Those Great Bustards!

Great Bustards - Avutardas - Piocs

“Then I pass over a rise in the terrain and something unexpected happens. A field of grass and flowers lies before me, bursting with the song of calandra larks and crickets. In this scented field, which has somehow been overlooked by the ploughman, I see the unmistakeable bulks of several great bustards, necks stretched and eyes fixed in my direction. I am too close for their liking, so they take to a nonchalant but purposeful gait to move away from me, stopping now and then to raise their heads and check that I am not following hard on thier heels. I watch from the path as, slowly, the last of their heads sinks below the grassy horizon like a setting sun. Tipping an imaginary cap, I wish them the best of luck. ”

A typical scene from the Monegros

Excerpt from the chapter “Little Tales and Great Bustards” from the book “Flying over the Pyrenees, standing on the plains

A Spanish Juniper in the Monegros

How do you say “white light” in French?

Irene from Paris got in touch after the summer and explained that she was set on coming to film vultures. Vultures feeding seen from the hide? No. Vultures perched on the rocks? No. Irene was explicit: she wanted to film vultures circling in thermals.

The French vulture expedition

Irene and friends Dorothy, Jean and Gilles

It became clear to me that her best option would be Mas de Bunyol. The patron of Mas de Bunyol, Jose Ramón Moragrega has been feeding the vultures of els Ports on his land near Valderroures every day for more than 20 years now. In the eyes of the public he’s on the way to becoming a local legend; for the hundreds of vultures that turn up every morning waiting for him to serve their food he already is.  

From the comfort of the newly-completed vulture observatory, with benches and all-round vision, vulture displays and the attentions of Loly, José Ramón’s partner, one can watch as he enters the compound with a wheelbarrow loaded with dead rabbits. The vultures sail down from the nearby trees, the bravest of them actually going up to José Ramón’s wheelbarrow to try and grab a rabbit for themselves even before he can unload them!

Everything unfolds as usual, although José Ramón is a little upset that today we have only seen 150 Griffon Vultures, instead of the more usual four or five hundred. Only! The vultures feed, and then rest, some in the trees, some in the compound itself next to a pool where they often bathe. Irene, however, is far from relaxed. When will the vultures start circling Steve? I consult with Loly, and she tells us not to worry – the vultures are just hanging around waiting for the first thermals to form.

Griffon Vultures at rest

Griffon vultures just hanging out after a feed at Mas de Bunyol. But Irene was looking for something more…

They make us wait in a nervous state before they eventually comply by finding a thermal that brings some 70 of them circling closer and closer until they are just over our heads! Phew! Mission accomplished, and that after spending a lovely night dining on Loly’s roast chicken, drinking local wine and sleeping in one of Mas de Bunyol’s tastefully furbished rooms.

José Ramón told us about the Eagle Owls and Peregrines that inhabit the nearby rock faces, and after the vultures had all but left two adult Bonelli’s Eagles sailed leisurely over the observatory! However, Irene and her crew were already thinking about a fish lunch on the Mediterranean coast…

If you’re curious about the title of this article take a look at Irene’s website

White light II

White light?

Viaje Ornitológico a Turquía

 ¡Ojo!

Un exótico viaje fotográfico y ornitológico de 10 días al sur de Turquía.

Con guía nativo y guía de BirdingInSpain, vehículo privado, las mejores aves y los más bellos paisajes del sur de Turquía.

¡No lo pierdas!

Fechas: del 27 de mayo al 5 de junio 2011

Precio: 1.395 euros

Algunas de las aves que esperamos ver: Perdigallo del Caspio, Camachuelo Desertícola, Ibis Eremita, Alondra Cornuda, Gorrión del Mar Muerto, Trepador de Krüper, Autillo Persa, Martín Pescador de Esmirna, Verdecillo Carinegro, Petirrojo Gorgiblanco…

¿O mejor, quizás, que te lo decimos con imágenes?

BireçikGorrión del Mar Muerto

 

Delta del GoksuAvefría Espolada

Halfeti, TurquíaTordino Rojizo, Turdoides fulva.

Estambul, Turquía.Trepador de Krüper, Sitta krueperi

¿Has visto el vídeo?

