Spain trip November 2016

Cliffs at Alquezar

A couple of weeks ago I spent a very pleasant week in northeast Spain on a trip organised by the tour company Ornitholidays, one of the oldest ecotourism companies in the UK. It was a three centre holiday, with us staying successively in the Pyrenees, near Lake Gallocanta, and finally at the Ebro delta. Target species were Common Crane, Lammergeier, and wallcreeper, and I am glad to say that we got good views of all, along with many other good species such as Little Bustard, Bonelli’s Eagle and Bluethroat.

Alquezar early morning

The trip started with a short morning flight from Gatwick to Barcelona, where we met our leader/driver for the week. There were only 6 in our group, so the tour was not unmanageably large. On our journey from Barcelona to our first hotel, Hosteria de Guara (a very nice small hotel), situated at Bierge in the Sierra de Guara mountains, part of the pre-Pyrenneees chain that runs along the north of the Spanish Peninsula. The Sierra de Guara at their highest reaches around 2000m, whereas the Pyrennees proper have their highest point at 3400m.

On the way to our hotel we stopped a few times for birding. At one of these we stopped by some fields where we saw a good sized flock – well over 150 birds – of Little Bustard. Outside the breeding season they become less secretive and forage in the open, whereas in the spring they are almost always only seen as heads looking up from long grass. Passing through a town we also noticed many of the street lamps cam with a roosting White Stork, Many of these no longer migrate to Africa in the winter as they used to, as garbage dumps supply sufficient winter food. Another stop yielded several Stone Curlew.

Gryphon vulture - very common in the Pyrennees

The next day we set off to explore the area. A pre-breakfast trip to the neighbouring town of Alquezar unfortunately yielded no Wallcreeper, but the rest of the day was spent exploring the Sierra de Guara. Finally a visit to a dam yielded a Wallcreeper. These relatives of Nuthatches spend the summer on the bare rock of the highest peaks, only coming down to lowere levels when the weather turns. This year the weather has been mild in the Pyrenees, so they were only just starting to move to winter quarters when our trip was visiting.

There is a Chamois on this ridge!

The following day we spent exploring the Pyrenees proper, including trip to the French border. As Spain and France are part of the Schengen area there is no customs post – you can just drive over into France if you wish. Birding was hard, but a stop at Pena Oroel mountain yielded Crested Tit, and the pass itself yielded Alpine Chough and a distant view of Chamois.

Ruins of Belchite - destroyed during the Spanish Civil War

The next day was a travel day, leaving the mountains and travelling over the northern plain to our stop for the next two nights near Lake Gallocanta. Notable birds seen were Black tailed (and a single Pin-tailed) Sandgrouse, Great Bustard, very close Golden Eagle and at our last stop a single Bonellis Eagle. At this stop we also caught up with a small herd of Iberian Ibex, including a very impressive male with 1m long horns.

Cranes at Lake Gallocanta

Next day was devoted to exploring the area around Lake Gallocanta. When we arrived we were slightly disappointed that only a few hundred Common Cranes were in the area – they too seemed to be late this year – but a second visit at the end of the day located several thousand, which seemed to have only just arrived. A stop in the afternoon at Monastery de la Pierdre resulted in good views of flocks of Hawfinches, feeding on the seeds of southern Nettle Tree in the grounds of the monastery.

The next day was mostly spent on the long drive from Lake Gallocanta down to the Ebro delta south of Barcelona. A few stops along the way yielded a few birds, but our lunch break and walk at Pitarque village yielded spectacular scenery and some good butterflies, as well as Red Squirrel, which in this village was in fact nearly black.

Glossy Ibis and others at Ebro delta

The last day was spent exploring the Ebro delta in search especially for waders and waterbirds. The Ebro is a major rice growing area, and the rice harvest had just taken place. The churned up fields provide major feeding opportunities for waders, and among the crowds of Dunlin, Lapwing, Little Stint and many others we located a single Broad-Billed Sandpiper. A visit to a reserve in the delta also gave good views of Bluethroat and Purple Swamphen. During the day Booted Eagle was also seen, and several species of dragonfly.

That was our last day, and the next morning we drove north to the airport for an easy flight home to Gatwick.

Next time I will start a new series on some of the key birds and other animals of the trip

(all photos are mine)

Trip list for me – some species were only seen by other group members:

Birds seen 139 species:

