Arxiu de la categoria: Lleida Steppes

Pyrenees Winter Break 2025

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  • Dates: From February 8th to 12th, 2025
  • Tour participants: 6
  • Number of species: 143
  • Tour leader: Carles Oliver

Overview.

The tour started in the Pyrenees with the first morning hampered by snow, low cloud and mist at higher altitudes before clearing to much clearer and milder weather. The weather in the lowlands/plains was very kind with warmer conditions and only very light winds. The bad weather in the first day affected a bit the tour, with a couple of locations performing clearly below average, especially those involving boreal forests. The lack of snow in the top of the mountains during January and February meant no chances for us to connect with Snow Finches. In the steppes, Dupont’s Larks performed very well for us, and once we connected with the major targets in the plains we even had time for a couple of hours of birdwatching at Ebro Delta, a coastal heaven of birds that is normally out of bounds in this itinerary..

DAY 1.

After collecting all 6 tour participants from around the airport in Barcelona we headed through drizzly rain towards the Pyrenees. After 90 minutes of drive, we arrived to the area to explore, and we had a short coffee stop before attempting to drive a lane higher into the mountains through increasingly heavy snow. Around 1500m the road had become quite difficult, so we parked safely and explored the area.

Almost immediately the group found an Alpine Accentor sheltering and feeding on the screen by the roadside! Everyone enjoyed good views despite the weather, before it moved off further up the slope, here we also saw and heard our first European Crested Tits, Coal Tit, Firecrest, and Mistle Thrush of the trip along with several Red-billed Chough.

After a walk up the road a few hundred metres the weather began to improve, and as we headed back to the minibus the first of several Eurasian Griffon Vulture began to appear overhead. Whilst enjoying views of these one of the group (Jonny R) shouted out….. ”LAMMERGEIER!!” and an adult bird passed directly overhead giving great views as it glided down across the valley – what a start to the trip!

Alpine Accentor (Prunella collaris) feeding in the slope. Image by Carles Oliver.
Full adult Lammergeier (Gypaetos barbatus). Image by Carles Oliver

After this excitement we decided to slowly head down the mountain, the weather continued to improve and before we had travelled far we had to stop – 2 Lammergeier were circling and showing well above us! An adult-type bird and a younger 3rd year type bird gave a superb show before drifting away. We then stopped around in the valley where the terraced fields and trees provided lots of birds including Rock Bunting, Hawfinch, Black Redstart, European Stonechat, European Serin, Meadow Pipit and some of the commoner Finches and Tits as well as an unexpected Cattle Egret – not something normally seen at this altitude! We could also hear Iberian Green Woodpecker calling here.

During our urban lunch stop and whilst there saw White-throated Dipper, Common Chiffchaff and Grey Wagtail on the stream through the village and a Common Buzzard passed overhead.

In the afternoon we drove another scenic lane up into the mountains where we enjoyed more fantastic views of 20+ Eurasian Griffons as well as 2 Golden Eagles, Red-billed Choughs and even Magpie which seemed out of place at this altitude. A small group of feeding birds included Fieldfare, Yellowhammer, Chaffinch and Goldfinch. This site also produced our first Pyrenean Chamois of the trip. We again descended into lower meadows and fields and walked a small hill that provided our first Iberian Grey Shrike as well as Eurasian Tree Sparrows, Crested Lark, Firecrests, Crested Tits, Black Redstarts, Yellowhammer, Goldcrest and Corn Buntings. Our last stop before reaching the accommodation for the evening produced lovely views of 8 Rock Sparrows on wires by the roadside – but the day was not finished there because our fabulous accommodation and host has a feeding station in the garden, and as the light faded we were treated to amazing views of up to 3 Beech Martins!! A quite amazing end to fantastic first day.

Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes). Image by Justin Williams.
Rock Bunting (Emberiza cia). Image by Carles Oliver.
European Crested Tit (Lophophanes cristatus). Image by Jo Simon.
Eurasian Griffon (Gyps fulvus). Image by Jo Simon.
Beech Martin (Martes foina). Image by Stephen Davis.

Day 2.

In some ways a slightly frustrating day with numerous stops and effort failing to locate any Citril Finch, Black Woodpecker or White-winged Snowfinch, but this aside we enjoyed a fantastic variety of birds as we tried several areas including trips into France and then Andorra!

In the lower altitudes we came across a fantastic mixed flock of finch and other small birds including Common Crossbills, (c20) giving great views along the road, as well as Brambling, Siskin, Bullfinch, Short-toed Treecreeper, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Long-tailed Tit, Rock Bunting and Chaffinch, again we could hear Iberian Green Woodpecker calling but they remained invisible…..also in these areas Red Kites became more frequent. Here we also came across our only Red Squirrel of the trip.

In the high mountain passes we enjoyed yet more incredible views of Eurasian Griffons and Common Raven, and as we entered Andorra, our first stop around the town produced a decent number of Alpine Chough hanging about around the shops and houses.

As we had time left in the day, we retraced our steps and returned to summit the lane at Coll de Pal – we had to stop quite soon on the way up due to an adult Lammergeier showing incredibly well by the van!! This bird gave us our best views yet and even landed on the scree a few hundred yards away – a definite highlight of the whole trip!!

Onwards to the summit of the pass in bright sunshine, and we were rewarded at the top when we located a group of 4 Alpine Accentors feeding down to a few metres away, scuttling and shuffling in the snow and short turf – superb!

We then took the 90 min transfer to Lleida where we would be based for 2 nights.

Common Crossbill (Loxia curvirostra). Image by Jonathan Kennedy.
Alpine Choughs (Pyrrhocora graculus) in Andorra. Image by Justin Williams.
That afternoon we got impressive views on Lammergeier. Image by Carles Oliver.
Lammergeier about to land for us. Image by Carles Oliver.
Lammergeier on the ground. Image by Carles Oliver.
Pyrenean Chamois (Rupicabra pyrenaica). Image by Justin Williams.
Alpine Accentor (Prunella collaris). Image by Stephen Davis.

Day 3.

The day began with a short trip to our first site and roadside White Storks but even this was interrupted by one of the group skilfully spotting a Stone Curlew by the road!

We were shortly at our first stop, a spectacular dam and gorge with a river and mixed scrub, we quickly began adding birds such as Rock Sparrow, Blue Rock Thrush, Crag Martins (which breed in the tunnel), Blackcap, Kestrel, Song Thrush, Short-toed Treecreeper, Common Kingfisher, Cettis and Sardinian Warblers, Firecrest, Rock Buntings and several Eurasian Griffons. Around 2 hours had now passed and things were starting to get a bit tense…..and then WALLCREEPER!! A bird was located towards the dam and 3 of the group were in the right spot to see it straight away, whilst the rest hurried towards the bird, they found a second Wallcreeper! This bird gave everyone much better views for a few minutes, and everyone could relax, especially Carles!

As we left the gorge a short stop provided Cirl Buntings, 2 Peregrines, Hawfinch and a large flock of Corn Bunting, and as we stopped for coffee, Spotless Starlings.

Stone Curlew (Burhinus oedicnemus). Image by Stephen Davis.
Wallcreeper (Tichodroma muraria). Image by Justin Williams.
Wallcreeper (Tichodroma muraria). Image by Jonathan Kennedy.
Wallcreeper (Tichodroma muraria). Image by Justin Williams.
Wallcreeper Argonauts! Image by Jo Symon.

We then moved on towards our next site with a couple of stops, the first providing many Cattle Egrets, White Storks and our first Great Egret, the second 2 Golden Eagles, Lapwing, Raven, Thekla Larks and a ringtail Hen Harrier as well as a roadside Little Owl.

We then stopped beside a spectacular roadside cliff face for our lunchtime picnic and immediately located our 3rd Wallcreeper of the day!! Although a little more distant this bird gave good telescope views, but we were distracted from this by 2-3 Black Wheatears which were also showing well here along with a Blue Rock Thrush!

We were now into an area of plains and mixed arable land that is rapidly changing due to increased irrigation, but some areas still held many birds and we were quickly seeing Calandra Larks along with Thekla and Crested Larks and after walking a while we saw a distant Iberian Grey Shrike, Peregrine, and then located a single summer plumaged Pin-tailed Sandgrouse, a little distant, but again telescope views were good. As we left the site, we had excellent views of another Iberian Grey Shrike which really showed the difference between this and its northern counterpart.

We then called at a small roadside wetland and began adding a few species such as Coot Shoveler, Common Pochard, Common Snipe, Reed Bunting and Great Egret, as well as a rather unexpected, and slightly questionable, African Sacred Ibis! This bird has been in the area a while, and presumably originates from a ‘feral’ population in nearby France, Italy or Germany… Either way it made at least one of the group very happy!

Our last stop was to close by, and before we had even parked the van our main target was located – a male Eagle Owl! Perched in the ruins of an huge ancient building, this guy sat and watched us as we quietly watched him before starting to sing….amazing!

Whilst Serins and Sardinian Warblers twittered and scratched nearby, the Eagle Owl sat watch, his deep hoot echoing occasionally, until he finally flew low across to a nearby rock face….what an end to a truly fantastic days birding!!

Little Owl (Athene noctua) on its roof. Image by Justing Williams.
Spotless Starling (Sturnus unicolor). Image by Justin Williams.
Pin-tailed Sandgrouse (Pterocles alchata) male. Image by Carles Oliver.
Iberian Grey Shrike (Lanius meridionalis) posed nicely for the group. Image by Carles Oliver.
African Sacred Ibis (Therskiornis aethiopicus) moving along with Western Cattle Egrets. Image by Carles Oliver.
Eurasian Eagle Owl (Bubo bubo) watching us. Image by Carles Oliver.

Day 4.

The day began with a short transfer after breakfast, interrupted by a large flock of migrating Common Cranes. These birds had presumably roosted nearby in the large open arable fields and were continuing their northward journey. We then entered an area of mixed arable/farmed/wild fields with big skies and tremendous views, misty fog didn’t help our search, but we quite quickly located 5 Great Bustards, all males, slowly wandering across their chosen field. Views were not brilliant, but very atmospheric! Here we were surrounded by Calandra Larks, Corn Buntings and our first Lesser Short-toed Larks as well as a Zitting Cisticola, Stonechats and Sardinian Warbler.

We then took a short coffee stop as the mist cleared and visited a small wetland with more Larks and many Linnets, Corn Buntings and Chaffinch before having second, clearer but distant views of the Great Bustards. With this under our belts we collected lunch and moved on.

We soon arrived at Lomaza (only briefly distracted by a large flock of migrating White Storks) and began to look at various larks…. A lot! A landscape of low spiky grass, thistle and huge skies stretched all around us. Quickly we were seeing many Calandra, Thekla and Lesser Short-toed (or ‘Mediterranean’) Larks, with their songs all around us, including much mimicry from the Calandra – quite a soundscape!

After c45mins, suddenly, the song we were searching for, and quickly some views of our quarry…DUPONT’S LARK! At least 2 birds, a pair, were making short, darting runs between bits of spiky tussocks grass until, amazingly, the male climbed a short way into a tussock and sat in full view singing…..a fantastic bit of good fortune and handshakes all round!

With the pressure off we all enjoyed the experience and incredible scenery of this beautiful, wild landscape.

The weather was warm now, and we stopped near Belchite to admire some ruins complete with Crag Martins, Serins and Black Redstart before moving onto a high plateau.

Slowly driving and scanning the fields we came across an unexpected flock of Dotterel, with around 25-30 birds present and showing well, whilst above a Golden eagle soared past. Again we were seeing lots of Calandra Lark with birds still in large winter flocks, Stonechats by the road, Red-legged Partridge, 2 Red Fox, but no sandgrouse….much scanning and scoping eventually led to one of the group picking out a small flock in the far distance, we drove nearer and saw up to 16 Black-Bellied Sandgrouse, good scope views of the birds moving about their chosen field as well as in flight when they are really impressive, a fantastic end to another brilliant day!

Great Bustards (Otis tarda) in dense fog. Image by Carles Oliver.
Dupont’s Lark (Chersophilus duponti): shaking wings as preparing to leave its resting site (up), male singing from to top of a tussock (below). Image by Carles Oliver.
Eurasian Dotterel (Charadrius morinellus), one of 25+ birds resting in a plugged field. Image by Justin Williams.
European Serin (Serinus serinus) female in a short stop around Belchite. Image by Carles Oliver.
Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos), one of many seen during the trip. Image by Carles Oliver
Corn Bunting (Emberiza calandra) acting like being spring. The area around Lleida has the largest density in Europe. Image by Carles Oliver.

Day 5.

We awoke to fairly torrential constant rain, and with the forecast not looking good we made the decision to change our plans and head for the Ebro Delta.

This journey was briefly interrupted with a stop when we spotted 4 Spanish Ibex on a high hill beside the road. Once we arrived at the Ebro we rapidly began adding birds to the trip list, the total change in habitat was exciting and we added many species during the morning including exciting birds such as Moustached Warbler which showed quite well a few times, Penduline Tit, Western Swamphen, Bluethroat, Greater Flamingo, Glossy Ibis, Slender-billed Gull, Caspian Tern, Black-necked Grebe, Red-crested Pochard, and Osprey as well a variety of waders and other wetland birds.

Too soon we had to leave and head for Barcelona, and the airport, but still we made time for 2 quick stops – the first giving us great views of Iberian Green Woodpecker (finally!) and Monk Parakeets. The second stop was at the beach right by the airport where we had fantastic views of Audouins Gull and also passing Atlantic Gannets and Sandwich Terns….a fitting end to a really enjoyable trip with a great group!

Western Swamphen (Porphyrio porphyrio) under the rain. Image by Carles Oliver.
Penduline Tit (Remiz pendulinus) showed well under the rain. Image by Carles Oliver.
Bluethroat (Luscinia svecica) in the path for us. Image by Carles Oliver.
Iberian Green Woodpeckers (Picus sharpei). Image by Jo Symon.
Another shot on Iberian Green Woodpecker. Image by Justin Williams.
Our group almost complete. Image by Daf Edwards.

