04/09/2012

The first day after my arrival I woke up at 7:30 and was at the Riet Vell observatory at 8:00.
There were many Barn Swallows and Sand Martins. There were also a Squacco Heron, other Herons (Night, Grey, Cattle and Little Egret), a large flock of Black-Tailed Godwits with a Ruff, some Snipes and many Flamingos.

 Barn Swallow and Sand Martin

 Squacco Heron

 Juv. Flamingo

At 9:00 AM Ignasi Ripoll, the person who runs SEO Riet Vell brought us to a canal where we started extracting Apple Snails. An exotic species that causes important damages to the local fauna and the ricefields. While extracting it a large group of Glossy Ibises flew over us like some Bee Eaters (I couldn't see them), Gull-Billed and Whiskered Terns.

After having luch I took another look at the reserve, with more Flamingos, Wood, Common and Green Sandpipers, other waders, Kingfisher...

In the late afternoon we took the car and made a short trip to the Trabucador, with some Audouin Gulls, a Sandwich Tern and some Kentish Plovers.

 Ad. Flamingo

 Sunset over the lagoon

Drangonfly

Volunteering at Riet Vell

Hello, I'm just back from 8 days of Birding and working at the Riet Vell reserve at the Delta de l'Ebre.
In the next days I'm posting a report for most of the days there.

Summer holiday in northern Spain 2012

Hello!

I’m just back from my holiday in the north of Spain after some time without going out birdwatching.

From the three weeks, I spent one with my dad in the Valle de Echo in the western Pyrenees and two more with both my parents in Asturias.

On the journey to the Pyrenees (14/07/12) we crossed the Lleida steppes (where I saw a White Stork from the car) and made a stop at the Mallos de Riglos. These are some very impressive walls in northern Aragón with birds like Red-Billed Chough, Griffon Vulture, Raven, Egyptian Vulture, Red Kite...).

Mallos de Riglos

We arrived at the Valle de Echo and made ourselves comfortable on the camping site some km far from Echo.

On Sunday 15th we made some “warm up” walks at the Selva d’Oza (a very interesting forest) and the Garganta del Infierno. At the Selva d’Oza (at a river of course) I saw my first Dipper of the year which flew past me like a bullet, in the river I also found Grey Wagtail and in the area I saw my first spanish Red-Backed Shrike!

 Castillo d'Acher

 Yellow-Billed Chough

Our first important excursion came on my birthday (16/07/12) with a walk to the Ibón de Estanés (1925m). It started at the end of the Echo Valley and got into a secondary valley called Aguastuertas. From Aguastuertas we continued to a mountain port from which you could see a really beautiful lake (Ibón de Estanés).

On the way up many Egyptian Vultures showed, some Black Redstarts and a Wheatear. We had been hearing Marmots all day and on the way down I finally saw one, I could even approach enough to take an acceptable picture.

 Valle de Aguas Tuertas

 Marmot

 Ibón d'Estanés

 Female Wheatear

The next day we decided to climb up to the Ibón d’Acherito (another mountain lake). This walk was shorter than Estanés but it had a bigger difficulty. In Acherito we didn’t see anything special, the usual mountain species (Black-Redstart, Choughs, Raven, Yellowhammer, Crag Martin).

 Pyrenean Brook Salamander???

 Ibón d'Acherito

The following days were really hot, so we didn’t climb more, but I still saw some interesting species; at the village of Echo a Booted Eagle flew over us, we heard a Black Woodpecker from the campingsite and I observed a Crested Tit in a Pine Tree.

After almost a week at the Echo Valley we sterted our journey to the north. We had to stop in Bilbao cause my mother was coming by plane, but we had an entire day until that happened. We decided to sleep in Pamplona and to visit the canyons of Lumbier and Arbayún.

We started with the Foz De Arbayún, the most impressive one. From a plattform, we could easily watch Griffon Vultures, both Kites, Egyptian Vulture and Booted and Snake Eagles. There were also many Alpine Swifts and Crag Martins.

 Foz de Arbayún

 Griffon Vultures

 Griffon Vulture

 Egyptian Vulture

 Short-Toed Snake Eagle

Black Kite

The Foz de Lumbier also produced very nice observations. The Vultures flew really close to people and many other raptors were present. Appart from the usual Kites and Vultures a Hobby showed quickly and another unidentified falcon (prob. a Hobby) flew past.

