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.