List of birds seen during the tour

  1. Red-legged Partridge (Alectoris rufa)
  2. Common Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna)
  3. Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)
  4. Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca)
  5. Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata)
  6. Common Pochard (Aythya ferina)
  7. Red-crested Pochard (Netta rufina)
  8. Great Bustard (Otis tarda)
  9. Black-bellied Sandgrouse (Pterocles orientalis)
  10. Pin-tailed Sandgrouse (Pterocles alchata)
  11. Feral Pigeon (Columba livia domestica)
  12. Common Woodpigeon (Columba palumbus)
  13. Eurasian Collared Dove (Streptopelia decaocto)
  14. Water Rail (Rallus aquaticus) — heard only
  15. Eurasian Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus)
  16. Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra)
  17. Western Swamphen (Porphyrio porphyrio)
  18. Common Crane (Grus grus)
  19. Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus)
  20. Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis)
  21. Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis)
  22. Atlantic Gannet (Morus bassanus)
  23. Greater Flamingo (Phoenicopterus ruber)
  24. Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus)
  25. Stone Curlew (Burhinus oedicnemus)
  26. Eurasian Dotterel (Eudromias morinellus)
  27. Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola)
  28. Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus)
  29. Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpress)
  30. Dunlin (Calidris alpina)
  31. Sanderling (Calidris alba)
  32. Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago)
  33. Common Redshank (Tringa totanus)
  34. Greenshank (Tringa nebularia)
  35. Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus)
  36. Eurasian Curlew (Numenius arquata)
  37. Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleuca)
  38. Slender-billed Gull (Chroicocephalus geneni)
  39. Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus)
  40. Mediterranean Gull (Ichthyaetus melanocephalus)
  41. Audouin’s Gull (Ichthyaetus audouinii)
  42. Yellow-legged Gull (Larus michahellis)
  43. Lesser Black-backed Gull (Larus fuscus)
  44. Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia)
  45. Sandwich Tern (Thalasseus sandvicensis)
  46. White Stork (Ciconia ciconia)
  47. Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo)
  48. Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus)
  49. African Sacred Ibis (Threskiornis aethiopica)
  50. Little Egret (Egretta garzetta)
  51. Western Cattle Egret (Ardea ibis)
  52. Great White Egret (Ardea alba)
  53. Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea)
  54. Lammergeier (Gypaetus barbatus)
  55. Eurasian Griffon (Gyps fulvus)
  56. Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos)
  57. Red Kite (Milvus milvus)
  58. Hen Harrier (CIrcus cyaneus)
  59. Western Marsh Harrier (Circus aeruginosus)
  60. Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus)
  61. Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo)
  62. Osprey (Pandion haliaetos)
  63. Eurasian Eagle Owl (Bubo bubo)
  64. Little Owl (Athene noctua)
  65. Eurasian Hoopoe (Upupa epops)
  66. Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis)
  67. Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major)
  68. Iberian Green Woodpecker (Picus sharpei)
  69. Eurasian Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus)
  70. Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus)
  71. Monk Parakeet (Myiopsitta monachus)
  72. Mediterranean Short-toed Lark (Alaudala rufescens)
  73. Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis)
  74. Crested Lark (Galerida cristata)
  75. Thekla’s Lark (Galerida theklae)
  76. Calandra Lark (Melanocorypha calandra)
  77. Dupont’s Lark (Chersophilus duponti)
  78. Crag Martin (Ptyonoprogne rupestris)
  79. Meadow Pipit (Anthus pratensis)
  80. Water Pipit (Anthus spinolleta) — heard only
  81. White Wagtail (Motacilla alba)
  82. Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea)
  83. White-bellied Dipper (Cinclus cinclus)
  84. Dunnock (Prunella modularis) — heard only
  85. Alpine Accentor (Prunella collaris)
  86. European Robin (Erithacus rubecula)
  87. Bluethroat (Luscinia svecica)
  88. Black Redstart (Phoenicurus ochruros)
  89. Black Wheatear (Oenanthe leucura)
  90. European Stonechat (Saxicola rubicola)
  91. Blue Rock Thrush (Monticola solitarius)
  92. Song Thrush (Turdus philomelos)
  93. Redwing (Turdus iliacus) — heard only
  94. Mistle Thrush (Turdus viscivorus)
  95. Fieldfare (Turdus pilaris)
  96. European Blackbird (Turdus merula)
  97. Eurasian Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla)
  98. Sardinian Warbler (Curruca melanocephala)
  99. Moustached Warbler (Acrocephalus melanopogon)
  100. Zitting Cisticola (Cisticola juncidis)
  101. Cetti’s Warbler (Cettia cetti)
  102. Common Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus collybita)
  103. Goldcrest (Regulus regulus)
  104. Firecrest (Regulus ignicapillus)
  105. Eurasian Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes) — heard only
  106. Eurasian Blue Tit (Cyanistes caeruleus)
  107. European Crested Tit (Lophophanes cristatus)
  108. Great Tit (Parus majors)
  109. Coal Tit (Periparus ater)
  110. Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus)
  111. Western Penduline Tit (Remiz pendulinus)
  112. Eurasian Nuthatch (Sitta europaea)
  113. Short-toed Treecreeper (Certhia brachydactyla)
  114. Wallcreeper (Tichodroma muraria)
  115. Iberian Grey Shrike (Lanius meridionalis)
  116. Eurasian Magpie (Pica pica)
  117. Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius)
  118. Western Jackdaw (Coloeus monedula)
  119. Carrion Crow (Corvus corone)
  120. Hooded Crow (Corvus cornix)
  121. Common Raven (Corvus corax)
  122. Alpine Chough (Pyrrhocorax graculus)
  123. Red-billed Chough (Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax)
  124. European Starling (Sturnus unicolor)
  125. Spotless Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)
  126. Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus)
  127. House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)
  128. Common Rock Sparrow (Petronia petronia)
  129. Common Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs)
  130. Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla)
  131. European Serin (Serinus serinus)
  132. Eurasian Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis)
  133. Eurasian Greenfinch (Chloris chloris)
  134. Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus)
  135. Linnet (Acanthis cannabina)
  136. Eurasian Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula)
  137. Common Crossbill (Loxia curvirostra)
  138. Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes)
  139. Yellowhammer (Emberiza citrinella)
  140. Cirl Bunting (Emberiza cirlus)
  141. Rock Bunting (Emberiza cia)
  142. Common Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoneiclus)
  143. Corn Bunting (Emberiza calandra)

List of mammals seen during the tour

  1. Red Squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris)
  2. European Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus)
  3. Roe Deer (Capriolus capriolus)
  4. Pyrenean Chamois (Rupricabra rupricabra)
  5. Spanish Ibex (Cabra hispanica)
  6. Beech Marten (Martes foina)
  7. Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes)

Pyrenees Winter Break 2024

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  • Dates: From February 6th to 10th, 2024
  • Tour participants: 5
  • Number of species seen: 110
  • Tour leader: Carles Oliver

All images in this trip report by tour leader Carles Oliver unless otherwise specified. All rights reserved.

Overview: 10th Pyrenees Winter Break issue. This winter in the Pyrenees has been specially unnormal. The winter started normally, with the first snowfall happening in early November. Soon, the trend changed and we faced several weeks without any snowfall and the high temperatures melted the few snow left. With temperatures ranking 25ºC in January, some high mountain specialties changed their normal routines, especially affected were Snow Finches and Citril Finches, but also Alpine Choughs. This anormal situation, made the tour a bit harder than usual. Despite all of this, we got excellent views in the high mountain specialties and many of the steppe birds, with stunning views on both Wallcreeper and Dupont’s Lark, and 8+ Lammergeiers & 5+ Cinereous Vultures seen.

Day 1. After gathering all the tour participants from their accommodations around the city and enjoy tea & coffee stop we headed to the first birding stop of the tour. During the next hour, we walked around a mosaic landscape with some large trees, bushland and crops.

Here we were delighted to see the first Iberian Green Woodpeckers of the trip, quite active in the early morning. The morning was a bit cloudy and, once again, warm for what we can expect in Barcelona in early February. Small flocks of Common Chaffinches were getting out of the fields, and along with them we saw European Serins and Eurasian Tree Sparrows. Our walk around had a nice start, with a showy Lesser Spotted Woodpecker was calling and drumming from the top of the canopies, and we had really good looks on it for almost five minutes. In this same spot we also got Iberian Green Woodpeckers and a Ring-necked Parakeet exploring some nesting holes. Both Great & Blue Tits were active in the area, and a juvenile Peregrine Falcon did a couple of fast flights in the area, hoping to catch one of the several small birds moving. Other interesting birds here included Eurasian Hoopoe, Eurasian Jay and Common Pheasant. 3 Rock Buntings flew out from the bushes, but unfortunately none of the tour participants had a proper view on them

From the lovely plain in the Llobregat Delta we drove to a small garden around Barcelona where a White-throated Sparrow had been seen. We waited for almost one hour but, unfortunately, the Sparrow didn’t show for us. Still, a nice flock of Red-billed Leiothrix was a great entertainment for us, with some Eurasian Blackcaps and Coal Tits also showing well.

After a short stop for coffees and logistics, we drove up to the hills, with the next stop in the top of the one of the highest mountains between Barcelona and the Pyrenees. Here we had the longest walk of the trip, aiming to connect with the small population of Alpine Accentors living there. Fortunately we didn’t have to walk a lot before a lovely flock of at least 12 Alpine Accentors came to us to offer the group wonderful and very long views, with some of the birds performing right in front of us for several minutes! It was midday and in this small peak, normally covered with snow in early February, the sensation was of being late September! We had a comfortable 15ºC when being at 1700m above the sea level! Even in such a conditions, it was very surprising to find a female Hen Harrier hunting in the slopes of the mountains, and moreover, to see 3 Dartford Warblers singing and chasing each other in the tall vegetation. This is only a summer visitor to this habitat, normally covered by snow. Dartford Warblers spend the winter at lower altitudes, waiting for the snow to melt and temperatures to arise up (this is normally happening by late March or early April).

From here we covered the short distance of driving to the first hillsides of the Pyrenees where, even before arriving to the planned stop, we had to do a stop in one of its minor roads, that appeared covered by hundreds of Finches. Here we got the first excellent views on Common Crossbill, with some superb males singing from the top of the Mountain Pines. Hundreds of Eurasian Siskins were calling and singing here, probably moving North to their nesting grounds in Northern Europe. Eurasian Goldfinch, Coal & Crested Tits, Goldcrest and Mistle Thrush were all seen here, some of them providing great looks. At least 2 Citril Finches were noted inside this massive flock of birds, but they flew over almost unnoticed and I fell to put anyone in the group on the Finches, that fastly disappeared in the forest.

The afternoon was well advanced when we had our last stop of the day. This time to have some time in a lovely subboreal forest. Here, we were again surrounded by Common Crossbills and Siskins and only one minute after leaving the van we had a Black Woodpecker calling not far away. It took us only a pair of minutes to contact with the bird, that was active with a variety of calls to finally stop in a large, dead trunk. There we enjoyed long views as the bird was first calling and then preening before going away. We still had some more time in this lovely habitat, but it didn’t produce anything else out of a pair of showy Great Spotted Woodpeckers and 1 Eurasian Nuthatch.

Close up on Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo) to start the tour.
Red-billed Leiothrix (Leiothrix lutea) has a small population in the forests around Barcelona.
Alpine Accentor (Prunella collaris) was worth every step un the hill!
Common Crosbill (Loxia curvirostra) has been a common sight along this winter in the Pyrenees.
We enjoyed rather distant but long views on Black Woodpecker (Dryocopus martius).

Day 2. After enjoying our breakfast in our quiet accommodation in La Cerdanya valley, we spent the next couple of hours exploring the valley immediately beside. Here, a number of selected stops produced a good list of birds that included large numbers of Mistle Thrushes and Redwings with some Fieldfares but also really good views on Short-toed Treecreeper, Common Crossbills, Crested Tit and, especially, gorgeous looks on Rock Buntings that seemed very active and ready to start the nesting season.

From here, we drove inside Andorra. All the main mountain passes in this area of Catalonia had no snow at the moment, and our only hope to find Snow Finches was to go inside Andorra and do some stops along a mountain pass reaching 2500 metres above the sea level and sky resort located nearby. Once there, we saw that the amount of snow was also really thin, and the sunny weather reduced our chances to connect with the Finches even thinner. Still, we enjoyed very lovely views on Alpine Choughs as they were feeding around the sky resort but also acting almost as Wallcreepers in the buildings around!

Crossing Andorra, we headed South towards the most impressive spot for large raptors in the Pyrenees. Even if the intense Andorran traffic made us go slowly, we arrived to the hillsides around Isona with the sun well high in the sky. Moreover, in our way out of Andorra we got excellent views on White-throated Dippers.

The rest of the afternoon we drove along a pair of tracks, with several stops to enjoy the many birds of prey in the sky. After three hours, a conservative count showed out 7 Lammergeiers, hundreds of Eurasian Griffons and 12 Cinereous Vultures. We got several excellent views, with adult Lammergeiers passing only tens of metres away from the van; Lammergeiers circling along with Cinereous Vultures; or a flock of 15 Griffons and 4 Lammergeiers all circling together to name some of most celebrated sights. Due to the multiple stops to enjoy the several raptors in the sky, we arrived to our accommodation a bit later than expected, but with some unforgettable memories!

Rock Bunting (Emberiza cia) singing his heart out for us.
Alpine Chough (Phyrrocorax graculus)
Alpine Chough close up in our visit in Andorra.
Lammergeier (Gypaetos barbatus), one of the several enjoyed.
A pair of Lammergeiers almost touching wings.
Cinereous Vulture (Aegypius monachus) has a small but healthy population in the Pyrenees.

Day 3. After breakfast, we covered the short distance from Lleida to the first gorges in the Pyrenees. Once there, we spent a couple of hours enjoying the rocky outcrops. Blue Rock Thrush had a short appearance, but Firecrests and Goldcrest gave us long views. In the cliffs, Griffons Vultures were nesting along with Rock Sparrows. In the river along the gorge, Dippers were moving up and down along with Grey Wagtails. Other birds here included Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Cirl Buntings and Sardinian Warbler.

But the main reason to come was another, and a really important one. To be fair, the Wallcreeper overwintering in the gorge didn’t take long to appear, but we had to wait a bit before everybody in the group could connect with it. Still, we were really lucky, and a Wallcreeper appeared at its typical place a bit after 10:00 in the morning. The bird was half way up in the cliff, and not very showy. We had to wait for 5 minutes before the bird, suddenly, decided to come down by the tarmac! The next 10 minutes were some of the most intense in our Pyrenean outings this winter, with extremely close views on this Wallcreeper, while the bird was moving really low along the gorge. At times, we had ti sensation of be able even of touching the bird!

Wallcreeper (Tichodroma muraria) at close range. Image by Mark Dowie.
Another great shot on Wallcreeper. Please note the delicate design of the undertail coverts. Image by Mark Dowie.

After enjoying such a wonderful views on the one of the main specialties living in the mountains we drove down to the plains. There, large flocks of European Golden Plovers and Northern Lapwings were waiting for us. We have our lunch stop by a small pond, where we had Northern Shovelers, Common Pochards, Little Grebes, Eurasian Coots & Teals, 2 Green Sandpipers but also large flocks of White Storks in the move from their roosting places around Lleida. The area was also good for small birds and European Stonechat, Meadow Pipit, Eurasian Skylark, Crested Lark, Chiffchaff, Linnet, Reed Bunting and Eurasian Tree Sparrow were noted.

