31 May 2008 - Spain Birding: May 2008 Summary
Please browse 'archives' under the 'links' heading in the right hand column for date-ordered trip reports and monthly summaries.
The month began on the 1st at Riet Vell in the EBRO DELTA with what turned out to be a farewell performance from the magnificent female Little Crake as high rains and subsequent water levels seem to have pushed her away shortly afterwards.
May clearly is a time for migrants and the Ebro Delta offered us the chance to see a great number of the passerine species mentioned in the report below including many of the warblers, flycatchers, thrushes and wheatears. But the larger water birds that make the delta so famous throughout Europe will simply not be outdone and we were treated to quite unbeatable views of Spoonbill, Glossy Ibis, Greater Flamingo and several species of herons (inc. Little Bittern, Night Heron, Great Egret) as well as car-side Collared Pratincole, many gulls and terns and reedstem Savi's Warblers reeling a welcome from the moment we arrived.
Our search for Lammergeier in the PYRENEES ended almost as soon as we arrived, throughout the month, with early morning sightings of a pair of adults lazing around a cliff face close to a local farm. Invariably they were joined by Short-toed and Golden Eagles, a pair of Peregrine and, on the 21st, a finely-marked Goshawk sailing overhead and joining the rising tower in the single, very popular, thermal. The 2nd was also noteworthy for a small group of passing Bee-eaters heading off into France.
An apparently lonely Common Cuckoo was seen close at hand on the same post on repeated visits but a pair of (White-throated) Dipper appeared to have more luck, raising a brood under the village bridge before the snow-melt lifted the water level to drown out its favourite perching rocks and it wasn't seen again. The expected list of Pyrenean passerines included Citril Finch, Common Crossbill, Ring Ouzel (sub-species alpestris), Crested Tit, Short-toed Treecreeper, Firecrest and Grey Wagtail, with playful gatherings of pink-throated Water Pipit, Black Redstart, Northern Wheatear and Rock Thrush seemingly chasing and arguing over everything from territory boundaries to freshly defrosted insects along the melting snow line.
Both Red-billed and Alpine Chough were accommodating as usual with Red-backed Shrike also predictable, arriving right on cue on the 21st, but we had to settle for a single sighting of the unusually quiet Black Woodpecker, perhaps the disappointment of the month.
Back in the GARRAF and it was all about migration. Whether just passing through or staying on to breed, or both, we were treated to post-nightly rain sightings of Willow Warblers, Chiffchaff, Whitethroat, Bonelli's and Garden Warbler as well as Whinchat, Northern Wheatear, Pied Flycatcher, Tawny Pipit and a single Tree Pipit (on the 11th). The latter was joined by more Spotted Flycatchers than I've ever seen in a day and a Hobby chasing Common and Alpine Swifts. This day was also marked by a very close Peregrine perched on La Falconera and a Scops Owl brazenly calling at five in the afternoon!
The last of the Common Redstarts proved to be a male seen on the 12th whilst a male Rock Thrush observed in song flight suggested continued breeding for the area's declining population. I hold similar trepidation, though no reason to panic, with regards to my falling records of Southern Grey Shrike in the area (we do need those brush fires back) but increasing numbers of European Shag (sub-species desmarestii), seemingly later Audouin's Gulls and a pair of Roller hanging around from the 16th-22nd, following last year's sighting around the same time, offers some encouragement. And we also witnessed a Little Owl in a new location and a male Golden Oriole building a nest by the side of the road.
In the LLOBREGAT DELTA, a rare black-headed Yellow Wagtail (sub-species feldegg) we picked out amongst a flock of the local iberiae caused a stir on the 3rd, when we also witnessed the last of the Glossy Ibis to pass through. The rest of the month provided the usual Collared Pratincole, Spoonbill, waders and herons, including Little Bittern, as well as the migrants, with Wood Warbler through on the 11th and the last of the Sand Martin seen skimming the air cushion above the lagoon water on the 13th.
A surprise summer-plumage Black-necked Grebe (see photo) at Cal Tet was certainly a major highlight but for me the awe-inspiring (and repeated) sight of all three marsh terns - Whiskered, Black and White-winged Terns - in turns resting, squabbling and hawking just in front of the hide is absolutely unbeatable and THE event I look forward to every april and may.
Fields full of Black Kite and white Cattle Egret typified the STEPPES throughout May but there was plenty more to go around with Griffon Vulture, Short-toed Eagle, Marsh Harrier, Hobby and first-winter Golden Eagle all adding to the regularly high raptor count. A steady flow of Honey Buzzard gave great views throughout the month but there does seem to be less Lesser Kestrels than last year. Even worse, it seems, for the Montagu's Harrier with no apparent nesting in the area at all after last year's success but the euro-wide influx of Red-footed Falcons added spectacular numbers and views - as they perched in the fields in the cool morning before hawking around our ears as the insects rose with the heat - to the usual passage cuota for this area with as many as 15 birds seen at close quarters from the 13th onwards.
As for the Steppe birds themselves, I was encouraged by an apparent increase in breeding and displaying pairs of Little Bustard towards the end of the month, perhaps having adapted to a seemingly late start in the crop cycle. The same could be said of Pin-tailed Sandgrouse, and Stone-curlew seem to be unaffected in any case. More alarming however is the total absence of Quail which were neither heard nor seen after a very good showing last year.
Adult Great Spotted Cuckoo went out with the month as the april flocks turned to pairs and the pairs to lone birds before they too disappeared, leaving us to bridge the few days gap before the juveniles begin to show. Calandra, Thekla, Short-toed and other larks showed well as always, as did Little Owl, and we even had two pairs of Roller in adjacent territories where last year there was one. At least two pairs of Red-rumped Swallow too.
On the 18th not even a singing and seen Western Orphean Warbler - in an area frequented by Black and Black-eared Wheatear - could top a pair of ground-roosting Red-necked Nightjar (first seen 13th), which we quietly watched for some minutes, affording us the opportunity to mark the subtle differences between sexes before leaving them in peace. This is always the clients' high point, whether here for a day tour or a week, and its viewed in a small wood where Nightingale, Golden Oriole and a host of warblers could be heard singing and we tracked two pairs of Penduline Tit through nest-building to laying.
Trips to the CAP DE CREUS and AIGUAMOLLS DE L'EMPORDA on the 19th and 27th presented us with some very nice views of some very active Western Orphean Warblers, which seemed to have territories everywhere. Unfortunately, and strangely, Wryneck was only heard but a graceful female Montagu's Harrier and a stunningly close migrating Honey Buzzard, banking and flapping its way across our point of view, more than made up for it on the first trip and a hide-side Little Bittern adjacent to a singing Common Cuckoo did likewise on the second.
Other highlights here were summer-plumage waders such as Curlew Sandpiper and Dunlin and a lone neatly-packaged black-headed Little Gull resting in the shallows of El Mata.
Thanks to Michael Frankling for the excellent photos.
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About Me
I now spend my life birding in Spain, taking every opportunity to head out on my own even when not working as a professional bird guide.
Most of the birding trip reports and photos will be from my local patch, The Garraf Massif and Llobregat Delta around Barcelona, but I also visit The Ebro Delta, The Steppes of Lleida, Los Monegros, The Pyrenees, Cap de Creus and Aiguamolls de L'Emporda.
Please e-mail me if you would like to be placed on the mailing list for this blog and I'd be happy to help with information if you're planning a bit of Spain birding your self.
If you're looking for birding holidays, short breaks and day tours in Catalonia, for families and serious birders, details can be found at www.catalanbirdtours.com.
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