BirdingInSpain

Ordesa National Park was the first national Park in Spain and one of the first in Europe. It’s an area of exceptional natural beauty in the Pyrenees of Aragón and borders with France.

It is home to the most emblematic mountain birds that can be seen in the region, such as Wallcreeper, Lammergeier, Black Woodpecker, Snowfinch, Citril Finch and Alpine Accentor. But it’s not a place for car-bound birders! Get out and walk through Beech forests, Scots and Corsican Pine, fir, alpine meadows with pristine streams and rivers, scree slopes, and enjoy the exercise, the scents, the breeze, the scenery. And of course the birds.

A word of warning though: Ordesa gets very busy at the peak tourist periods (summer and easter week), so either plan your visit to avoid these times, or get up early before the crowds. Unless you like being one of the crowd!

Birding in Ordesa National Park was my very first experience of birding in Spain. I came in April with the University Bird Club and we spent a whole day bathed in beautiful spring sunshine, soaking up the natural ambience of this wonderful area. We also managed to see Black Woodpecker, Alpine Accentor, Lammergeier and Wallcreeper. I don’t think I will ever forget that Wallcreeper. My first, and hopefully not my last.

This morning at Sant Llorenç de Montgai near Balaguer the “Wings over Montsec” project was officially presented to an interested public of some 40 people. Those present included politicians, mayors from the villages of Montsec, hoteliers, tourism technicians and of course, BirdingInSpain.com. After all, it was our work being put on show!

The leaflet provides detailed information on two major birding routes in the Montsec area: the Eagle Route and the Lammergeier Route. The Eagle Route was designed to correspond to the general area where it is possible to see Bonelli’s Eagles, while the Lammergeier Route in the north traces a path that follows the trail of the Montsec Lammergeiers.

Each of these two major routes is divided into 7 birding itineraries named after some of the most emblematic or charismatic of the birds it is possible to see, for example Bonelli’s Eagle, Wallcreeper, Penduline Tit, Rock Thrush, etc. Accompanying each itinerary there is a map and an explanation of the itinerary and the birds that can be seen along the way.

We sincerely hope that this information will prove practical and useful and will attract a few more foreign birders to this overlooked area. We also hope that it will serve to make local people and politicians aware of the importance of protecting these special local birds and their habitats.

Will that Moustached Warbler which was singing just a moment ago please come out from the base of the reeds and show itself to us? My companion Jim has come all the way from Japan to watch birds and a reasonable glimpse of a Moustached Warbler would round off the morning nicely.

That’s one of the things about birding, above all about bird guiding. Sometimes the birds you have been checking on all week seem to get cold feet just at the time when it counts the most: when you’ve told your companion that this is a really good place for Bonelli’s Eagle, or that Wallcreepers turn up on this particular rock face with great regularity in the winter months. Then when you’re standing there waiting, waiting…

Then there are the moments when you detect a bird you didn’t expect.. Like a Moustached Warbler singing in a narrow line of reeds in the Llobregat Delta. You stop, listen and wait, knowing that the bird is there. But does it show? No, not today!

But I’m not complaining, not really. After all in just two hours in the Llobregat delta we saw a lot of key birds, like Audouin’s Gull, Mediterranean Gull, Glossy Ibis, Greater Flamingo, Penduline Tit, Velvet Scoter and even a couple of Balearic Shearwaters at close range.

So no complaining. That’s birding!

That’s not exactly true, because Jim (a fellow birder from Japan) and I didn’t make it into the Pyrenees, we only got as far as Montsec.

However, by following the Montroig itinerary as shown on the Birding In Spain website we actually got the Pyrenees to come to the plains. How? Well, that’s a metaphor of course, but when you see about 10 Alpine Accentors a few minutes after seeing a few Black Wheatears the birder in you asks, where am I? In the Pyrenees? On the plains?

The morning’s birding had been great on the plains around Alfés, with 4 Great Spotted Cuckoos, about 30 Pin-tailed Sandgrouse, 18 Little Bustard, Calandra Larks asong, a Golden Eagle, a Hen Harrier, 2 Merlins and, with no disrespect intended for those not mentioned, etc.

And not to forget 2 Red-rumped Swallows (early or what?), an out-of-range Bullfinch and an obliging pair of Black Wheatears (on the plains).

The afternoon made us work harder but Penduline Tit, Rock Bunting and Stone Curlew provided those little heart palpitations that birders seem to crave so much.

We’re off to the Llobregat delta tomorrow. It’s a bit harder for the Pyrenees to follow us there, unless the Walcreeper’s still on those cliffs at Garraf!

Another thing. They tell us that nature conservation is all very well, but that it doesn’t pay. Then make it pay!

Establish a taxing system to replace rates or poll taxes or even VAT that awards value to the quality of the environment where people live, produce or consume. Every municipality could have its own biodiversity ranking, depending on the quality of the surrounding environment, the gains or losses of habitats and species in recent years, the rarity/uniqueness of its fauna and flora (including birds of course). The basic premise is that those areas which do most for the environment pay less, and those area which rely on industry or other types of production without considering the protection of biodiversity pay more. After all they are getting rich by producing, unless they’re doing it in the wrong way.

The principle is simple enough, but of course it would take a lot of goodwill and imagination to put it into practice. Maybe it’s Utopia. Maybe it’s sustainability.