After lunch we changed to a second pond, and our visit was granted with nice views on 7 Ferruginous Ducks, a very scarce bird in Catalonia!

Driving East, we arrived to an area with a very different landscape. Here, small but cleverly managed fields still allow a good density of Little Bustards. This species, formerly fairly common in Iberia, had become almost a scarcity, and its winter flocks have been severely decimated. A first stop was done to try to connect with a pair of Black-winged Kites nesting in the area, but we only got a small flock of Woodlarks, several Corn Buntings and multiple views on Red Kite & Marsh Harrier. A bit further, 4 Little Bustards were seen by the road, and we got good views from the van to don’t disturb the birds.

The last stop of the day was deserved to the desert-like ambients South of Lleida, where we had a short walk to enjoy the first Thekla’s Larks of the trip along with lovely flocks of Red-billed Choughs, Spotless Starlings, Rock Sparrows and a Black Wheatear that refused to show for the group! It was already quite late, but we decided to have a very last stop, and our effort was very worth. We still had to get out of the van when we listened and Eurasian Eagle Owl calling from somewhere in the valley. After a fast scanning, we decided to go for a slow short walk, and after a few metres Mark got the bird singing from a dead branch up in the hillside. During the few minutes, we got amazing scope views on the bird while some Redwings were attending their roosting site. A superb way to end another very good day!

Part of the flock of Ferruginous Ducks (Aythya nyroca) seen around Lleida.
Little Bustard (Tetrax tetrax) female feeding.
Eagle Owl calling from its perch. Image by Mark Dowie.

Day 4. After a sunny start of the trip, this was a grey and rainy day. A difficult weather to search for the specialties living in the steppes. Still, we went to explore the endless plains in central Monegros. A first stop in a small salty lagoon produced the only Kentish Plover of the trip along with Common Shelducks and Black-headed Gulls. From here, we got in the plains, but the muddy tracks made difficult for us to arrive to some locations. Still, we were lucky enough to contact with 2 nice Black-bellied Sandgrouses that provided flying views. 1 Little Owl was also a nice sight while flocks of Calandra & Skylarks were flying over the fields. After a couple of hours checking around the rain became heavier, and we decided to go for a service stop. It was a fortunate choice since the sky cleared right when we were leaving the coffee shop.

Back to the plains, we managed to arrive to a nice spot and soon we found a nice of 11 Pin-tailed Sandgrouses that stayed on a field for us for about 20 minutes. Here we had nice scope views with some good photo and video chances. Several Calandra & Crested Larks were singing here, and as the sun became stronger, the first Mediterranean Short-toed Larks (aka Lesser Short-toed Larks) of the trip were noted. From here we moved into a different section of the plains, and we were lucky to find a nice flock of 31 Common Cranes feeding on the ground at close range, and a closer flock of Eurasian Griffons on the ground, waiting for the weather to improve. Here we also got a nice male Hen Harrier flying over the large fields, and 2 extra Little Owls! But unfortunately the rain started again, even heavier than before and we decided to move away, trying to put some distance from the mud and the rain.

But when we arrive to our new accommodation, the rain was also there for us, and we decided to end the day after enjoying a distant view on a new Little Owl.

Pin-tailed Sandgrouses (Pterocles alchata) feeding under the rain.

Day 5. After enjoying breakfast, we headed out to the large steppes immediatly South of Zaragoza. This is a wonderful are to enjoy steppe birds, with multiple places where to go and try to find the different specialties living in the region. After the generous rain of the previous day, we woke up in a sunny day with only some clouds.

We started driving in the minor tracks crossing the steppes and soon got 2 Black-bellied Sandgrouses in a farming area. Beyond, both Calandra and Mediterranean Short-toed Larks started singing, offering both really good looks. It didn’t take long before we got a first Dupont’s Lark singing. It looked like far away, but then a second bird started singing a bit closer. Some Short-toed Larks were around, feeding and providing some photo opportunities. The wind started to pick up, but both Dupont’s Larks were still singing. We put out the scopes, trying to see them in the ocean of grass in front of us, but we couldn’t contact with the bird..

After 40 minutes of scan we decided to move away and try a different spot. By that time the wind was already strong. A new Lesser Short-toed Lark in good light was welcome by the photographers in the group, but suddenly a second bird appeared right behind the Short-toed Lark. A Dupont’s Lark sitting in the top of a small bush only 10 metres away from us!! Soon we were all having the bird and celebrating our luck.

Mediterranean Short-toed Lark (Alaudala rufescens).
Lovely views on a singing Dupont’s Lark (Chersophilus duponti) after a couple of hours of waiting! Image by tour leader Carles Oliver
Thekla’s Lark (Galerida theklae) close up to end our exploration of the steppes.

Leaving the steppes, we still had a pair of Red-billed Choughs displaying around and 2 Black-bellied Sandgrouses plus a pair of superb Golden Eagles in the highway. But certainly the wind had picked up in the last minutes. We started the final transfer to Barcelona, having a stop in a lovely lagoon with a wonderful reedbed. Unfortunately, by the time we arrived to the lagoon the wind was so strong that it was almost not possible to stand up, and we had to search refuge in a blind and even inside the van to enjoy our packed lunches. Here, we only got Gadwalls and Great Crested Grebes and the very strong wind made no possible to contact with any passerine living in the reeds.

Despite the strong wind, we still had something to add to our list and a small detour to explore a sheltered gorge produced a nice male Black Wheatear in the top of a small cliff, providing good views to all the members of the group. This very last minute sight was really appreciated, since the first contact with this species, a couple of days before, was poor and not everyone in the group actually so the bird.

After this short stop, we just transferred back to Barcelona to end our tour around the airport by mid afternoon.

List of birds seen during the tour

  1. Red-legged Partridge (Alectoris rufa)
  2. Ring-necked Pheasant (Phaisanus colchinus)
  3. Common Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna)
  4. Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)
  5. Gadwall (Anas strepera)
  6. Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca)
  7. Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata)
  8. Common Pochard (Aythya ferina)
  9. Ferruginous Duck (Aythya nyroca)
  10. Little Bustard (Tetrax tetrax)
  11. Black-bellied Sandgrouse (Pterocles orientalis)
  12. Pin-tailed Sandgrouse (Pterocles alchata)
  13. Feral Pigeon (Columba livia domestica)
  14. Stock Dove (Columba oenas)
  15. Common Woodpigeon (Columba palumbus)
  16. Eurasian Collared Dove (Streptopelia decaocto)
  17. Eurasian Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus)
  18. Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra)
  19. Common Crane (Grus grus)
  20. Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus)
  21. Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis)
  22. Kentish Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus)
  23. European Golden Plover (Pluvialis apricaria)
  24. Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus)
  25. Greenshank (Tringa nebularia)
  26. Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus)
  27. Yellow-legged Gull (Larus michahellis)
  28. White Stork (Ciconia ciconia)
  29. Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo)
  30. Western Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis)
  31. Great White Egret (Ardea alba)
  32. Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea)
  33. Lammergeier (Gypaetus barbatus)
  34. Eurasian Griffon (Gyps fulvus)
  35. Cinereous Vulture (Aegypius monachus)
  36. Red Kite (Milvus milvus)
  37. Hen Harrier (CIrcus cyaneus)
  38. Western Marsh Harrier (Circus aeruginosus)
  39. Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus)
  40. Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo)
  41. Eurasian Eagle Owl (Bubo bubo)
  42. Little Owl (Athene noctua)
  43. Eurasian Hoopoe (Upupa epops)
  44. Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major)
  45. Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (Dryobates minor)
  46. Iberian Green Woodpecker (Picus sharpei)
  47. Black Woodpecker (Dryocopus martius)
  48. Eurasian Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus)
  49. Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus)
  50. Rose-ringed Parakeet (Psittacula krameri)
  51. Mediterranean Short-toed Lark (Alaudala rufescens)
  52. Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis)
  53. Crested Lark (Galerida cristata)
  54. Thekla’s Lark (Galerida theklae)
  55. Woodlark (Lullula arborea)
  56. Calandra Lark (Melanocorypha calandra)
  57. Dupont’s Lark (Chersophilus duponti)
  58. Meadow Pipit (Anthus pratensis)
  59. White Wagtail (Motacilla alba)
  60. Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea)
  61. White-bellied Dipper (Cinclus cinclus)
  62. Alpine Accentor (Prunella collaris)
  63. European Robin (Erithacus rubecula)
  64. Black Redstart (Phoenicurus ochruros)
  65. Black Wheatear (Oenanthe leucura)
  66. European Stonechat (Saxicola rubicola)
  67. Song Thrush (Turdus philomelos)
  68. Redwing (Turdus iliacus)
  69. Mistle Thrush (Turdus viscivorus)
  70. European Blackbird (Turdus merula)
  71. Blue Rock Thrush (Monticola solitarius)
  72. Eurasian Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla)
  73. Sardinian Warbler (Curruca melanocephala)
  74. Dartford Warbler (Curruca undata)
  75. Cetti’s Warbler (Cettia cetti)
  76. Common Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus collybita)
  77. Goldcrest (Regulus regulus)
  78. Firecrest (Regulus ignicapillus)
  79. Eurasian Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes)
  80. Eurasian Blue Tit (Cyanistes caeruleus)
  81. European Crested Tit (Lophophanes cristatus)
  82. Great Tit (Parus majors)
  83. Coal Tit (Periparus ater)
  84. Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus)
  85. Red-billed Leiothrix (Leiothrix lutea)
  86. Short-toed Treecreeper (Certhia brachydactyla)
  87. Wallcreeper (Tichodroma muraria)
  88. Iberian Grey Shrike (Lanius meridionalis)
  89. Eurasian Magpie (Pica pica)
  90. Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius)
  91. Western Jackdaw (Coloeus monedula)
  92. Carrion Crow (Corvus corone)
  93. Common Raven (Corvus corax)
  94. Alpine Chough (Pyrrhocorax graculus)
  95. Red-billed Chough (Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax)
  96. European Starling (Sturnus unicolor)
  97. Spotless Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)
  98. Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus)
  99. House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)
  100. Common Rock Sparrow (Petronia petronia)
  101. Common Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs)
  102. European Serin (Serinus serinus)
  103. Eurasian Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis)
  104. Eurasian Greenfinch (Chloris chloris)
  105. Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus)
  106. Linnet (Acanthis cannabina)
  107. Common Crossbill (Loxia curvirostra)
  108. Cirl Bunting (Emberiza cirlus)
  109. Rock Bunting (Emberiza cia)
  110. Corn Bunting (Emberiza calandra)

List of mammals seen during the tour

  1. European Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus)
  2. Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes)
  3. Red Deer (Cervus elaphus)

Extremadura & Gredos 2019 (+ Pyrenees). Trip Report

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Tour Participants: 5

Dates: From April 15th to April 26th, 2019

Number of species of birds seen: 227

 

Summary

During the tour the temperature ranged from 02ºC to 29ºC. We recorded 7 mammal species, over 227 species of birds and 3 species of reptiles. The species mentioned in the daily summaries are only some of those seen.

Day 1: Monday 15 April: Madrid to La Mancha Humeda and onto Extremadura.

Our trip begun with us meeting for a breakfast at our Hotel in Madrid. After meeting our local Guide and driver Carles we negotiated the Madrid traffic and made our way for the Navaesca lagoon and wetlands. As we left the city and headed into the Winelands and agricultural fields on route we enjoyed sightings of: Common Magpie, Black Kite, Common Wood Pigeon and Crested Lark.

Our first stop after a well deserved coffee break was Navaesca Lagoon south west of Madrid and here we enjoyed some amazing birding with highlights being: 50+ White-headed Duck, Cetti’s Warbler, Common Shelduck, Black-headed Gull, Ruff, Common Greenshank, European Penduline Tit, Bearded Reedling, Greylag Goose, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Red-crested Pochard, Little-ringed Plover and European Goldfinch to name a few. Luck was on our side this morning as we had really top cracking views of these species, we managed brief views of a Moustached Warbler but this unfortunately avoided us despite numerous attempts to relocate. We enjoyed our lunch watching the Whiskered Terns and had a good fly by sighting of a Mediterranean Gull.

White-headed Ducks (Oxyura leucocephala) are a scarce resident duck in Central Spain and along the Mediterranean coast. Image by tour leader Carles Oliver

After lunch the wind picked up and bird activity died down so we made our way to the Extremadura region.  On our way to the Extremadura region we enjoyed road side sightings of: Booted Eagle, European Griffon Vulture, European Black Vulture, White Storks nesting, European Stonechat, Hawfinch, Western Marsh Harrier and Corn Bunting. At our accommodation in Extremaduta we enjoyed amazing next door birding including sightings of European Blue Tit, Black Kite, Red-rumped Swallow, Iberian Magpie, Common Cuckoo, Black-winged Kite, European Bee-eater, Mistle Thrush, Common Chaffinch, Great Tit, Woodchat Shrike, White Wagtail, and Booted Eagle.

We got daily great views on Black-winged Kites (Elanus caeruleus) during our stay in Extremadura. The fact that one pair nested in our accommodation grounds helped a bit 🙂 Image by Carles Oliver

What a great start to our tour as we enjoyed sunset over the snow capped Monfrague Mountains. Our dinner was enjoyed over a glass of red wine as we chatted about the excellent first day we have enjoyed. Also hearing common cuckoo call its characteristic cuckoo clock call again is always an enjoyable experience. We all slept well after a great day of birding.

 

Day 2: Tuesday 16 April.                             Monfragüe National Park.         

Our morning begun nice and early with breakfast at our lodge as we could hear the birds waking up. We could hear Common Cuckoo calling from the breakfast table, which is not to shabby. We made our way towards the open fields know to be a good spot for both Little and Great Bustards. Lady luck was on our side and one of the first birds we saw in the area was a stunning male Little Bustard which offered us excellent views and and a flight display- wow this was enjoyed by all as these birds are now critically endangered so getting good views of this male was enjoyed by all. Just as we thought what more could we ask for, we had an incredible sighting of a Great Bustard displaying, what a pleasure. After some scanning we found a lek of about 5 males displaying for one females attention, it’s was most comical and most enjoyable to watch this behavior. Other highlights included: female Montagu’s Harrier, Black-bellied Sandgrouse, Common Buzzard, Eurasian Skylark, Eurasian Tree Sparrow, Whinchat, European Stonechat and Red-legged Partridge.

