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Brief Barcelona trip 12-13 March 2016 (1 Viewer)

wolfbirder

Well-known member
A very brief overnight visit was made to take my 12 year old lad to the 'Nou Camp' to see FC Barcelona thrash Getafe 6-0. In fact it was really "Messi FC".

So this wasn't a birding trip, and everything was planned around the match. Barca tickets can be bought on line (FCBarcelona.com) and printed out after payment, so that was easy. Ticket prices vary according to how far from the pitch you will be, a factor to consider. Big matches are much tougher to get tickets for as they sell out and can go at a much higher cost. It is also hard to buy two seats together unless you buy early. Furthermore, crucially, the kick off date and time are not guaranteed until the match kick off time is actually stated on the website fixture list, due to TV influence. In this case Spanish TV pulled the game forward 4 hours, but kept it on the same day at least. So don't book flights until the date and crucially kick off time are confirmed. Sometimes just the kick-off time is changed, sometimes date and kick-off time, but once both are stated on the website fixture list that is when it is definite. Which can make things difficult.

Plenty of airlines fly from the UK to Barcelona, Ryan Air, Easy Jet etc, so cheap flights are possible, though as highlighted above, it is tough because you have to leave booking flights until late on, whilst you wait for the match kick off time and date to be confirmed, and that can be as little as a few weeks before the game.

You can get plenty of game/flight joint packages on-line, which may cater for these TV-influenced changes, but I did it all independently. I booked accommodation via www.booking.com, but there are loads of other sites like Expedia.com, travelsupermarket.com, hotels4u.com etc.

Barcelona El Prat Airport is a modern expansive and pleasant airport, and most budget airlines use Terminal 2. Just outside arrivals at Terminal 2 look out for the big blue "Aerobus" airport buses (you may have to walk to the right a few hundred metres) that run every 10-15 minutes into Barcelona and cost about 6 euros each way. These can be pre-booked on their website though you can just get on and pay.

http://www.aerobusbcn.com/

It takes about 25 minutes to get to the heart of Barcelona and it drops you off at 'Placa de Catalunya'.

There is an extensive underground system which now connects at the airport, though you have to change frustratingly to get into the city centre.

In Barcelona itself, there is also the FGC metro system which is symbolised by orange double "S"(one immediately next to the other) signposts. See their website, go to the right and choose Barcelona-Valles route, for Parc de Collserola (more of this below). Trains even on Sunday run every 20-30 minutes.

http://www.fgc.cat/eng/cercador.asp

Official yellow and black taxi's are everywhere and are generally metered and are affordable.

Loads of cultural things to see here of course, The Rambles, and the wonderful imposing church 'Sagraga Familia'. So much more, but so little time for us.

Nou Camp is back towards the airport somewhat, and it cost us 12 euros in a taxi from our hotel to the ground, and an agreed 25 euros afterwards to get back to the hotel. Yes, twice as much, we left ten minutes before the end and I guess they know foreigners like me and my son are too confused to use the underground and just want a swift exit from the area, when 87,000 people are about to exit on mass.

There is very little literature about birding around Barcelona.

El Prat has extensive marshes, and there are 6 species of parakeets if you fancy finding them in various parks and greens in the city. Cuitadella Park near the zoo is perhaps best known of all, though like 'The Rambles' it is also well-known for pick pockets, so be wary at all times. But I thought Barcelona was an attractive city overall, with palm trees lining many streets, and it is these that attract the estimated 3000 Monk Parakeets in the city. We saw some in the streets directly outside Entrance 19 of Nou Camp, but they may be heard anywhere there are small parks in the city.

In birding terms, I have really written this short report because of the Parc Collserolla National Park, which is just a mile or two outside Barcelona and so easily accessable if you study how to get there in advance.

As highlighted, the FGC "S1" or "S2" routes go from 'Placa de Catalunya' in the heart of Barcelona, to 'Teressa' where it goes on to Valles, but you can also pick them up in between, at Gracia, Muntamer, or Sarria stations if your hotel is a little north of the city centre. The train then goes up into the prosperous hillsides and villages, stopping first at the bizarrely-named station of 'Peu del Funicular' (where predictably, you can indeed catch a funicular up to higher levels), but you should stay on the S1 or S2 train and get off at the next station called "Baixador de Vallvidrera" in the heart of the Parc Collserola National Park.

