BirdingInSpain

On the 22nd April a lucky observer found a Cream-coloured Courser among a group of 6 Dotterel in a dryland area near Lleida. The observation was not reported until the bird had gone as it was in a sensitive area where Black-bellied Sandgrouse could breed this year. After the demise of the Dupont’s Lark in Catalonia the Black-bellied Sandgrouse, along with the Lesser Grey Shrike, is probably the most endangered bird species in this part of Spain. So in my mind the observer acted responsibly: getting his priorities right and putting the welfare of a rare breeding bird before the needs of local listers.

Luckily for all the first ever Cream-coloured Courser for the Lleida area turned up a couple of winters ago in a different dryland area to the north of Lleida, and stayed in place long enough to satisfy those who drove from Barcelona or Girona to see it. Of course then the local Lleida birders were the first on the scene. Including me!

Funnily enough there are other records of Cream-coloured Coursers on mainland Spain apparently associated with small flocks of Dotterels. How does that come about I wonder?

Here is the second part of the first arrival dates for migrant birds arriving in the Lleida area this spring:

• Alpine Swift Apus melba 16-Mar
• Purple Heron Ardea purpurea 16-Mar
• Black-eared Wheatear Oenanthe hispanica 16-Mar
• Little Stint Calidris minuta 17-Mar
• Wood Sandpiper Tringa glareola 17-Mar
• Willow Warbler Phylloscopus trochilus 17-Mar
• Short-toed Lark Calandrella brachydactyla 19-Mar
• Spotted Redshank Tringa erythropus 21-Mar
• Ringed Plover Charadrius hiaticula 21-Mar
• Cuckoo 29-Mar
• Savi’s Warbler Locustella luscinoides 29-Mar
• Bonelli’s Warbler Phylloscopus bonelli 30-Mar
• Swift Apus apus 31-Mar
• Dunlin Calidris alpina 01-Apr
• Turtle Dove Streptopelia turtur 01-Apr
• Wryneck Jynx torquilla 03-Apr
• Great Reed Warbler Acr. arundinaceus 03-Apr
• Temminck’s Stint Calidris temminckii 04-Apr
• Montagu’s Harrier Circus pygargus 04-Apr
• Spectacled Warbler Sylvia conspicillata 04-Apr
• Tawny Pipit Anthus campestris 06-Apr
• Nightingale Luscinia megarhynchos 06-Apr
• Quail Coturnix coturnix 06-Apr
• Golden Oriole Oriolus oriolus 06-Apr
• Red-footed Falcon Falco vespertinus 07-Apr
• Black Tern Chlidonias niger 08-Apr
• Whiskered Tern Chlidonias hybridus 08-Apr

Of these the only bird that seems to be “offtime” is the Red-footed Falcon, which in my experience normally makes its appearance at the beginning of May, virtually a month later than the date recorded here for this species.

Spring has been around here in Lleida for some time now. According to weather reports from the UK it’s difficult to echo that statement further north.

So just for a bit of fun, let’s compare notes. The good (native and naturalized) birders from the general area around Lleida have been collecting observations of first spring arrivals of migratory bird species for the last few years. And rather than keeping them to ourselves, I thought “Why not share them with the international birding community?”. Someone out there might find this information useful or at least interesting.

Of course observations of first arrivals of migratory birds are not much use for scientifc purposes. Personally I think that such records should be extended to at least second and third observations, mostly in order to help to iron out anomalies, either in the bird world or in their human recorders.

But let’s be content with what there is, rather than gripe on about what there isn’t.

Below then are the first arrival dates for the migratory birds recorded in the Lleida area (northeast Spain) up until the 15th March. Birds recorded on later dates to follow.

SPECIES                                                                     DATE
Black Stork Ciconia nigra 19-Feb
Little Ringed Plover Charadrius dubius 19-Feb
Great Spotted Cuckoo Clamator glandarius 21-Feb
House Martin Delichon urbicum 23-Feb
Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica 23-Feb
Garganey Anas querquedula 27-Feb
Black Kite Milvus migrans 01-Mar
Red-rumped Swallow Hirundo daurica 01-Mar
Ruff Philomaxus pugnax 02-Mar
Egyptian Vulture Neophron percnopterus 04-Mar
Short-toed Eagle Circaetus gallicus 06-Mar
Lesser Kestrel Falco naumanni 08-Mar
Ring Ouzel Turdus torquatus 09-Mar
Sand Martin Riparia riparia 09-Mar
Osprey Pandion haliaetus 12-Mar
Black-winged Stilt Himantopus himantopus 13-Mar
Reed Warbler Acrocephalus scirpaceus 13-Mar
Booted Eagle Hieraaetus pennatus 13-Mar
Yellow Wagtail Motacilla flava 13-Mar
Tree Pipit Anthus trivialis 13-Mar
Redstart Phoenicurus phoenicurus 14-Mar
Whinchat Saxicola rubetra 14-Mar

Just a quick note of the “first” arrivals that I have had the fortune to encounter over the last week or so:

3 Short-toed Eagles (together, and screaming like gulls, weird)

Several Garganey, both male and female

Willow Warbler singing

A horde of Swallows and Sand Martins

Little Ringed Plover, Wood Sandpiper, Black-tailed Godwit and Black-winged Stilt as the wader representation

2 Egyptian Vultures and a few Black Kites in the Pre-Pyrenees

Tree Pipits calling, small parties of Yellow Wagtails

What I haven’t seen, despite looking:

Spectacled Warbler, Montagu’s Harrier (or even a flukey Pallid Harrier), House Martin

All the more reason to get out and about!

