Brown Bears- Somiedo Natural Park

With South Polar Skua and Kelp Gull under our belts we spent two days (3rd and 4th) at Somideo Natural Park looking for mammals, leps and mountain birds  HERE and HERE. Highlights included a male and female Brown Bear, Pyrenean Chamois, Red Deer, Red Squirrel and we also had Wild Boar on the journey to Estaca. 

Some nice mountain birds included Lammergeir, Griffon Vulture, Egyptian Vulture, Short-toed Eagle, Goshawk, Honey Buzzard,  Red and Yellow-billed Chough, Crag Martins, Iberian Chiffchaff, Spotless Starlings, Water Pipits and Rock Buntings. There was also a good peppering of migrants with lots of Pied Flycatchers and also Whinchats, Wheatears, Spotted Flycatcher and Yellow Wagtails. 

Quite a few year ticks in there which has put me on 929 for the year HERE. The target is to get to 1000 bird species in a year. 

I managed to get a moth trap out in our hotel garden and there were also a few butterflies around too. All records HERE with highlights including Turqouise Blue, Weaver's Frittilary, Iberian Scarce Swallowtail, Lang's Short-tailed Blue, Pea Blue, Adonis and Chalkhill Blues, Cardinal, Queen of Spain Fritillary and Oberthur's Grizzled Skipper on the buttefly front and on the moth front highlights included Annulet, Jersey Emerald, Clix hispanica,  Caradrina aspersa, Catoptria staudingeri, Plain Clay, Great Darts and Oraches. 

Female Brown Bear (images above) and male and female (below, male on left chasing female)

Pyrenean Chamois

Red Deer

Red Squirrel

Iberian Chiffchaff

Egyptian Vulture

Immature Griffon Vulture

Juvenile Goshawk

Pied Fly- more or less everywhere in the park

Spotless Starlings 

Serins- nice to see a flock of 20 or so feeding like Canaries in the ground vegetation

Turqouise Blue

Weaver's Frittilary 

Iberian Scarce Swallowtail

Caradrina aspersa

Jersey Emerald

Annulet

Catoptria staudingeri

Stunning scenery!

Bear watching at Gua