This is a quiet and picturesque area, with a few lovely cafes and a few roads containing lovely houses. Exiting the train station, go over the adjacent main road via the pedestrian crossing, and start to walk up the street directly opposite with a church up on the hillside ahead. However, after just twenty metres turn sharp left down a quiet side street called "Cami del Panto", after a hundred metres or so it bends sharp right, follow this track rather than other options at that bend, and the track leads past a barrier (preventing vehicular access past that point) and through woods up to a dam at "Pantano de Vallvidrera" which is a small lake just a few hundred metres in length. Infact, there are several different tracks that lead to the lake, but this is the most direct route. A couple of quiet cafes provide an ideal place to take a break here. There is a walkable track around the small lake but watch out for cyclists, of which there are plenty especially at weekends.

At the far end of the lake (opposite end to the dam end), roughly about thirty metres past the far end and to the right hand side, you can find a tiny, roped-off pond surrounded by scrub. Birdforum member Mark Hows had kindly provided me with this information, and I stood quietly overlooking this spot for 45 minutes, twice enjoying great views of pairs of Red-Billed Leiothrix (an introduced species also known as Peking Robin or Peking Nightingale), a quite stunning little passerine containing orange, yellow, steel blue, olive green, ginger, and ruby red colours. They are said to be fairly commonplace around these Barcelona hillsides, and indeed their somewhat slower, Blackcap-like song can be heard clearly. So they can surely be found elsewhere too.

I appreciate there may be little desire to connect with this species but for those who want to do so, there is scant little information. Do check the edge of the small pond I refer to, 2 of these little beauties emerged from the adjacent dense undergrowth and after drinking at the waters edge they disappeared back into it, though another pair showed well twenty minutes later in small trees. So do give it time at this spot.

Other birds seen here included Black Redstart, Sardinian Warbler, 2 Firecrests, Hawfinch, Grey Wagtail, White Wagtail, Chiffchaff, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Wood Pigeons, and 5 Mallards.

So nothing out of the ordinary perhaps, though a few nice birds were seen in just over an hour spent here before I undertook the ten minute walk back to the railway station at Baixador de Vallvidrera, for the fifteen minute FGC journey back to Placa de Catalunya in the heart of Barcelona.

Do go to googlemaps.com if you want to study the location, it helps. And do wrap up unless its summer as its colder than in the city due to being higher ground.

Or better still go to www.itouchmap.com/latlong.html
Once on that page scroll down to the right to the panel or box that says 'Show Point for Latitude and Longitude' and next to Latitude type 41.413297, and Longitude type 2.096637. That will take you to the spot at the south-western end of Pantano de Vallvidrera, exactly to the small pond where the Red-Billed Leiothrix can be seen.

Apologies that the thread contains so little birding context, but I was keen to see Red-billed Leiothrix whilst visiting this grand city for other reasons. I don't know how easily these birds generally show, because its based on just one fleeting visit, I don't know how vocal they generally are or how showy they are behaviour-wise, but I do get the impression that they are not that difficult.

If you want any more information, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Just four photographs to finish with, 2 showing the tiny pond and adjacent scrub at the south-western end of the Pantano or lake (this is a favoured spot for the Red-billed Leiothrix), the third one showing the main but still small adjacent lake called Pantano de Vallvidrera, and finally in case people are unaware what Red-Billed Leiothrix look like, an image of a pair of these colourful little stunners (courtesy of Vijay Cavale).
 

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Nick

Off to the Nou Camp on Wednesday night - hoping for a miracle and third time lucky on my trips there as an away fan! The Red-billed Leiothrix gen is really interesting. A shame my trip will be too brief to allow me to follow it up.

All the best
 
Good luck to you and the Gunners Paul, being a Wolves fan I don't believe in miracles, nor even believe in vaguely good things to happen.

A bit of unashamed glory-hunting on my behalf I admit, I am now adopting Barca as my 2nd team, simply to enjoy football as I see nothing changing regards my true love.

The Red-billed Leiothrix though, are little stunners and well worth seeing. I've updated the report with GPS co-ordinates now too, in case you can find the time.

Just a little bit more info about the FGC metro underground service - I think all the stations are unmanned, so you have to get your tickets from ticket machines. All the places you need to go to (from Placa de Catalunya in the heart of Barcelona, to Baixador de Vallvidrera, where you get off for the Parc Collserola if you are going for the Red-billed Leiothrix), are within what is called 'Zone 1', so it shouldn't be expensive. There are very basic English instructions on the ticket machines, but first time I tried to buy tickets for a return trip for the two of us, it came to a whopping 85 euros, which clearly wasn't right, I suspect I was purchasing a month's pass or something. So just press the cancel button, look around the screen at various options, and try again. Eventually it came up at 17 euros in total for the two of us, which even then I suspect was perhaps too much.

