BirdingInSpain

Barcelona birdwatching tour

Are you a birder thinking of birding in Spain while visiting Barcelona? You might have considered organizing a Barcelona birdwatching tour, so you can go birdwatching around Barcelona for a day or two.

And then your desire for birdwatching might have taken you further. You will have surely heard about birding the steppes of Spain, and then could be tempted to add the steppes and plains of Lleida, Huesca or Zaragoza to your personalized birdwatching tour.

And then if the birdwatching tour has taken you to the steppes it would be a shame to miss out birdwatching in the Pyrenees, wouldn’t it? After all, the Pyrenees are not far from the steppes and offer some great birdwatching opportunities. So now on your birdwatching tour of Catalonia and northeast Spain you could include one of the beautiful national parks of the Pyrenees – Aigüestortes National Park in Catalonia, or Ordesa National Park in Aragón. These birding sites are ideal places for enjoying the most spectacular mountain scenery, but many there are many other places for birdwatching where you can bird for special alpine and forest birds.

OK. So now we have a birdwatching tour starting in Barcelona and visiting the steppes and the Pyrenees. And what about birdwatching in the Ebro Delta? No birdwatching tour in this part of Spain would be complete without birding in the Ebro Delta for a surprising array of wetland birds.

This sounds like a brilliant birdwatching tour, but there are some problems. Firstly, what would be the ideal route for such a tour? What particular itineraries should be planned into this birdwatching tour to encounter the greatest variety of birds, and to guarantee some of the rarer or more localized birds? Well, that’s where we at Birding In Spain can help. 

Secondly, how are we going to allocate ourselves enough time to do this birdwatching tour enough justice? Ah – now that’s something you have to work out for yourself.

Birding Mallorca

Thanks to Geoff and June for their appreciative comments of the Birding In Spain itineraries for birding on Mallorca, as well as the useful update about access to the Salines de Salobrar in the south of the island.

First a sincere thank you for the information on your web site. We’ve just had a short birding trip to Majorca (Mallorca) and your information and itineraries were perfect.

Now some updated information. The salt company at the Salines de Salobrar have put up no access signs. There is also a locked gate on the path your itinerary tells visitors to use. By the gate there is a new information board about the birds, which we found strange. We then met another couple of birders who told us the company now want you to go to the salt plant and pay €10 to enter the site and walk around to see the birds. I have to admit we hoped across a bank and stayed at the edge of area to see what was there.

Finally, we spent quite a while looking for Thekla larks without any luck. On our last morning we took a walk from our rural hotel in Moscari to get a photo of the hotel across the fields and there, no more than 200m from the hotel, we saw a pair feeding.

We found Majorca a great place to bird watch at this time of the year.

Again thanks for your website.

Elsewhere on Mallorca you can find Purple Gallinules 

Geoff & June Seabrook

Hide Photography in Catalonia

This is the cover of the attractive new brochure on bird photography in Catalonia just edited by Birding In Spain and La Sabina.

It’s packed with some great bird photos – all of them taken from our hides – and tons of relevant information about bird photo trips and hide use, location, species etc.

A big thanks to all who contributed to make it possible, above all photographers who contributed a lot of the photos, such as Yves Adams, and especially to Eva Solanes. Eva was responsible for the graphic design and we think she did an excellent job. Congratulations Eva!

Anyone interested in seeing more of this brochure can request a copy by sending us an e-mail.

Happy birding, and great photography!

Extreme weather II

April 2013 ended with 6 consecutive days of rain, at times very heavy, at what was the height of our plains in spring photography season. This was very annoying to some of our guest photographers, having to face up to the challenge of getting photos of plains birds from our hides without getting soaked or coated in mud. Sometimes the challenge was just getting to the hides!

Little Owls had to make do with what they could find

This was irksome, but worst still for us was the bird side of things: Small colonies of Bee-eaters were excavating nests one day and just “gone” the next, perhaps to reappear when the rain stopped, or perhaps not; Little Owls and Lesser Kestrels seemed to be relying on millipedes to tide them through hard times in the complete absence of grasshoppers; male Little Bustards occasionally threw their heads back in a half-hearted display but downright refused to do anything that could be construed as a “jump”.

Little Bustards were not convinced about the advantages of jumping. Photo by Jordi Bas.

Then came the summer, and things returned to normal, or a close resemblance of it. Rollers started inspecting the nestboxes we had put up for them; Hobbies were using regular perches in the vicinity of their nest; and one day I located a Green Woodpecker’s nest with several tiny chicks in the hollow trunk of an old almond tree.

Rollers were ousted from nestboxes by the violent storms. Photo by Jordi Bas.