On the way back from Lumbier, across a bush landscape I saw a semi-lifer (already observed it but hadn’t identified it), a female Cirl Bunting from which I show you some photos.

 Raven

 Griffon Vultures

 Cirl Bunting

We picked up my mum and headed west to the western coast of Asturias (Luarca), remaining there for five days. We spent a couple of days there visiting beaches mainly, but also did a visit to Cape Busto, with some observations of Shags, Kestrels and Gulls.

Kestrel

After the west coast we went back to the eastern coast (Ribadesella), also visiting beaches. The best observation from these days was a group of 20 migrating Curlews from a cape in a day where we also saw a quite big (40-50cm), unidentified snake.

The last part of our holidays were spent in the Picos de Europa, where I saw some alpine species that I hadn’t seen in the Pyrenees.

On the first day there, we climbed up from Poncebos to Bulnes (one of the last villages in Spain that hasn’t got a road). On this hike, I could see my first Citril Finch of the year and a very impressive scene: a Golden Eagle attacked by a group of aprox. 50 Alpine Choughs.

 Picu Uriellu (Naranjo de Bulnes) 2519m

We didn’t like the hostel in Bulnes so we decided to get to Poncebos the next day and find a nice campingsite. We found one in Arenas de Cabrales and decided to do other hikes in the area the following days. At the camping site I had one of the best birds of the trip, a Nuthatch, my first for Spain.

Finally, on the 2nd and 3rd August we went to a place that I really enjoyed, it was called Vega de Sotres, and it had an important population of the best bird from the trip, Rock Thrush. Vega de Sotres is a little village which is only inhabited by a couple of cows and some Chicken. It’s walls and roofs are an ideal place to see Rock Thrush, Wheatears, Stonechats and even Red-Billed Chough. Alpine Choughs were also present but didn’t get too close to the village. I saw again the scene with the Golden Eagle and the Choughs.

Rock Thrush

Moon

Rock Thrush

Red-Billed Chough

 Linnet

I hope you enjoyed my report, now I’m spending two weeks in Germany with my grandma and then I’ll be one week at the Delta de l’Ebre doing some volunteer work.

Summer holidays

I have been pretty busy these days and haven't had time to go birding.

Tomorrow I'm leaving for three weeks (one in the Pyrenees and two more in northern Spain, probably Asturias).

I hope to see some nice alpine species in the Pyrenees and Picos de Europa. I hope to see Lammergeier, Alpine Accentor, Alpine Cough, Black Woodpecker, Rock Thrush, Warblers...

I'll write my trip report as soon as I can when I'm back.

See you in three weeks!

Delta de l'Ebre 27/05/2012

Hello, it's been a long time!

After over two months without birding (due to moving appartment) I finally could go out again.
My parents agreed to take me to the Delta del Ebro, so we took the car and arrived there at 11 o'clock.
While driving to the Encanyissada, we saw the first Gull Billed and Whiskered Terns and a Purple Heron.
Once at the Encanyissada, at the Pont de Través, we climbed up the observation tower and started looking.
There was a large Flamingo group, some Great Reed Warblers singing and a good number of ducks (mostly Mallards and Red Crested Pochards, but we also saw some Shelducks). There were also present Little and Great Crested Grebe, Swallows and more terns (this time including Little and Common).

 A group of Flamingos just about to land

 Night Heron

 Great Crested Grebe

The best bird at the Pont de Través was an adult Night Heron, which flew over the observation tower.
 We moved on to the Salines de Sant Antoni after a short lunch at Poblenou, while driving past the old salt pans I saw Green and Redshank, Common Sandpiper and a single Kentish Plover.

 The Kentish Plover at Sant Antoni

We tried to look for waders at the Trabucador, but it was full of people kitesurfing and sunbathing so we didn't continue and went to La Tancada.
At La Tancada, as usual, large Flamingo groups were present, many Barn Swallows and some ducks and Coots.
Then, the best species of the day flew past the observatory, a Caspian Tern. It's the fourth time I see them but its still a bird I love, I managed to get a few blurred pictures.

