Birdwatchers as intriguing as birds

AT Monfrague National Park, in Extremadura in western Spain, watching the birdwatchers was as interesting as watching the birds.

They came in all shapes and sizes, ages and nationalities. They ranged from the lean and tick-hungry twitchers, with floppy hats, camouflage trousers, eagle eyes and large telescopes, to the corpulent, whom one was heartened to meet on demanding mountain paths, confirming that nature is the great entertainer.

They were a companionable lot, willing to share their information — and their telescopes. A pair of griffon vultures or black storks nesting in crevices on the cliffs above the majestic river Tagus offers anybody nearby the opportunity of viewing them at close quarters.