[pandachris]

Alright. We're over five, now. I'll do a quick note against the possibility that anyone in Barcelona or coming soon fancies the trip.

First check google maps or similar for carrer de la Marina in El Prat de Llobregat where it crosses the Avinguda Onze de Setembre, so you'll have and idea of the locale. TAhen get the 21 bus from Paral.lel near Drassanes and get off after 20+ minutes of industrial and business parks at the first stop after it crosses the Llobregat River. Then start walking along the above mentioned rural road towards the sea and the nature reserve.

We saw ... hoopoe, bee-eater, goshawk, zitting cisticola, serin, common waxbill, kingfisher, cattle egret, sardinian warbler, spanish sparrow, black-winged stilt and lots more birds, two snakes, lots of terrapins and frogs.

I'll say more when at a less annoying computer - with a mouse.

[pandachris]

Not much time for birding yesterday because we were mainly looking at dragons and human castles but we had an hour or so at the Parc de l'Orneta which is just behind the Pedralbes Monastery. Birds in the park are probably much the same as those in Parc Guell where the habitat, aspect and altitude are similar.

Disadvantages compared to Parc Guell ...

there is no Gaudi

Advantages ...

There are no people (we saw two on a Saturday at midday)
It is free (they are talking about charging for Parc Guell)
It is near the monastery which is lovely
It's an easy walk from Sarria where you can have breakfast at the rather splendid Forn de la Vila or in the market.

We saw Firecrest, Crested Tit and what I'm pretty certain upon closer inspection of the photos will turn out to be Melodious Warbler.

[pandachris]

Better directions (hopefully) for a trip to the Espai Natural in El Prat de Llobregat.

Firstly, it's worth noting that the protected area closes at 3 p.m., which was about 5 minutes after we arrived at the gates. This is our fault. We had been drinking and dancing until about 3 a.m. in the Festa Major de Gracia so didn't start early. You might not have the same excuse.

The 21 bus leaves from Paral.lel towards the port/coast - I think there are about 3 an hour during working hours. The route is mostly dreary unless you are keen on municipal buses (it passes what is presumably the car park for all the buses in Europe!). It crosses the Llobregat River and when you get to the south side of the river, press the button and get off at the first stop. We weren't confident that it was the right place and stayed on for a while so ended up with further to walk.

A check of Google maps will show you that after crossing the bridge the bus runs for a few hundred metres down Ronda de Levante (B-250) before turning left onto Avinguda de l'Onze de Setembre. Carretera Marina reaches this road and becomes Cami de la Marina. It is Cami de la Marina that takes you, after about 1.5 kms, to the entrance of the nature reserve.

If the reserve is open, then probably go inside for enhanced chances of seeing Greater Flamingos, Purple Swamphen and others. If not, the track down the side of the reserve continuing to the coast provides some birding, as does the whole of the Cami de la Marina from the main road. There are two miradors open to the public with views into the reserve.

There is not much shade so take drinks, hats, suncream etc. A scope would be an advantage in several places but only if you enjoy carrying a scope for 5 kms or so.

Allow a good three hours to get to the coast and back - more if you're going on to the reserve. A hire car would save time. There are other roads and tracks to explore if you want to make a day of it.

To get back to Barcelona, the 21 stops on Ronda de Levante just around the corner from the Avinguda de l'Onze de Setembre, opposite the big Nissan facility. This seemed counter-intuitive to us and we didn't use the stop, opting instead to walk into El Prat de Llobregat to get a bus from a 'proper' stop that then took us past the stop that we had ignored about 50 minutes and 30 minutes walking earlier! It's the bus stop on the El Prat side of the road.

You can use your T-10 for the whole trip and we managed to get from El Prat to Drassanes by bus, from Drassanes to Placa de Catalunya on metro (the notorious L3) and from Placa de Catalunya to our hotel near the Padua stop on the FGC L7 on just the one 'validation' which is about £0.74 at today's exchange rate.

[pandachris]

Originally Posted by Tony Knight

Thanks Allen. How long does it take to walk to Guell and Ciutadella from their respective nearest underground stations ? Think these might be early walking pre-breakfast trips for me + camera ! Guess I might be able to arrange taxis to drop and collect and so avoid spending an hour travelling to and from hotel to the parks.
Not knowing these areas do you think i would be ok walking with camera and big zoom through these areas at say 7am ??

