The Birdbox - birding in Spain: trip reports and photos

30 June 2008 - Spain Birding: June 2008 Summary

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A quite superb start to the month with a day one birding trip, the first of a couple out here over the following weeks, to the STEPPES OF LLEIDA. My American clients had been with me a few days but this was the one they were looking forward to and they weren't disappointed when we found a handful of Little Bustard skulking - and calling - adjacent to a similar number of Stone-curlew in some long grass.

And with three Red-footed Falcon (we had five for the day including a male) perched post-top in the same field we really didn't know where to look and panic-swapped between scope and bins for a minute or so until we realised they weren't going anywhere. Not until, a few minutes later, a male Little Bustard threw itself up into the air and flapped a full circle over the steppes in front of us. Little Bustard have a peculiar wing-whistle as they fly, caused by a longer primary feather, that serves as the equivalent of the contact call in flocks of passerines, and we could hear it clearly until it flopped back into the same field, startling a half-dozen Stone-curlew that upped and settled down again a few metres away.

"Stephen was an excellent guide, he knew exactly what I wanted to see on the day and made every effort to ensure that as many of these were on our route. His knowledge of the area and the associated birds was fantastic, and I would definitely call him up again if I was visiting Barcelona or the surrounding area."
Joel Lund, UK (Llobregat and Garraf)

Ground-feeding Pin-tailed Sandgrouse, a few Roller, Red-rumped Swallow, Red-billed Chough, both Woodchat and Southern Grey Shrike, and a pair of Penduline Tit making repeated visits to their nest were all easy enough to find as usual and some of the songsters in a small tour-hardened copse included Nightingale, Golden Oriole and Melodious Warbler.

Black and Black-eared Wheatears, Cirl and Corn Bunting, Spotted Flycatcher, Rock Sparrow and Little Owl also were present and correct but it was a craving for more raptors that spurred us on. We picked off a Peregrine, lots of Black Kite (on one occasion two marshalling a lone Honey-buzzard out of the area), and a perched Lesser Kestrel - a struggling breeder that's subject to a local support scheme - until a couple of soaring Short-toed Eagles made us stop once again and get out of the car.

We soon saw that another was stretching its wings in a tree nearby and, while we were watching, three more joined the possy - six in all! - accompanied by a stunning, and significantly smaller, light-phase Booted Eagle.

En route to the local dump on a mission to add yet more we were distracted fleetingly by a fistful of not-so-usual Pallid Swift and for some minutes by the incredible spectacle of a Magpie feeding at least two of the three nestling Great Spotted Cuckoo cackling a pressure-triangle around it. I prefer the juvenile of this species, with its dark cap and golden-toasted primaries, to the adult birds anyway but seeing them like this, as their out-in-the-open escapades mean we often do at this time of year, is something else.

Once at the dump, amid the hundreds of White Stork and Cattle Egret, new raptors included a perched Hobby, Griffon Vulture and, spotted in the distance but obligingly heading towards us, a quite wonderful close watch of an adult Egyptian Vulture. Always worth putting up with the smell of rotting rubbish.

There was no letting up on raptors, despite the late start, with a next-day trip to the PYRENEES, when the day's main target was located around two o'clock. Our first sighting of the huge cruciform raptor initiated excited cries of Lammergeier as soon as it sailed over the top of a nearby ski-lodge and we watched it drop down over an all-too-close ridge. Unsatisfied on such a brief morsel, we jumped back into the car and dirt-tracked it around to where I guessed it was heading. Five minutes later, and reputation still intact, we found it perched on a favourite high rock, casting its kingly gaze over its domain like a lion.

We didn't calm until several minutes after it departed, when we took advantage of the small meadow in front of us to pick off a flock of the extraordinarily beautiful Citril Finch - as well as singing tree-top Crossbill, Great Spotted Woodpecker and a seemingly endless supply of Short-toed Treecreeper in the surounding pines. Too many of them masked the location of a singing Common Cuckoo however.

Similarly, but far more infuriatingly, neither could we steal even the merest glimpse of any of the three Black Woodpecker shreaking and calling to each other, despite one of them clearly being no more than five metres away from us. I can't think of a decent description of this bird's call but, in all truth, it does make me ponder over what a car alarm would sound like if it were able to get pissed off after being ignored for a month or so.

Singing elsewhere, with more dulcet tones, were a beligerent Song Thrush, two male Bullfinch, Rock Bunting and, rising and falling in courtship, several Northern Wheatear.

As we reached and drove beyond the tree-line, we were treated to stunning views of stunning birds such as Rufous-tailed Rock Thrush, Red-backed Shrike, many pink-flushed Water Pipit, a lone Tawny Pipit and a car-side Alpine Chough before a flock of its Red-billed cousins noisily attracted our attention to the awsome sight of them chasing an adult golden-headed Golden Eagle through the tree-spiked face of a nearby cliff. And all that in barely half a day.

A trip out around the Barcelona area on the 11th with two Australian clients, Jack and Alan, saw the sun break through after an hour's rain and shine on almost 100 species including Collared Pratincole, Gull-billed Tern, Squacco, Purple and Night Heron, Little Bittern, Audouin's Gull, Red-crested Pochard and Iberian Green Woodpecker at the LLOBREGAT DELTA. Although my personal favourite was an unusual Oystercatcher on the beach at Cal Tet.

But the GARRAF delighted as usual with a surprise early-morning sub-adult male Montagu's Harrier skimming the vines of all places as well as Thekla Lark, Tawny Pipit, great views of Hoopoe and Bee-eater and, my personal highlight, a male Rock Thrush remaining and breeding in a much more accessible place than last year. Sightings of Red-rumped Swallow, another localised breeder, were also very pleasing as was a lone Crag Martin skimming the cliffs. Unfortunately, Black Wheatear wasn't seen all month, further giving credence to the theory that it's position as a breeder is under serious threat.

We were also afforded the sight of a Hobby picking apart an insect snack on the wing, an uncommon (for summer) Common Buzzard and a brief view of a Bonelli's Eagle from above, although a superb adult was watched hunting and landing pretty close two days later.

Two Peregrines along Garraf's coast were perched out in the open and could be seen without difficulty throughout the month along with a handful of desmerestii Eurasian Shag, countless singing Blue Rock Thrush and the occasional Audouin's Gull.

A list of reliables for this month include Turtle Dove, Little Owl, Golden Oriole, Pallid and Alpine Swift, Black-eared Wheatear, Song Thrush (very few) and many warblers but without doubt the orange-eyed, road-sitting and churring Common Nightjar would top the list.

On the 26th, all the Llobregat Delta's usual suspects were joined by a small possy of Greater Flamingo, a pair of Eurasian Spoonbill, a zinging flock of Common Waxbill and both Spanish Yellow Wagtail and Black-tailed Godwit started making their late-summer appearances, the latter presumably failed breeders. But a glorious juvenile Ruddy Shelduck right under my nose in the Filipines hide proved to be the moment of the month for me. Beautiful bird.

A day later and I was back again with a client and Penduline Tit and Alpine Swift were the also-rans amongst the usual fair and 'nice-surprise' visits from a Little Tern and an out of season Northern Lapwing.

"“It’s been a fantastic trip. I certainly didn’t expect to see so many birds so close.”

Marius Robinson, USA, Rosa, Cuba (Steppes, Pyrenees, Llobregat, Garraf, Ebro Delta)

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.