Bonelli’s Eagle   Hieraaetus fasciatus

The Bonelli’s Eagle is a resident species with juvenile dispersal to non-breeding areas with abundant prey items. The Bonelli’s Eagle is undergoing a serious decline throughout its range, which in Spain is mostly due to electrocution, illegal shooting and habitat fragmentation. Nevertheless, Spain holds around 70% of the European population of this marvellous species of bird. The healthiest populations of Bonelli’s Eagle in northeast Spain are found in the sierras of Tarragona in Catalonia.

Some birding itineraries in northeast Spain where the Bonelli’s Eagle can be seen: Els Ports, Cardó massif, Prades and Montsant ranges, Garraf, Montgrí massif, Cap de Creus, Montsec range.

Out with my friend Manel birding on the drylands of Bellmunt, Lleida. A quick visit on the way home from Mont-roig (I know! I was there last week too, but it’s such a great place for birding!), mainly to see if any Little Bustards were marking territories. Nope, none.

But there we stood, listening to the melodic song (ehem!) of the Southern Grey Shrike, while watching a good number and variety of raptors sailing on the morning’s thermals: a handful of Griffon Vultures, a Golden Eagle, 2 Red Kites, a Hen Harrier and a Marsh Harrier too.

We drove on a little and then Manel stopped. I’d signalled for him to do so because I had seen a black bird in a short grassy field (barley actually but being young and green it looked like grass) but I couldn’t tell what it was.

“A starling” said Manel. I was looking at an angle through the windscreen, and you know how that distorts, but starling didn’t seem right.

“A blackbird?” I suggested. “Or perhaps a Ring Ouzel?” even more tentatively.

“A Ring Ouzel?” repeated Manel, with an inquisitorial tone, which made me sincerely hope that the bird was not in fact a starling after all. The bird then hopped, flew a little closer to us, and helpfully turned towards us, showing a gleaming white half-moon.

“Oh! It is a Ring Ouzel!” exclaimed Manel, “Isn’t that strange!”

Well, strange no, because birds have wings and they use them to migrate. Furthermore early March is the peak season for Ring Ouzel migration in this part of Spain. Nevertheless, it was only the second Ring Ouzel I had seen near Lleida in the 20 years that I have lived here. So “strange” maybe not, but stimulating certainly.

The Ring Ouzel that breeds in the Spanish Pyrenees is of the race alpestris, while the Bellmunt bird was obviously a male of the nominate race torquatus. So if any of you more northern European residents happen to see a Ring Ouzel in your garden in the next week or so think that there’s just a tiny possibility that Manel and I had been watching that same creature on the drylands of Bellmunt, northeast Spain.

Dupont’s Lark Chersophilus duponti

The Dupont’s Lark is scarce and localised in northeast Spain, where it is now restricted to Aragón after its recent extinction at the last site in Catalonia. The Dupont’s Lark breeds in open, dry lowland habitats and plateaux up to 1,200m.
Some birding itineraries in northeast Spain where the Dupont’s Lark may be found: Belchite steppes, Monegros Bujaraloz, Monegros Alcolea and Candasnos.

Got the Little Bustards!

After an evening and a morning search around alfafa fields near Lleida, following fellow birders’ last-minute reports of “more than 500 Little Bustards“, or “a flock of up to 700 birds” I finally managed to pin down a smaller, but still respectable flock of about 250 Little Bustard. Parked near a busy roundabout I stayed in the car so as not to worry the little darlings, took a photo which I knew to be of no use at all, and just enjoyed the thought that large numbers of these birds still frequent this part of Spain in the winter.

A few years ago a Little Bustard flock of about 1,300 birds was found near here, certainly the largest flock ever recorded in Catalonia, if not in Spain. This flock will have dispersed by late March or early April, but then hopefully a good number of these Little Bustards will stay around to breed on the remaining drylands of Lleida.

Wallcreeper Tichodroma muraria

The Wallcreeper breeds in the Pyrenees of Spain on high mountain rock walls at an average altitude of 1,930 m. Between October and April most of the Wallcreeper population of northeast Spain descends to lower levels. At such times it can be found well to the south of the Pyrenees.

BirdingInSpain.com itineraries where the Wallcreeper may be found: Hecho and Ansó valleys, Benasque, Serra del Cadí, Sierra de Guara west (winter), Montsec (winter), Cap de Creus (winter).

Snowfinch Montifringilla nivalis

The Snowfinch breeds around alpine pastures and snowfields on rocky mountain tops at altitudes of more than 2,000m in the Pyrenees. It forms largish flocks in the winter when it can be seen out of its normal breeding range, but rarely at less than 1,400m.

Birding itineraries in the Pyrenees where the Snowfinch can be seen: Selva de Iratí and Ori, Ordesa National Park, Benasque, Serra del Cadí (winter).

Snowfinch distribution in the Pyrenees, Spain