Caching

This was our second full day in Extremadura.  We drove north from Plasencia to the Jerte valley, and then took the road up into the mountains.  Poor Bern who was driving was not feeling too well, and we stopped at the first village so that he could have a sleep.

It didn't look the most promising of places to explore, but it wasn't long before Wifie noticed activity in a copse of Pyrenean oak across the road.  A closer look revealed a large party of azure-winged magpies in the trees and on the ground.  They were flying back and forth over the road with large acorns in their bills. We couldn't be sure where they were taking them to, but they were certainly collecting them to cache for times when food is less plentiful than now.

We had drawn a blank on the magpies the day before, a particular disappointment for Sandra who had been told about them by her Dad from his visit in 1989.  And somehow I hadn't expected to see them as we left behind the more Mediterranean climate and vegetation lower down in the valley.  So it was a memorable occasion for all of us - even Bern got to see a couple as we headed back down the hill.

Two days in the warmth of Extremadura, surrounded by mountains, and entranced by birds we don't see at home, and I felt better than I have all year.

ps I like the way the right wing gives him/her the appearance of having a Mohican crest.