ideal place surrounded by farms and tucked away between the River Lea and the Lea Canal. It could be flooded in the event of an emergency simply by opening some sluice gates. The fishery may have been a means of ensuring a police presence. This was where I was introduced to the gentle art of turning fishing line into insoluble tangles. It was also where I learnt to avoid stinging nettles.
The factory became redundant. Gravel extraction followed. It must have been quite a sad transformation for my father. But when the gravel was gone the scene was transformed again. It is now a series of lakes, waterbirds abound and if you are very lucky you might even see an otter.
I was there yesterday, it was a glorious spring day. A cuckoo gave away its position by incessant calling and I notched up a good list of birds.
A network of paths takes you around the lakes and to the Lea Canal …
Then it was time for a late lunch at the Welsh Harp in Waltham Abbey. The pub dates back to the fifteenth century. The food was outstandingly good.
In the evening I went through my photos and found that one of the gulls was ringed …
Bird banding in Britain is coordinated by the British Trust for Ornithology. It was a simple matter to find the BTO website and track down the research group that banded the bird. I submitted my observation and this morning I received a thank you note and some life history.
2LBD was banded at the place where I saw it as a chick in 2015. It was seen in Kent last year. This is the first time it’s been seen back at this colony this year.
England …
The following day was eventful.
Warned that getting to the departure gate in Bangkok could take longer than the time generally allowed I was early at the check-in counter. My boarding pass was in hand because I’d checked in on-line the previous evening. The flight was cancelled.
Sri Lankan were apologetic, pleasant and optimistic. For those passengers heading to Colombo there would be a delay. Those flying on to other destinations would be re-booked on other airlines. The upshot was that I was on a Thai Airlines flight direct to London getting there two hours earlier than scheduled. Such hardship.
I’m staying with an old friend in Leytonstone. We met when I was working in a greengrocers at the top of her street. There’s not a lettuce in sight it’s now a kebab shop.
First stop was the Hollow Ponds. This was where the birdwatching all began. As a primary school kid I set off with a pen and a notebook and made a list of the birds I found. These days I take along some binoculars and a camera but essentially the activity is just the same.
The bird population has changed a bit. Finches do seem to be down. Buzzards are up. Canada and Greylag Geese are in plague proportions. The birds I most enjoyed seeing as a kid were Great Crested Grebe and the Jay. It’s great to see that they’re still around.
And of course it’s spring, the Blackcaps are singing, the Chiffchaffs are chiffchaffing, the Coots are at their most aggressive. There is no better time to be watching tits.
bobmcgee 