Lesser kestrels, swallows, bullfighting in Trujillo, Spain

This video is called Lesser Kestrel, Trujillo, Extremadura, Spain, 8 March 2011. It shows a male: with even more blueish-grey on its head than a common kestrel male. Females of both species have brownish heads.

After 10 April 2016, on 11 April, to the lesser kestrel nesting colony in Trujillo.

That nesting colony is in the bullring of Trujillo town. Special roof tiles enable the lesser kestrels to nest.

In front of the bullring is this information sign about the birds, and about the insects and other food which they eat.

There is less bloody bullfighting in Spain nowadays than there used to be. In Catalonia and the Canary Islands, it has been banned.

In Trujillo it is much less frequent now: about once a year. However, that infrequent bullfight would be soon. Male and female maintenance workers went in and out through the gate. That meant we could pass as well through the normally closed gate. A man rode around in the central, low part of the arena, leveling the ground. One could see that bullfighting is not only always dangerous for bulls, but sometimes for humans as well: there was a special infirmary room for injured matadores, picadores and banderilleros.

In another room, there was this mock bull for rehearsing toreros.

Barn swallows used the catacombs of the bullring for less bloody activities: they nested there.

We had unusual access to the center of the arena.

Spotless starlings, a south European and north African species, on the roof.

Lesser kestrels flying around, sometimes landing briefly on the bullring.

They had not started nesting yet. As this was an unusually cold, rainy day in an unusually cold, rainy spring.

After the bullring, we went to the town center of Trujillo. Stay tuned!

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