Land of vultures

I’M lucky to have visited Extremadura and I’ll never forget my first early morning trip to watch the vultures. As the day grew warmer first ones and twos of these magnificent birds took to the sky, then tens and finally hundreds. It was spectacular.

The opening chapter of this book by vulture enthusiast Ian Parsons recalls that experience. Written in the form of a diary, it records a year of birding in Extremadura, an autonomous region in western Spain.

While vultures are undoubtedly the stars of the show, encounters with all kinds of Iberian wildlife are also charted. Blue Rock Thrush, Bonelli’s Eagle, European Bee-eater and Red Deer, along with many other species, all make an appearance.

The sheer variety of wildlife on offer is breath-taking and well recorded here. The book is,

however, curiously lacking in a sense of place. Towns, villages and sites aren’t named and there are no maps. Inclusion of these would have given a better idea of location.

In many cases the author’s experiences provide a jumping off point for wider discussions on topics such a st her mo regulations, the problems of lead poisoning and conservation. These give a fascinating insight into both the lives of vultures and the general wildlife.

A Vulture Landscape beautifully evokes the experience of birding in Extremadura, but the language is somewhat flowery for my taste. This is a personal take, though, and many others will no doubt enjoy it. Rebecca Armstrong