Areas with open habitats such as A Limia, A Terra Chá or even mountainous areas such as Serra do Candán and Brañas de Xestoso and Terra das Frieiras are also good for raptors. If we pay attention, we will see montagu's harriers and northern harriers hunting in the meadows and in the scrubland that characterises these places.
In areas of scrubland and small forests within these inland areas, we can see with relative ease species such as the red-backed shrike, which comes from Africa to breed in our fields. It is a small, masked and particularly fierce bird that hunts small birds, mice, shrews, lizards and insects that it impales in shrubs or barbed wire to then devour.
May is the month of the golden oriole
The males of this species boast a spectacular yellow colour while females are more cryptic with their green tones. Its ideal habitat is in the well-preserved forests of the riverbanks. There, it is very easy to hear it singing, although it is more difficult to see because it lives under the tree canopy, away from prying eyes. One of the best places to try are the banks of the Río Tamega in Oímbra, Monterrei and Verín, the tail end of the nearby San Martiño revoir or the banks of the Miño and Neira rivers in the regions of Lugo and Sarria.
May is also a good month for aquatic birds that build their nests in our wetlands
May is also a good month for aquatic birds that build their nests in our wetlands. Different duck species, great crested grebes, grebese, coots and moorhens can be seen in the lagoons of the A Terra Chá wetlands, various reservoirs such as the San Martiño reservoir, the Abegondo-Cecebre reservoir and the Fervenza and Baíñas reservoir, or coastal lagoons such as Xarfas in Louro (Muros) or Vixán in the Corrubedo Natural Park. The rare western marsh harrier and even rarer purple heron can be seen in the latter.