A quick coffee stop was enjoyed overlooking the Gredos mountain range, here we enjoyed a spectacular sighting of both Spainish Imperial Eagle and Cinereous Vulture flying right over us and giving us amazing views. On route to Monfragüe National Park we enjoyed sightings of: European Griffon Vulture, Booted Eagle, Great Tit, Eurasian Wren, Eurasian Blackcap, Woodlark, Spanish Sparrow, Lesser spotted Woodpecker and we hade a brilliant sighting of Western Orphean Warbler- sometimes a difficult bird to see!. As we enjoyed our lunch in the Oak fields we were treated to stunning views of a pair of Short-toed Treecreepers– it was most enjoyable to watch their behavior and antics. As we made our way into Monfragüe we enjoyed a cracking sighting of a Short-toed Snake Eagle with a snake in its mouth as it flew by and over us.

Little Bustard (Tetrix tetrix) showing really well in our tour. Image by Carles Oliver

 

The Monfragüe National Park is a special protected area for Birdlife in Spain and we enjoyed some wonderful sightings of the Griffon Vultures flying over us and in-front of us. Other top sightings included: Cinereous Vulture, Blue Rock Thrush, Sardinian Warbler, Rock Bunting, Black Redstart, Subalpine Warbler, Crag Marting, Peregrine Falcon and Black Stork. It was truly an amazing day birding in Extremadura and we all had a wonderful and busy day. As we made our way back to our accommodation we all chatted about the various sightings we enjoyed and also got chatting about the various conservation efforts been made in Europe to protect birds.

 

Day 3: Wednesday 17 April.                            The Caceres Plains and Arrocampo wetlands.                                                                                                               

Our day started nice and early with breakfast and coffee as we got ready for another exciting day of birding in Spain. We made our way to Campo Lugar to improve our views of Great Bustard. On route in the town of Campo Lugar we had great views of Pallid Swift. In the grasslands we were rewarded with excellent views of Great Bustard which was enjoyed by all. Other highlights included: Gull-billed Tern, Northern Raven and Calandra Lark.

In the town we enjoyed a lovely coffee in a small Spanish coffee shop and were treated to exceptional views of Lesser Kestrel colony on a tower, we also had a good view of our first Iberian Grey Shrike of the trip. After our coffee stop we made our way to check the nest boxes put up for the European Rollers and we had good views of the birds nesting and even mating- these are incredible birds that make an extraordinary migration from Southern Europe to Southern Africa and its amazing to see the birds in Spain that we see in Southern Africa. We also enjoyed sightings of Eurasian Hoopoe and Iberian Grey Shrike.

One of the many Great Bustards (Otis tarda) that we enjoyed in Extremadura. Image by Carles Oliver

We made our way to Alcollarin Dam to see which migrant water birds would be around and enjoy our lunch. Our day just got better and better from this point and we enjoyed some incredible birding at the dam and we had sightings of: Collared Practincole, Northern Lapwing, Common Ringed Plover, Common Kingfisher, Temminck’s Stint, Kentish Plover, Common Kingfisher, Eurasian Spoonbill and Black Tern– this is some incredible birding for Southern Europe and everyone enjoyed the avian gems on show. Just as we thought things could not get better we had a lovely sighting of two European Otters swimming in water in front of this- truly amazing and a mammal lifer for all on the trip. As we travelled we chatted about our great day and I enjoyed learning from Larry A about North America and the great birding he enjoys in the State of California. It was also intresting to hear from Larry how the Black Tern in the States is a different tern to the one we have just seen in Spain. Larry also enjoyed the sighting of the Temminck’s Stint as it was a bird he wanted to see.

Spanish Magpie (Cyanopica coocki), a must-seen endemic to get when birding in Southern Spain and Portugal. Image by Carles Oliver

The views of about 30 Collared Practincoles impressed Pam as they flew over head. We enjoyed some down time at the accommodation before dinner and enjoyed a wonderful dinner and some good Spanish wine as we chatted about our wonderful day, birding stories and finished off our listing.

Thekla Lark (Galerida theklae) in the grasslands near Campo Lugar. Image by Carles Oliver

Day 4: Thursady. 18 April.           Extremadura to the the Ebro Valley.

Our day begun a little earlier than normal as we decided we would check out the Arrocampo wetlands before moving onto the Ebro valley. We enjoyed a lovely breakfast before heading to the wetlands. Lady Luck was on our side and as we arrived at the wetland and made our way to the hide, we had a great sighting of a male and female Ferruginous Duck fly up and give us brilliant views of this hard to see species of Duck in Europe. It’s estimated that there are about 7 pairs left of these birds in Iberia so seeing a pair was really exciting and enjoyed by the whole group. The birds also decided to come and land on the pond in front of us and we got some really good views of this beautiful duck. Other highlights at the wetlands included: a Purple Heron, Little Bitten, Western Swamphen, Savi’s Warbler, Sand Martin and we unfortunately only managed to hear Water Rail. We were soon back on the road and heading for the Ebro Valley, today was set aside as a day of travel and we had a good 5 hours drive to get to the Ebro Valley and our accommodation.

European Bee-eaters (Merops apiaster) were a common view in several areas along this tour. Image by Carles Oliver

On the way we had panned a stop to try and find Bluethroat and Rufous-tailed Thrush but unfortunately the weather was not playing along and we had cold and rainy weather high up in the mountains with temperature dropping to 3 degrees Celsius- not ideal for bird watching. We did however get sightings of: European Serin, Eurasian Jay and Eurasian Robin. Our efforts were also rewarded with a wonderful sighting of a Common Salamander- Salamandra salamandra. This was a great find and this amphibian gem was enjoyed by the group, especially by Pam and myself.

We made our way to the Ebro Valley slowly as most of the drive was in the pouring rain, which did not help our birding efforts. As we approached our accommodation we went to the site where Dupont’s Lark occurs and tried our luck in locating this sought after species. Unfortunately the weather didn’t help us and the gusting wild and cold made finding the bird impossible. We did however enjoy views of a Golden Eagle hunting European Rabbits. We enjoyed a quick shower and freshen up before enjoying a lovely dinner together and a good nights rest.

Day 5: Friday 19 April.              Ebro Valley and transfer to Pyrenees.

Our morning begun nice and early so we could get out and try for the Dupont’s Lark again. After breakfast we headed for the area we had been in the previous day searching for the Lark and our luck changed for the better. With the weather being calm and cool with no rain and wind we knew this was our best chance to see the bird. Lady Luck again was on our side and within 30 minutes we had spectacular views on a male Dupont’s Lark– this was just great and made up for our efforts from yesterday. The bird performed well and we could all enjoy this beauty. Larry was particularly chuffed as he had thought we would not see the bird- patience and perseverance paid off.

Other highlights for the morning included: Greater Short-toed Lark, Western Bonelli’s Warbler, European Turtle Dove, Calandra Lark, Black-bellied Sandgrouse, Pin-tailed Sandgrouse, Carrion Crow and Willow Warbler. After a short coffee break we made our way to an area to try and improve our views of Pin-tailed Sandgrouse and this we did with 5 birds showing well in the scopes- we then got treated to a fly by and all had awesome views of these magnificent birds. Another highlight was a male Pallied Harrier flying over the grasslands which we all managed to get good views of- this species is rare in Spain and was a good record for the tour.

In the tour we were lucky and enjoyed multiple and long views on Dupont’s Larks (Chersophilus duponti) in the wonderful steppes close to Codo. Image by Carles Oliver

We stopped to enjoy some of Spain’s old castles and made our way to lunch in the town of Bujaraloz and after a wonderful lunch enjoyed some birding at a nearby pond with us seeing: Green Sandpiper, Common Redshank, Common Sandpiper, Little Ringed Plover and Northern Shoveler. We made our way onto the Pyrenees and our accommodation. A strategical stop was made at a spot to try and find Black Wheatear and this paid off with us getting some good views on a pair, we also enjoyed sightings of good numbers of Griffon Vultures as well as Thekla Lark, Sardinian Warbler and Spectacled Warbler. We made our way into the Pyrenees Mountains and the birding that lay ahead of us was off the charts with us getting good views of Long-tailed Tit, Egyptian Vulture, Bearded Vulture and a male Wallcreeper moving along the rock face, this was a magical end for this day, probably one of the best days during the tour!

This male Wallcreeper (Tichodroma muraria) delighted us with great, but a bit distant views, just in our first stop into the Pyrenees. Image by Carles Oliver

We quickly freshened up and enjoyed a wonderful dinner at our accommodation at, the foot hills of the Pyrenees. What a brilliant day.

 

Day 6: Saturday 20 April.                                                 The Pyrenees.

Our morning once again begun nice and early so we could get into the high mountains of the Pyrenees and target some of the special birds of the high altitudinal areas. After a lovely home cooked breakfast we made our way to the Portalet mountain pass at about 2000m above sea level. We had a few high mountain birds to target.

Not really an average sight on Egyptian Vulture (Neophron percnopterus). Image by Carles Oliver

The snow capped mountains and the scenery was absolutely spectacular and we enjoyed taking in the magnificent part of Spain before crossing into France. Soon after entering France we enjoyed some good birding with us getting good views of: Bearded Vulture, Northern Wheatear, Red Kite, Yellowhammer, Water Pipit, Alpine Accentor which put on a wonderful display. We also enjoyed the antics of the Alpine Marmots on the cliffs. We also had spectacular close up views of both Alpine and Red-billed Chough. What a great morning of birding.

Lammergeier (Gypaetos barbatus) showing superbly during our tour. Image by Carles Oliver

We enjoyed launch overlooking the snow capped mountains and made our way further into France to continue our birding and try for the elusive White-backed Woodpecker- we unfortunately only could hear this bird and could not get any views on the species, we did however enjoy good views of: Ring Ouzel, Tree Pipit, Common Firecrest, Citril Finch– a good bird to see and with exceptional views which made Larry’s day, Eurasian Nuthatch, Coal Tit, Goldcrest and a Song Thrush displaying for us- all in all some good birding. We made our way back up the Pyrenees through the maze of tunnels and into Spain to get to our accommodation in time for a lovely home cooked traditional meal. This is exactly what the group needed and we all had a well deserved nights rest after another good days birding.

The very scarce and located Spectacled Warbler (Sylvia conscipillata) was really showy in the early afternoon. Image: Carles Oliver

 

Day 7: Sunday 21 April.                                                   The Pyrenees.

Another early start was on the cards for us in order to get out to the San Juan de La Monastery to try for the elusive Black Woodpecker. A quick walk around our accommodation after our lovely breakfast yielded us good views of Common Rock Sparrow– our first bird for the day and new for the trip. At the monastery luck was on our side and we managed to get several views of the hard to find Black Woodpecker. We also enjoyed very close up views of: Eurasian Treecreeper, Eurasian Crested Tit, Coal Tit and Eurasian Jay.

After a long search, we finally managed great looks on this Alpine Accentor (Prunella collaris). Image by Carles Oliver

Despite the rather poor light, Ring Ouzels (Turdus torquatus) gave us great sights up in the Pyrenees. Image by Carles Oliver

We made our way further into the Pyrenees towards Echo valley. Roadside birding included Griffon Vultures, a Booted Eagle being mobbed by a Red Kites and Egyptian Vulture. We headed high up into the mountains to our lunch stop and while having lunch enjoyed great sightings of Dunnock, European Robin and Coal Tit. We birded the area after lunch and had some really good birding with highlights being Citril Finch, Cirl Bunting, White-throated Dipper, Grey Wagtail, Short-toed Treecreeper, Marsh Tit and Common Chiffchaff. We all had some time to relax before dinner and enjoyed another wonderful home cooked meal by our host. The place we are staying is a traditional Spanish farm house that was built in the 1700s and had been tastefully upgraded and gives a lovely warm feel to it. The host is so welcoming and Larry S, Larry A, Pam and I really enjoyed staying here. The warm hospitality and traditional home cooked meals were welcomed and enjoyed by all. We all had a good nights rest after another great days birding in the Pyrenees.

 

Day 8: Monday 22 April.                                  Lleida Steppes.

We had a slightly earlier start today so we could get into the lower Step areas and Open fields of the lower Pyrenees to target a few birds we had missed. After a lovely home cooked breakfast we said our goodbyes to our wonderful host and headed out. The area in which we started our birding has some of the best Steppes and open grassland in Spain and as soon as we got into the area we had a wonderful sighting of a Short-eared Owl that was perched and proceeded to give us a wonderful fly by- a highlight for all on the tour and a great start.

We enjoyed some good birding with highlights being: Little Owl, Black-eared Wheatear, Calandra Lark, Common Redstart, Tawny Pipit, Whinchat, Thekla, Greater-short Toed and Lesser-short Toed Larks. The hard scan around pay off when we finally got 2 Great Spotted Cuckoos feeding in an open field. We managed to get long and wonderful views on both birds on the ground, but we could not get too much close of them since they were feeding on a sensitive field, nesting ground for Sandgrouses and Larks. After a slight drive and a short coffee stop we stopped along a small stream and enjoyed some more birding with our first views of: Eurasian Golden Oriole, Wood Warbler, Common Nightingale and Alpine Swift. We also had some really good views of Rock Bunting and Cirl Bunting.

Eurasian Eagle Owl (Bubo bubo) in a late evening sight that included some great vocalisation. Image by Carles Oliver

We made our way further south to Fraga, just outside or Lleida and checked into our accommodation for the night. We decided to take a slight afternoon break as tonight we are going to take a night drive and target some of the nocturnal birds in the area. We all deserved the slight bit of downtime and after a slightly earlier dinner went off into the late afternoon and night to see what nocturnal birds we could find. Luck was once again on our side and we had an incredible night drive with us getting great views of Eurasian Eagle-Owl, Western Barn Owl and Eurasian Scops Owl. We were very lucky to get great views of all of these species and it made it an Owltastic day, with us seeing 5 species of owl in the day, that being: Short-eared Owl, Little Owl, Eurasian Eagle-Owl, Western Barn Owl and Eurasian Scops Owl. We all enjoyed a good nites rest after another great days birding.

 

Day 9: Tuesday 23 April.                                       Lleida to Ebro Delta.

Another early start was on the cards for this morning so we could make our way to the Ebro Delta but still try and connect with a few birds we need in the area. After a lovely breakfast we were soon on the road and heading for the flowing step landscape just outside of Lleida. The break in the rain meant we could try see what birds were active and we had some good sightings with highlights being: Common Nightingale– finally some good views, Eurasian Hobby, Ortolan Bunting, Subalpine Warbler– great views, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Rock Sparrow and improved views of  Eurasian Jay.

Wood Warbler (Phylloscopus sibilatrix) is a scarce migratory bird in Catalonia. Due to a huge irruption, during the tour we enjoyed a good number of them. Image by Carles Oliver

A stop along the nearby stream yielded us with a great sighting of Hawfinch- a difficult and tough bird to see, and we got good views. We soon were back on the road, heading for the Mediterranean coast. A quick lunch stop was enjoyed at a local tapas bar before making our way to a spot to try for Dartford Warbler– luck was on our side and we enjoyed good views on a pair of birds and also got some good views on a Common Whitethroat– the first for the trip. We soon moved onto a local wetland to check for any migrating birds and got rewarded with good views of Wood Warbler, Western Bonelli’s Warbler and Eurasian Tree Sparrow.

