104 species: The last day of Winter around Barcelona, 16.2.17 (1 Viewer)

...the best of the wintering and resident species, one or two vagrants and my first Spring migrant. Bonelli's Eagle, Iberian Grey Shrike, Iberian Woodpecker, Moustached Warbler, Stone-curlew, Rock Sparrow, Yelkouan Shearwater and Spotted Crake are just some of the 100+ species I recorded - en route to picking my son up to take him to footy.

The Garraf Massis and the Llobregat Delta, Barcelona, 16.02.17

Already pitched up in situ, as first light came up on a mixed-habitat farmstead along the coastal GARRAF MASSIS, I watched and listened to Robin, Crested Tit, Wren and Firecrest all busying themselves in their respective micro-layers of the Aleppo Pine forest that bordered the vineyard.

Before long, the Long-tailed Tits I could hear made their way to join us bringing their trailing guest, a single, melodic-whistling Short-toed Treecreeper with them.

As a Blackbird cackled past me in one direction, I spun back in the other, to the sudden singing of a Cirl Bunting and for once I caught it with ease, perched on the summit of a leafless tree, mouth opened to the skies and trilling. A small flock of Serin started the morning's gossip excitedly in the branches above me and two or three Crested Lark joined in from an adjacent fallow field.

Yes, there’s a lot of song about today I contemplated. It was a calm, warm morning and this felt like the last day of Winter.

A Kestrel and a Sparrowhawk simultaneously and fortuitously arrowed across and dissected the whole landscape, putting up many wintering Common Starlings, amongst them a few resident Spotless Starlings and a dozen or so Rock Sparrow (aka Rock Petronia) onto the overhead cables. This latter species spend a lot of time on overhead cables but I did expect more of the up-to-200 that overwinter in the area.

Nevertheless, with no sign of Woodlark among others, I made my journey back to the car serenaded and/or chaperoned in turn by Chaffinch, Mistle Thrush, Sardinian Warbler, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Wood Pigeon, Song Thrush and Jay.

By the way, I’ve deliberately neglected to use the superfluous “European” and “Eurasian” prefixes that have been inflicted upon our ages-old bird names in recent times as the repetition is not easy on the eye in a written trip report and..oh, yes, no one uses them anyway.

And, if you’re wondering, in case it helps anyone visiting, I’ve under-lined species that are scarce, difficult or quite local in their distribution throughout the area covered by today’s trip.


Before I even exited the car at my next port of call on the cliffs of the Costa Dorada, I added White Wagtail, Black Redstart and Yellow-legged Gull.

As I started my walk a Blue Rock Thrush was already singing too, surrounded by a hundred or so circling Crag Martin warming up for the day, but my first precursory scan of the sea revealed only a single adult Northern Gannet.

However, after tracking three Rock Bunting, first alerted to by the almost inaudible call, a feint, high-pitched “seet” that gives the bird its name in Catalan, a more serious attempt proved more fruitful, although credit for the small group of Yelkouan Shearwater should probably go to the pilot of the fishing boat that was making its way south.

My attempts and failure to separate Balearic Shearwater from a much larger, much further-out flock of shearwaters were watched by an cocky Peregrine perched up on the cliff above me. His eyes could split them I’m sure and I knew they were certainly mixed in but count them I couldn’t and, after quickly checking in the undergrowth to pick up Dunnock, I left him to continue to feast his eyes upon the wary Rock Doves.

The Collins Bird Guide, I notice, claims that Rock Doves are now ‘confined to Mediterranean area and coastal cliffs of Western Europe’. I’m not convinced. But I’ll take it.

A retrospective tot-up puts this at 34 species. Next stop, LLOBREGAT DELTA.

(photos: Serin, Sardinian Warbler, Rock Bunting, Red-legged Partridge, Greater Flamingo).
.

The last day of Winter around Barcelona, 16.2.17 [Part 2]

The Garraf Massis and the Llobregat Delta, Barcelona, 16.02.17

Again my journey, this time to the CAL TET reserve of the wetlands of the LLOBREGAT DELTA, yielded a decent crop, of Magpie, Cattle Egret, Collared Dove, Monk Parakeet and House Sparrow.

