Easter in Spain - Day 5

Monday morning was another 06:00 start with a more distant trip, this time to a an area of mixed habitat but with the only good weather forecast of our stay in the Cataluña region, so we were all in a good mood as we set off.

On arrival at Aigua Molls we parked-up on the far side of the nature reserve and look around for waders. There were plenty of Wood Sandpipers, Black-winged Stilts and Redshank all joined by a single Spotted Redshank, which is the bird with the larger bill:




















On the bank in front us, whilst we were watching the waders, a Cetti’s Warbler mooched around looking for food:














Marsh Harriers were present in remarkable numbers throughout the day:




















Though as you can see from this shot the promised sunshine had yet to appear, in fact clouds were blowing across from the Pyrenees:














We sat in one hide with a Swallow’s nest inhabited by three Barn Swallows, the mystery was solved when on exiting the hide a little later the third bird followed us out leaving the nest's occupants in peace. Perched just outside the hide a pair of Barn Swallows were perched and communicating:














though it appeared one of them wasn’t listening to the other:














The noisy one was left on its own:














We walked around the reserve between the hides, looking for migrants and the more unusual birds typically located here and spotted Moustached Warbler amongst others. An adult Osprey flew over and landed on the far side of a flooded field and proceeded to bathe vigorously before taking off and then shaking itself dry like a dog about ten metres above the ground, which it did three times before soaring higher. We saw three Ospreys in all around the reserve. Bouncing around a tree in blossom a Willow Warbler:



















We only heard a single singing Willow Warbler across the four days. Next up we cruised around a number of small ponds and reed-beds looking for Crakes and Rails but with no joy. The weather continued to close in and by now it was showering. We did however spot a new species, the Red-rumped Swallow, though it was moving too fast for a photograph, and saw a pair of Marsh Harriers and a female Peregrine Falcon sat in a muddy field. The water levels in most of the places we visited were the highest in memory and a lot of birds had therefore been pushed away from their usual spots. Next up we stopped at an entrance to Cap de Creus National Park, looking for Wryneck. The path was lined with wild French Lavender:


















Unfortunately the field was covered, literally, in discarded shotgun shells. The number of spent cartridges was such that the impression was a group has stood in one area and shot anything that moved:














No sign of the Wrynecks or the Little Owls, just the abundant signs of the locals' 'love' of the countryside, with discarded shells everywhere, literally hundreds of them, it reminded me of some of the lakes and ponds in the UK where they shoot ducks. No sign of any resident birds in fact however a small group of migrant Blackcaps lifted the gloom and a lone Short-toed Treecreeper passing through:




















We also found out on this trip that the RSPB’s Royal Charter forbids it from opposing shooting, as this was a condition of the charter upon grant. This means the RSPB (note the word protection) and all its members are conserving land and birds for those with guns to then shoot, which is a farcical situation, we’re actually helping preserve birds to be shot by the lowest form of life, people who choose to kill for pleasure. The RSPB should drop the R, and replace it with a B for British, renouncing any royal connections, and then oppose all those who kill birds whoever they are. Maybe then when a couple of young lads shoot a pair of Hen Harriers the BSPB might speak up against such willful destruction and against the royal family who use their vast land holdings for annual slaughters. They truly represent the nadir of humanity along with anyone else who kills for fun.

Oh and it was raining too.

We headed back to the main reserve via the formal entrance for our packed lunch, watched by Sparrows, Starlings, Serins and White Storks. This one was bored with the weather too:














From the main hide (number 10) we watched Purple Heron coming into land:


















And spotted a Little Gull amongst the Whiskered Terns. This bird merited a closer look so we walked along the covered walkway trying to pick out the singing Nightingales to the next hide where I got this snap. Note the very black under-wing plumage that distinguishes the bird:




















On our way back to the car a Reed Warbler settled in a tree above us, providing an unusually clear view of the bird:




















More White Storks were hunting for food in the fields:




















And at the last hide we stopped at a group of four Garganey drakes were keeping close to a lone female, who as well as enjoying all the attention appeared to have made a choice by singling out one male, which she was staying close to:














She climbed onto a small island for a rest and he circled back to join her. The reserve itself is in a beautiful location and one of the few places in Spain where shooting is banned. We’ll be back:














So back in the car as the clouds melted away and the sun shone, to pack for the onward trip on Tuesday morning to Seville and fingers crossed for some decent weather!