We made our way down to the coast and arrived at the Ebro Delta in the late afternoon to some perfect weather conditions and we got treated to some exceptional and exciting birding. We enjoyed views of: Curlew Sandpiper( breeding plumage), Eurasian Oystercatcher, Grey Plover, Slender-billed Gull, Dunlin, Common Shelduck, Garganey, Western Osprey and Bar-tailed Godwit in breeding plumage which was enjoyed by all as no one had seen the bird before in breeding dress.

Curlew Sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea) in almost full summer plomage at Ebro Delta. Image by Carles Oliver

As we left the bay we had the most incredible sightings of Audouin’s Gull, Mediterranean Gull, Black-headed Gull, Slender-billed Gull and Eurasian Curlew all sitting in the open offering excellent photo opportunities and also gave us a chance to compare the different Gills next to each other and therefore learn how to ID them. Both Larry’s enjoyed this opportunity. We made our way to our accommodation close to the Ebro Delta, settled in and had a lovely dinner talking about our great day and completing our lists. We all had a good nites rest after another great day.

 

Day 10: Wednsday 24 April.                                                  Ebro Delta.

We begun our day once again with an early start and a lovely breakfast and then headed out to explore the Ebro Delta and surrounds for the day. A walk around our accommodation yielded us sightings of Black-crowned Night Heron, Mediterranean Flycatcher (a really good bird to have in Catalonia since is nesting in the islands of the Western Mediterranean), European Pied Flycatcher and Little Bittern. We made our way north into the Delta to the point and had some really good birding with highlights being: Icterine Warbler, Western Yellow Wagtail, Purple Heron, Collared Pratincole and Red-crested Pochard. Unfortunately the wind picked up badly and this halted our birding, we decided to stop for a coffee break and try plan B.

Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorac nycticorax), a common nesting heron at Ebro Delta. Image by Carles Oliver

Baillon’s Crake (Porzana pusilla), a wonderful sight close to Ebro Delta! Image by Carles Oliver

We did have some excitement in one of the Subalpine Warblers we saw and photographed as we thought it could have been the recently split- Moltoni’s Warbler but after extensive checking and sending pics to experts we decided that is was a Western Subalpine Warbler. We also enjoyed watching a flock of about 50 Yellow Wagtails in a field close to the car and this gave us a chance to study the different races and we decided we have races from Italy, Iberia, NW Africa and Central Europe all in one spot- interesting stuff which was enjoyed by all but especially Larry S as he could also photograph the birds well. Our plan B kicked into place and we decided to enjoy lunch in a near by hide and boy did this work out as we had some exceptional birding which included: Little Stint, Baillon’s Crake, Spotted Redshank, Ruff, Marsh Sandpiper, Temminck’s Stint, Little Ringed Plover, Common Ringed Plover, Common Snipe and Wood Sandpiper. What a lunch stop!

Ebro Delta is always a guarantee and this time provided with really close views on Collared Pratincoles (Glareola pratincola). Image by Carles Oliver

The biggest surprise of our lunch was the Jack Snipe that showed up and was on display feeding right in front the hide offering exceptional views- this was truly amazing as this is a hard bird to see and to see it so well was amazing. The bird was also a lifer for all on the trip. We decided to take a slight break from the wind before heading out again in the late afternoon. The afternoon was enjoyed coming to grips with the different Gulls and Terns of the area, and we enjoyed the late afternoon watching the terns coming into roost, we enjoyed good sightings of Caspian, Little and Whiskered Terns. We enjoyed a lovely traditional dinner at the lodge while we chatted about the excitimng day and also enjoyed working through our checklists and rounding off another great day. After dinner we enjoyed a slight walk around the accommodation and got good views of the nesting Eurasian Scops Owl.

And this Jack Snipe (Lymnocriptes minimus) was probably the most celebrated bird of the tour. Image by Carles Oliver

Although this Temminck’s Stint (Calidris temminckii) moulting to summer plogame (see the Black center in the wing feathers) was also a hit! Image by Carles Oliver

 

Day 11: Thursday 25 April.                         Ebro Delta and Tortosa Beseit Natural Park.                                                                                                                      

We started our day once again nice and early with a lovely breakfast before heading out for some birding. The weather looked promising and we enjoyed great views of Black-crowned Night Heron at our accommodation. We made our way into the Delta and had a good sighting of Common Reed Bunting at the local wetland, the species we saw is actually Iberian Reed Bunting, the race is know as Witherbyi and could in the close future become a new split and species so it was really good to get good scope views on this endangered species. Other highlights included: Common Shelduck, Caspian Tern, Eurasian Penduline Tit, Great Reed Warbler and Lesser Black-backed Gull.

Bonelli’s Eagle (Aquila fasciata) controlling its territory from an advantatged point. Image by Carles Oliver

We made our way off the Delta towards Tortosa Beseit Natural Park to try a spot we know of for Bonelli’s Eagle. Luck was on our side and we arrived at the nesting area and had great views of the pair sitting up on the rocks, we also managed to get great scope views on a chick sitting on a neat nest- wow what a great sighting of this endangered Eagle. We made our way down into the Delta for lunch and had some good road side sightings of Short-toed Snake Eagle and Booted Eagle. Just before we lunch we got lucky and had a Red-footed Falcon fly by us while driving and we managed to relocate the bird and have exceptional views. The bird was flying and hawking insects and also perched close to us. We enjoyed lunch in the field and had our first European Honey Buzzard for the trip fly pass and offer decent views.

Red-footed Falcon (Falco vespertinus), again a scarce migratory bird in Catalonia that we were lucky yo enjoy in Ebro Delta. Image by Carles Oliver

We decided to take a short break before heading out in the afternoon to do some shore birding. Our afternoon birding was a great success with us enjoying some top birding at one of the local hides. Highlights at the hide included: Melodious Warbler, Water Rail, Eurasian Spoonbill, Temminck’s Stint, Marsh Sandpiper, Willow Warbler and fabulous views of the Jack Snipe in-front of us in the open purring on a show. We had a fabulous sunset over the water with the Greater Flamingoes and Pied Avocets offering us great shots as we got the reflections off the water- what an incredible way to spend our last evening on tour. We enjoyed a lovely dinner and chatted about the great day and tour we have had and how it’s sad that it’s already over. We all enjoyed the wine on offer and took a short walk outside to locate the resident Eurasian Scops Owl and we all have good views of the bird on the nest box. We all have a good nites rest after another great day.

Melodious Warbler (Hyppolais polyglotta) showed really in Ebro Delta along with its much scarcer relative Icterine Warbler (Hyppolais icterina). Image by Carles Oliver

Eurasian Scops Owl (Otus scops) provided with great sights in our accommodation at Ebro Delta. Image by Carles Oliver

 

Day 12: Friday 26 April.                             Ebro Delta to Barcelona via Llobregat Delta.                                                                                                                     

Our final day of the tour started with a lovely breakfast and a walk around our accommodation. The weather was juts perfect for our last day and our walk after breakfast rewarded us with great views of a Garden Warbler which was new for the trip. We were soon on the road and made a short stop along the coast to scan for sea birds and this rewarded us with scope views of a Mediterranean Storm Petrel, closer to the shore we enjoyed views of Lesser Black-backed Gull and a European Shag sitting on the rocks giving us wonderful views.

Mediterranean Shag (Phalacrocorax aristotelis desmarestii), a splitable race to take in count. Image by Carles Oliver

Soon we were back on the road towards Barcelona and the Llobregat Delta to see what we could find. We decided to bypass Barcelona and spend some time at the Llobregat Delta before ending the trip later in the afternoon in Barcelona. A stragic stop just outside of the Llobregat Delta rewarded us with good sightings of a pair of Iberian Green Woodpeckers; we got some really good views of these birds. We also enjoyed views of Monk and Rose-ringed Parakeet. Larry S took some time to enjoy and photograph the Common Swifts flying over head. We moved onto the Delta to enjoy our lunch in one of the bird hides. This worked our really well and we enjoyed some good views of: Northern Shoveler, Garganey, Collared Pratincole, Ferruginous Duck, Common Shelduck, Ruff, Common Greenshank and Common Redshank. What a way to enjoy our final lunch of the tour. We then knew we had to make our way into the hussel and bussel of Barcelona City to get to our hotel for the night.

After negotiating the Barcelona traffic we made it to our hotel in the city center and it was time to say our goodbyes after an incredible birding trip through the country of Spain. It’s always sad saying bye to lovely guests like Larry S, Pam and Larry A and it’s was an end to an incredible tour. We had a great time together, the trip was enjoyed by all and I had a great time. Our goodbyes were said and it’s always rewarding to have guests say they loved the tour and will back with us again. I would like to thank Larry S, Pam and Larry A for a wonderful trip, for the Enthusiasm, patience and all the laughs and good times we enjoyed.

And this was the end of the trip. Please contact us for more birding in Spain and other countries by info@barcelonabirdingpoint.com or visit our website with plenty of information about, http://www.barcelonabirdingpoint.com

 

 

 

Little Bustard (Tetrax tetrax) group display, an uncommon behaviour

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The Little Bustard (Tetrax tetrax) is a medium size member of the Otidae family of birds. The range of this bustard in Europe is concentrated in the Iberian Peninsula and France with smaller (relictual?) populations in some areas of Italy and Macedonia. As much as half of the world’s population of this bird lives in Russia and Central Asia, wintering in large numbers in Azerbayan. In Iberia the bird nests in traditional wheat field areas and in the few remaining patches of natural steppe. In winter, most of the birds moves to crops offering them green leaves (their main food during winter) such as alfalfa.

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Little Bustards (Tetrax tetrax) in a classical winter flock

  During spring, Little Bustard males display in an individual lek, defending it agaisnt other males. In the lek, the males sing and do their famous “jumps” as an exhibition to other males and females. These jumps, about one metre high, have an important rule in indicating the hierarchy of the males and, at the same time, shows out their health. Little Bustards, as an interesting point from most of their relatives, don’t display in comunal leks. This is an important behaviour difference and it is probably the result of a predation press over comunal leks (Little Bustards are sensitive to predation from Foxes). That’s why is so uncommon to see different males to display together when being in a flock. The past 25th October we could see, during one of our trips, over 12 different males displaying in an alfalfa field! Both the date and the number of males involved makes this sight simply unique. At 10:20 we located a flock of over 40 Little Bustards in the Lleida Steppes, near Balaguer. The flock contained males, females and 1st winter birds.   tmp_20151025-_MG_2851ret1844806311

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Two images showing the awesome interaction of these males. The image above shows two males displaying in a way that reminds the close related Houbara Bustard. The image below shows two males “jumping” while a third male (far left) shows a clear pre-jumping behaviour. Images by Josep Call

After 20 minutes of observation we started to see how some of the birds were taking a part from the flock. They looked like being all males. About 10:45 they started to make their typical jumps, starting the juveniles and following the adult males. It was a lot of ritualised agressivity among the males and even some fights were seen (see photos). The figths were preceded by long seconds of tension with the two males involved standing up side by side, in a typical behaviour of the males when defending their leks against an invasor male.

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A fight involving two males. A quite uncommon behaviour, more likely to happen during March. Image by Josep Call

The scene was about 30 minutes long and at least 12 different males were “displaying”. See the video posted in youtube by following this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDVFu_nKe_w  

Red-footed Falcon & Icterine Warbler influx in Catalonia

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Between 15th May and 25th May we have had a huge influx of both Red-footed Falcons and Icterine Warblers in Catalonia. Both species are scarce migratory birds in spring, mainly in mid May. Influxes of both species are likely to occur when West winds dominate the Mediterranean, diverting some birds from their natural migratory routes throughout Italy.

Still, these days we haven’t had any special West winds in the Mediterranean but a rather dominant North wind that has been unusually strong, specially in mid spring.

Red-footed Falcon & Icterine Warbler irruption

The different Ornitho networks have ellaborated these maps showing the influx of both RF Falcons & Icterine Warblers. Source: ornitho.cat

Numbers of Red-footed Falcon kept more or less into normal parameters until 15th May, when some big flocks started to appeared in the country, especially in the North (near the French border) and in the West (steppe lands). Still, after 17th some really big flocks have been recorded in the steppes (over 100 individuals in Plans de Sió, Lleida) and several individuals and even small flocks have been recorded out of the normal localities for them (Llobregat Delta and other localities around Barcelona itself).

At the same time, a big influx of Icterine Warbler was noticable from 19th May, with tens of individuals singing along the Catalan coast, many of them inside Barcelona itself (over 16 males singing in Motnjuïc in 20th May) and Llobregat Delta (>6 males) as well as other localities around. Still yesterday a minimum of 3 males where singing in one of the Llobregat Delta Natural Reserves, allowing wonderful sights of the birds!

Icterine Warbler

Icterine Warbler (Hippolais icterina) at Montjuïc. Image: Daniel Roca

2015 Spain Bird Race, Barcelona Birding Point takes part!

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For all those who don’t know so much about. The Bird Race or Big Day is a kind of competition where different teams of birdwatchers try to spot as much species as possible whitin 24 hours. This kind of competition is very popular in Catalonia, involving several teams, some of them including excellent, long experienced birdwatchers. The course is organized by the Catalan office of the SEO (Spanish RSPB equivalent), deciding the dates to participate (normally you can choose among two different week ends) as well as managing the datas.

The past 2nd May Carles Oliver, main birding guide in Barcelona Birding Point, participated in this race along with Victor Sanz and Eva Galofré. We all were the members of the Cames Llargues Team (Cames Llargues is the Catalan name of the Black-winged Stilt).

We scored 175 species of birds and got 4th position in Spain, 3rd in Catalonia! This is the resume of a wonderful birding day:

Far before the raising all the members of the team met in Barcelona. Right beside the city we had our first spot in an area of open land and pine woods. Here we had our first birds of the trip: Tawny Owl, Scops Owl, European Nightjar, Nightingale and Cetti’s Warbler.

After this short first stop we drove up to the Pyrenees. Until about 8:00am we visited some spots in a  shire called Cerdanya. Here the landscape of open farm lands and small woodlands allowed us to spot a long list of birds including Wryneck, Iberian Green Woodpecker, Southern Iberian Shrike, Tree Pipit, Western Bonelli’s Warbler, Skylark, Dunnock, Woodlark, Quail, Blackcap, Little Grebe, Cirl Bunting, Mistle Thrush, White Wagtail, Iberian Yellow Wagtail, Northern Wheatear, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Short-toed Treecreeper, Rock Sparrow, Egyptian Vulture, Black Redstart, Red Kite and Griffon Vulture among other.