Arriving a tad late at 0920, I quickly stuffed my snacks for the next three hours into my side bag, and, making no apologies for paying scant regard to squabbling Tree Sparrows, the heads of Sky Lark bobbing out of the short grass and passing Black-headed Gull and Grey Heron, I sprint-walked off excitedly to look for a really cool wintering bird.

As I scanned for this large-eyed, highly crepuscular and superbly camouflaged species, I couldn’t resist wavering several times over the bright, waxy plumage of a pair of Red-legged Partridge but then, finally, two yellow dots. The respective right eyes of two Stone-curlew (aka Eurasian Thick-knee). There’s no rushing away from these guys. And I even ignored a screaming, over-flying Iberian Woodpecker. Well there was no way I was going to get on it quick enough to appreciate it anyway.

Stonechat and Zitting Cisticola (aka Fan-tailed Warbler) welcomed me at the entrance to the reserve, the latter sharing a mutual moment of distraction with me as it didn’t notice me at all and I, so brilliantly close was it zitting on a weed, didn’t even notice that my new point-and-shoot was around my neck. Oh well, next time.

Greater Flamingoes are not difficult to photograph. Especially when they’re performing Michael Jackson’s moon walk in the Riu Llobregat. Surrounded they were, by Common Shelduck, Common Teal and Common Pochard, and Mallard, Gadwall and Great Cormorant all of which were also, erm, common. A Cetti’s Warbler popped up for a moment, but was much better seen later, and a single Purple Swamphen - I just can’t get used to calling it a Western Swamphen (now split from its African cousin) - was feeding along the opposite shore.

After photographing the lovely crisp plumage of a Great Crested Grebe, the walk through what we call Los Calaixos, a series of reed ponds that render the water ever cleaner before its eventual release into the Mediterranean, was surprisingly uneventful - with only Chiffchaff, Moorhen and Coot - until I hit the flooded meadow. Here I found, not unexpectedly, hoards of Meadow Pipit and Water Pipit but, definitely unexpectedly, only a single Green Sandpiper.

Upon entering the Sabogal hide, however, the sight and site was just magical. Hundreds of birds, of about twenty species, formed a busy, bubbling carpet on the island in front of the window, apparently restless but, upon closer inspection, was actually found to consist mainly of roosting ducks and Northern Lapwing.

The next good while was spent scanning and re-scanning. My attention was almost immediately drawn to the long-staying vagrant Barnacle Goose and I followed it as it munched its way between the feet and bodies of Greylag Goose, Common Snipe, a lone Great Egret, Northern Shovelor and Eurasian Wigeon.

Of course there were many species, especially ducks, pipits and wagtails, I’d already encountered but along one edge sat a mixed flock of Black-headed and Mediterranean Gulls (see photo), which went up every now and again - once when a Common Buzzard passed over - taking the Lapwing with them to fill the sky and sending everything else into the water to unsettle the Little Grebes.

As they settled, I got a better look at the pair of Audouin’s Gulls that were originally floating some distance away. Unfortunately the groups of Spotted Redshank and Common Greenshank, present just a couple of days ago, were nowhere to be seen.

Again a retrospective total shows I’m already at 75 species and I’m only about halfway into the reserve.

(photos: purple swamphen, great crested grebe, mediterranean gulls+, barnacle goose, audouin’s gull)
.

103 species: The last day of Winter around Barcelona, 16.2.17 [Part 3]

The Garraf Massis and the Llobregat Delta, Barcelona, 16.02.17

As I entered the CAL TET hide, having only picked up Great Tit en route, I quickly dipped my head down to window level hoping for a similar array of birds resting on the island in front but the water level was so high there wasn’t much of an island, never mind birds.

However, my disappointment was curtailed after only about ten minutes when, attracted to the direction of the Sabogal hide by what I can only describe as an explosion of birds, I caught sight of one of the two immature Northern Goshawks that overwinter in the delta disappearing at speed into a gap between reed beds.

Of course, we all appreciate the tumble dryer effect caused by raptors, mixing up birds for us to re-scan, and this was no exception as, amongst the throngs that settled in front of the hide window was a lone Black-tailed Godwit. May be I missed it at the other hide.

Great Bittern is regularly seen at the reserve in Winter but I missed that too, although it’s not been seen for a few days so may be it’s headed off early. Later in the day the vagrant Green-winged Teal that had showed up, and I had seen, on the river a few days ago would be reported from this hide (a first, and the 347th species for the delta!) but my next attraction was a singing Moustached Warbler. Usually not too difficult to hear and see during the Winter on the delta so I was a little unsatisfied at the views I had to settle for. But only a little.