I've replied to your message, Tony, which I hope was of some use. I hadn't seen your earlier posts because they started the day we set off for Barcelona and I wasn't on line much.

I think you'll be fine with a camera. Julie often has a digital SLR with a long lens around her neck in the city and I usually have a point & click somewhere about my person. Never had any problems.

Taxis are a good idea to save time but for goodness sake, don't book them in advance. They're generally quite cheap, but when called they start the clock when thery take the booking, so if they're 3 kms away you pay for the 3 kms too. There are loads of taxis in the city at all hours. Just hail one. They will stop anywhere. Keep a map handy to point to where you want to go, just in case.

[pandachris]

The snakes we saw were Viperine Snakes. Anyone interested in seeing them can find the pics here ...

http://www.birdforum.net/showthread....77#post2520877

[Kev23]

Nice humourous report Chris! Took my mother to Barcelona 4for 4 days 2 weeks ago, did a day in The pyrenees, a day trip to The Steppes with Stephen Christopher of Catalan birdtours and a couple of trips to The Garraf and Llobregat. Totally concur with your advice re: the latter; no shade, drenched in sweat carrying my scope around, and much walking made for a less than ideal birding experience but then that's what you get when you go in August! Saw similar species to you (No Hoopoe but saw them in The Steppes) but actually my first ever Swallowtail butterfly was probably the highlight! We rented a car for the 4 days as stayed 25mins from the city itself so drove to the reserve but navigating our way around in general wasn't easy in case anyone reading this intends doing the same. And as for driving and parking in Barcelona itself? Just as well I'm a driving instructor! I'll probably go back again during the winter for a weekend or something especially as I purchased the "where the birds are in Northern Spain" book and there are many ommisions from my life list in Catalunya..

[pandachris]

We didn't see many butterflies at all, Kev, but there were a few around the start of the track. Your Swallowtail might well have been Southern Swallowtail - I think the one in the UK is Northern - and there are also Scarce Swallowtails which we have seen in Barcelona city. Your note reminded me that we didn't see any of either species on this trip.

Stephen does a good day out, doesn't he?

Definitely worth another trip and I should think that winter could be quite interesting. We're back in September but if I add more than Audouin's Gull to our year list I'll be pleased - though we might just get up to Tibidabo for raptors.

[Allen S. Moore]

Chris,

Interesting to read about your trip to Barcelona. I flew there on the 16th, moving on to Castelldefels and then Asturias, with about an hour along Passeig de Gràcia, most of which was spent eating tapas. In the heat I noticed a dearth of birds in the city centre, just feral pigeons.

I flew to Asturias on the 18th, but my luggage stayed an extra day in Barcelona and Vueling did not deliver my case to my hotel in Oviedo until the 20th. At least I had my binoculars, but no clean clothes!

I was due to return to Barcelona tomorrow, but, sadly, I had to come home last night because my parents are both very ill.

Anyway, keep your reports coming from Barcelona. I will enjoy reading them, even if I cannot be there.

Allen

[pandachris]

Sorry to hear about your parents Allen. All we saw in the 'centre', though we didn't spend much time there, mainly being out in Gracia, was Monk Parakeets and a few gulls at the harbour. It certainly was hot, though.

It was the opposite at Prat de Llobregat where there were lots of birds. I've no doubt that we missed a few. I thought we heard Penduline Tit a couple of times but couldn't get confirmation and I wonder if the odd-looking ducks we saw from the Mirador overlooking the reserve might have been Ferruginous.

I'll try and contribute again in about three weeks time.

[Stephen C]

Hi all

How very nice to hear about everyone enjoying Barcelona so much.

Just got back from yet another trip to the Steppes where we photographed an adult Red-necked Nightjar with a juvenile. I've still to be given the file but will post it, along with many more amazing shots (the Pin-tailed Sandgrouse families we got today were pretty amazing too) from PY Thong on my Facebook page as soon as possible after she finishes her week with me on Sunday.

