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The valley has a wide range of species, but
there is one, above all, which soars majestically above to become
the symbol of Iruelas: the black vulture.
This
bird previously populated wide areas of our country, cleaning up the
carrion on the seasonal sheep pasture routes (Mesta),
cattle drives and grazing land. Now it is in serious danger of
extinction, and its presence is reduced to a very few points in the
peninsula, one of these being this corner of the province of Avila,
where there are still around 70 pairs. It is on these pairs that
hope is pinned for the survival of this species, and perhaps to
produce stock which could spread once again around the country.
If
we can tear our eyes off the vultures, we will find a great variety
of other animal species living here: amongst the mammals are the
wild cat (Felis sylvestris),
the badger (Meles meles) and
the genet (Geneta genetta).
Birds of great scientific interest live, or spend at least part of
the year, in Iruelas: the rock thrush (Monticola
saxatilis), the alpine accentor (Prunella
collaris), the rock bunting (Emberiza cia), the
bluethroat (Luscinia svecica cyanecula),
the grey wagtail (Motacilla cinerea),
the water pipit (Anthus spinoletta) and the blackcap
(Sylvia atricapilla).
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At nightime in Iruelas, owls
make their presence felt, the eagle owl
(Bubo bubo), the tawny owl (Strix
aluco), the little owl (Athene
noctua), the scops owl (Otus scops) and the barn owl
(Tyto alba), and during the
day we can observe pairs of Iberian imperial eagles
(Aquila heliaca adalberti),
golden eagles (A. chrysaetos),
booted eagles (Hieraëtus pennatus)
and short-toed eagles (Circaetus
gallicus), together with kestrels (Falco
trinnuculus), hobbies (Falco
subbuteo) and red and black kites (Milvus
milvus, Milvus migrans).
You may
also spot Egyptian vultures (Neophron
pernocterus) and occasional pairs of Griffon vultures
(Gyps fulvus). Seasonal
visitors to Iruelas include the grey heron (Ardea
cinerea) and cormorants (Phalocrocorax
carbo sinensis) and a number of aquatic fowl which spend
the winter on the reservoir lake, such as mallards (Anas
platyhynchos), pochards (Aythya
ferina), great-crested grebes (Podiceps
cristatus) and shovelers (Anas
clypeata).
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Migratory species which pass through the
skies of Iruelas include the crane (Grus
grus), the greylag goose (Anser
anser), and woodpigeons (Columba
palumbus) will also pass over above. |
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