Arxiu de la categoria: Pyrenees

Wallcreeper, 10 Alpine Accentor, 2 Lammergeier, 5 Citril Finch & more in Pyrenees in Winter Itinerary

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BarcelonaBirdingPoint: It has been a great start this autumn season. On Sunday November 13 th, we set up the season with two costumers from Norway. We went to Pyrenees and we all had a great day of nature and birds.

Alpine Accentor (Prunella collaris) in the Catalan Pyrenees. Photo: Carles Oliver

At 6:45am we leaved Barcelona and had some breakfast en route. About 8:00am we arrived to the first location, a fields with some trees beside a small river. There were many small birds like Chaffinchs, Goldfinchs and small Siskin flocks. In this area we also locate White Wagtail, Dunnock and Robin. We walk along a small stream and a 15 Long-tailed Tit and some Blue and Great Tits flew over our heads. At the end of the path some 3 or 4 Cirl Bunting were feeding on ground.

At 9:30am we went to next location, a gorgeous rocky area in the middle of the road. The cliffs are surronding the road and fall over tens of meters from it. In a quarter we found out 1 Wallcreeper, a first 5 Alpine Accentor flock and 2 Rock Bunting. All of us got some nice photos of Alpine Accentor. Photos of Wallcreeper were not so good, after all.

Ring Ouzel (Turdus torquatus) in the Catalan Pyrenees. Photo: Carles Oliver

Around 11:00am we make another stop to visit a coniferous forest up in the mountains. It is a nice place to look for Citril Finch. Unfortunately we only got them in flight, we count until 5 of them leaving a grassland beside the forestry. We spent some time in the forest. There were flocks of Common Crosbill and large flocks (over 50) of Coal Tit with some Crested Tit, Goldcrest and Short-toed Treecreeper among them. We also found out two Red Squirrel in the forest. All around was full of Mistle Thrush and Blackbird.

Around 13:00am explored another location. A high mountain grasslands we I hoped to find Snowfinch. Unfortunately there were no snow yet, so there were no Snowfinch. We found some interested birds instead. Walking a track we had incredible views of Alpine Accentor (a second 5 accentor flock), 2 Alpine Chough and 2 Lammergeier flying over our heads with a group of 8 Griffon Vulture. Both Lammergeier were about 2-3 years old with light yellow breast and belly. We also had good views of a group of 7 Chamois. After this we decided to move down, bad weather was coming from South side of Pyrenees. We stop about 1.700 of altitude, in an open forest with grasslands. This area was full of birds. A large flock of Mistle Thrush (more than 150) and also some Song Thrush, not least than 5 Redwings and 4 Hawfinch. Other birds in this point; 1 Yellowhammer, 1 Sparrowhawk and a couple of Raven that wanted to become friends of us because they were coming closer and closer as we were eating some fruits. But the more nice was a Ring Ouzel male singing on the top of a pine. It is normal to find large flocks of Thrush in areas like this tones of them are moving South by this time and crossing the Pyrenees by lower areas.

After have lunch we prospected other areas in the forest. Great Spotted Woodpecker, Nuthatch, Wren, Jay and Crow were common in this location.

In the way back to Barcelona we stopped in the Llobregat River to watch Dipper, Grey Wagtail, Firecrest and Common Buzzard.

About 17:30 we arrived to Barcelona. We were all really glad of the experience, were viewed until 49 species in one day visiting high mountain habitats and the valley beside.

Brown Bear population increasing in Pyrenees

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At the end of the XX century the French Goverment started a program to save the last Brown Bear population in the Pyrenees. It is almost 15 years since the first brown bear coming from Slovenia was liberated in the Pyrenees, joining the tiny population (2-5 individuals) these mountains had at this time. There was controversial in French and Catalan media and also some local people were opposite to brown bears.

2005 Brown bear (Ursus arctos) distribution map in Pyrenees. http://www.depana.org

Despite these initial problems, today the brown bear population is well established in Central Pyrenees, mainly around Val d’Aran, in Catalonia. There are about 30 brown bears in the whole of the Pyrenees, and about 25 living in Val d’Aran and areas around (mainly north Pallars). It is a nice new to say local people have changed their opinions about bears since most of them are proud to have this impressive mammal living in their forests.

Brown Bear in the Pyrenees. Photo; Carles Oliver

2011/12 winter is gonna see a big number of puppies because of until there are 6 females to reproduce. Since XXth 80’s that there are not so many females to reproduce in one spring in the Pyrenees!! This is an astonishing change in thirty years, when the species was almost erradicated from these mountains and this change is thanks to French and Catalan Goverments as well as DEPANA, ADET, Fiep and other NGO’s.

Red-rumped Swallow expanding North

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The Red-rumped Swallow (Cecropis daurica) is going North its breeding territory in Western Europe. The numbers of this swallow in Catalonia are also growing up. There are two main breeding populations, one is at North beside the French border but the biggest one is at South and inland in both Lleida and Tarragona provinces. Is in this bigger population where I’ve found this spring some couples breeding in new sites.

Typical Red-rumped Swallow nest inside a non-used building. Photo; Carles Oliver

Red-rumped Swallow (Cecropis daurica) is breeding in new places in a 50 kilometers North of Balaguer town, an area immediatly situated South of Pyrenees. I’ve found until tree nesting couples in different non-used farm houses near the village of Camarasa. The swallows are in an area with no breeding records for this species before.

Red-rumped Swallows use to nest inside small or medium size non-used human constructions as well as under bridges and other structures. It prefers to have near the nest some small river or other fresh water.

It seems clear that this species is gonna be commoner in Catalonia in next years and is even possible that is gonna arrive as a nesting bird to some Pyrenees valleys as a natural process due its strong expansion in Western Europe.