{"id":8,"date":"2007-11-15T11:46:05","date_gmt":"2007-11-15T09:46:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.birdinginspain.com\/blog\/personal-favourites\/birdinginspains-top-10-birds-of-northeast-spain\/"},"modified":"2008-02-09T14:35:48","modified_gmt":"2008-02-09T12:35:48","slug":"birdinginspains-top-10-birds-of-northeast-spain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.birdinginspain.com\/blog\/personal-favourites\/birdinginspains-top-10-birds-of-northeast-spain\/","title":{"rendered":"Birdinginspain’s top 10 birds of northeast Spain"},"content":{"rendered":"

Birdinginspain.com \u2013 our top 10 birds<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Here is our list of the most special 10 species of bird<\/strong> that occur regularly in northeast Spain<\/strong>. Of course the choice is entirely subjective, and depends on appreciation of things like attractiveness, rarity, behaviour or even habitat.<\/p>\n

Below each species there is a link to a recommended itinerary from the Birdinginspain.com<\/strong> web page where it is possible to see the species.<\/p>\n

Number 10: Red-backed Shrike<\/strong><\/p>\n

This species is one of the last summer migrants to reach its breeding grounds in Spain<\/strong>, and does so by migrating along the eastern Mediterranean and then following on through southern Europe before entering the Pyrenees.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Watch a Red-backed Shrike<\/strong> impaling an insect on a thorny bush in a green pasture with a beautiful mountain backdrop, take delight from the bird\u2019s beautiful plumage and breathe the fresh air.<\/p>\n

See the Red-backed Shrike here <\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a>
\nNumber 9: Hawfinch<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Hawfinch<\/strong> is a very localised breeder in this part of the world, so the easiest time to see it is in winter<\/strong>. Occasionally there are irruptions when groups of up to 50 birds can be seen, mostly in areas with a good number of Hackberries.<\/p>\n

It’s a shy bird, often difficult to see well, but when you do it’s an experience to remember.<\/p>\n

A winter itinerary for Hawfinch<\/a><\/p>\n

Number 8: Bonelli\u2019s Eagle<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Bonelli\u2019s Eagle<\/strong> was SEO-Birdlife\u2019s \u201cbird of the year\u201d in 2005. A magnificent and truly Mediterranean raptor, but unfortunately its range is shrinking and its population is declining. Electrocution<\/strong>, habitat fragmentation, disturbance at nest sites, even illegal shooting and poisoning are all taking their toll.<\/p>\n

For me this is very much a \u201chiker\u2019s bird\u201d, a species which is best seen and appreciated when exploring an attractive Mediterranean massif on foot, as for example at els Ports<\/strong> or Montsant<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Bonelli’s Eagles may be seen here.<\/a><\/p>\n

Number 7: Dupont\u2019s Lark<\/strong><\/p>\n

Placing the much sought-after Dupont\u2019s Lark<\/strong> at only number 7 seems rather contrived, but I\u2019m a bit tired of trying to show decent views of this bird to tour groups<\/strong>. The lark rarely co-operates and is capable of keeping one waiting for hours before allowing itself to be glimpsed.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, Spain<\/strong> is the only country in Europe where the Dupont\u2019s Lark<\/strong> can be seen, and the bird does have a beautiful song<\/strong>. It also manages to get me up and out on the steppes before dawn.<\/p>\n

The place to look for Dupont’s Larks.<\/a><\/p>\n

Number 6: Little Bustard<\/strong><\/p>\n

Listen out for this bird\u2019s \u201cprrrt\u201d call, which sounds like it comes from a rather embarrassed raspberry blower. Accompanied by a backwards neck jerk, or even foot stamping and a little jump.<\/p>\n

Locally known as the \u201cdryland duck\u201d in many ways the Little Bustard<\/strong> is a comical bird, but it always gives a little thrill when encountered on the drylands in spring<\/strong>, and is one of the essential elements of the steppeland chorus.<\/p>\n

Look for Little Bustards here.<\/a><\/p>\n

The top 5 will follow shortly…<\/p>\n

…and then why not send your top 10?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Birdinginspain.com \u2013 our top 10 birds Here is our list of the most special 10 species of bird that occur regularly in northeast Spain. Of course the choice is entirely subjective, and depends on appreciation of things like attractiveness, rarity, behaviour or even habitat. Below each species there is a link to a recommended itinerary […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-personal-favourites"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7I752-8","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.birdinginspain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.birdinginspain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.birdinginspain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.birdinginspain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.birdinginspain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.birdinginspain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.birdinginspain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.birdinginspain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.birdinginspain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}