Anyway, my point was, Chris, Spanish Sparrow, there are none in Catalunya, in fact they're a less than annual vagrant, so just wondered how confident you are. Our local birds do look a bit funny sometimes.

All the very best to you all

[pandachris]

Not confident at all, Stephen. They were not being helpful. I'm not even confident about Tree Sparrows. All the sparrows we saw were in dense vegetation. Some looked to have very dark underparts but we had no convincing views and they're not on our 'year list'. I perhaps should have said "possible Spanish Sparrow" because I left out the Kestrel we saw until we've examined the photos in more detail. I'm demoting it from 'possible' now anyway. I left Spotless Starling out as well because the only starlings we positively identified were vulgaris so I wasn't very consistent!

[Stephen C]

Hi Chris

Lots of tree sparrows about, should have been a few spotless starlings too but they do sometimes go AWOL in the fields.

Was in the Pyrenees today where we had two adult Lammergeier, lots of Citril Finches and got great photos of a Marsh Tit feeding on sunflower seeds in someone's allotment!

All the best

[pandachris]

Might be in touch soon, Stephen. We're thinking hard about coming over for 10 days for the Patum de Berga. With a couple of nights up at Falgars (you should have a look at that place if you ever fancy a night or two away from home but quite local) I think we have two nights unplanned. Heading towards Lleida sounds tempting, to see the areas we visited a few Septembers ago. If you have availability then we might be able to sort something out. I'm guessing that the dates will be around 27th/28th May.

[Stephen C]

Originally Posted by pandachris

Might be in touch soon, Stephen. ...Lleida sounds tempting ...the dates will be around 27th/28th May.

I've penciled in a note to keep you informed so, assuming your email address is the same, I'll check in with you nearer the time if I haven't already heard from you by then.

All the best

[pandachris]

Still the same, Stephen. And I check this site at least once most weeks so PMs work as well.

[pandachris]

Not much to report from our 3 days in Barcelona for La Merce - a flycatcher, probably Pied but it didn't hang around, in the trees at the back of the barbecue/cafe place on Montjuich where we also saw a nice Southern Swallowtail.

On the path around the front of the castle, overlooking the port there was a brief view of a warbler that given the shape and the size of the bill was most likely Melodious but it didn't stay long enough for a decent look. One Lesser Kestrel close to the top bus stop on Montjuich, and many swallows.

I'll do a separate post for Tarragona shortly because there was more of interest there.

[Allen S. Moore]

Thanks, Chris,

A lesser kestrel was a fine bird to see.

Allen

[pandachris]

It was nice to see one close, Allen because we'd seen loads of kestrels over a period of a couple of hours over Tarragona (I've posted in the Spain 'local patch' section) but they were too high up for us to get positive IDs. I'm not aware of Common Kestrels migrating en masse but that is probably down to my lack of knowledge and they might well do so. We've seen quite a few Lessers before, though.

Back again in a month and hoping to get some time in at the Ebro Delta.

[Allen S. Moore]

Castelldefels - a word of advice

I flew to Barcelona early in the month and booked in to a hotel in Sitges for 3 nights. The next day I travelled by train just north, first to Garraf and then to Castelldefels, which is just south of Barcelona Airport and Delta de Llobregat. About 10 years ago I had seen on the internet that there was a pair of purple swamphens at Castelldefels, so I decided to check out some areas of water that I had seen on a map. Even if I didn't see any purple swamphens I thought that there would be other birds, and so there were.

I walked towards the coast from Castelldefels railway station and found L'Estany de L'Olla del Rei, a thin reed-fringed lake which, according to a noticeboard, was where the purple swamphens were to be seen. I didn't see any, but there were a lot of other species, including some of the commoner wetland birds, as well as a siskin. In a small channel nearby I saw a dabchick and 2 kingfishers.

Noticeable from the air, just to the east is the Canal Olímpic which I thought about walking round, but a high fence stopped me from doing that. However, I saw an Audouin's gull and a green woodpecker, as well as some migrating meadow pipits, before I headed back into town.