Its not difficult, but then make sure you get on the line going in the right direction, your train will say S1 or S2 "Teressa" on the front. The trains are modern, lovely and clean.

It really is easy and you can be back in Barcelona in just a couple of hours, with the trip to Baixador de Vallvidrera taking only 15-20 minutes, with a walk of a further 10 minutes once there.
 
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Nick

Many thanks. No optics and no time so just the usual year ticks - Monk Parakeet, Serin and Sardinian Warbler - the first ubiquitous and the second and third in the park opposite the Sagrada Familia.

A very wet experience during which songs were sung suggesting people who could assist them with building a roof!

I do need to try for Dupont's Lark at some point and always happy with a Category C or two so I may be following up your gen when time allows.

Photo taken on the Blackberry just off the Ramblas.

All the best

Paul
 

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Ha can't believe how close that parakeet is. Think they are putting a roof on next year. Thought Arsenal played well actually Paul, but what can you do?

Allen thanks for the gen on that thread.
 
Nick - I printed out your report before I went on a 5-day business trip to Barcelona a couple of weeks ago, and would like to say that your description of how to find the Red-billed Leiothrix is pinpoint perfect!

So, I had to travel on Sunday for my meetings, which gave me a couple of hours free on Monday morning.

With a bit of planning I managed to work out a relatively quick route out to Parc Collserolla (as you say). Public transport out to Baixador de Vallvidrera station was easy from the city centre (as you say), and the road and paths up to the small lake with a red-brick dam was quite straightforward (er...as you say!). The lake itself was nothing more than a puddle of mud when I was there, but I dutifully headed to the far end of the lake and easily found the small pond (as you say!).

Despite the presence of a lot of dog walkers (and a few seemingly homeless, but quite harmless, dogs) and the occasional mountain-biker, I spent a peaceful hour perched on a tree stump overlooking the pond and surrounding scrub. In that time, I had good views of Crested tit, Common Redstart, Blackcap, Sardinian Warbler, Great Spotted Woodpecker and lots of Jays and Magpies, along with Cetti's Warbler calling loudly from the bushes. But the Leiothrix remained elusive for an hour.

Then, as I disappointedly decided I had better return to my hotel, unusual calls from the bushes behind me alerted me to something new.... and there they were: 3 lovely Red-billed Leiothrix no more than 4-5m away, flitting through the hawthorn! :)

After a few minutes they headed up into the pine scrub out of sight, so I headed back to the station, a happy man! But having now got the call in my mind, I found a whole lot more of the species along that the "lower" road back to the station (running parallel to the small stream, with housing on one side and overgrown scrub and trees to the other). At several points along this quiet road, there were small, loose flocks of Leiothrix hopping in and out of the bushes and over into some of the gardens, giving excellent close views from no more than a couple of metres away (I would say at least 25-30 birds in total).

So, thanks for the excellent report.
 

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That's great to Hear.

I bet they are actually far more common than I suspected. So pleased it was a successful trip, smashing little birds aren't they!
 
Nice trip report and additions. I am looking to Spain in the Autumn. I can see that my 2 week cultural trip needs some extending for bird days. I'll start a list for near city locales. They'll all be new to me, except maybe a hoopoe.
 
Autumn Birding from Barcelona

As you're looking for Autumn birding within reach of Barcelona, here's my seasonal, i.e. Spring/Autumn, link to a summary of the best 7 sites:

http://www.catalanbirdtours.com/spain birding migration.html

and, if you do FB, a photo summary too:

https://www.facebook.com/199405906748382/photos/?tab=album&album_id=235233513165621

Public transport and, if you're hiring a car, road network are great, there's lots of info on the net and you can follow key sightings on Twitter at @SpainBirdTours.

All the best
 
To add to what Stephen has said:

1. In cultural terms, Catalunya in late September is exceptional. The local festivals of Santa Tecla in Tarragona and La Merce in Barcelona can take your breath away.

2. Autumn passage can be interesting. For the last few years we've stayed in Poblenou and the small area of shrubs and grass at the seaward end of Rambla del Poblenou has held numerous warblers and other species. I've also noted raptor migration over Tarragona, often from my balcony in the Hotel Plaça de la Font.
 
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