New Species for the day:

Red-rumped Swallow

Easter in Spain - Day 4

Sunday started with a later alarm, 05:30 for an 06:30 departure to the Pyrenees, one of the days I’ve most been looking forward to this holiday.

The weather forecast for the region had been poor thus far but improved for today, with just a low chance of rain. On the way up we stopped in a small town for early morning views of Hawfinch, Short-toed Treecreeper and a Dipper:
















and Crag Martins, all huddled together against the penetrating cold and, ominously, light drizzle:














From the village we headed further up into the mountains, aiming to get above the tree-line. Considering the forecast the cloud looked rather low and quite thick but we were all optimistic.

Opposite a small field with cows grazing we saw a small group of Rock Buntings, though they remained shy, I only managed this record:



















As we gained elevation it started to rain and the temperature fell away. Sure enough the rain became sleet and then quickly snow. The snow was settling and we decided to turn around. Just before turning however Stephen noticed three Common Crossbills (one male, two female), feeding on snow on the road:




















I took some photos from a reasonable distance and then we headed past then, turned round and headed back. One bird had gone but a male remained on the road, being chastised continuously by a female in a nearby tree. The oblivious male continued to feed, even though we’d pulled parallel with him on the other side of the road, enabling me to get some much better photographs, I adjusted the light setting to increase the light both to improve the snow ‘colour’ and the visible plumage on the bird and then fired a few more quick shots, and I am delighted with the results:




















We headed back down and away from the snow to the local town, and towards the café for a warming cuppa. On the way down Stephen pointed out a pair of Cirl Bunting, another new species. Closer to the town Helen spotted a male Black Redstart perched on a wire:



















After the tea we drove to another point on the mountain, where Helen took this landscape view:














and then we tried again to head up to the mountain, hoping the lighter cloud above meant we’d be able to get higher, alas the snow had increased in tempo and with a wind behind the conditions were even less suited to driving so with less than a kilometer to go to the summit we had to turn around and head down, chased on by the rain. We decided to head to the reserve by Llobregat Airport, South-West of Barcelona. En route there were literally hundreds, probably thousands, of Hirundines in the air, including Common Swifts and a new species for us, Alpine Swifts. We got to the reserve around 2pm and promptly took lunch before walking out to the first hide. The reserve had plenty of birds, especially to our bird starved eyes, including Wood Sandpiper, Cetti’s Warblers, Black-winged Stilts:














Little Ringed Plovers:



















and from the second hide our last new species of the day, a pair of very cold and miserable looking Collared Pratincoles:

















We were also treated to a flock of migrant Yellow Wagtails alighting on the reserve including two subspecies, the nominate flava, which is the Central European species together with the local iberiae:

We enjoyed watching the wagtails, which were joined by a single ‘White Wagtail’, a subspecies of the Pied Wagtail, told by the lack of black on the back of the adult bird:

















The afternoon drew on, the rain continued to fall, the wind continued to blow, we continued to get colder so it was time to head back to the house for wine and food. Heading out of the reserve Stephen spotted a drake Garganey, which I flushed in my enthusiasm to locate it, but managed a reasonable flight shot:
















The Garganey turned out to be the last bird of the day in what was a very mixed day. We missed out on a lot of species we’d hoped to see as the weather forced us to abort the day in the Pyrenees, which was a real shame, however that self-same snow gave us the opportunity to see Common Crossbill for the first time and to take a picture the like of which I’ll probably never get to do again.

