This Autumn trip below was planned to see if we could find two types of birds, one small and one nearly as big as they come. The little guys we went looking for were Dippers. The big birds were the Lammergeier or Bearded Vultures.
We were recently asked if we had planned our trips or had just set off. We prepare them, and they usually habitually diversify as we travel.
From Pau we headed towards Lourdes, where the road
climbed up the French side of the Pyrenees and towards Gavarnie.
We had never visited the Cirque de Gavarnie before.
Our advance could have been faster, as we had to stop to admire the magnificent views!
No Dippers yet!
As we trekked into the cirque, we could see the upper waterfall, the Grande Cascade de Gavarnie, which has an overall fall of 481mtrs, the highest in France. It is fed from a small glacier in Spain, which travels underground until it reaches the fall area.
The last part of the fall is 281 metres into the beginnings of the Gave de Pau stream. It then flows down for 180 kilometres through Pau, from where it got its name, joining the river Ardour, which, in turn, flows into the Atlantic Ocean.
After poring over our maps the following morning, we decided to go higher, pausing at the ski station and continuing up a rough single-track road.
The views were quite stunning. We found Pipits and Black Redstarts, and we drove higher and higher.
We had climbed as far as possible, this little road leading to the border with Spain
had now been closed off.
It was absolutely freezing, visibility was terrible, and we were in the clouds, so the only solution was to turn around. It had also started snowing!
We again searched for Dippers at a lower level, stopping when we found a clear, fast-flowing stream.
Luck was with us. We found a
White Throated Dipper (Cinclus cinclus)
The iconic view of a Dipper, standing on a boulder in the fast-flowing water whilst looking for food.
It dives and swims underwater for aquatic invertebrates, aided by its unique webbed feet.
Again, the views were stunning as we passed over the Col d'Aspin in the French Pyrenees.
We saw Crested tits along the road that we followed into Spain.
The Autumn colours were fantastic.
We passed through the Bielsa tunnel and visited the nearby Valle De Pineta.
The weather was not good, so we moved on to Aínsa. Anisa would be our base while we searched for Lammergeiers in the surrounding mountains.
As we attempted photographs of the Bearded Vultures, the high mountains were our search area.
The trekking was challenging, especially with our cameras, lenses, telescope, tripods, etc and picnic!
The weather deteriorated as we climbed even higher and found ourselves in the teeth of a storm.
The wind sometimes became ferocious, screaming over and through the high peaks.
The rain caused a rainbow in the ravine below us; Griffon Vultures could be seen passing through it; they all seemed to be flying down the mountains away from the storm!
Then, a Lammergeier flew over us.
Amazing! This was our closest-ever view of this magnificent Vulture.
We watched as it glided back and forth for some time.
Later, we saw others. This example shows the orange-red staining they acquire from the iron-rich mud and sand they use for bathing. They say the redder the staining, the more challenging the Lammergeier.
Using the large boulders and bushes as a hide, we were able to observe these huge.
Vultures for some time.
We would not have wanted to disturb or frighten them. They are so rare!
And locally threatened.
Using the Canon EF 600mm f4 IS lens and converters, we could keep the camera hidden at a long distance.
It is also known as the "Bone Crusher" because, according to its eating habits, 85% to 90% of its food is bone marrow.
The only bird species to specialise in feeding on marrow.
The bone is often carried to a high altitude to feast upon the marrow and skilfully dropped onto rocks below. This is no mean feat and takes juvenile vultures up to seven years to master. The broken pieces are then swallowed, and their strong stomach acids digest the bone within 24 hours!
Because they are not solely reliant on scavenging for meat, they can return to a carcass weeks later to take the marrow, giving them an advantage over other vultures and carrion.
Incredibly, we had found one down and waited whilst it rested.
You can see its vast size: it can reach 125cm or 49 inches in length and weigh up to 7.8kg or a whopping 17.2 lbs.
Then, with a slow lumbering run down the hillside, it was airborne again. It felt strange as we heard the pounding on the ground as it ran. That said, they are the size of a large dog!
A juvenile Lammergeier suddenly appears over a grassy outcrop.
These young birds depend on the adults for two years after they fledge. This often causes the parent birds to have the problem of building a second massive nest in the interim year.
This is a perfect photograph for identifying a vast and long-winged Lammergeier, with a wingspan of up to 2.83mtrs or 9ft3ins and a long wedge-shaped tail.
That was it! We still had the long trek back down the mountains.
Looking back, they were lost in the clouds of their secret world.
Smiles all around as we headed back down the mountains.
With the dawn of a new day, we moved on, but memories of our days spent with the Lammergeiers
in the high mountains will remain with us forever.
Very very happy days infact incredibly HAPPY DAYS!
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