On arriving at CAL BESEIT to scan between the tall reeds for another long-staying vagrant, I quickly put my bins on eight bright male Red-crested Pochard diving in the pond and, sure enough, not too far from them, the female Common Goldeneye. Still here then.

The walk back into Los Calaixos along the river bank failed to add the usual Sandwich Tern but I did get a single Lesser Black-backed Gull swimming amidst all the other gulls, including a few more Audouin’s.

Once at my destination, a series of reedy pools split by a narrow path, it didn’t take me long to pinpoint the sounds and subsequent sight of a small flock of bouncing Common Waxbill and I accidentally put up a hidden Common Kingfisher as I leaned over to get a better view of a pair of Penduline Tit pecking at either side of a rush head like bookends. Nice spot. But too difficult here to get on the squealing Water Rail.

Back at the car, I contemplated checking out under the bridge where Caspian Gull and a very long-staying pair of Hooded Crow (currently nest-building in El Prat de Llobregat) are seen frequently but my stomach decided to head for lunch.

But then my phone buzzed! A tip off meant a quick diversion to the FILIPINES-REMOLAR reserve and, while scoffing a standing lunch and peering through a screen on an over-flooded marsh, I waited 30 minutes for a superb Spotted Crake to come out and play along its margins. I just love crakes and this made my day. With my first migrant, and stripped down to my t-shirt, Winter is definitely over.

And Spring is definitely here. Hide gossip reported the year’s first Black-necked Stilt and Little Gull earlier in the day. Both were possibly sat in front of the Maresma hide right now but massive flooding have caused the neglected hide’s temporary closure but I was happy adding Marsh Harrier, Northern Pintail and Black-necked Grebe, all equally superb.


There wasn’t much left of wetland species now and, as the day was warming past lunchtime, I’d miss my remaining targets back in the GARRAF MASSIS unless I made a move quickly. So I did.

Thankfully, with five residents and a common Winter flocking bird to aim for in an areas of coastal maquis, it took me little more than the hour it takes to walk there and back to enjoy pretty good views of all of, respectively, Iberian Grey Shrike, Dartford Warbler, Thekla Lark, Corn Bunting and Linnet.

But the absence of the fifth resident, unsurprising given the time of day, meant I now had to make a steep, rocky, post-lunch climb into a lush ravine. Spurred on then by the feeling I must be getting close to 100 species for the day, I concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other and hoped for a little more than the Blue Tit chirping at my face from a nearby bush. Oh, and a Coal Tit.

Wallcreeper winter in here but this would have required the kind of morning energy that I had spent long ago in Llobregat.

Well, it was further away than I would have liked or, more honestly, than I fancied climbing so I took the cliff-perched Bonelli’s Eagle’s fortuitous decision to choose that very moment for a quick circle fly around as a sign, and left, very grateful for what I had received. As I was for the two Common Raven that sailed over the car as I drove down the mountain back to the coast.

Once again, I could have stopped for Alpine Accentor on the hillsides but history has taught me that it was far too late and time would be better spent somewhere flat.

A quick count as I write puts me at 99 and I must have sensed this as I called in at a couple of ad hoc beach sites en route to my next, and final stop, hoping for a serendipitous Sandwich Tern or Eurasian Shag (subspecies desmarestii). Hoopoe! How had I forgotten about Hoopoe? Fantastic.

Another bird I had forgotten about, noticeable through its absence, was Little Egret, although, again, there’s always one or two in front of the closed hide in the Llobregat.

That said, there’s always one or two everywhere so how had I missed it? No matter. As I pulled onto a little bridge and scanned into a recently scraped water channel through the side windows I was sure one would at least fly over. None of it.

But. I did have success with the reason I was here. And a perky, tail-cocking Bluethroat, finished off a bird rainbow of Greenfinch, Green Sandpiper, Goldfinch, Black Redstart, Blackcap, Grey Wagtail and White Wagtail. There were other species there too but they don’t have pretty colours in their name. |:d|

So, 103 (or was it 104?) species. A great day and a great Winter.

Now all I had to do was pick up my son from school and take him to football!
.