New species:

Crag Martin
Cirl Bunting
Rock Bunting
(Common) Crossbill
Short-toed Treecreeper
Alpine SwiftCollared Pratincole

Easter in Spain - Day 3

Saturday was greeted with another 05:00 alarm and heavy rainfall, which was depressing. Today was Steppe day, though in truth the Steppe is no longer and what viable habitat remains is diminishing due to human encroachment and EU policy funding causing people to plant fruit trees, the fruit of which will never be eaten - instead it falls and rots and the farmer collects a subsidy pay-out and the birds lose habitat and breeding space. Witness the Dupont’s Lark, now an extinct breeder in this region within the last ten years, with more species on the verge of local extinction.

The area we concentrated on is about halfway between Barcelona and Zaragoza, around Lleida, so a reasonable trip. Dawn took longer than usual due to the heavy cloud and continual rainfall, so we stopped for a cuppa at a local service station before heading out. We headed off the main road through large pools of muddy water, entirely new pools it turned out, created since we started our 'Spring Sunshine' holiday!

The first bird of the day was this singing Corn Bunting oblivious of the rain:



















Our first new species was Little Bustard, though distant and somewhat obscured by the persistent rainfall. We stopped by a group of feeding birds, both Pin-tailed Sandgrouse:

















And Lesser Short-toed Larks:



















All very bedraggled. As you can see when it wasn't actually raining it was obvious it would be soon:














Even the (Eurasian) Hoopoe managed to look the worse for wear in the weather:














We headed away from the land formerly known as the Steppe to a typically human location, a landfill. which seemed a popular feeding station for both White Storks:














and Cattle Egrets:














whilst overhead a Black Kite searched for a tastier meal, as by now the rain had stopped:


















Driving on from the landfill we passed an irrigated field and spotted a Lesser Kestrel perched on a far post. Further down the road Griffon Vultures were riding a thermal, this one being shadowed by a Raven:

















We drove on heading to another area of Steppe - on the way we passed through a beautifully coloured landscape:














Driving with the window down Stephen though he heard his first (European) Bee-eater of the Summer, he had! We searched around and quickly found a group of around ten calling away to each other, whilst perched on a cable and periodically launching off to grab a meal:



















I started off behind and to the right but slowly walked around and in front of the group, trying not to disturb them:















They are stunning birds and the experience made us all smile very broadly:




















Eventually we moved on back to the Steppe, which was still covered in low cloud, but at least now it was starting to dry out:














The birds we'd seen in the morning had mostly moved on but we did get to see our first Bonnelli's Warbler:




















We also spotted a distant male Montagu's Harrier, and followed it's soaring and flapping flight for a while I managed a couple of distant shots, in the gloom, included here for reference:

For the last stop of the day we headed out toward a particular village, set around a sheltered area in the surrounding rock to see our first Black Wheater and were briefly overflown by a Short-toed Eagle - we got close enough to a Black-eared Wheater for a good photo:




















While the day had started very wet Stephen really worked hard to get us around and to see as many species as possible, a characteristic of our time with him and something we remain very grateful for. We also learned a lot about the birds we saw, their habitat, field identification tips, etc., which has already proved very helpful to us.

New species:

Little Bustard
Lesser Short-toed Lark
Pin-tailed Sandgrouse
Montagu’s Harrier
Thekla Lark
Chandra Lark
Lesser Kestrel
Griffon Vulture
Black-bellied Sandgrouse
Short-toed Eagle (European)
Bee-eater
Tawny Pipit
Bonnelli’s Warbler
Black Wheatear
Southern Grey Shrike

New species in Europe:

White Stork
Black Kite

Easter in Spain - Day 2

Chastened by our birding experience last Spring, i.e. heavy rain, snow and sleet, through the end of March into April, we had wisely chosen a weeks break, again around Easter, though this time in mid-April and in Spain, so we're guaranteed good weather and good birding!

The weather disagreed. The forecast for the first half of our holiday, with Stephen of Catalan Bird Tours, was miserable, either rain or heavy rain and no respite, so Stephen planned around the weather on the basis we wanted to fit in a number of diverse habitats during our four day stay with him.