Montagu's Harrier (Circus pygargus) male. A locally common species in Lleida Steppes. Photo: Carles Oliver

Montagu’s Harrier (Circus pygargus) male. We got 2 individuals, male & female in our participation in the 2015 Spain Bird Race. Image: Carles Oliver

We were really early morning but still had to look for a long list of species up in the mountains. We drove by a small lane leading us to the grass lands in the top of the mountains, over 2000 metres. Here we could add several species to our list including Golden Eagle, Alpine & Red-billed Choughs, Citril Finch, Raven, Common Rock Thrush, Firecrest, Goldcrest, Tawny Pipit, Water Pipit, Rock Bunting, Common Crossbill, Common Treecreeper, Chiffchaff, Dipper, Subalpine Warbler, Crag Martin, Crested Tit, Coal Tit and Stonechat among other species.

About 10:00am we started to move towards Ebro Delta. In the way down from the mountains we still could spot Alpine Swift, Monk Parakeet and Turtle Dove. We arrived to Ebro Delta about 12:20. Our first stop was to spot a Purple Sandpiper that has been wintering inside a town from December (not a regular bird at all in Catalonia). Then, we drove inside the wetlands to spot several waders including Collared Pratincole, Kentish Plover, Great Ringed Plover, Black-winged Stilt, Greenshank, Redshank, Dunlin, Little Stint, Curlew Sandpiper, Turnstone, Bar-tailed Godwit and Grey Plover. Squacco Heron, Grey Heron, Great Cormorant, Red-crested Pochard, Gadwall, Greater Flamingo, Glossy Ibis and Red-throated Pipit were also easily added to our list along with Little, Sandwich, Gull-billed, Common & Whiskered Terns. Audouin’s, Slender-billed, Black-headed & Mediterranean Gulls also appeared! A good stop in l’Alfacada provided us with Pied Avocet, Great Reed Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Purple Swamphen, Garden Warbler, Zitting Cisticola, Willow Warbler and Moussier’s Redstart!! Moussier’s Redstart is a rarity in Catalonia. This individual (a male) was the second record for the country and was found three days before for a birding trip from the USA.

Moussier's Redstart at Ebro Delta, 2nd record for Catalonia. Image: Victor Sanz

Moussier’s Redstart at Ebro Delta, 2nd record for Catalonia. Image: Victor Sanz

We were quite satisfied with our visit to Ebro Delta. Still, we would like to be longer as we were missing some birds but the timing was hard and we had to leave to Los Monegros steppe land. At 17:20 we were arriving there and soon we got some birds to add to our list. Little Ringed Plover, Honey Buzzard, Stock Dove, Black Kite and Melodious Warbler. In the plains, a selection of stops allowed us to spot Blue Rock Thrush, Black Wheatear, Little Owl, Western Orphean Warbler, Spectacled Warbler, Dartford Warbler, Lesser Kestrel, Short-toed Lark, Lesser Short-toed Lark, Calandra Lark, Thekla Lark, Crested Lark and Dupont’s Lark. Great Spotted Cuckoo, Pin-tailed Sandgrouse, Bee-eater, Hoopoe, Black-eared Wheatear, Short-toed Eagle and Montagu’s Harrier were added in a final stop in the steppes. We were leaving the steppes about 20:00pm.

Afterthat we drove the short distance until Candasnos lagoon. Here we could add some more birds such as Purple Heron, Little Bittern, Great Crested Grebe and Common Pochard. Still, we were disapointed about this location as we were expecting to find some Black-necked Grebe…

It was also the moment to eat something and to take energy for the very final spot. We drove for 30 minutes until Zaidín, a small village in the Catalan border. It was already dark and we were really tired. Still, only 5 minutes were necesssary to add Red-necked Nightjar, Barn Owl and Long-eared Owl to our day account!

Red-necked Nightjar

Red-necked Nightjars (Caprimulgus ruficollis) was one of the last birds to be detected for the team this year.

It was the moment to come back to Barcelona. We were arriving to the city at 00:20, absolutely tired but really satisfied for the amount of species we had along the day. 175 species is a wonderful success. We are already thinking how to improve the 2016 issue!

Some of the species we have to work to add them in next years include: Nuthatch, Lammergeier (appearing in 2014), Red-backed Shrike, Yellowhammer (appearing in 2014), Common Waxbill, Peregrine Falcon, Hooby, Black Woodpecker, Mute Swan, Bullfinch, Night Heron & Penduline Tit among other.

Next year, more information about this awesome bird race!!

Catalonia-Pyrenees Grand Tour, 2014 Trip Report

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DATES: 4th to 11th, May 2014

NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS: 7 costumers + 2 guides

SPECIES OF BIRDS: 196

Our 2014 Catalonia Grand Tour issue enjoyed a really good weather and a really wonderful birding was possible in all main locations. These lines will be an approach of what we got those days.

Day 1. Cadí-Moixeró Natural Park. After the arrival of all costumers to Barcelona International Airport the two cars involved in the tour left the facilities. This first day (afternoon as costumers were arriving 14:00pm) we drove directly to Cadí-Moixeró Natural Park, placed right in the centre of Catalan Pyrenees.

We arrived to the alpine forests at an altitude of 1.950 metres about 17:00pm and the really first bird we could spot around was a 2nd year male of Ring Ouzel (Turdus torquatus). A good spot that was just the beginning of a wonde range of good birds. Walking a little bit around our cars was easy to find a gorgeous male of Rock Bunting (Emberiza cia) singing on a branch as well as some Common Crosbills (Loxia curvirostra) feeding on Mountain Pines (Pinus uncinata). This area of open high mountain forest provided also good views on Mistle Thrush (Turdus viscivorus), Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs), Crested Tit (Lophophanes cristatus) and Coal Tit (Periparus ater).

Rock Bunting

Rock Bunting (Emberiza cia), a widespread breeder in the Pyrenees.

The ambient around was fresh and clear and as we walked along the lane some other birds were also appearing: Black Redstarts (Phoenicurus ochruros), Blackbird (Turdus merula) & Hedge Sparrows (Prunella modularis). A small flock of Red-billed Choughs (Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax) flew over us while Linnets (Carduelis cannabina) constantly moved around in small flocks.

Some raptors were moving in the sky: impressive Griffon Vultures (Gyps fulvus), a small Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus) and a pair of Honey Buzzards (Pernis apivorus), perhaps in migration to Northern nesting sites, but may be some of the pairs nesting around. Over a slope, the unmistakable shape of 3 Bearded Vultures (Gypaetos barbatus) appeared to us as a wonderful view. All 3 birds were flying really slowly, taking advantage of the small termals over the grassy slope and then soaring over the grass lands in its typical and ellegant flight. The first sight on “Lamm” of the tour could not be better!

Other birds were appearing as walking the small lane: Stonechat (Saxicola torquatus), European Serin (Serinus serinus), Northern Wheatears (Oenanthe oenanthe). Several songbirds were still singing in the canopies around: Goldcrest (Regulus regulus), Short-toed Treecreeper (Certhia brachydactyla), Woodlark (Lullula arborea) while the unmistakable voice of one Black Woodpecker (Dryocopus martius) arrived to us from the valley.

All the group was happy with this very first contact of the Pyrenees and the good sights on some of the most characterystic of its wildlife. After such a good sensations we came back to the hotel to enjoy a home-made dinner and a wonderful sleep time. However, in the way back we still spot Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius) and several Song Thrushes (Turdus philomelos).

Day 2. Cadí Moixeró Natural Park – Boumort Game Reserve.  After a nice breakfast we start our day by coming back to the same area that we visited the day before. A further exploration of it reported some other interesting birds. In the alpine grasslands both Tawny (Anthus campestris) and Water Pipits (Anthus spinolleta) were seen both feeding on ground and singing in flight.

Lammergeier

Lammergeier (Gypaetos barbatus) adult is not any more an uncommon view in some Pyrenean valleys.

Alpine Choughs (Pyrrhocorax graculus) were also feeding on the grassland as we could easily count 6 of them. In the barren slopes we listened the beautiful song of a Common Rock Thrush (Monticola saxatilis) and, after a rather long reseach, we found the gorgeous male singing from a pine top. Raptors flying around included some Griffon Vultures, 1 Honey Buzzard and 1 Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis). Other birds to be added to our list were Alpine Swift (Apus melba), Crag Martin (Ptyprodogne rupestris) and Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea).

After such a wonderful start we then move to a different massif, but always inside the Pyrenees. In our way we still do a fast stop to scan the Segre River looking for Dipper (Cinclus cinclus) -actually not appearing- and Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos). Once we arrive to our next spot (Boumort Game Reserve) different flocks of Griffon Vultures were already flying over the area. It was midday and we enjoyed our pic-nic while enjoying such a great view and scanning the sky for more raptors.

We didn’t have to wait so much to get the first Lammergeier (Gypaetos barbatus) of the day as two of them were flying over the barren slopes. We saw them for 20 minutes, chasing each other in a really gorgeous view. One of them a full adult, the second one probably a very old individual. From our view point we also got nice views of 2 Cinereous Vultures on ground, near a feeding station as well as tens of Griffons that were showing really well, flying over us all the time in an endless spectacle. Some minutes later we saw a different Lammergeier, probably a third to fourth year individual, showing really well the dark grey general coloration as well as the darker flight feathers in comparition with undercoverts. This bird show us well as it was actually “busy” by chasing a fourth Lammergeier, a third year by the way (darker and not so slimmer as the bird described before).

After enjoying such a gorgeous sight we continued our way. The small forests of Eurasian Black Pine (Pinus nigra) combined with the rocky, open slopes configures a really unique landscape in the upperparts of Boumort and allowed us to spot a good variety of good birds including a gorgeous pair of Common Rock Thrushes (Monticola saxatilis) as do so Western Bonelli’s Warbler (Phylloscopus bonelli), Woodlark (Lullula arborea), Firecrest (Regulus ignacapillus) and Northen Wheatear. All the time having an eye in the sky to prevent any other interesting raptor soaring around. In fact, we hadn’t have to wait so much to spot 2 Cinereous Vultures (Aegypius monachus) flying low over the valley in our left. The birds were probably the same that we saw some minutes ago on ground but this time much closer. They were young birds showing the characteristic black colour in their immense wings.

In our way out of the massif, the track was heading a long, green valley. This is a good place to spot some Lammergeiers as sometimes sleep in the cliffs around. It was 5pm so the moment was nice. Immediatly after stopping the car 2 Lamms were soaring really low over the pines (probably 3rd year individuals) and fastly dissapearing over the trees. That view was short but probably the most exciting of all of them! Still in our way to the lodge we spot 1 Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos). It was flying quite high but still was a nice first view of a bird that some days later was gonna give us unforgettable sights!

Subalpine Warbler

Subalpine Warbler (Sylvia cantillans) female can be really common in garrigues and open forests

Day 3. Boumort Game Reserve – Lleida Steppes – Los Monegros. After a good start we all were delighted to spend some more time in the outbreaks of the Massís de Boumort. Today we were going to spend the morning here and go to spend the afternoon in the steppes… The goal this morning was not so much the raptors but the variety of small birds living in the scrublands & forests of the massif. Here the landscape is really Mediterranean with several olive groves, almond trees and orchards combined with scrubby slopes and impressive cliffs. An early morning short walk produced some good birds: Crested (Galerida cristata) & Wood Larks (Lululla arborea) were giving us really nice sights and providing a future useful experience in identification of Larks to all those members of the group less experienced in such a difficult family of birds. Other good birds showing really well were Common Rock Sparrow (Petronia petronia) 6, Subalpine Warbler (Sylvia cantillans) +4 and Woodchat Shrike (Lanius senator). Western Orphean Warbler (Sylvia hortensis) is common here and we listened them singing several times in the canopies but it showed poorly to us. Golden Oriole (Oriolus oriolus) was, by contrast, an excellent sight of a minimum of 3 individuals (2 males) flying around. Other good birds showing that morning included European Bee-eater (Merops apiaster), Red-billed Chough +12, Cirl Bunting (Emberiza cirlus), Sardinian Warbler (Sylvia melanocephala), Greenfinch (Carduelis chloris), Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis), Blue Tit (Parus caeruleus), Willow Warbler (Phylloscopus trochilus) and Winchat (Saxicola rubetra). Raptors that morning were poor but still included Honey Buzzard, Sparrowhawk and Griffon Vultures sleeping on their nesting sites, an unforgettable view for most of the costumers!

It was time to head to the steppes. But before we still had time to visit a really special corner. Here we spot some interesting raptors, specially 2 Egyptian Vultures (Neophron percnopterus) preening on a electrical tower close to Boumort. We enjoyed this wonderful sight for quite long and, while scanning the sky, we spot a good range of raptors including 1 Short-toed Eagle (Circaetus gallicus) and 3 Booted Eagles (Aquila pennata) that were both new for the tour as well as over 30 Griffons and 1 Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo).

It was time to leave the Pyrenees behind so we drove South to our next location. Lleida Steppes is a huge area of more or less plain terrain scattered with some low, rounded hills. Here the natural vegetation is a low garrigue with sparse Juniperus and Pines. However, most of the plain is a farm land, being wheat the main crop. Wheat croplands are highly important for steppe living birds since these fields have become the most important nesting and roosting site for several of the most endangered birds living here. The first stop in the steppes was already producing really good birds: 2 Hoopoes (Upupa epops) flew from the road and this made us stop there. A fast scan of the sky produced a close view of 1 Booted Eagle (Aquila pennata) -light phorm- as well as 1 Common Buzzard. Crested Lark was also there as well as Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus). The next stop keeped producing really interesting birds such as Melodious Warbler (Hippolais polyglotta), Bee-eaters (Merops apiaster) +8, Subalpine Warbler (Sylvia cantillans), Cirl Bunting, Woodchat Shrike and 1 Roller (Coracias garrulus), a bird really desired by most of our costumers. This stop also produced an excellent view of a Quail (Coturnix coturnix) singing in a wheat field and the first sight of a party of Red-legged Partridge (Alectoris rufa), 6.

Black-winged Kite

Black-shouldered Kite (Elanus caeruleus) is a really scarce nesting bird in Lleida Steppes. Photo: Carles Oliver

Raptors here were common: Western Marsh Harrier (Circus aeruginosus), Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus), Short-toed Eagle (Circaetus gallicus) 2 & Montagu’s Harrier (Circus pygargus) male were all present there. But the main reason to visit that spot was the beautiful and really scarce Black-shouldered Kite (Elanus caeruleus). Me and Frantisek spent quite a lot of time scanning for this bird.  I was personally seeing the bird here for the last two seasons and some days before  the tour I saw them again on their tree. At the last moment a pair was appearing, perched in an old tree. We all enjoyed the bird for 30 minutes and we could see several matings, with the male doing several exhibitional flights… It was a really special moment and one of the highlitghs of the tour!

