BirdingInSpain

Last week one of those nice birdie surprises came to me in a rather large package. The first Great Bustard to be recorded in Catalunya for almost 14 years flew past me as I was out on the drylands of Lleida trying to get close to a couple of Great Spotted Cuckoos. Of course I had a good idea of the unusualness of the sighting, although I had to check the bibliography to get the full details: the previous record of the Great Bustard in Catalunya was that of 2 birds at Belianes between 15th and 22nd July 1995. The previous record to that one dates back to August 1987.

Displaying Great Bustard as depicted in “Flying over the Pyrenees, standing on the plains”

The sighting caused quite a stir among the local birders and forum-followers. I received congratulations, and even a couple of phone calls, their makers keen to get more details. And could the observation be used to illustrate importance of the remaining drylands in Lleida, threatened by a badly thought out irrigation scheme?

Who is not seduced by the idea of the Great Bustard making a comeback to Catalunya as a breeding bird, after an absence of half a century? But let’s get real: no more than 80 Great Bustards remain in the Monegros, the nearest regular site for the species, and the impending pincer movement of the Gran Scala casino complex and the Segarra-Garrigues irrigation scheme is most unlikely to leave them with many options for recolonisation of lost territory. 

Escriure una petita introducció sobre l’observació dels ocells al Montsec? Com començar? No ho sabia. Així, un dia esplèndid de primavera vaig agafar els prismàtics i vaig fer una visita als camps, bosquets i cims airosos de Montsec, buscant inspiració en la seva solitut i majestuositat.

La veritat és que la cosa no comencava massa bé. Hi havien moltes distraccions: grupets d’abellerols melosos de colors llampants, una guatlla cantant “set-per-vuit”, la seva veu ondulant com el blat en la brisa lleugera. Un destell repentí de colors quan una puput aixecà el vol. La dolça melangia d’un parell de cotolius.

Bee-eater by Joan Manel Puig 

5 espècies de tallarols estaven en plena forma anunciant-se propietaris de les mates, les alzines i els roures. 5 espècies! Silenci!! Tot aquell xibarri no em deixava pensar. 

Orphean Warbler by Jan-Michael Breider 

Així vaig rependre el camí. Lluny cantava un hortolà, orgullós d’haver tornat de l’Africa a la seva terra natal. Després una volada de gralles de bec-vermell van interrompre els meus pensaments amb les seves acrobàcies aèries.

A dalt de la serrelada el pas de voltors era continuo, però vaig fer un esforç sobrehumà per no fer-los cas, al igual que la merla roquera que cantava insistentment al meu darrere. Però, quan un trencalòs va planejar davant meu mirant-me de fit a fit als ulls, aleshores vaig adonar-me’n que els ocells m’havien guanyat la partida.

Griffon Vultures by Franck Renard 

Steve West

The 3rd Bird Fair in Extremadura was a good excuse for me to make the long haul in my “trusty” white Rover from Lleida to Cáceres province for the last weekend in February.

So it was not really a birding trip – I was not there to make a concerted effort to search for interesting birds, but rather to check out a few new areas, to drive back and forth from the fair, to take some landscape shots, etc. Even so I still managed to see a pretty good selection of our feathered friends. Here is the roll of honour:

Imperial Eagle at Monfragüe

The Imperial Eagle is the one in the middle 

Bonelli’s Eagle – 2 soaring over the fair car park on Saturday

Short-toed Eagle – the first of the year in Monfragüe

Golden Eagle – 1 at close range in Monfragüe

Black-winged Kites – 5 different birds in one day, to the north of the park.

Great Spotted Cuckoo – 1 noisy bird, another first of the year.

Egyptian Vulture – 2 in Monfragüe, also my first for 2009

Black Vulture, Hawfinch, Azure-winged Magpie – relatively easy at various locations

Azure-winged Magpies seem to be very conspicuous at this time of the year 

Spanish Sparrow– groups at 3 different sites

Spanish Sparrows – aren’t they cute? 

Black Stork – 1 at Monfragüe

The timid Black Stork 

Great Bustard – 7 or 8 on the plains near Cáceres

More of a brief summary than a report, as new species have been few for me this February. That is not because the birds are not there: other observers have already reported first sightings of House Martin, Swallow, Spoonbill, Great Spotted Cuckoo, Crane, Lesser Kestrel and even a couple more Jack Snipes. So, mea culpa – I haven’t been out and about enough to really get to grips with the current birding offer in my local hotspot.

