Breeding birds up close

I was browsing my photo archives, and I found photos from a looong time ago, done during a trip to a natural park in Spain. And during that trip, I visited a breeding center for birds. They breed quite a few species, with the focus on steppary birds. And probably their "crown jewel", is the great bustard.

^{Great Bustard / Abetarda (PT) - Otis tarda}

The males have an amazing plummage display during the breeding season; that and their huge size makes them impossible to go unnoticed!

These birds were imprinted at birth, which means they see humans as their species; that makes it easier to collect the semen for breeding, and also explains why I took the photos so close: they were showing off to their caretakers!

The center had other beauties, such as this crane black crowned crane:

^{Black crowned crane / Grou coroado (PT) - Balearica pavonina}

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The best part, the center also had a pond, where a few more species swam around. And among them, one of the species I'm yet to see in the wild, the crested coot!

^{Crested coot / Galeirão de crista (PT) - Fulica cristata}

Coots are very common in Portugal, but the common one; they're almost identical, except the common coot lacks those 2 red formations on top of the head (the "crest").

There was also a stork relaxing at the shore, with a little friend.

And in case you're wondering, no, it's not a baby stork! 😂 The colour pattern is similar, but it's a black winged stilt, Himantopus himantopus.

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As a bonus, while we were seeing the birds in the center, we had a few of them flying over our heads, these ones completely free.

The cranes, Grus grus, usually arrive near the winter in Portugal, and I'm considering visiting some friends in the coming months to see these beautiful birds again, before they leave. For now, I have to settle with my old photos!

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