BirdingInSpain

Birders taking a glance at the BirdingInSpain.com website will see a good number of photos, including scenery (mostly Steve West’s), plants, insects and, of course, birds. Notably, none of the bird photos were taken by the author of the website. Why not? Well, the most concise explanation would be that there is so much to see when birding in Spain that I just cannot arm myself with the buckets of patience that are needed to take good bird photos.

Here I’m not talking about snapshots, but rather the very accomplished bird photography of  my neighbour Joan Manel Puig, and in particular (and in my opinion) the unrivalled camera work of the Italian master Daniele Occhiato.  Here we have two dedicated bird photographers, experts in their field, with all the  equipment, imagination and necessary knowhow to get the very best out of their art.

The results should speak for themselves, but if there is too much noise for them to be heard then listen to me and take a look at some of Daniele Occhiato’s bird photos by clicking on this link.

Keep it coming Daniele!

Collared Pratincole Glareola pratincola

The Collared Pratincole is a summer visitor to northeast Spain, normally present from April to September. Small numbers appear irregularly on spring passage at non-breeding sites. There is only one regular breeding site for Collared Pratincoles in the region.

Birding itineraries in northeast Spain where you can see the Collared Pratincole: Ebro delta south and north

Lammergeier Gypaetus barbatus

In Spain the Lammergeier is currently restricted to the Pyrenees and pre-Pyrenees, where it is present all year round. Double-figure gatherings may occur at certain vulture restaurants.

Birding itineraries in northeast Spain where you can observe the Lammergeier: Gistaín to Aínsa, Ordesa National Park, Hecho and Ansó valleys, Benasque, Rincón de Belagua, Selva de Iratí and Ori, Serra del Cadí, Aigüestortes west and east, Montsec range, Sierra de Guara west and east.

There’s been quite an unprecedented fall of Red-footed Falcons in the drylands of Lleida over the last week or so. Reports of these little charmers in groups of from 3 to a dozen birds have come in from the drylands of Balaguer, Bellmunt and Alguaire-Almenar, and if nothing has been said about the drylands of Alfés it’s probably because the local birders are too busy counting them at other sites!

I was leading the Naturetrek Catalonia tour in the area when we unwittingly but gratefully bumped into our first Red-footed Falcon on Monday 12th May. One of the 13 participants pointed out the bird in question, “What’s that bird in the tree over there, Steve?”.

I confess that I didn’t get round to answering him (in the mode of humouring him, thinking to myself “I’d better look at his bird and tell him it’s a Kestrel before he gets narked with me”) for at least 10 minutes. Well, in my defence, it wasn’t easy coping with the barrage of birds that we encountered that morning: a dozen or so male Little Bustards calling, flying and chasing each other, a pair of Hobbys practising their aerobatic skills on a wandering Swallow, countless Calandra Larks trilling and jingling, a sentinel Southern Grey Shrike, even a couple of flyover Black-winged Stilts!

What a surprise I got when I eventually did focus his “kestrel” in my scope! “Crikey! A Red-footed Falcon! Wait a minute! Two in the same tree!”

We went on to see 6 Red-footed Falcons that morning (plus Kestrel, Lesser Kestrel and Hobby) and no fewer than 9 the following day in the drylands of Bellmunt. Adult and subadult males and females, enjoyed by all.

Such encounters are great when you’re out birding, and for me they’re even better when  you’re leading a tour and everyone gets to share in the experience.

Another good thing has also happened this week: it’s rained!

Some appreciative words from Jim Mori, an American birder living in Japan:

On March 1, 2008, I had a great day in the drylands of Lleida with the pleasant company of Steve West. He is very adept in finding the birds and most species are easy to see in the open terrain of the region. The early morning was slightly overcast but pleasant, and the many flowering almond trees provided a fragrant and colorful backdrop. Among the various birds, we had good scope views of larks to sort out the Crested and Thekla Larks. Later, the Calandra Larks were much easier. There were also Red-legged Partridge, Bullfinch, Spotless Starling, Red-rumped Swallow, Chough, Southern Grey Shrike, and a flock of Pin-tailed Sandgrouse.

We returned to the atmospheric La Garbinada hotel for a full breakfast,
which included a glass of the local wine. Feeling pretty mellow for the
rest of the morning, I was not greatly disappointed in missing the Little
Owl we were looking for. There were many birds for the rest of morning,
including good views of Great Spotted Cuckoo, Red Kite, and a flock of
Little Bustards. We saw numerous raptors with Buzzards, Merlin, Marsh
Harrier, Hen Harrier, and a Golden Eagle.

In the afternoon we headed for the Montsec area. Along the cliffs there
were Rock Bunting, Alpine Accentors, Black Wheatear, and a pair of
Peregrines. Close by along the Noguera River there was a beautiful
Penduline Tit in bright plumage.