Por cierto, muchas gracias a Murat Bozdogan por el uso de sus fotografías.

Lammergeier hides close for summer

This last season our Lammergeier hides have been used by no fewer than 33 bird and wildlife photographers. Not one of them returned home without a good number of photographs of Lammergeier, Black Vulture and Griffon Vulture. The later visitors also had Egyptian Vulture.

Access to the Lammergeier hides for photography is now closed until October. In that time we are planning to make a series of important and interesting improvements, which will mean greater comfort, more photographic possibilities and more convenient logistical arrangements for our demanding clients!

We will keep you informed. For the moment we would like to issue a huge THANK YOU to all of our clients who deposited a great deal of trust in us. And another one to all of them who graciously shared some of their hard-earned fruits with the rest of the bird photography community. One such person is Jonny Verheyden, who has kindly given us permission to reproduce one of his superb Lammergeier photos on this blog.

Lammergeier, Gypaetus barbatus. Also called the Bearded Vulture.

Lammergeier in flight by Jonny Verheyden.

Itinerari ornitològic – la Mitjana de Lleida

Descripció: Bosc de ribera. 90 ha de bosc de ribera (xops, àlbers, verns, salzes) amb zones d’arbustives (tamarius, esbarzers), depressions inundables i un canyissar força extensiu, tot declarat Àrea d’Interès Natural. És un parc municipal ara ben comunicat i molt freqüentat pel públic als caps de setmana, malgrat això és pot preparar la visita per trobar hores o racons tranquils.

 

Mapa de la Mitjana Lleida

Principals espècies

Tot l’any: cabusset, martinet blanc, esplugabous, cigonya blanca, ànec coll-verd, aligot comú, polla d’aigua, rascló, picot verd, tórtora turca, blauet, cuereta torrentera, cargolet, rossinyol bord, teixidor, mallerenga cuallarga, raspinell comú, pardal xarrec, gratapalles.

Estivals: martinet de nit, agró roig, falcó mostatxut, corriol petit, xot, abellerol, colltort, tórtora, rossinyol, boscarla de canyar, balquer, bosqueta vulgar, tallarol de casquet, papamosques gris, oriol.

Hivernants: corb marí gros, bernat pescaire, picot garser gros, pardal de bardissa, pit-roig, cotxa fumada, tord ala-roig, bruel, lluer, pinsà mec, repicatalons, cruixidell.

De Pas: milà negre, aligot vesper, àguila pescadora, xivitona, oreneta de ribera, piula dels arbres, cotxa cua-roja, mastegatatxes, tallarol gros, tallarol de garriga, tallareta vulgar, mosquiter pàl•lid, mosquiter de passa.

Accés
Des de la ciutat de Lleida pel pont de Pardinyes i el camí de la Granyena.

