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Trip Reports
Central and Northern Spain
May 2009
Griffon Vulture
PARTICIPANTS
Alan and Sandy Roman, John and Pauline Beard, Ed and Jean Thomas, Brian and Liz Baltera, Eileen Stimson, Jean McDermott, Nigel Lawson and Sheila Seed,
LEADERS
Eustace Barnes and John Van der Dol.
ITINERARY
26th April.
Arrival at Madrid airport. Drive to Miguel Esteban and then drive to Ciudad Real. Night Cuidad Real.
27th April
Early morning departure to the nearby Cabaneros National Park and on to Trujillo. Night near Trujillo.
28th April
Early morning along roads between Monroy and Santa Marta de Magasca to see steppe birds. Night near Trujillo.
29th April
Visited Montfrague to see Imperial Eagle and Eagle Owl. We then continued to Alamaraz wetlands for the afternoon. Night near Trujillo.
30th April
Departed from Trujillo crossing the dehesa north of Oropesa. We had a late lunch in the cool pine woods in the high Gredos and then descended to Avila. Night Avila.
1st May
Morning in the Sierra de Gredos at La Plataforma. Afternoon in pinewoods lower down. Night Avila.
2nd May
Morning birding the foothills of the Sierra de Guadarrama near Pedraza. Afternoon visit to Canyon del Duraton. Night Puerto Sto Tome.
3rd May
Early morning at the Canyon del Duraton watching Dupont’s Lark. Journey north to Jaca, stopping in Sierra de Ayllon and Bardenas Reales. Night Jaca.
4th May.
All morning at the spectacular Col du Portalet. In the afternoon we visited the woodlands at San Juan de la Pena. Night Jaca.
5th May
All morning at Gabardito. Afternoon at Belagua pass in the deep snow. Night Jaca.
6th May
Drove to Zaragoza. Birding at the El Planeron reserve followed by lunch along the Rio Ebro. Night Tortosa.
7th May.
All morning birding the Ebro delta. Afternoon drive to Barcelona airport for our flight home.
Snow at Col du Portalet in the Pyrenees.
DAILY DIARY
This trip to Spain was designed to see the birds of both the Spanish steppe and high Pyrenees. Although spring in central Spain is always best late April into early May this year was cooler than usual and there had been a very cold dry winter preceding our visit. This did provide us with good conditions for seeing migrants and late displaying birds as well as more wetland birds than usual. However, in the Pyrenees it made our search for the alpine birds more or less impossible owing to dangerous walking conditions.
After arriving in Madrid on time we drove south to Miguel Esteban, arriving at 4.30pm. We quickly picked up White-headed Duck, Black-necked Grebe, Red-crested Duck and a good number of Greater Flamingos. There were also large numbers of Whiskered Terns and Black-winged Stilts as well as late wintering Northern Shovelor, Pochard and two drake Garganey. We then headed off to Ciudad Real for a well earned rest and good meal to celebrate the successful start of the trip.
White-headed Duck
The following morning we travelled west to the famous Cabaneros National Park. The area is generally very good for raptors and birds of the dehesa. Our first stop produced Black Vulture, Short-toed and Booted Eagles and good numbers of Kites. At every stop we found Spanish Sparrows attending the numerous White Storks nests and at one such stop we also found a pair of roosting Black-shouldered Kites which was a pleasant surprise. As we worked our way around the park we picked up Griffon Vultures and single sub-adult Imperial and Golden Eagles along with our first Woodchat Shrikes, Azure-winged Magpies and Rock Buntings. We then continued our journey to Trujillo through the rolling maquis covered hills. Our three night stay was at the cosy Casa del Recuerdo run by our good friend Martin Kelsey.