I was personally really happy and satisfied. But the day was not off yet! We went to sleep to Los Monegros, the biggest and probably more famous steppe land in Western Europe. Due to long reseach and the longer view of the BW Kite we arrived later than planned to our guest house. Despite we all were tired, half of the costumers enjoyed our nocturnal tour. Long-eared Owl (Asio otus), Scops Owl (Otus scops), Little Owl (Athene noctua) and Barn Owl (Tyto alba) as well as several Stone Curlews (Burhinus oedicnemus) were all appearing, showing in an excellent way and allowing great photos. But the star of the night was the Red-necked Nightjar (Caprimulgus ruficollis), not only the 7 of them that we saw flying thanks to our light but especially the one we saw on ground 2 metres away from the car and that was providing perfect images!

Day 4. Los Monegros. New early start to explore some steppe lands immediatly around our lodge. Here we are in a flat land, trees are really scarce out of some almond and olive groves here and there and the natural vegetation is limited to some low and sparse scrubs. We directly drove to one special (and secret) location in the steppes. Our first stop produced several Thekla Larks (Galerida theklae), Southern Grey Shrike (Lanius meridionalis) 2, Black-eared Wheatear (Oenanthe hispanica) 3, Calandra Larks (Melanocorypha calandra) flying and singing all the time, Red-billed Choughs, Little Owl (Athene noctua) 2, a brief view of Great Spotted Cuckoo (Clamator glandarius) and some flocks of Black-bellied Sandgrouses (Pterocles orientalis) flying over us. But the most interesting sight was 2 beautiful males of Little Bustard (Tetrax tetrax) singing in a field, 80 metres from us. Again a bird really desired and that was delighting us in a Green, flowered field.

Little Bustard

A typical view of a singing male of Little Bustard (Tetrax tetrax). Photo: Carles Oliver

After enjoying such a wonderful start we stop in a second spot. A fast scan allow us to find 3 Stone Curlews (Burhinus oedicnemus), a pair of Black-eared Wheatear (Oenanthe hispanica), +10 Short-toed Larks (Calandrella brachydactyla) & 1 Tawny Pipit. Here were also appearing some interesting migratory birds; Winchat 2 & Pied Flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca) 3 and a fast Hooby (Falco subbuteo) trying to catch some birds from the fields.

But the most interesting birds in this stop were two flocks of Black-bellied Sandgrouses (Pterocles orientalis) flying really close, 1 Little Bustard (Tetrax tetrax) that flew from one field and 1 Dupont’s Lark (Chersophilus duponti) singing in the steppe. I decided to don’t get inside the field where the Dupont’s was singing to don’t disturb this really endangered bird. Some Lesser Short-toed Larks (Calandrella rufescens) were also singing in this field but unfortunately most of the costumers didn’t get nice views on them. Then we went back to our lodge to have some midday rest but still we got some good birds in our village itself as Spotless Starlings (Sturnus unicolor) and White Storks (Ciconia ciconia) are common here.

After our midday break we continue our tour by looking for some birds living in rocky slopes. We first spot a pair of Blue Rock Thrushes (Monticola solitarius) and then a pair of gorgeous Black  Wheatears (Oenanthe leucura). In this same spot we got 1 Short-toed Eagle perched surprisingly close to us, several Bee-eaters nesting around and 1 Montagu’s Harrier (Circus pygargus) female flying around the cliffs.

Back to the plains we started to scan for Sandgrouses. After a short scan we spot a flock of 5 Pin-tailed Sandgrouses (Pterocles alchata) feeding on ground along with some Stone Curlews. We could aproach them until 80 metres, a distance that was providing an excellent view of the birds feeding for 20 minutes long. Despite of my interest to try a further approach the costumers decided to left and don’t disturb the birds. Good choice! Other birds here include good sights on Calandra Lark, Little Owl, Montagu’s Harrier and +10 Lesser Kestrels (Falco naumanni) hunting around us. After dinner the other half of the costumers went to the nocturnal tour with similar sights as the night before.

Red-necked Nightjar

Red-necked Nightjars (Caprimulgus ruficollis) nest on dry, low bush land and tree crops

Day 5. Los Monegros – Ebro Delta. After our breakfast we start the day by visiting a colony of Lesser Kestrels. Here at least 20 pairs nest along with Jackdaws, Spotless Starlings and a pair of pairs of Red-billed Choughs. Then we started to scan the fields around. Prontly I found a male Little Bustard singing in one of the fields. The bird was not so close as those we got the day before but still gave us a nice and long sight as the bird slowly walked on the flowered field. Not far from him, 4 Stone Curlews were resting on the field, although they steadely moved away because of our presence. As most of the costumers wanted to try a better photo on Roller, we decided to do a small drive around looking for some pairs moving in the steppes.

This short drive produced several good sights on Little Bustard (1 more male), Little Owl, Hoopoes (several), Black-eared Wheatears, Spectacled Warbler (briefly) and a pair of Black-bellied Sandgrouses resting just beside our track.

Once arrived to the area where Rollers live we fastly found three of them but, despite our attemps to get a little bit closer, the birds were really nervous and was impossible to get good images. Other birds here included Stone Curlew 3, Common Buzzard, Woodchat Shrikes and 1 Hooby & 1 Great Spotted Cuckoo flying through.

Before living Los Monegros we still decided to explore some sedimentary cliffs around our lodge. Here, the cliffs join a small river and the shadows of the trees along it are an excellent view point to scan the area. Here we found several interesting species including Spotted Flycatcher (Muscicapa striata), Penduline Tit (Remiz pendulinus), Cirl Bunting, Stock Dove (Columba oenas), Nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos) and Alpine Swifts (Apus melba) but the best sight was that of an incredible Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) resting on the cliffs, giving unforgettable sights to our costumers via scope. Many photos were taken providing a phantastic end to our stay in the steppes…

Golden Eagle

Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) resting on its cliff at Los Monegros

The transfer to Ebro Delta from Los Monegros was also interesting. One of the costumers spot some Turtle Doves (Streptopelia turtur) from the car adding a new species to the tour list. Some miles ahead we had to stop the cars in the road itself. Some raptors were flying over the Ebro River, including a gorgeous Bonelli’s Eagle (Aquila fasciata), adult. This bird was not without controversia as most of the costumers fail to spot it as were confussed with 1 Short-toed Eagle (Circaetus gallicus) flying over the Bonelli’s… Some minutes later 1 Egyptian Vulture (Neophron percnopterus) was flying also over us.

Once arrived to Ebro Delta we begun to see some of the common birds inside this huge wetland. Purple (Ardea purpurea) & Squacco Herons (Ardeola ralloides) can be here really common and despite the unnormal cold early spring most of them were already back from their African winter grounds. Along with them tens of Whiskered Terns (Chlidonias hybridus) and many Gull-billed Terns (Gelochelidon nilotica) were flying over the fields, looking for fish or crabs. Among the young rice plants, Black-winged Stilts (Himantopus himantopus) were also looking for food. After leaving our package in our new lodge we went to look for some Flamingoes (Phoenicopterus ruber). We found tens of them roosting in one of the many salt lakes in Ebro Delta.

Day 6. Ebro Delta. Our first raising in Ebro Delta gave us some special birds. Flocks of Glossy Ibises (Plegadis falcinellus) and Flamingoes were flying over l’Encanyissada, the main fresh water lagoon in Ebro Delta. Other good birds here included our firsts Purple Swamphens (Porphyrio porphyrio), Night Herons (Nycticorax nycticorax), Red-crested Pochards (Netta rufina), Great Crested Grebes (Podiceps cristatus), Fan-tailed Warblers (Cisticola juncidis), Great Reed Warblers (Acrocephalus arundinaceus) and European Reed Warblers (Acrocephalus scirpaceus). Water Rails (Rallus aquaticus) were calling from the reeds and Little (Sterna albifrons) and Common Terns (Sterna hirundo) were all the time flying up and down, capturing fish here and there.

After some more birding here we moved to the salt marshes. Here we found several waders such as Turstones (Arenaria interpress), Oystercatchers (Haematopus ostralegus), Redshanks (Tringa totanus), Common Ringed Plovers (Charadrius hiaticula), Grey Plovers (Pluvialis squatarola), Green Sandpipers (Tringa ochropus) and 2 Wimbrels (Numenius phaeopus). With them we found one of the surprises along our tour, 1 Terek Sandpiper (Xenus cinereus) that we could enjoy as long as necessary!! Terek Sandpiper is an Asian bird with closest nesting grounds in Eastern Ukraine. In Catalonia it is considered as a rarity since we only get one bird every two or three years.

Terek Sandpiper

Terek Sandpiper (Xenus cinereus) was the most unexpected bird along the tour. Photo: Frantisek Pochmon

We all were really satisfied because of this bird but we didn’t forget to pair attention to the bunch of birds in front of us. There were +20 Slender-billed Gulls (Croicocephalus genei) feeding on the salt lagoons as well as Little, Common, Gull-billed & Sandwich Terns (Sterna sandvicensis). A small group of gorgeous Caspian Terns (Hydroprogne caspia) were resting on ground and allowed us to enjoy its bulky body, specially when compared with the tiny Little Tern, which was side by side for long time. A drive along the dunes and beaches of Ebro Delta reported some interesting birds such as Sanderling (Calidris alba), Kentish Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus), Lesser Black-backed Gull (Larus fuscus) and the smart Audouin’s Gull (Larus audouinii) being this one the commonest gull in all the area -11.000 pairs in 2012.

It was lunch time, time to enjoy a wonderful paella from the Delta’s paddy fields and also time to discuss all the birds of the morning and the lasts days!!! To much stuff to do!

Early afternoon was to time to enjoy some grasslands. Here is the perfect place to look for scarcer birds. Iberian Wagtails (Motacilla iberiae) were common here and we could also spot Yellow wagtail (Motacilla flava), 3 Italian Wagtails (Motacilla cinereocapilla), 2 Red-throated Pipits (Anthus cervinus) & 7 Collared Pratincoles (Glareola pratincola) feeding on the grass along the wagtails. We then moved to an observation tower, a good view point to explore some of the most productive marshes in Ebro Delta. Purple Swamphens were common here as do so Glossy Ibises, Pied Avocets (Recurvirostra avossetta) & Shelducks (Tadorna tadorna). Other birds here included Curlew (Numenius arquata), Grey Plover (including one male in complete summer plumage), Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola) and a gorgeous pair of Little Bittern (Ixobrychus minutus) that were moving all the time in a channel beside our tower. A flock of over 23 Red Knot (Calidris canutus) flew over us, but most of our group was trying to discover the shy Little Bitterns among the reeds…

Squacco Heron

Squacco Heron (Ardeola ralloides) a beautiful commonview at Ebro Delta

Day 7. Ebro Delta – Llobregat Delta – Garraf Natural Park. Big flocks of Herons oversleep in most of the main fresh water lagoons in Ebro Delta. During the raising we could see several Squacco, Purple, Night, Grey (Ardea cinerea) flying around as well as Cattle Egrets (Bubulcus ibis), Little Egrets (Egretta garzetta) and White Great Egrets (Egretta alba). One Savi’s Warbler (Locustella naevia) was calling from the reeds and a pair of Little Bittern was climbing the reeds. One of the most interesting birds that morning was 1 Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus witherbyi) female. This race is one of the most endangered of Reed Bunting (less than 50 pairs left). We then moved to explore the Northern half of the delta. Despite the sabotage of an ironman course that was making more difficult the access to the whole area we still could spot a good mixed flock of tens of Dunlins (Calidris alpina), Curlew Sandpipers (Calidris ferruginea) and Sanderlings as well as 8 Bar-tailed Godwits (Limosa lapponica).

It was time to leave the Delta behind us. Sadly we drove North and had lunch in our new lodge, close to Barcelona. After lunch we went to explore Llobregat Delta Natural Reserve. Here we could still find some new birds for the tour such as Sedge Warbler (Acrocephalus schoenobaenus), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Shoveler (Anas clypeata), Bean Goose (Anser anser) and Cetti’s Warbler (Cettia cetti). Other species we that we enjoyed in other spots we showing well. This was the case of Purple Heron (Ardea purpurea), Little Bittern (Ixobrychus minutus) & Audouin Gull (Larus audouinii). The nesting population of Collared Pratincole was even allowing excellent images for all keen photographers in the group.

Our afternoon ended by visiting some sea cliffs in the Massís del Garraf Natural Park. Here the sedimentary karstic rocks meet the Mediterranean Sea in a dramatic landscape that is excellent for some birds. Blue Rock Thrushes (Monticola solitarius) are common here and provided us with excellent sights (at least 3 males). Sardinian Warbler (Sylvia melanocephala), Spotless Starling (Sturnus unicolor) and Crag Martin (Ptynoprogne rupestris) ere also present here. When arriving was quite late afternoon and flocks of Pallid Swifts (Apus pallidus) were frenetically flying around, chasing each other in small flocks or getting inside the cavities that host their clunches. There were also some Common (Apus apus) and Alpine Swifts (Apus melba) but 90% of birds were Pallid! Here a pair of Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) is nesting and we could enjoy the pair flying along the cliff and even attacking a young Shag (Phalacrocorax aristotelis) that was peacefully resting on a rock at the base of the cliff. To scape from the fast attack the Cormorant had to do a fast dive! After this stressing encounter, the young Cormorant decided to change the cliff and flew South.

Day 8. Garraf Natural Park – Sea Trip – Barcelona Airport. In our last morning we explored the scrubby slopes inside Garraf Natural Park. Here the landscape is really Mediterranean since many areas are covered by  low, dense scrub lands but with several barren slopes and small cliffs. Here we found some very interesting birds such as the common Dartford Warbler (Sylvia undata) and specially the delicious sight on 1 Ortolan Bunting (Emberiza hortulana) male singing from a tree top. Other birds of interest here included Thekla Lark (Galerida theklae), Pallid Swift  (Apus pallidus), Woodchat Shrike (Lanius senator), Southern Grey Shrike (Lanius excubitor), Black-eared Wheatear (Oenanthe hispanica) and Stonechat (Saxicola torquata).

Scopoli's Shearwater

Scopoli’s Shearwater (Calonectris diomedea diomedea) off shore Barcelona. Photo: Jan Legner

At mid-morning we moved to Badalona harbour. Badalona is a big town inside Barcelona Metropolitan Area. Here we got in a gorgeous 100-years-old ship to enjoy the sea inmediatly in front of Barcelona. We went 4 miles off and was enough to get some interesting birds such as 8 Cory’s Shearwater (Calonectris diomedea), +20 Yelkouan Shearwater (Puffinus yelkouan) and at least 6 of the really endangered (less than 2500 pairs left) Balearic Shearwater (Puffinus mauretanicus) with good chances for photos! A Great Skua (Stercorarius skua) was also appearing but too far for most of the people joining us. Closer to the coastline commoner birds here were appearing such as Audouin’s Gull and Sandwinch Tern.