Itinerari
(1) En les hores menys concorregudes és profitós aturar-se uns moments a les comportes del canal de Serós per observar ocells aquàtics com el blauet, la cuereta torrentera, la xivitona, la polla d’aigua, el martinet blanc i, a l’hivern, el corb marí gros, el bernat pescaire i la gavina vulgar.
(2) Travessa el canal i un petit pont sobre un rierol. Busca un lloc discret per aparcar a prop de l’entrada del parc i seguir a peu. Vigila! No deixes coses de valor en el cotxe, un consell aplicable a molts indrets periurbans sense vigilància.
(3) Entre el canyissar a mà dreta i els joncs i esbarzers a l’esquerra és possible detectar espècies com la boscarla de canyar, el rascló, el trist, el rossinyol bord, el teixidor i la tórtora turca als cables de la llum; a l’hivern el canyissar és un important dormider pel repicatalons i el cruixidell.
(4) Més endavant hi ha un bosquet principalment de verns i xops on podem trobar mallerengues i altres ocells del bosc, i segons l’època el lluer, el bruel i el mastegatatxes.
(5) Just abans d’arribar al pont del canal de Balaguer, trobarem un camí a mà esquerra que passa per una zona dominada per esbarzers i tamarius. A la tardor les mores atrauen molts ocells com el tallarol gros, el tallarol de casquet i la merla.
(6) Torna al pont metàl•lic que travessa el canal de Balaguer. Aquí és un dels millors llocs per veure el blauet, la cuereta torrentera i la mallerenga cuallarga, aquesta última en les salzes a la vora de l’aigua.
(7) Gira a la dreta per seguir el camí del canal de Balaguer. En els arbres i arbustos al llarg d’aquest camí tenim bones oportunitats de realitzar observacions interessants en la forma dels ocells reproductors com l’oriol, el papamosques gris, el pardal xarrec i la gratapalles; ocells migratoris com el tallarol gros, el mosquiter pàl•lid i el mastegatatxes; i a l’hivern el pit-roig, el pardal de bardissa i el pinsà mec, l’últim entre els nombrosos pinsans comuns què venen aquí per passar la nit.
(8) A arribar a la tanca que travessa el camí prendrem un altre camí a l’esquerra què, després de passar entremig d’una línia d’arbres es divideix en petites bifurcacions. A seguir una d’aquestes arribarem a la Bassa Gran; aquí des de dintre dels aguaits hem trobat un bon lloc per veure el martinet de nit, el bernat pescaire i el martinet blanc. Altres espècies freqüentes aquí són el blauet, l’ànec coll-verd i el cabusset.
(9) Continua pel camí i a la primera bifurcació gira a la dreta per on arribaràs a un pontet de color verd. Després, si efectues un altre gir a la dreta passaràs per un bosc de xops i àlbers (molt indicat per observar el raspinell comú i, a l’hivern, el picot garser gros) abans de sortir a la passarel•la que travessa el riu Segre. Aprofita la oportunitat de parar al mig del riu a escoltar o veure ocells com la oreneta de ribera, el blauet, l’oriol, el teixidor, el corriol petit, el martinet de nit i una llarga etcètera. En els arbres riu avall és on es posen multituds de corbs marins, bernats, martinets i esplugabous.
(10) La marge dreta té característiques similars a la de l’esquerra, però amb més zones obertes i més trànsit humà. Millor visitar-la a la primera hora del matí o en un dia laboral.

Gratapalles Emberiza cirlus

Moltes gràcies a Michele Mendi pel seu permís per reproduïr la seva foto d’aquest Gratapalles

Duració aproximada: entre 2 i 3 hores.

Paisajes ibéricos: Iberian landscapes

No birders or birds in sight here, just some peaceful scenes from places around Lleida, our little corner of northeast Spain.

Canal d’Urgell between the drylands and Lleida

Evening light, autumn day.

Another view from the Montroig mountain

 Mist rolling in over the hills of Mont-roig.

Montroig mist

Morning.

 FInestres hermitage in Montsec

Spirituality – and the hermit came in search of solitude.

Creaking bones inside, breaking bones outside

Our Lammergeier hides get excellent results, but admittedly are not over spacious.

Bird photographers unloading at the Lammergeier hide 

Photographers getting ready to occupy the Lammergeier hides

Photographers patiently await the arrival of Lammergeiers, Griffon Vultures or Black Vultures. Or perhaps fidget nervously in anticipation of that special shot… the Lammergeier in flight, on the ground, landing, taking off…Either way, there isn’t anywhere for them to go until the designated pick-up time. No wonder they rub and massage their creaking bones when they get out of the hides for a welcome stretch.   

But a few stiff joints are worth it to get that close to the famed bone-breaking Lammergeier.

Adult Lammergeier with bone

Lammergeier with bone

Michele Mendi came to us in mid-November and was very pleased with some of the photos he took. He has very generously offered to share some of them with BirdingInSpain.com and our readers, as a preview of some of his work. 

Adult and immature Lammergeiers in flight

An aerial dispute

Black Vulture by Michele Mendi

Black Vulture, or Black Sheep?

Griffon Vulture

The Griffon Vulture – a handsome bird? 

Many thanks, Michele! Marvellous!

Michele was not alone. Present too was Frenchman Sebastien Beghelli from Naturapics. Sebastien gained a lot of useful experience here, as well as some very good shots which we hope to see in the near future. Come on Sebastien, show us some more!

November visitors also included two of Scandinavia’s top photographers:

Tom Schandy. See some of Tom’s photos and his article  here (someone translate from Norwegian please!)

