The perfect short birding trip

Spring is over, summer is here, so shouldn’t you be making plans for a short winter trip to northeast Spain?

In the February mid-term Max came birding with us for just 4 days and took home no fewer than 15 lifers, and it wasn’t his first birding trip to Spain!

Here’s a little about the 15 lifers we got for Max:

2 Wallcreepers (Sarah: “All I can see are two butterflies”)

 Black Woodpecker Dryocopus martius

Black Woodpecker. Photo by Michele Mendi.

2 Black Woodpeckers – they gave us a damn good run for our money (me: “I’ll master their call in the end”)

Alpine Accentor Prunella collaris

Alpine Accentor Prunella collaris. Photo by Franck Renard.

2 Alpine Accentors (they came out of the blue and landed on the monastery walls right in front of us).

Firecrest Regulus ignicapillus.

Firecrest. Photo by Jan-Michael Breider.

2 Firecrests (me: “This looks like the right kind of place for a Firecrest”)

7 Great Bustards (all males, and a bit too close for their comfort)

2 Little Bustards (I wasn’t expecting them to be here!)

Dupont’s Lark Chersophilus duponti

Dupont’s Lark.

1 Dupont’s Lark (cracking views, only wish I could get into the habit of having my camera with me at the right moments).

Common Crane, Grus grus.

Common Crane. Photo by Franck Renard.

170+ Cranes

70+ Pin-tailed Sandgrouse

About 40 Black-bellied Sandgrouse 

Bonelli’s Eagle, Hieraaetus fasciatus.

Bonelli’s Eagle. Photo by Joao Cosme.

3 Bonelli’s Eagles (2 adults perched on rocks on the second morning were a good incentive for getting out of bed!)

1 Eagle Owl (cracking views!)

Goshawk, Accipiter gentilis.

Goshawk. Photo by Michele Mendi.

2 Goshawks (you never know when you’re going to bump into these)

Lammergeier, Gypaetus barbatus.

Lammergeier. Photo by Chris Schenk.

1 Lammergeier (a camera with flat batteries is worse than no camera!)

1 Spectacled Warbler

Plus Little Owl, Thekla Lark, Lesser Short-toed Lark, Wryneck, Blue Rock Thrush, Calandra Lark. 

All in all it was quite an instructive period, wouldn’t you agree Max?!  

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