Back to the harbour we enjoyed a good lunch while commenting the busy morning, comparing the images and getting some final impressions of the whole tour. For me, I have to say that it was a gorgeous week and I’m proud and happy to be guiding a so gentle, funny, polite and passionate group of birdwatchers!!

I expect to see them again, here or there and enjoy some more birds together!

birdwatchers

How to find out Sandgrouses?

3 Respostes

Sandgrouses are sometimes defined “desert Partridges”. However, the enigmatic Pterocles genus is much more than Partridges. All Sandgrouses present incredible specific morphological adaptations to survive in adverse, dry countryside. The most famous one is this that allow them to transport water supplies to their chicks from ponds or rivers placed kilometres away from their nesting sites. This incredible habit is possible thanks to special feathers in their breast and allow them to colonize breeding areas without any water supplies during the nesting season.

Black-bellied Sandgrouse (Pterocles orientalis) male in a trip in 2018. Image by Carles Oliver

Sandgrouses live throughout semi-deserts, steppe lands and deserts of Asia, Africa and Europe. In Europe there are two species; Black-bellied Sandgrouse (Pterocles orientalis) and Pin-tailed Sandgrouse (Pterocles alchata).

This two species are famous because they can be very striking birds to find out. This post will help you in the difficult work of finding out some Pterocles.

Well, let’s say you are in a supposed good area for Sandgrouses. It is for several weeks you have read and reread the articles talking about where to find that birds. And finally you are there. Let’s suppose it is the first time that you’re visiting any steppe land. Around you it is a endless stretch of more or less plain, uniform terrain. How to find them out? What to look for?

SELECTING THE STREGHT

The first you have to think is that the terrain you have around is not homogeneous. Steppe lands, as any other ecosystem, have multiple variables acting on it. Some important variables to our purpose of finding Sandgrouses are: presence/absence of farm lands, vegetation cover, presence/absence of cattle (goats or sheep), presence/absence of water supplies and soil irregularity (more or less broken terrain).

IMG_9754

Original steppe land vegetation like this at Los Monegros is every time more scarce in European steppe lands.

All of these items have an important influence about the presence and density of Sandgrouses. We have finally to be aware that Pin-tailed & Black-bellied Sandgrouses have different preferences in order to use the soil as well as different ecological requirements.

Let see one by one these terrain variables:

Presence/absence of farm lands. In Europe there is really few original steppe land left and thus most of it has been reconverted into farm land and prairies for cattle graze. However there are some places where you still can see the original steppe as it used to be until some centuries ago. Thus you are likely to be surrounded by a endless area of farm land. The first you have look for is for non crop fields. Due to the poor soil fields cannot be crop every year and thus some of them are resting. These fields are full of plants and they really likely to attrack Sandgrouses as they produce big amounts of seeds.

Vegetation cover. Avoid any field with really dense vegetation cover, especially if being bushered. No way to be Sandgrouses on them. Even if being there you may have almost none chances to find them out.

IMG_9751

This kind of terrain is likely to attrack both Pin-tailed & Black-bellied Sandgrouses. Los Monegros, North-east Spain. Photo: Carles Oliver

Presence/absence of cattle. Cattle has a really important rule in Sandgrouses densities, especially about Pin-tailed Sandgrouse. This species is really likely to be immediatly around small courts and buildings where cattle (goats and sheeps) are sheltered. The reason is simple; as much the plants around are cattle as more plants are able to grow and thus, produce more seeds than average fields. One point; be aware of dogs!

Presence/absence of water points. Water points are really central items in Sandgrouses’ daily movements. However, not every single pool in the steppe is likely to attrack them. This is depending on the cover vegetation of the pool it self, its size, the number of pools around and, most important, the habits of the birds living immediatly around and natural history of the pond. However, to wait around a water pond can be good strategy in summer months in order to see some Sandgrouses, at least flying around while deciding if  landing down or not.

Soil irregularity. Sandgrouses are good flyers, able to cover quite long distances. However, as any other bird living in the steppe lands, favours open, plain terrain. It means that they normally avoid to feed on canyons, small or medium-sized canyons as well as slopes. No matter how wonderful a steppe land can be, if being a in a slope +20º, it is 95% sure that there are no Sandgrouses around and it is better to look for them in a different location.

 

STRATEGY

Well, know you are in the area famous for its Sandgrouses and once you have identified what fields can be more interesting for them is the moment to start exploring them. But, how?

By car. It is no point to go by food since Sandgrouses (as Bustards and many other birds living in open spaces) will start to fly as far away as 300-400 metres from you! Sandgrouses really scare about people walking around but not so much about cars moving. So, the best strategy is to drive slowly by the dart roads, looking every single field likely to have them on ground.

It takes no point to go to “some special fields”, since the farm land is changing every year and the field that used to be resting two or three years ago now can be a wonderful croop with no chance for hosting any Sandgrouse.

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This is an average sight on Pin-tailed Sandgrouses resting on a non cropped field at Lleida Steppes. Photo: Carles Oliver

The “car strategy” has to be combined with some stops to scan specially attractive fields or bigger fields. It is also the proper momment to be aware about their characterystic calls of the flocks moving around.

During summer we can select a good pond a wait there. Sandgrouses use to come drink water during the morning so a two-three hours long wait should produce good views. If birds are not appearing the wait can be really frustating, thought.

 

SEASONAL VARIATIONS

Not all seasons are the same to look for Sandgrouses, and thus strategy has to change depending on it.

During winter Sandgrouses flock. As any other bird living on the steppes, this is a system to fight agaisnt predators and it is also helpful for all individuals involved in the flock to find food suplies. Big flocks can be really easy to find when flying but, as birds are more concentrated, you have less chances to find THE flock, actually.

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Pools like this one attrack Sandgrouses living around almost daily from June to September.

From mid March onwards flocks start to be smaller and smaller as different pairs start to come to their nesting grounds. March to June is probably the best time explore the steppes as small flocks are likely to fly around, seed production is the highest and the heat, unexistent.

From mid-July Sandgrouses start to move in family groups, sometimes involving two-three pairs or even more. They are likely to appear around ponds and sometimes up to 20 individuals arrive to drink water in such a places.

 

If you still have doubts about how to find them or prefer to be guided, please contact with professional guides: info@barcelonabirdingpoint.com

As a end, here you have another inhabitant of the steppes; Red-necked Nightjar (Caprimulgus ruficollis)

Caprimulgus ruficollis

New birding trip for Owls & Nightjars

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From mid-2013 we have implemented a new nocturnal birding trip in Los Monegros renamed steppe land. This trip is 2 to 3 hours long and provides unforgettable views to some very striking nocturnal birds including huge specialities such as Red-necked Nightjar (Caprimulgus ruficollis) but also spread but difficult to spot owls such as Long-eared Owl (Asio otus).

The tour is lead by two different local guides on a special 4wds vehicle to explore a variety of landscapes in Finca Sant Miquel (Zaidín), a private land that is implementing a owl protection scheme within its territory, taking special care in the protection and preservation of Long-eared & Barn Owls.

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Long-eared Owl (Asio otus) at Finca Sant Miquel (Zaidín)

Some of the habitats that we run around include steppe lands, berry orchards and grass lands. Along them we will locate a wide variety of Owls including also Barn Owl (Tyto alba), Little Owl (Athene noctua), the very scarce Eagle Owl (Bubo bubo) and, in winter, Short-eared Owl (Asia flammeus). European Nightjar (Caprimulgus europaeus) it is far scarcer but still is sometimes appearing!

Although this nocturnal trip is a huge attraction by its own, we normally include it in our tours visiting the steppe lands. Those tours are two or four days long and provide excellent sights of all main steppe-living birds such as Sandgrouses (Black-bellied & Pin-tailed), Bustards (Great & Little), Roller, raptors & Larks (Calandra, Thekla, Dupont’s, Lesser Short-toed…)

Our nocturnal trip throughout Los Monegros is an unique and unforgettable opportunity to see Owls & Nightjars in their normal behaviour during the hours they are more active! And, of course, birds are not to be disturbed!!!

More info and booking at info@barcelonabirdingpoint.com

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Red-necked Nightjar (Caprimulgus ruficollis) at Fica Sant Miquel

The Very Best of Barcelona Birding Point 2013 Birding Trips

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2013 has left and thus it is time to look forward and do a list of what was of interest this year. This is the very best of our 2013 birding trip! Do you recognise yours??

March

Over 200 species in our ten-days long tour through Morocco. 

Our March tour through Morocco listed over 200 species inlcuding most top specialities to be found in this Northern Africa country. We got great sights to highly endangered or poor known species such as Marsh Owl, Double-spurred Francolin, Dupont’s Lark, Houbara Bustard and Thick-billed Lark!

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Cream-coloured Couser (Cursorior cursor) is always a prime target to anyway visting Morocco

April

Massive birding morning in Llobregat Delta.

Do you know any place in the world where you can see Spotted Crake, Greater Bittern, Collared Pratincole, Little Bittern, Stone Curlew and Squacco Heron in 25 minutes? That place exists and its name is Llobregat Delta. Of course, this is not happenning every day but in 11th April, 2013 we had great views of all of them in 25 minutes and those were only few species among the over 95 we scored along our Wetlands & Wheatears 1-day Itinerary visiting Llobregat Delta and Garraf Natural Park!! That day list was filled up with gorgeous sights to Common Rock Thrush, Short-toed Eagle, Thekla Lark, Purple Heron, Black-eared Wheatear and many other. 

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Spotted Crake (Porzana porzana) in Llobregat Delta

5 species of Owls in our nocturnal trip through the steppes.

Our noctunal trip in Los Monegros for owls and Nightjars did a massive feedback on 13th April when we saw five species of Owls: Barn Owl 3, Long-eared Owl +5, Little Owl 2, Eurasian Eagle Owl 2 and Scops Owl 3!!! Furthermore we encountered over 8 Red-necked Nightjars in our way, with incredible chances for photographers in the group. And still we missed Short-eared Owl that left the area in early April!!!

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Long-eared Owl (Asio otus) photographiated in one of our nocturnal trip in Los Monegros

May

East Europe passage birds in Catalan coast.

In early May a small cyclone over the Mediterranean (an extremely rare weather feature in that sea) produce an “invasion” of East Europe species along Catalan coast. On 5th May, during a tour in Aiguamolls de l’Empordà Natural Park we saw Collared Flycatcher 3, Icterine Warbler 1 and Wood Warbler +7, a scarce species during spring migration season.

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Collared Flycatcher (Ficedula albicollis) female

June

Rüppell’s Vulture in Pyrenees.

Rüppell’s Vulture 1 flying along with Griffon Vultures over Boumort cliffs. This is the incredible sight we did near La Pobla de Segur on 8th June, 2013. This species is every time less scarce in South Spain and it seems it keeps moving North! That day we saw five different species of vultures: Egyptian Vulture 4, Black Vulture 1, Lammegeier 2, Rüppell’s Vulture 1 and Griffon Vulture +200. The raptor feast was full that day with sights of Booted & Short-toed Eagles as well as Red & Black Kites… not so bad!!

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Rüppell’s Vulture (Gyps rueppelli) flying over Sanetti Plateau, Ethiopia.

July

Black-winged Kite nesting in Lleida Steppes.

It seems Black-winged Kite has arrived to stay in Lleida Steppes. Along the last decade some pairs have been nesting through this area but always in small numbers. In 2013 3 pairs were nesting and raised a minimum of 3 chicks!! Let’s see if 2014 is confirming this a small population as a definitive new nesting species in Catalonia.

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Black-winged Kite (Elanus caeruleus) arriving to its nest in Lleida Steppes.

August

Stone Curlew rescue!

Normally we get out to see birds but, unfortunately, you have to stop the trip because a bird is in danger. That is what was happening on 25th August during a tour in Los Monegros. We found a Stone Curlew just 20 metres to us in the middle of the steppe. Obviously the bird was injured so we decided to rescue it and bring it to the Environment authorities.

The story has a double happy end. The (female) Stone Curlew was released to the wild some weeks later after recovering of a severe nutritiousness and, despite the time lost, we manage to find all targets that day, including Roller, Black-bellied Sandgrouse, Spectacled Warbler, Lesser Kestrel, Cirl Bunting, Black Kite, Lesser Short-toed Lark, Crested Tit and, of course, Stone Curlew!

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Stone Curlew (Burhinus oedicnemus) female rescued in Los Monegros. Despite the bad sensation this bird was released after recovered.

September

Waders feast in Ebro Delta.

Early September brought us huge combination of rarities and megas in Ebro Delta. Along many days some really scarce waders were all present in a small area of this huge wetland. On 8th September we enjoyed an unforgettable birding day listing Pectoral Sandpiper 1, Dotterel 2, Pacific Golden Plover 1, Buff-breasted Sandpiper 1, Marsh Sandpiper 1 and Temminck’s Sandpiper +50. Other really interesting birds included Eleonora’s Falcon 1 (light phorm), Collared Pratincole +100 and flocks of both Squacco & Night Heron facing South at sunset!!!

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Dotterel (Charadrius morinellus) juvenile in Ebro Delta in September 2013.

October

Semipalmated Plover in Ebro Delta.

Back again in Ebro Delta on 19th October we listed a new mega. This time a juvenile Semipalmated Plover resting within a flock of Ringed Plovers resting in the marshy area known as La Tancada! This is one of the first records of this wader for Catalonia. Unfortunatelly no image of it was taken…

December

Greater Spotted Eagle winters in Catalonia.

Greater Spotted Eagles are summer visitors to East Europe and they fly back to Africa as soon as autumn seems to appear. As Eastern species they fly by Greece and Turkey in their ways up and down from their winter grounds. Although this is well known, some years ago some Greater Spotted Eagles started to appear during in winter along Spanish Mediterranean coast… After several reports of birds wintering around València and other Mediterranean provinces, this year it seems the time for Catalonia. From late November a 1st winter Greater Spotted Eagle has been reported in some Catalan wetlands. At the time of writing (2nd January) this bird is still present in Aiguamolls del Baix Empordà area, a small wetland placed in the heart of renamed Costa Brava. On 12th December we had the chance to show this bird to some of our costumers, that were really interested in getting a new and unexpected lifer. What is to be known is if this is the start of a new winter ground for Greater Spotted Eagles along Western Mediterranean coastline!

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Greater Spotted Eagle (Aquila clanga) flying over Llobregat Delta in late November.

Thanks to our costumers to make us go further!!!

Do you want to experience it?

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