Brutus Östling from Sweden. See Brutus Östling’s blog article here (English translation available).

And below a couple of the landscapes I enjoy while watching the proceedings from a distance.

Griffon Vulture on the rocks

Mountain view in Spain

Paddle your canoe

Birding by canoe on the River Ebro 

On a hot summer’s day going canoeing with friends is not a bad idea. Get some exercise, enjoy the landscape, tranquillity and wildlife, have a laugh and be left with the perfect excuse for enjoying a good meal in a local restaurant. If the sun beats down hard there is the shade of the gallery woodland, and you can always splash a bit more as you paddle along. Oh, and wear your swimming costume in case you overturn – as I did.

Miravet and the River Ebro by canoe

11 of us, ranging in age from 11 to a little over 50 paddled the 12 km between Miravet and Benifallet. The nature and adventure sports company Beniemocions based in Benifallet provided the canoes, the tuition, the guidance and also transported us to the river’s edge. Thanks Beniemocions! We had a great time.
 
Here’s the list of the birds I remember seeing along the river:
6 or more Squacco Herons
1 Purple Heron
2 Little Egrets
2 Kingfishers
3 Grey Wagtails
1 Short-toed Eagle
Several Golden Orioles (calling mostly)
Several Bee-eaters
1 Sardinian Warbler

Combine all that activity with a visit to the village and castle of Miravet, the caves of Benifallet, a walk in the sierras of Cardó or Pàndols, an afternoon on the beach, or else somewhere nice and quiet to enjoy a well-deserved siesta.

Birding by canoe on the River Ebro
 

Thanks to Ramon for the use of his photos!

New BirdingInSpain Lammergeier and vulture video

At last Gerd Herren’s super Lammergeier and vulture video is up on the BirdingInSpain.com website! And it’s a film that anyone remotely interested in photographing or filming raptors should not miss.

Belgian Gerd Herren is a professional film-maker who spent several days with his friend Franck Renard in our Lammergeier hides in February. In this short film, approximately 8 minutes long, he magnificently portrays some of their unforgettable experiences, let alone the unique images of Lammergeiers and other vultures they obtained! 

Driving to the lammergeier hide in the snow

Driving along a mountain track in a snowstorm?

How many Lammergeiers?

That’s Steve and Belgian bird photographer Franck Renard. What are they talking about?

Black Vulture at the Lammergeier hide

Black Vultures? In the Pre-Pyrenees of Lleida, Spain?

Adult Lammergeier, Gypaetus barbatus, with food

A Lammergeier, or Bearded Vulture, with a meaty bone. What’s going to happen next?

The Pre-pyrenees after the snow

The mountains look lovely in the snow, but what about the vultures?

Lammergeiers, Gypaetus barbatus, in the snow in Spain

Well, the snow certainly hasn’t kept the Lammergeiers away!

Lammergeiers, Gypaetus barbatus, at the Lammergeier feeding station

Admiration or rivalry

Click on this link in the photography section of the BirdingInSpain.com website to see the full video.

Wild Wonders: Daniel Bergmann y Laszlo Novak

Knot, Calidris canutus, in flight.

                                        Limícolas en el Wattenmeer por Laszlo Novak

Gyrfalcon, Halcón Gerifalte, Falco rusticolus.

Halcón Gerifalte por Daniel Bergmann

Para fotógrafos y los amantes de la naturaleza hemos traducido dos artículos más del blog de los Wild Wonders of Europe.

Mirad las fotos y leed las experiencias de Laszlo Novak y de Daniel Bergmann.

 

Laszlo Novak

A Laszlo le enviaron al Parque Nacional de Wattenmeer, lugar de paso de 8.000 Barnaclas Cariblancas y de 2.000 Barnaclas Carinegras en la primavera. Encontró y fotagrafió limícolas, bancos de arena, faros, focas y much más.

Daniel Bergmann.

A Daniel Bergmann le encomendaron la misión de fotografiar el magnífico Halcón Gerifalte en el norte de Islándia. Aunque haya entre 300 y 400 parejas de este halcón en Islándia, buscaba una cosa en particular: una hembra blanca con el nido en un risco pequeño.

¿Habrán logrado los resultados deseados?

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