Pastoral scene near Trujillo
The following morning after an excellent breakfast we headed off to the plains near Santa Marta de Magasca, a stunning area, excellent for steppe birds and Bustards in particular. On arrival we found up to a dozen displaying male Little Bustards, a single female Great Bustard, Black-bellied Sandgrouse and a pair of Great-spotted Cuckoos. A little further on we found a stunning male Great Bustard followed by 15 Black-bellied Sandgrouse, numerous Montagu’s Harriers quartering the fields and a superb pair of sub-adult Spanish Imperial Eagles roosting in a Eucalyptus copse. These birds then wheeled around us and were in view for up to half an hour. After this magnificent spectacle we continued our route through the plains seeing huge numbers of White Storks feeding more or less throughout the area along with huge numbers of Spanish Sparrows around Santa Marta de Magasca and Monroy possibly numbering 3500. We also saw passage Whinchat among the numerous Stonechats, over 100 Lesser Kestrels and 25 Montagu’s Harriers in nearby open grasslands along with a pair of Bonelli’s Eagle. These superb birds then proceeded to hunt as a pair over the fields in front of us before we headed off to lunch. This behaviour is common in this species. At our lunch stop we found a pair of Black Wheatears and a pair of Bonelli’s Eagles, presumably the same pair. After lunch we headed west to an extensive area where nest boxes have been placed for Roller and Lesser Kestrels. Although we did see quite a number of Lesser Kestrels and Common Kestrels we failed to find any Rollers; evidently the arrival of this species was delayed by cold weather. We then returned to Trujillo in the afternoon for a rest and a fine evening meal to celebrate the day.
Roller
The next day started in the famous Montfrague National Park at the spectacular Penafalcon. The impressive number of Griffon Vultures at this site always provides an exciting distraction first thing in the morning. We also saw several pairs of Egyptian Vultures and two pairs of Black Storks attending their nests as well as numerous Black Vultures sailing over. The only swifts we saw were circling high above Penafalcon and only involved saw small numbers of both Alpine and Common Swifts that had just arrived.
Black Vulture
As we worked our way through the park we found a further 12 Black Storks attending their nests and on the eastern edge of the park we saw an adult Eagle Owl, more Black Storks and many more Griffon and Black Vultures. We then headed to the Almaraz wetlands for our picnic lunch. Our field lunches always consisted of fresh baguettes, the best cheeses and cured meats, olives and fruit. The Almaraz reserve is good for Purple Swamphen, Little Bitterns, Purple Heron, Great Egret and Savi’s, Great Reed and Reed Warblers, all of which we saw. This is an excellent wetland and well worth a couple of hours birding at any time of day.
In the afternoon we headed south to the rice paddies near Madrigalejos, where we saw our first Black-eared Wheatears, several pairs of Rollers and about 25 Red Avadavats before returning to Trujillo to celebrate yet another outstanding day. After dinner we took a short walk and managed to see an adult Long-eared Owl and a single Red-necked Nightjar.
White Stork on nest
Our final morning in the Trujillo area was spent exploring the plains near Santa Marta de Magasca. We saw a flock of Black-bellied Sandgrouse again and several more Great Bustards, along with good numbers of Black and Griffon Vultures and, of course, huge numbers of White Storks. We then returned to Trujillo for breakfast and prepared for our next journey to the Sierra de Gredos. Based in the spectacular medieval city of Avila we explored the high Gredos. The pine forests of this high sierra house Red Kite, Firecrest, Crested Tit, Bonelli’s Warbler, Dipper, Redstart and Grey Wagtail amongst others. At higher altitudes amidst unrivalled scenery and large numbers of Spanish Ibex, Rock and Ortolan Buntings and Rufous-tailed Rock Thrushes we had another spectacular day.
 Spanish Ibex at La Plataforma
On leaving Avila we headed for the Canyon del Duraton. This site proved to be very busy as it was Sunday but it can be one of the better areas to look for the elusive and highly localised Dupont’s Lark. After some time we did manage to find a singing bird which we saw briefly.
Las Murallas de Avila
Canyon del Duraton
The following day we returned to see at least two singing birds in the same area and managed great views of them singing and displaying. We also found Spectacled Warbler, numerous larks, Black-eared Wheatear, vultures and Chough. This area is a natural park with a very impressive deeply incised gorge cut down through Limestone and providing good breeding cliffs for the Griffon Vultures. The area is generally good for birds and we also managed to find Orphean and Subalpine Warblers, Woodlark and large numbers of raptors and Ravens.
Medieval Castilla-Leon - Pedraza
Egyptian Vulture
Our next journey took us north to Jaca in the Pyrenean foothills. Although long this journey was planned to take us through some of the most pretty areas of rural Spain. These areas are unspoilt and we all enjoyed the tranquillity of rural life in the Sierra de Ayllon and Bardenas Reales. We also saw a good number of birds, including Cirl Bunting, Rock sparrow, Red-backed Shrike, Blue-rock Thrush, and our only Melodious Warblers.