In June a hailstorm hit the plains area. Only 3 villages were mentioned in the local news, but those 3 places mark the area of the drylands where these birds were nesting. That week I went back to the Green Woodpecker’s nest and checked: there’d be no chicks raised from that particular brood, as the nest was flooded. Maybe the adults could try again, but what about Little Bustards and Montagu’s Harriers nesting unprotected in the open fields? How would they have fared?

One of the nesting Hobbies was killed by the hail.

But worst was yet to come. About two weeks later another hailstorm hit almost exactly the same area. And this time round it was really virulent. The day after scenario couldn’t be more disheartening: one of the nesting Hobby pair was lying dead at the foot of the nesting tree; the lid of one of the Roller nestboxes had been blown off and the contents completely cleaned out; Montagu’s Harriers were nowhere to be seen.

A Green Woodpecker’s nest was “flooded out”. Photo by Wim de Groot.

Somebody should be quoted here. Perhaps Mark Twain  “Climate is what we expect, weather is what we get”, or perhaps Frank Lane “If you want to see the sunshine, you have to weather the storm”.

Birding In Spain binocular review

We are proud to announce that recently Birding In Spain has struck up an interesting area of collaboration with Vanguard, manufacturers of sporting optics, camera bags and accessories, tripods, etc.

But first of all a confession: We were not at all familiar with Vanguard products, with their binoculars or telescopes, their daypacks and assorted bags, not even with their award-winning tripods. And although we’re not always in tune with the latest in anything, not even birding gear and optics, we’ve been into birding in many ways for a long time now, we’ve come into contact with a lot of birders from most parts of the world, and we’re familiar with the big name brands in optics and other birding gear. Or so we thought.

In other words, we couldn’t help feeling somewhat skeptical about the material that was on its way to us from Vanguard, and began to wonder if we really wanted to get professionally involved with a brand that was so unfamiliar to us. Recommending products that we weren’t convinced of would be compromising our professional standards, and that was not something we wanted to do. At the same time, how could we not give the products a fair opportunity, after Vanguard had sent them to us in such good faith?

Fortunately, we can say the dilemma has been solved, and in the best way possible. Firstly, Vanguard have acted with efficiency and eloquence in the way they have their products to us and, secondly, our inspection of the products themselves has dispelled the major withholdings or doubts we may have had. We like what we’ve seen, and very much! 

Another confession: As professional guides we use top of the range binoculars of brands that are familiar to all birders in Europe and probably around the world, and we see no reason to change. So I personally will not be leading birding tours with my new Vanguard binoculars as my main pair of binoculars. However, that is not the point.

We also organize birdwatching courses and field excursions, get client’s companions who come along without binoculars, work with field collaborators, and it’s also very useful to have a “back-up” pair in case something happens to the main pair of binoculars, and without having to suffer a great compromise in effectiveness and image quality. So the new binoculars should see plenty of action! And they’re a lot more affordable than our main pair of binoculars, something that is very important to bear in mind when comparing their performance with models that could easily be 4 times or more their price.

So what about the review? Well, after trying out the Endeavour ED 10 x 42 in the field we looked through the Internet to try and find a glossary of terms to explain things more correctly, to come to terms with the terminology ourselves (e.g. lens coatings, eye relief, etc) and came across the review below which was already written, and in the most professional manner. There’s no way we could get close to writing such a well-constructed review, and what’s more we agree with virtually everything that’s said here, so there’s no compromising our standards or opinions just because Vanguard sent us some review material.

Here it is: Best Binoculars Reviews

There’s one major point we would add, and it’s not a positive one. The author of the review is very impressed by the low light performance of these binoculars, but our location and time of year has led us to do our initial trials under very different conditions: very bright light typical of midsummer in our continental Mediterranean climate, where right now the temperature outside must be around 35ºC. With such trials we have noticed colour-fringing (chromatic aberration) – yellow or purple fringes to contrasting lines and edges especially when viewing objects (antennas, common swifts, tree branches) against a bright sky. How much of an issue can this be? We’re not sure just yet so we’ll have to test the binoculars under less intense lighting conditions to see how the trials compare.

Oh, and another thing we’re not quite sure whether to test or not: Can we wash them under the tap?

Angry birds peck back!

Recently we got another unpleasant surprise when about to visit the Llobregat Delta nature reserve on the edge of Barcelona (previous ones have included reserve closed, being locked in, no water, disturbance by wild boars, etc). We were told that there were now entrance fees established for visiting the Llobregat delta reserve – but that they were only applicable to “professionals”. The argument is that a professional bird guide can obtain an “economic benefit” from the use of the reserve. So, as professional guides ourselves, what do we think?