Greylag Goose          Anser anser

Common Shelduck   Tadorna tadorna

Mallard Anas platyrhynchos

Gadwall Anas strepera

Northern Pintail Anas acuta

Northern Shoveler Anas clypeata

Eurasian Teal Anas crecca

Red-Crested Pochard Netta rufina

Common Pochard Aythyra farina

Red-Legged Partridge Alectoris rufa

Black-Necked Grebe Podiceps nigricollis

Great Crested Grebe Podiceps cristatus

Little Grebe Tachybaptus ruficollis

Northern Gannet Morus bassanus

Great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo

Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis

Little Egret Egretta garzetta

Great Egret Ardea alba

Grey Heron Ardea cinerea

White Stork Ciconia ciconia

Glossy Ibis Plegadis falcinellus

Greater Flamingo Phoenicopterus ruber

Lammergeier Gypaetus barbatus

Eurasian Gryphon Vulture Gyps fulvus

Golden Eagle Aquila chrysaetos

Bonelli’s Eagle Hiraaetus fasciatus

Booted Eagle Hiraaetus pennatus

Red Kite Milvus milvus

Western Marsh Harrier Circus aeruginosus

Hen Harrier Circus cyaneus

Common Buzzard Buteo buteo

Eurasian Sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus

Northern Goshawk Accipiter gentilis

Common Kestrel Falco tinnunculus

Merlin Falco columbarius

Peregrine Falco peregrinus

Water Rail Rallus aquaticus

Common Moorhen Gallinula chloropus

Eurasian Coot Fulica atra

Purple Swamphen Porphyrio porphyrio

Common Crane Grus grus

Great Bustard Otis tarda

Little Bustard Tetrax tetrax

Pied Avocet Recurvirostra avosetta

Stone Curlew Burhinus oedicnemus

Kentish Plover Charadrius alexandrines

Common Ringed Plover Charadrius hiaticula

Grey Plover Pluvialis squatarola

Northern Lapwing Vanellus vanellus

Ruddy Turnstone Arenaria interpres

Sanderling Calidris alba

Dunlin Calidris alpine

Little Stint Calidris minuta

Common Sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos

Wood Sandpiper Tringa glareola

Green Sandpiper Tringa ochropus

Common Redshank Tringa totana

Spotted Redshank Tringa erythropus

Common Greenshank Tringa nebularia

Bar-tailed Godwit Limosa lapponica

Eurasian Curlew Numenius arquata

Common Snipe Gallinago gallinago

Broad Billed Sandpiper Limicola falcinellus

Ruff Philomachus pugnax

Black-Headed Gull Chroicephalus ridibundus

Slender-billed Gull Chroicephalus genet

Audouins Gull Ichthyaetus audouinii

Yellow-legged Gull Larus michahellis

Lesser Black-backed Gull Larus fuscus

Sandwich Tern Thalasseus sandvicensis

Whiskered Tern Chlidonias hybrid

Black-Bellied Sandgrouse Pterocles orientalis

Pin-Tailed Sandgrouse Pterocles alchata

Rock Dove Columba livia

Wood Pigeon Columba palumbus

Eurasian Collared Dove Streptopelia decaocto

Eurasian Eagle Owl Bubo bubo

Little Owl Athene noctua

Eurasian Hoopoe Upupa epops

Eurasian Kingfisher Alcedo atthis

Common Skylark Alauda arvensis

Crested Lark Galerida cristata

Thekla Lark Galerida theklae

Woodlark Lullula arborea
Calandra Lark Melanocorypha calandra

Lesser Short-toed Lark Alaudala rufescens

Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica

Meadow Pipit Anthus pratensis

Grey Wagtail Motacilla cinerea

Yellow Wagtail Motacilla flava

White Wagtail Motacilla alba

White-throated Dipper Cinclus cinclus

Alpine accentor Prunella collaris

European Robin Erithacus rubecula

Black Redstart Phoenicuros ochruros

Bluethroat Luscinia svecica

Black Wheatear Oenanthe leucura

Common Stonechat Saxicola rubicola

Blue Rock Thrush Monticola solitaries

Song Thrush Turdus philomelos

Mistle Thrush Turdus viscivorus

Common Blackbird Turdus merula

Blackcap Sylvia atricapilla

Sardinian Warbler Sylvia melanocephala

Dartford Warbler Sylvia undata

Cetti’s Warbler Cettia cetti

Zitting Cisticola Cisticola juncidis

Common Chiffchaff Phylloscopus collybita

Goldcrest Regulus regulus

Firecrest Regulus ignicapilla

Eurasian Wren Troglodytes troglodytes

Great Tit Parus major

Coal Tit Periparus ater

Blue Tit Cyanistes caeruleus

Crested Tit Lophophanes cristatus

Long-Tailed Tit Aegithalos caudatus

Eurasian Nuthatch Sitta europaea

Wallcreeper Tichodroma muraria

Iberian Grey Shrike Lanius meridonalis

Common Magpie Pica pica

Eurasian Jay Garrulus glandarius

Red-Billed Chough Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax

Alpine Chough Pyrrocorax graculus

Western Jackdaw Corvus monedula

Carrion Crow Corvus corone

Common Raven Corvus corax

Common Starling Sturnus vulgaris

Spotless Starling Sturnus unicolor

House Sparrow Passer domesticus

Tree Sparrow Passer montranus

Rock Sparrow Petronia petronia

Common Chaffinch Fringila coelebs

Common Linnet Carduelis cannabina

European Goldfinch Carduelis carduelis

European Serin Serinus serinus

Hawfinch Coccothraustes coccothraustes

Reed Bunting Emberiza schoeniclus

Cirl Bunting Emberiza cirlus

Rock Bunting Emberiza cia

Corn Bunting Miliaria calandra

Mammals:

Iberian Ibex Capra pyrenaica

Chamois Rupicapra rupicapra

Roe Deer Capreolus capreolus

European Rabit Oryctolagus cuniculus

Red Squirrel Sciurus vulgaris

Red Fox Vulpes vulpes

Reptiles:

Whip Snake Hemorrhois sp

Wall Lizard Podarcis muralis

Butterflies:

Small White Pieris rapae

Clouded Yellow Colias crocea

Pale Clouded Yellow Colias hyale

Long Tailed Blue Lampides boeticus

Common Blue Polyommatus Icarus

Silver Studded Blue Plebejus argus

Mazarine Blue Cyaniris semiargus

Small Copper Lycaena phlaeas

Speckled Wood Pararge aegeria

Wall Brown Lasiommata megera

Painted Lady Vanessa cardui

Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta

Comma Polygonia c-album

Also:

Hummingbird Hawkmoth Macroglossum stellatarum

Emperor Dragonfly Anax imperator

Scarlet Darter dragonfly Crocothemis erythraea