OK, what have I seen? New species I recorded in February were Nuthatch and Eagle Owl, both in the Montsec area, and both recorded in the course of a family outing.

Meanwhile, in the Hotring things have been just a little more exciting, with the addition of Moustached Warbler (3 birds singing at Utxesa), Bearded Tit (6 birds together), and Fan-tailed Warbler, or Zitting Cisticola if you like, on the edge of Lleida. The latter, surprisingly, is the only record I have of the species in the area this year, surely a sign that it has been hard hit by the cold periods over the last winter.

Local weather conditions didn’t always help me in the pursuit of the hotspot ideal.

Both Thekla Lark and Crested Lark occur over much of the warmer parts of Spain, and frequently both species can be found in close company of each other. Surprisingly, relatively little has been said about the separation of this difficult species pair; in fact the possibility of misidentification of one species for the other has frequently been played down, simplified or largely ignored. Many birders who come to Spain question me about field separation of Crested and Thekla Larks – so much so that this is probably the single most often discussed identification point. 

Thekla Lark. Photo by Jan-Michael Breider. 

There was a thread recently on Bird Forum dealing with this question:

http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=133911&page=2

and the subject came up with clients on my last trip in mid-February.

So here I am attempting to summarise what can be said about the field identification of these two species in Spain. Or rather to express my own opinion about the criteria that are most valid for separating Crested and Thekla Lark in the field, at least in northeast Spain.

Morphologically speaking the features usually mentioned are: bill, crest length and shape, plumage coloration and streaking, face pattern, underwing colour and colour of the outer tail feathers.

In my opinion bill shape and length is probably the single most useful (although not infallible) feature. Comparatively speaking, Thekla Larks have shorter, stubbier, more triangular bills while Crested Larks have longer, more tapering bills with a straighter, or even concave lower mandible.

Face pattern: Thekla Larks usually have a more contrasting face pattern, with “spectacles” and a more “open” expression.

General plumage coloration: if you see a very grey-looking bird then it is almost certainly a Thekla Lark. The problem is that not all Thekla Larks are greyish, as this is a feature that largely depends on wear and local variation.

Outer tail feathers: apparently the Thekla Lark has more rufous and more contrasting outer rectrices – something I’ll have to check for in the field.

Underwing: Thekla Larks have greyer underwing coverts than Crested Larks, but just how often do you think you will be able to check that out in the field?

Crest: a rather useless criterion in my own humble opinion. It depends too much on wind, attitude, moult, individual variation and observer bias.

Voice: difficult to tell apart, even with certain experience. Both songs are similar, although Thekla Lark’s is more melodious, less imposing and lower pitched, with less tendency to imitation than Crested Lark.

Distribution: there are large tracts of land where only one species (usually Crested Lark) occurs, which is a good initial indicator if you are familiar with the species’ local distribution.

Habitat: this is a good indicator, although beware of “microhabitats”. Thekla Larks usually prefer less “agricultural” landscapes, and more often observed in broken, stony terrain with scattered bushes.

Last, but not least: is the bird perched on a bush or a pile of rocks, or is it a ground hugger? In the former case there is a very good chance that it will be a Thekla Lark! 

Crested Lark vs Thekla Lark: “a veritable minefield of confusion!” as was concluded on the bird forum thread.

I mentioned the Pine Bunting on an earlier thread but didn’t have the all-important image to go with it. Well, here it is, thanks to my friend from Barcelona, one of Catalonia’s most incorrigible twitchers, Rafa Armada. By the way, Rafa has now seen three Pine Buntings in Spain!

Male Pine Bunting observed near Lleida, northeast Spain. Photo by Rafa Armada.  

Rafa spent his time on this bird, and he was probably the last birder to see it, on the 21st January.

Who knows where it is now?

Any predictions for the next rarity that will turn up near Lleida?

How can any birder not agree that Hawfinches are really cool birds. I’m sure Franck Renard thinks the same. Just look at his photos of these beautiful Hawfinches below. Feel the photographer’s respect and desire to portray the species as it really is.

Hawfinches by Franck Renard

Many thanks to Franck for sending us these photos and for allowing us all to enjoy them. It just so happens that this winter there has been an exceptionally good number of Hawfinches in northeast Spain. From early November I’ve had the good fortune to see Hawfinches in Navarra, Huesca and on several occasions in the Montsec area, Lleida.