Sorry, but the whole idea gets a big thumbs down. First of all it’s a very feeble platform that of “those who obtain an economic benefit will have to pay”. For example, what about non-professional guides leading a birdwatching group? Or a visit by the local mayors or town or city councils? Or a photographer who takes a photo of a bird from one of the hides and then sells it to a magazine? And one who doesn’t sell any of his photos? Who is going to decide who, if any, of these will have to pay? The concept just doesn’t stand up to discussion or scrutiny.

And it’s not just because we will have to pay. It’s an arbitrary measure. It’s discriminatory, it’s ineffective, it’s overblown and under-reaching, and it’s not going to be of any benefit to anyone or anything. And sadly it doesn’t mean there will be an improvement in the management of the reserve, or an increase in the services offered to the visitor.

The new management plan for the National Park of Monfragüe also contemplates payment by visitors. But after this general proclamation the considerable divergence between these two “pay per visit” proposals gets wider and wider. The Monfragüe initiative is directed at payment for services, such as car parks, guided tours and access to previously restricted areas. And the income thus generated is to be directed back at management and upkeep of the park. In other words more for more, and not less for more as proposed with the Llobregat Delta initiative.

We believe that the “user” of nature should pay to an extent, but for services, not for just being there in nature. But first of all “exploiters and polluters” should be the ones to pay the most, e.g. a factory that pollutes a river, a company that takes off water from a river for irrigation, bottled water or cooling, logging companies, hotel chains with hotels in areas of natural beauty, and a long etc. The initial focus should be on making the bigger guys pay, because they are the prime “users”, and all too often “abusers” of nature. What is needed is an INTELLIGENT policy of use and exploitation of natural resources, including nature for amenity, but by no means conferring exclusive or prime importance to this aspect when there are so many others that should be addressed first. In the case of the Llobregat Delta why can’t Aena or Abertis pay?

So these people are all with you eh? Let me see…. that’ll be 120 euros. Is there anybody hiding in the reedbeds? 

Furthermore consider this: we have already paid quite a lot for these reserves. Where else did the funds come from that were spent on management tasks, construction of visitor centers and hides, publications, signs etc? From taxpayers and consumers, of course. So we pay as taxpayers and now bird guides are supposed to pay as professionals (though with no signs of any accompanying tax relief), while the polluter, or climate change denier, or environmental detractor, or just general exploiter need not pay. This does not work as a fair-minded concept, which is why we call it discrimination.

While this precept lasts we will not enter the Llobregat Delta reserves because we refuse to pay. We also warmly invite the reserve direction, management and staff to contemplate the advantages and mechanisms of bidding other, wealthier entities to pay for the maintenance of this and other reserves.

Well, almost!

This year at the Rutland Water Birdfair the stand of Catalonia will be decorated with a spectacular 2mx2m photo of an adult Bonelli’s Eagle coming in to land on a tree branch. But it’s not just any Bonelli’s Eagle, but rather one of “ours”! The photo was taken by partner Jordi Bas from our Bonelli’s Eagle hide earlier this season.

The team of the Diputació de Lleida wisely chose this photo to represent part of the richness of birds and birding opportunities that there are in Lleida, one of the four provinces of Catalonia, and the only one without a coastline. What Lleida doesn’t have in terms of sea views it more than makes up for by having the exclusive or a majority stake on many plains and alpine species. And with photographic opportunities like these we have got used to making our own waves.

We’ll be circulating around at the Birdfair this year – so look out for the “mug” and t-shirts if you want a friendly chat.

Q:

“What’s the weather like in May?”

We used to be able to answer that question with some degree of confidence. But nowadays we have to be very careful how we phrase our reply, using “Well, it should be….” or “Traditionally it has been…”, or similar reserved formulas. This year’s weather has been so riddled with extremes that it would be reckless to do otherwise.

For many of us living and birding in Spain it started around mid-February, with rain. “Hooray! Rain!” might have been the initial reaction, especially when the prospects of a continued or repeated drought are the foremost of people’s climatic concerns. But when that rain continues almost without respite for 2 whole months, and when the reservoirs and rivers are close to bursting their banks, even the most aqueous-minded souls among us are stirred to say “OK, that’s enough. You can stop raining now, please”.

Apart from the 60 days there’s also the question of timing. Birders can normally cope with mid-February being wet, but mid-April? When the spring migration should be building to its peak? It’s not just the comfort factor, but more the birds themselves that are the major concern. Migratory birds fly a long way in the spring to reach northern latitudes in order to take advantage of the temporary abundance of food and to breed before making the return migration. In order to establish territories, attract mates, and to recover from the long, demanding journey they need to be fighting fit. And for that they need to feed, and feed well.