Sierra de Pena
The migration was very late this year and many species had not arrived yet. The single Red-backed Shrike we saw near Soria was the only one we saw. Normally at this time of the year they are common in the Pyrenees but we saw none there. We crossed the steppe of Bardenas Reales and found several Lesser Short-toed Larks and realised we had seen all of Spain’s breeding larks in one day; quite an achievement. As is normal in Spain the whole day was filled with numerous sightings of raptors: Kites, Harriers, Buzzards and Griffon Vultures.
After a good night's sleep we headed up to Formigal anticipating extensive snows and a good chance of seeing Snow Finch near the road. It was not to be. Although there was certainly a lot of snow there was far too much of it and no chance of seeing the birds this year. Likewise the Alpine Accentors were nowhere to be found. Given the conditions the Snow Finches could have been anywhere and the Accentors thousands of feet lower poking around in gardens waiting for spring in the alpine meadows. We did see the Pyrenean form the Chamois, sometimes split as the Izard. There were numerous Alpine Marmots and a Red Fox. It was cold, the snow was very deep and we did not risk walking upslope in search of our target birds here.
Gabardito
The following morning we drove west to the beautiful Hecho valley and climbed up to Gabardito. A short walk along a rocky trail put us beneath a towering granite cliff and we were soon rewarded with views of a male Wallcreeper. This was undoubtedly the most wanted bird of the trip and to see this bird so well was very satisfying. We heard the bird sing and were all able to watch it through the scope. On our return to the car park we saw three Honey Buzzards and two Lammergiers over the valley. In the old beech woods we enjoyed seeing the Eurasian Treecreeper and comparing it with the more common Short-toed Treecreeper. The weather was fine and after another field lunch we headed off to Belagua for some high altitude birding on the French border. As it was, it was very overcast and the snow lay very thick, in some places 10m drifts lined the road. We did see a few Citril Finches, a pair of Ring Ouzels and several Crossbills but no Accentors or Snow Finches.
Belagua in snow
It was the end of another spectacular day and we headed back to the fortified village of Berdun at the base of the Ainso valley. We enjoyed a drink in the old square and a great meal in Emilio’s before retiring to Jaca for the night.
Old Beech tree at Gabardito
Our next journey took us south-east to Tortosa. The journey was broken with stops at the El Planeron reserve near Belchite and a couple of sites along the Ebro. We all had great views of Penduline Tits at our lunch stop along with the usual supporting cast of raptors and vultures. We then arrived in Tortosa in good time for a rest and pleasant meal in the city centre before the locals gathered in the bars to watch the Barcelona – Chelsea match. The night was noisy and the atmosphere charged and jubilant as Barcelona pulled an equalizer out of the hat in the 91st minute. Luckily this meant that Barcelona would play Manchester United in the final and wholesale urban destruction thereby avoided.
On our final day we drove to the Ebro Delta for a full morning of birding. On arrival we spent a good deal of time looking out over a couple of huge lagoons at numerous wetland species. We added Night Heron and Squacco Heron to the list but there were also a lot of Purple Swamphens, Little Bitterns, Purple Herons, Great Egrets, Red-crested Pochards, Greater Flamingos and both Little and Great-crested Grebes. We all had good scope views of Savi’s Warbler, now a very rare bird in the UK along with Great Reed and Common Reed Warblers. We then headed to the salt pans to find Slender-billed and Audouin’s Gulls along with Sandwich, Gull-billed, Little, Common and Caspian Terns, the latter a pleasant and quite unexpected surprise. We also saw Oystercatcher, Sanderling, Mediterranean Gull, 4 Collared Pratincoles and a small group of Tree Sparrows. We then enjoyed the final field lunch in a hide overlooking another huge lagoon before heading to Barcelona to catch our flight home; a process that unfolded without a hitch.
We ended the trip with a total of 203 species of birds and having covered 3468km. The combination of wildlife and landscape does make Spain the most important European country for enjoying our natural heritage. Apart from the high altitude species this trip was by far the best for the number of bird species recorded and was also the best sequence of routes between bases for landscape. However, we must not forget the mammals as we also managed to find both Spanish Ibex and Chamois (Izard) making this the best trip for mammals as well. Quite how we can improve the trip I don’t know. Possibly find an access point to alpine meadows in the Pyrenees for Ptarmigan or a Capercaillie lek in Cantabria.
Audouin’s Gull
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