Ring Ouzel in Spanish Pyrenees (1 Viewer)

[Miilda]

I'm going to be in the Spanish Pyrenees on the first week of April. Maybe somebody knows good site for Ring Ouzel somewhere around Jaca or somewhere else but not so far to the East. I know that they could be found near eg. Llanaves de la Reina, but it is little bit too far.

 

[Stephen C]

Ring Ouzel in Pyrenees

Hi Miilda

It's a common enough bird I think across the Pyrenees, certainly in my patch in Catalonia, so it's more a question of exploring the right habitat.

They spend a lot of time under cover or flying low from bush/tree to bush/tree so keep an eye out for the silver wing patch to distinguish it from Blackbird and learn it's calls to help locate it. That said, they often surprise by foraging out in open meadows, when with a careful approach you can get quite close, and in April of course your best chance in one singing on top of a tree (so be sure to learn the song too).

The alpestris subspecies is resident (with some perhaps weather-dependent geographical movement) but the nominate torquatus is also passing through during the Spring so your chances are further improved.

Good luck

 

[Miilda]

Aaa, so it is because of torquatus only this subspecies is mentioned in Gosney's book. And probably because alpestris is common nobody bother to mention them in reports.
Many thanks for your explanation, I hope I'll find them.