Did you hear about Stone Curlews turning up in the UK in poor physical condition? Haggard, thin, exhausted? Stone Curlews are quite numerous in the right habitat in the “drier”, warmer parts of Spain, where they nest on the ground in dry, open, flat areas with sparse vegetation. My experience this spring, and I believe it was similar to other local bird guides, was that Stone Curlews were largely noticeable by their absence. It took a lot more searching than normal to find a Stone Curlew or two.

On reflection that shouldn’t be too hard to understand, for what “dry” areas were left to them? Normally stony or sandy fields and tracts were transformed into mudslides, puddles, mudclots and so on, and God only knows what they could find to eat. So if they couldn’t find the right habitat and conditions in Spain, by the time the Stone Curlews passing through to get to France or the UK had left Spain what sustenance had they found?

Sunshine, poppies and a decent mate. What more could a Stone Curlew ask for? 

Photo by Mark Curley. See more of Mark’s photos taken on the same bird photo trip here.

Around mid-April the sun came out in Spain and warmed us all to a smile and a sigh of relief “At last! Spring has arrived!”. The Stone Curlews responded and appeared in their usual breeding areas and started to, well, breed. When you see a Stone Curlew sitting in a particular spot for several consecutive days it’s usually a good indication that that bird is incubating or will be doing so quite shortly. And you tend to think that things won’t be so bad after all.

An adult Stone Curlew looking quite optimistic about the upcoming season’s breeding prospects   

Photo by Vincent Grau

But then it starts raining again, and it rains for 6 days without respite. And in those 6 days if the adult birds manage to sit tight on the nest, if they are not disturbed by predators, competitors or humans in any guise, and they do not leave the eggs long enough for them to get cold and die, it will be a small miracle.

And that’s only the beginning….

A splendid slim volume

Hi Steve

Just thought I should drop you a line to let you know how much I’m enjoying your book. Although perhaps a reluctant purchaser (having experienced some rather dull ornithological offerings previously), I must confess that your mix of personal anecdote interwoven with some interesting interaction with some unusual avian species has got me absolutely enthralled. It helps, of course, that we have met and that now, having participated in the recent tour and been uplifted by seeing some of the species under discussion, I can put at least some of the memoirs in context. It did also cross my mind that, if I had read the book before the tour, we might have had some more interesting discussions over breakfast and dinner!

Anyway, congratulations on a splendid slim volume and thanks again for leading us on an excellent tour.

Peter 

Here Peter is referring to “Flying over the Pyrenees, standing on the plains”. Most of you haven’t read this “splendid slim volume”. That’s easy to rectify:

Subbuteo Natural History Books  

Birding around Barcelona

This could be an important notice for all birders planning to visit the Llobregat Delta reserves, maybe before taking their flight back home from Barcelona airport, or starting their birding trip after flying into the same.

The opening times of the Cal Tet and Remolar-Filipines reserves of the Llobregat Delta are less than convenient, so don’t get caught out like I was recently. It could put an unwelcome slant to your birding plans!

Furthermore, the access road to the Remolar-Filipines reserve has a barrier that is lowered when the reserve is closed, and at weekends, which causes problems of a different nature, namely:

(i) When access is barred you have to walk for about 15 minutes each way if you want to go to the beach and do a seawatch, for example.

(ii) At the same time the only option for parking your vehicle is in an un-manned car park another 5 minutes away. But that’s not all! This also has its opening and closing times, and any cars left inside when the gate is closed remain there until the gates are opened the following day.

(iii) If you manage to drive along the reserve access road to the car park at the entrance to the Remolar-Filipines reserve well done, but don’t be too complacent. Once I was with birding clients visiting the reserve before dropping them off at Barcelona airport and we were locked in! It was my fault – after the reserve closed I suggested doing a very profitable seawatch from the nearby beach, ignoring the fact that the barrier at the head of the access road was lowered shortly after the Llobregat Delta reserve itself was closed.

If you need a translation just send us an e-mail and we’ll be happy to send you one. 

So be informed! Here are the current opening times – you might need a bit of time to study and memorize them, but it could be worth your while. Remember that birding in the Llobregat Delta on the edge of Barcelona can be a rewarding activity. On recent visits with clients we have seen birds such as Greater Flamingo, Purple Gallinule, Yelkouan Shearwater, Common Waxbill, Penduline Tit, plenty of waders, ducks, terns and gulls, and even a group of Bottlenose Dolphins close to shore!