Great Bustards

 The next day after our bird tour which resulted in us seeing a pair of golden eagles and over 2 pairs of Montagu's harriers, we decided to go on another trip. But whereas last time we went to the mountains, this time we went to the steppe region to the northwest to see a very specific bird. If the golden eagle can be thought of as the tiger of the region, the great bustard is the ostrich. This immense bird is globally rare and endangered, and nearly three quarters of the world population is in Spain. 

On the way to the general area where we expected them to be, we observed a Spanish imperial eagle soaring next to the road. We didn't stop the car though, and so contented with a glimpse as we drove past. We reached Corral-Rubio, a small town located in the middle of the steppe and surrounded by lagoons, and began looking. It took us a long time to see the bustards, until we drove right past a large group of them at quite close range. The birds didn't fly off as soon as I opened the window, and we decided to climb out and take a better look. Everyone got a good look in the telescope and I got some good images, though even the best ones were completely ruined by heat haze, and it took a lot of editing to make one of them at least worthwhile. On the way back, we kept seeing smaller groups of bustards along the road.