To reach the centre of Castelldefels I crossed a bridge over a busy road and then veered left along an open grassy area to the edge of the houses. A car pulled up and the driver asked me something, as if he was asking the way. Having caught my attention he waved a card that stated "Policia Nacional" and asked me to show my ID, coming out with some guff about me being a heroin addict! Anyone who knows me will appreciate that I don't look undernourished! Anyway, when I am out on day trips on holiday I carry a photocopy of my passport, and I showed him that. He pointed at a bulge in my trousers pocket and asked what that was, suggesting that I had lots of money from drug dealing. I pulled my handkerchief out of my pocket and he sniffed that, "Nothing there," and then he asked how much money I had, adding that he needed to check it to make sure that it was not forged. I asked, "How do I know that you won't take it?" and he said something like "You can go now" and drove off.

What has this got to do with birdwatching in Barcelona? Well, maybe with a greater police presence in Barcelona city centre the crooks go somewhere else to try to rob someone. Some posts in this thread have suggested walking from El Prat de Llobregat, which is not far from Castelldefels, to Delta de Llobregat. I suppose that there are times when the road to the delta is fairly quiet apart from solitary birdwatchers, who may be vulnerable to the attentions of passing crooks. As in my case, they can catch you by surprise. However, I was robbed once, years ago, so I knew what to expect and they got away with nothing. It is easy to say that police won't behave in the way that crooks do, but when you are on your own and there are two of them you are a bit vulnerable. Just don't soak your handkerchief with any fragrances!

[Allen S. Moore]

Barcelona in November

On 10th November I caught the train from Sitges to Passeig de Gràcia in Barcelona and then the Metro to Vallcarca. Arriving in Parc Güell, I soon started seeing quite a few birds, including several black redstarts and sardinian warblers. I climbed the little pointed hill above the back of the park, seeing quite a range of bird species in the patches of pine woodland, including 2 firecrests and 4 species of tits – 2 crested and 2 long-tailed, as well as blue and great. Other species that I saw in Parc Güell included woodpigeon, blackcaps, chaffinches, greenfinch and goldfinch. After that I caught the Metro to a favourite bar in Barceloneta, later returning to Sitges.

I returned to Barcelona on the 15th for the last 2 days of my holiday. Next morning I travelled by Metro to Arc de Triomf and walked to Parc de la Ciutadella. Along Passeig de Lluís Companys I saw a black redstart and 3 species of parakeet – monk, blue-crowned (3) and two birds that may have been nanday parakeets, although I didn't have a proper view of their heads. Parc de la Ciutadella was good for birds, including a short-toed treecreeper in what was probably the same tree that I saw one in May. At one stage in the top right hand corner of the park something put all the birds to flight in the manner that happens with peregrine falcons and feeding waders and choughs back home. It was a case of not seeing the peregrine falcon for trees! The panicked birds included 4 rose-ringed parakeets. Other species in Parc de la Ciutadella included escapee greylag geese, as well as mallards, moorhen, black-headed gulls, collared doves, grey and white wagtails, common starlings, and long-tailed, blue and great tits.

I caught the Tram to my usual stop just before Riu Besòs, crossed the river and walked through Parc del Litoral. A surprise there was to hear a wren calling from the usual sort of thick bush, my first record of the species in the city. After that I walked along the north bank of the river almost as far as the third set of bridges inland, then back down the south bank almost to the coast, and then back to the second set of bridges.

Most of my visits to the mouth of Riu Besòs have been during the spring, and notable groups of birds seen in the area on those visits were herons, waders and warblers. Herons this time comprised 9 little egrets, 2 grey herons and (flying over) 2 cattle egrets. Only one species of wader was seen, common sandpipers (3). Of the warblers there were 4 or 5 each of cetti's, fan-tailed, and common chiffchaff. One cormorant flew inland over the river and, later, two individuals flew downstream. A meadow pipit flew over, and other species along the river included mallards, moorhens, black-headed gulls, grey and white wagtails, black redstarts, spotless starling, chaffinch and goldfinch. I also saw a painted lady butterfly. There were more than 200 black-headed gulls along the river and I saw 2 with colour-rings on their legs, one with a white ring and the other with blue. I had my binoculars but it was not possible to get close enough to the gulls to read the rings. One of the common sandpipers flew up the river, calling loudly, and about half of the gulls flew away upstream. I never saw the colour-ringed birds again.