For me nowadays seeing a Hawfinch is one of the bright sparks of winter birding. And I’m sure Hawfinches will give Franck and I something to talk about when he comes here in February to photograph the Lammergeier and other vultures.

Curious to see the face behind the photos? See who Franck Renard is and a little of what he does by following this link, and this other one.

Did you know? – Cranes in northeast Spain

Cranes at Gallocanta lagoon. Photo by Marten van Dijl. Visit his website here. 

The spring passage of Cranes in northeast Spain takes place from the latter half of February to the end of March, or more rarely into early April.

In autumn the largest influx of Cranes is from the end of October and in November, with the last birds passing through in early December.

In Catalunya flocks of more than 100 birds are uncommon.

Gallocanta in Aragón channels the passage of virtually the whole of the Western European population of the Common Crane, with up to 60,000 birds recorded together in late October and a pre-nuptial maximum of some 30,000 birds in mid-February.

Birds heading northwards in the spring often stop off at Sotonera before crossing the Pyrenees. Gatherings of more than 14,000 Cranes have been recorded here, principally between mid-February and mid-March.

Gurelur Bird migration centre, at the Alto de Ibañeta (1,057m), is situated at one of the most popular mountain passes in the Pyrenees for watching the autumn passage of Cranes. The centre is open from July 1st to the end of November.

Reference and further information: Where the birds are in northeast Spain

Where to stay and watch the Cranes:
Gallocanta – Allucant
Sotonera – Hospedería de Loarre
Alto de Ibañeta – Navarra Selección

I’ve just come back from a spot of birding and of course I’ve seen a few birds.

So I thought we’d play a little birding guessing game: I tell you the birds I saw at a certain site, and you tell me where I was. The earlier you guess, the more points you get. OK?

-OK

Here goes with the first clue (5 points):

1) 100’s of Black-headed Gulls, about 20 Yellow-legged Gulls and one or two Lesser Black-backed Gulls.

– Er, the Ebro Delta?

No. Next clue (4 points):

2) About 20 Grey Herons and 1,000 or so Cattle Egrets.

– Still sounds like the Ebro Delta. What about the Llobregat Delta?

No! You’d never see that many Cattle Egrets in the Llobregat Delta. Well, I never have anyway.  Next clue for 3 points:

3) A Griffon Vulture, 12 Red Kites, 2 Marsh Harriers and a Common Buzzard.

– Somewhere inland near Lleida I expect. But don’t ask me where.

OK. You’re getting close, but I’m sure you can be a bit more specific than that. Next clue (2 points):

4) About 350 White Storks and a White Pelican.

– 350 storks! Are you pulling my leg?! I thought White Storks were supposed to migrate to Africa in the winter. And a White Pelican! Wait a minute, this sounds familiar… storks, gulls, egrets and a vagrant/escaped Pelican. Wouldn’t be a rubbish tip would it?

Correct! Well done! Indeed, the Lleida landfill site. The Pelican’s been knocking around with the White Storks for more than a month now. The Griffon Vulture was a surprise though.

Did you know?

The Balearic Shearwater Puffinus mauretanicus is a species endemic to the Balearic Islands?

The Balearic Shearwater was regularly captured for human consumption until the late 1970’s? And that an estimated 2,400 to 2,700 Balearic Shearwaters were caught annually on Formentera alone? 

Predation by cats or genets is one of the main problems faced by the species, and is the reason why this shearwater disappeared from the interior of Cabrera?

There are only an estimated 2,000 pairs of Balearic Shearwater in the world, and that at the current rate of regression the species is likely to become extinct in about 40 years? 

The photo of this Balearic Shearwater is by my friend Eva Solanes. To see more follow this link to Eva’s photo website.

After breeding on the Balearic Islands the Balearic Shearwater spends the summer in the Bay of Biscay? 

Much of the world population of this bird regularly winters along the coast of Catalonia?  

More information on the Balearic Shearwater, especially about where and when to see it in northeast Spain, can be seen on page 37 of “Where the birds are in northeast Spain”.

These itineraries from the BirdingInSpain.com main site offer good chances of observing Balearic Shearwater at the right time of the year:

Ebro Delta South 

Llobregat Delta and Garraf

Cap de Creus Natural park

And get everything right if planning a visit to the region – check out the recommended accommodation in the area where you plan to be. It’s recommended because it’s the best for birders, birdwatchers, nature lovers, families….