 Caspian Tern at La Tancada

Our next stop was Riet Vell where we met Ignasi Ripoll, and discussed about dates to go doing some volunteer job there this summer (we'll see what happens). At Riet Vell there was a huge Common Tern activity, many of them copulating and acting quite nervous.
As usual, there were many Purple Swamphens, and I also saw two Avocets and two Litlle Bitterns. Another two interesting species were a Barn Swallow who was sitting on a reed and I got some good pictures as same as a Great Reed Warbler.

 This Swallow was litterally posing for me

 Two Common Terns having some good time ;)

 Great Reed Warbler

After Riet Vell we had only one more stop at the Badia del Fangar to see some waders (which finally didn't show up). On the rice fields there were many Glossy Ibises and at the bay we met Tony Martin, who showed us a pair of Collared Pratincoles.

 A Glossy Ibis on a rice field in the northern part of the Delta

 Between the reeds you can see the Collared Praticole

All in all, it was 51 species, not many for the Delta del Ebro, but still some nice observations. And fianally out birding again!!!

Pictures of Alpine Swift nests

Well it isn't exatly the nest but the hole where the nest was. They were always stopping there.

First Alpine Swifts at school

Last thursday me and my friends were meeting in front of our school to go to the demonstration (there was a general strike in Spain on thursday 29).
While waiting for my friends a large group of Alpine Swifts flew over the playground.
I guess they'll nest on the building nearby in some ventilation holes like last year.
On the trees on the street I could also find two Serins and a Blackcap.

Remolar Filipines 18/03/2012

Hi, once again.
I'm sorry to post so late, but I was one week in Lyon with the school and I hadn't access to the pics'.
On the riera there were a couple of Pochards and some Little Grebes.
At the hide from Pollancres there were two Flamingos, a Spoonbill, Greylag Geese, Red Crested Pochards...
We went on to the Maresma where there were more species despite the hide was full of people.
With the scope I spotted a nice group of waders which included Black Tailed Godwit, Redshank, Spotted Redshank, Black Winged Stilt, the last Lapwing...
There were also many duck species including some Wigeons, Shelducks, Teals and Shovelers.
Many wintering birds were still present and some migrants had arrived so I had a lot of species that day including some like Gannet and Sandwich Tern which I saw at the beach.
 After counting I realized I had seen 58 species which are my record at the Delta del Llobregat :)

This was a turtle present at the Maresma. Does anybody know what species it is, if you need I've got more pictures. Thanks a lot.

Aigüamolls de l'Empordà 18/02/2012

I'm sorry, I couldn't post yesterday, but I was quite ill.

On saturday my parents took me to the Aigüamolls de l'Empordà, a very good birding spot on the north of Catalonia, almost touching France. It's a complex of coastal lagoons, and the best wetlands for birding after the Delta del Ebro.
I was looking for two rarities that had been seen for a couple of weeks now, Greater White Fronted Goose and Bewick's Swan.
Once we arrived, we went to one of the hides in the Cortalet lagoon where there were Flamingos, many duck species, Greylag Geese, etc.
We carried on and went to another hide at the same lagoon. There we were lucky, another birder there saw the two Greater White Fronted Geese (lifer) between a group of Greylags. As usual at the Aigüamolls, there were also large numbers of White Stork.
Our next stop was the Estany de Can Túries, where the Swans had been reported. On the way we could see Sardinian Warbler, Stonechat, Reed Bunting, Hoopoe and Skylark amongst others.
Once we entered the hide we got a little disappointed, there weren't any birds except for a couple of Shovelers. Suddendly I realized a big white spot at the end of the lagoon. Full of hope I focused it with my scope, it was a swan. I was already thinking it was the Bewick's when it turned its head and I saw the bill, Mute Swan. There was also a Spotted Redshank around there.
 Just as we had gone out of the hide and were going back again, two birdwatchers which were going to the hide observed two white spots on a meadow newt to the hide. They were the two Bewick's Swans.
After this we went again to the Cortalet area and followed the path which leads to the beach. Our next stop was the Estanys del Matà, where there Greenshank, a lot of Snipes, a Water Rail, etc.
Finally, in the last hide of the day we observed Great Crested and Black Necked Grebes, Tufted Duck and Common Pochard.

 White Storks

 Bewick's Swan (those tiny white things)

 Reed Bunting

 Two more White Storks