As the light was fading, I was impressed that Steve could find a Stone
Curlew while driving and scanning the fields. The bird is not so easy to
see even when you know where it is. It was especially gratifying to end the
trip with this bird since we had been searching for it all day.

With recent splits and lumps it is sometimes hard to figure out what is a
seperate species. Using various field guides and webpages, I decided the
Red-rumped Swallow was not a new species for me, since we have the same
bird in Japan. However, the Buzzard turned out to be a new bird since it is
split from the similar Eastern Buzzard in Japan. Overall, the exciting day
had over 50 species with 21 new ones for me.

Jim Mori

From the end of February to mid-May BirdingInSpain will have been directly responsible for filling at least 100 hotel bed nights in the Montsec area. That might not sound like much, but it is 100 more than nothing, which is approximately what there would have been without our interest in promoting birding in the area.

100 is the figure that we can count, because we have had direct dealings with it. Then there are the “unseen ones”, birders or their families who have used the information on itineraries and places to stay on the BirdingInSpain.com website and have gone ahead and put together their own holiday. Hopefully their number will grow in coming years.

For such birders, and other users of the website, we have a simple request: when you book your accommodation following the “looking for the best accommodation?” links it will really do birding and conservation a great service if you let the proprietors know why you are coming (birding) and how you found them (through the BIS website) . If local people, establishments and tourism entities see that people are coming to birdwatch it will give a great boost to conservation efforts: birds can bring money to the local economy and so they and their habitats should be protected and respected.

Unlike other local birding “enterprises”, BirdingInSpain.com has not received a cent of public funding. So every birder that comes to Montsec through us is a net contributor to the local economy.

It was a hot afternoon and two bird photographers and I were sitting at a terrace bar, enjoying a cool beer.

A woman in her fifties sitting alone at the next table looked at us and said, “Anglais?”

“Sorry?” I asked.

“Oh you are English! I’m glad – I’m not very good at speaking Spanish.”

Anglais? Spanish? I thought, but magnanimously let it pass.

“Are you birdwatchers?”, she inquired.

I suspect it was the Swarovski and Leica binoculars and the Canon digital cameras with huge 500mm lenses that led her to assume we were birders.

“Yes. And bird photographers,” I answered.

“Then perhaps you can tell me what kind of eagle is it that my husband and I regularly see flying over our house?”

“Eagles? Hmm, well, the most common species around is the Short-toed Eagle. White on the undersides.”

“Oh no, these are quite dark looking. But we see them regularly you see, sometimes fifty or more together.”

“Fifty? Then they must be vultures,” I explained.

“Oh no, the end of their wings are upturned, so they aren’t vultures.”

Judging from the vigour of her reply that wasn’t a comma, but rather a full-stop. Still, I couldn’t envisage incorporating her criterion for eagle identification “upturned wings= eagle” into my raptor identification classes.

JM, one of my companions, stepped in “Eagles are solitary birds, you rarely see more than 2 or 3 eagles together. They must be vultures.”

The lady pursed her lips, and shook her head, “No, no, not vultures.”

I shrugged, “If she wants them to be eagles, let them be eagles” I said to JM in a whisper.

But JM’s Swedish soul was stirred. Reason had to prevail, “Madam, this morning we have seen 7 species of raptor, and only one of them was an eagle.”

“Oh no, we know the vultures. These were eagles,” she sentenced, shaking her head.

We looked at each other and the only way forward seemed to be to let matters lie. She had obviously decided that our judgement was not to be trusted. Was it my accent?

We bade her farewell as she got on her bicycle to cycle back home down the road towards Balaguer. Just as a dozen vultures were soaring on a thermal over a nearby hilltop. Sorry, not vultures, eagles …they had upturned wing tips.

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?

Not a bird photographer myself. Would like to be (who wouldn’t?) but just haven’t got the patience. Sitting quietly in the same spot and waiting for that precious moment is rather too much like fishing for me.

But I admire the people who do it, especially if they achieve excellent results.  Right now two very accomplished bird photographers, Joan Gil from Valencia and Jan-Michael Breider from Sweden (see their respective websites) are in the drylands of Lleida capturing some great images of displaying Little Bustards and other avian gems.

A few days ago they were with me couped up in little hides (them, not me) and busy photographing Lammergeier (Bearded Vulture if you prefer), Griffon Vulture and Black Vulture (3 different birds – nice surprise!) in the Pre-Pyrenees of Lleida.

They are the first participants of a specialist’s photographic trip to these parts organised by BirdingInSpain.com, Jordi Bas (a renowned bird photographer) and CastellsdeLleida (a local travel agent) in order to photograph these difficult and emblematic species. And anything else that falls within the reach of their lenses (like Orphean Warbler, Subalpine Warbler, Bonelli’s Warbler and others).

In view of this year’s success we’ll be looking to make this tour a regular fixture. I look forward to seeing the results shortly, and if the photographers let me I will try to show the birding public some of their results.

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.