It should be known to anyone about to come birding in Spain that the SEO reserve of Belchite is a stronghold for the prized Dupont’s lark. The two reserves of la Lomaza and el Planerón both hold enough Dupont’s Larks to sustain a healthy population, and to attract a large number of birders to this part of Spain in early spring.

But there’s more to birding in Spain than just larks, you know. There are sandgrouse too, and Stone Curlews, Little Owls, Golden Eagles, Dotterel, Lesser Short-toed Lark. Ok that’s a lark too, but there are so many around Belchite that I just had to mention it!

And then there are those early morning rises to get to the reserve before the crack of dawn, before the Dupont’s Lark bursts into song. You stand there shivering, swatting mosquitoes and wondering what you are doing here. Then slowly the sun rises and the rocky horizon glows red just as the first Dupont’s Lark starts to sing.

Yep! There’s gold in them thar hills!

Spring is in the air in northeast Spain (feels more like summer). The almond trees are in full bloom on the drylands near Lleida and Great Spotted Cuckoos are vociferously proclaiming their arrival.

Today a group of 3 or 4 of these early migrants begraced the tops of a small almond grove, watched suspiciously by an unusually serene party of Magpies. Perched on rocks and watching from a distance.

Saturday afternoon is probably not the best time to be out on these particular Spanish steppes as the birds are obviously flustered by the intense human leisure activity: light planes flying in wide circles around the aerodrome, a couple of model planes out and around their own particular aerodrome, the motocross youths riding inanely around the dirt tracks, the weekend farmers…

I prefer a bit more peace and quiet. I’ll have to come back during the week and see what the Great Spotted Cuckoo, Little Bustard and Pin-tailed Sandgrouse are up to.

The birding in Spain web page has just incorporated two new photo galleries. One corresponds to the Montsec Hotspot, an inland area of sierras, rivers and steppes; and the other to the well known birding area of the Ebro Delta, the second most important wetland in Spain.

Have a glance at the galleries to see landscapes which include mountain ranges, panoramas, lakes, wetlands, olive groves, dryland landscapes and more. Of course ther are photos of some of the birds of the Ebro Delta and the surrounding sierras including Audouin’s Gull, Collared Pratincole, Little Bittern, Squacco Heron, Bonelli’s Eagle and Red-rumped Swallow. There is even a photo of the Red-necked Nightjar, another speciality of Spain.

The Montsec bird photos include Lammergeier, Bonelli’s Eagle, Eagle Owl, Calandra Lark and Scop’s Owl. But there’s more than just some of the birds of Spain: orchids, butterflies, fritillaries, castles, people, and some of the fabulous landscapes of this relatively unknown birding region.

Have a look – it’s free!

The meeting finished early, I had a couple of hours at my disposal, what could I do? What a stupid question! Go birding of course.

I was on the edge of Montsec, I had my binoculars and a large scale map to enable me to investigate the most out of the way tracks…the sun was shining…nothing to rush home for…heaven on earth!

So I drove here and there stopping to listen or watch, or take a photo now and then. It’s still too early in the year for there to be much in the way of breeding activity, or so I thought. However, my first stop had me listening to no less than 3 Dartford Warblers on a dry, scrubby hillside, caught in the throes of a competition which could determine the outcome of their breeding attempts, and perhaps even the continuation of their line. On a facing slope, just the other side of a sprouting wheat field, Thekla Larks were similarly engaged.

I drove on, stopping shortly after to admire the wide panorama of the Pre-pyrenees which had opened up before me. The first sound that came to my ears were was made up of a series of tinny, disjointed, whistles, clicks and chimes – a Southern Grey Shrike. Perched at the top of an almond tree and with no sense of ridicule.

A  few false turnings, as expected, and a slow but well-timed pace of unexpected encounters made for real therapeutic birding. A female Hen Harrier crossing the valley, songbirds shrieking and scattering this way and that; a Goshawk circling over a rocky outcrop and disappearing beyond the pinewoods; a Golden Eagle approaching and skirting past me, flying too low for its own safety. Fields of Calandra Larks, a solitary Hoopoe flying against the sun, 5 Griffon Vultures on a thermal updraft.

Now I was ready to go back to the fray.

It’s been bugging me for some time now, so I’ve decided to take the plunge…As from today this blog will have a new category called “Ideas for birds”.

And what exactly is “ideas for birds” I hear you ask? (I only hear that in my head as nobody ever makes any comment on this blog!). Well it’s basically a mish-mash of ideas that at one time or other have occured to me; ideas that would make things better for birds, the environment and most people if someone powerful and influential enough were to take them to heart. Failing that they will float around cyberspace until the Birding in Spain.com blog domain is stolen, lost or neglected, or until an internet virus blows us all back into harsh reality.

Could I give an example? Of course…

Every municipality with a minimum number of animal farms should have its own co-operative biogas plant. If the capital outlay is too much for the individual farmer then let them come together as they did for olives, almonds and other crops and form a co-operative. Biogas plants on this scale would produce electricity to meet part of the village’s electricity demands, fertilizer, heat for greenhouse production and would also do away with the problem of pig slurry disposal.

ANother one, also related to a question of scale:

Why are fields being swallowed up by acres of solar panels before plastering roofs with them in our villages, towns and cities?

Put wind turbines along motorways and not on the tops of the sierras. This would reduce raptor collision problems and visual impact.

More uncomfortable truths to follow…