Barcelona (Llobregat Delta / El Garraf) September 2006
Two Yanks go birding in Catalunya by Brian and Mary, Washington DC.
Birds mentioned in this entry are not a comprehensive list of what we saw; they provide a nice flavor of the range of birds available.
On Sept. 15, we met up with Catalan Bird Tours’ guide Stephen Christopher (www.catalanbirdtours.com), who took us to several locations near the city of Barcelona (where we were staying) that boasted a nice diversity of bird life. Stephen not only found a lot of birds for us (we added 40-plus to our year list, almost as many to our life list), but he fed us a nice lunch and somehow made the rain stop.
Our first birding stop was a wetlands park in the Llobregat Delta. We found a nice array of shorebirds, waterfowl, waders, and songbirds. We saw interesting birds such as Kingfisher, Common Sandpiper, Spotted Redshank, Bee-Eater, Roller (certainly a highlight of our trip), Magpie, Purple Heron, Marsh Harrier, Hoopoe, Alpine Swift, House Martin, Cetti’s Warbler, Little Egret, Golden Eagle, Spectacled Warbler, Pied and Spotted Flycatcher, Shoveler, and Pochard. From a blind (hide), we enjoyed watching the kingfisher in a nearby perch when it swooped down and caught a fish.
Other landbirds we saw at Llobregat included Short-Toed Tree-Creeper, Willow Warbler (nice yellow and green bird), Stonechat (making its interesting noise that is the source of its name I think), Green Woodpecker, Long-Tailed Tit, Bluethroat, and Black Redstart.
While at Llobregat we used blinds (hides) and a tower to find birds. Stephen had a spotting scope, which helped immensely.
After a nice lunch (vegetarian-friendly for Mary, with ham for Brian) at Llobregat’s picnic area we were off to the seaside village of Garraf to find some unique birds that live in the rocky areas that slope down to the sea. We almost immediately found a beautiful Blue Rock Thrush, then an amazing black-and-white bird called the Black Wheatear.
From Garraf it was back inland to an upland area near a rock quarry. The car climbed a series of switchbacks to an open area with pasture, some pine groves, a vineyard (Penedes wine region I think), and some amazing views over the Mediterranean. This is where we also had some great views of a Hoopoe (on the cover of our European field guide, and a target bird for Brian’s list) perched in a tree. Another nice roller was on some power lines that also were the roosting spot for Rock Sparrows. A Kestrel female hovered in the air over the fields as we watched. Red-Rumped Swallows flew overhead.
Next it was off to another upland area with great views of the sea. This was a place with exposed rocky soil, scrubby growth, and restricted vehicle access. At this location we found a Northern Wheatear, Dartford Warbler, and Whinchat. Most of these birds would have been invisible to us without Stephen’s sharp eye and spotting scope.
Other birds we saw in our drive around the country include a White Wagtail and Peregrine Falcon.
We really appreciated the bird-spotting skills of Stephen and also enjoyed peppering him with questions about Catalunya and its culture and birdlife.
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Two Yanks go birding in Catalunya by Brian and Mary, Washington DC.
Birds mentioned in this entry are not a comprehensive list of what we saw; they provide a nice flavor of the range of birds available.
On Sept. 15, we met up with Catalan Bird Tours’ guide Stephen Christopher (www.catalanbirdtours.com), who took us to several locations near the city of Barcelona (where we were staying) that boasted a nice diversity of bird life. Stephen not only found a lot of birds for us (we added 40-plus to our year list, almost as many to our life list), but he fed us a nice lunch and somehow made the rain stop.
Our first birding stop was a wetlands park in the Llobregat Delta. We found a nice array of shorebirds, waterfowl, waders, and songbirds. We saw interesting birds such as Kingfisher, Common Sandpiper, Spotted Redshank, Bee-Eater, Roller (certainly a highlight of our trip), Magpie, Purple Heron, Marsh Harrier, Hoopoe, Alpine Swift, House Martin, Cetti’s Warbler, Little Egret, Golden Eagle, Spectacled Warbler, Pied and Spotted Flycatcher, Shoveler, and Pochard. From a blind (hide), we enjoyed watching the kingfisher in a nearby perch when it swooped down and caught a fish.
Other landbirds we saw at Llobregat included Short-Toed Tree-Creeper, Willow Warbler (nice yellow and green bird), Stonechat (making its interesting noise that is the source of its name I think), Green Woodpecker, Long-Tailed Tit, Bluethroat, and Black Redstart.
While at Llobregat we used blinds (hides) and a tower to find birds. Stephen had a spotting scope, which helped immensely.
After a nice lunch (vegetarian-friendly for Mary, with ham for Brian) at Llobregat’s picnic area we were off to the seaside village of Garraf to find some unique birds that live in the rocky areas that slope down to the sea. We almost immediately found a beautiful Blue Rock Thrush, then an amazing black-and-white bird called the Black Wheatear.
From Garraf it was back inland to an upland area near a rock quarry. The car climbed a series of switchbacks to an open area with pasture, some pine groves, a vineyard (Penedes wine region I think), and some amazing views over the Mediterranean. This is where we also had some great views of a Hoopoe (on the cover of our European field guide, and a target bird for Brian’s list) perched in a tree. Another nice roller was on some power lines that also were the roosting spot for Rock Sparrows. A Kestrel female hovered in the air over the fields as we watched. Red-Rumped Swallows flew overhead.
Next it was off to another upland area with great views of the sea. This was a place with exposed rocky soil, scrubby growth, and restricted vehicle access. At this location we found a Northern Wheatear, Dartford Warbler, and Whinchat. Most of these birds would have been invisible to us without Stephen’s sharp eye and spotting scope.
Other birds we saw in our drive around the country include a White Wagtail and Peregrine Falcon.
We really appreciated the bird-spotting skills of Stephen and also enjoyed peppering him with questions about Catalunya and its culture and birdlife.
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