Friday started with an 05:00 (Central European Time – 04:00 BST!) alarm and an 06:00 departure to the Delta de l’Ebre, or Delta del Ebre or Delta del Ebro depending on your politics and linguistic sensitivity to this part of the world. As we arrived the sun had risen and the clouds seemed 'light' above, though looming:














We stopped off in the first hide to look about, Hirundines flew around in good numbers and the reserve seemed quiet. We set off along a path with various signs, one proclaiming with pride that due to the protected nature of the reserve only 12 hunts are allowed each year! So if you work that out that's one every 10 days in the hunting/killing season then, how very reasonable and constrained of them, just enough time for the wildlife to relax and move back in before they set out to slaughter everything again...

We walked alongside a man-made channel on the edge of the reserve and added our first new species of the day, a Squacco Heron:




















The bird has a very delicate blend of plumage colours, and in flight is very reminiscent of the Indian Pond Heron, showing almost all white on the wing and body:



















The next picture was a 'must' seeing House Sparrows moving amongst a reed bed appearing as native as Bearded Reedlings:




















As we walked along it started to rain, a portent of the week ahead. A Purple Heron flew past and settled in another channel, alongside a Little Egret:















Four Spoonbill flew overhead and though we hoped to see them later on they proved elusive, though I did manage a snap of a Caspian Turn, en passant:




















We also saw our first Cattle Egrets amongst other birds. Stephen got us back into his 4x4 for a drive to some specific spots on the Delta he's familiar with. Along the way we stopped off at various points, getting good views of Wood Sandpiper:

















here a Greenshank and a Spotted Redshank:
















Just off the road we spotted a female Redstart moving along the fence of a house:


















Our next stop was entirely unplanned though part of the overall aspirations of the day, a lone flooded field (soon to be a rice paddy) full of Little Stint, you can see a few birds here:


















With one a little closer-up for reference:



















It was in this field we also saw our first Yellow Wagtail of our Spanish holiday - a bird of the flava nominate species:

















As you can tell the light conditions were very poor so I'm glad how sharp the image is considering. Meanwhile the weather was closing in again:














From the same field we also got to enjoy the sight of a small group of Flamingo flying past, rather like the traditional three ducks on a wall:














A little further along we parked-up alongside another man made channel to watch the Barn Swallows zooming about, occasionally one perched-up for a rest:
















We also stopped at various pools and lagoons to see what was about - here a lone Greenshank mooched about, seeking a meal:


















Our last birding before lunch was along a stretch of beach on the delta, where we got to see a number of migrants including a Sub-alpine Warbler, this male Redstart:



















A Black-eared Wheatear, a Woodchat Shrike, Whinchat:




















and some resident birds including Kentish Plover:













Audouin's Gull:















and Slender-billed Gull:


















Here a pair of Slender-billed Gulls, coloured pink by their diet looked set to mate but mostly just walked around 'two tall' before separating again:
















Lunch was at an offical visitor centre on the delta with a hide overlooking a lagoon, which itself was a great spot for some warming coffee and food and to avoid the rain!

Numerous species included Purple Swamp Hen, flighty Black-winged Stilts:




















Glossy Ibis:

















Moorhen and Coots, Mallards, Reed and Cetti's Warblers and a lone Zitting Cisticola, feeding around the base of some reeds on the way back to the car:

From here, with the rain building but a very good first day's birding behind us we headed back to the house to prepare for tomorrow, a day on the Steppe, and in time to photograph the Crested Tit before it flew onto the feeder:

New Species for the day:

Little Stint
Curlew Sandpiper
Spotless Starling
Subalpine Warbler
Adouin’s Gull
Slender-billed Gull
Woodchat Shrike
Kentish Plover
Squacco Heron
Zitting Cisticola
(European) Serin

New species for Europe:

Glossy Ibis
Purple Swamp Hen
Gull-billed Tern
Caspian Tern
Whiskered Tern