I travelled by Tram and Metro to Barceloneta and then walked round Port Vell and just inland to Santa Maria del Mar. I paused for some food at a table outside La Vinya del Senyor. I happened to look up at one of the church towers just as 2pm chimed, and a black redstart flew across from the rooftop. I have never seen so many black redstarts in Barcelona as I had this holiday, most of my other visits having been in spring and summer.

A number of the more common species were present in all of my 3 main sites (Parc Güell, Parc de la Ciutadella and Riu Besòs): yellow-legged gull, feral pigeons, monk parakeets, robins, blackbirds, common chiffchaff, bluetits, magpies and house sparrows.

I flew home the next day. While the Easyjet taxied along the runway at Barcelona prior to take off, I saw 2 coots in a reed fringed drain far out from the Terminal buildings. I had identified 42 bird species in Barcelona, including 3 species of parakeet and greylag geese, which I assume are escapes, as I hadn't seen geese in or around Barcelona before 2010.

[maccacracker]

After reading this thread I felt compelled to add my recent experience in Barcelona.

I'd been there a couple of times before and went with the wife and kids. Our flat was a short walk from Parc de la Ciutadella and I used to get up at the sun rose and my family were still asleep. I took shots of monk parrakeets with the bright greens illuminated by the sun. There is a grey heron nesting by the edge of the lake. I virtually stumbled upon a cuckoo which had perched in the branches of a small bush.

I managed to negotiate a day at the Llobregat delta which was superb - lots of finches, warblers, a night heron, some spectacular butterflies and a few terrapins crawling around. I had a great day.

Then I made a very bad mistake. A few days later I went back to Parc de la Ciutadella on a Sunday afternoon and sat on my usual bench with my camera strap wrapped around my wrist and neck. The place was crawling with locals and tourists and in the soporific afternoon heat I drifted into a minor doze only to discover that my camera, lens and memory card with all my pictures had been stolen from around my neck in an act of deception so astonishing it would have made Harry Houdini proud. I ran around in a frenzy but the robbers just melted into the heaving throngs of sunbathers and drinks peddlers and my worst fears were realised. I couldn't sleep for the rest of the holiday which had effectively been completely ruined.
After a day queuing with all the other tourist victims at the police station, I emailed the police report to my insurance company and, thank God, I was covered and several weeks later got my insurance payout. However, all my pictures were lost and my view of Barcelona is tainted forever. I don't think I will ever go back.

Even in broad daylight I witnessed tourists being mugged, pickpockets at work, constant hassle on the tube trains from peddlers and immigrants. There is a heavy police presence in the city centre but they simply drive around slowly in circles while the crime continues in front of their eyes. They seem to have adopted a sense of hopeless resignation that the city's crime problems are so endemic there is nothing they can do.

So anyone looking to bird in Barcelona, be extremely careful, and especially avoid Parc de la Ciutadella with its nasty vagrants sleeping under the palm trees, and North African peddlers looking for tourists to rob.

We're going back to Scotland this year.

[Allen S. Moore]

Maccacracker,

I've recently returned from another holiday in Spain, Madrid and La Palma this time. Sorry to read about your robbery. I suppose that it is wisdom after the event, but if I had any valuables I wouldn't leave them out in the open. There are dishonest people in most or all big cities, not just Barcelona - look at all the internet and telephone scams. I tend to avoid crowds as much as I can when I am in cities like Barcelona, especially as I am unlikely to see many birds if there are lots of people about. On the streets I just keep walking. Of course, such an experience can put you off a place.

There are people dossing in the old city of Barcelona as well as in the parks (which I haven't noticed, by the way), but I tend to think that they include those who have fallen on hard times, and there are a lot of those in Spain, as elsewhere, at the moment. Of course, some of them will be drug abusers, again, a problem not restricted to Barcelona. I see dozens of the African peddlers when I am in Barcelona, but I never buy from them. What would I do with a handbag or a cr*p CD? I heard that they moved to Spain illegally, without papers, and are at the mercy of the Mafia types for whom they work.

Anyway, enjoy Scotland. I must go back there again sometime.

Allen