Barcelona in October 2015
The weather was again good when I was in Barcelona at the start of the month. I only stayed 3 nights in the city this time because of the expense of hotel rooms, having booked my holiday less than 2 weeks in advance because of a wait for a hospital appointment. I did manage to visit my 3 main birdwatching areas, Parc de la Ciutadella, Riu Besòs and Parc Güell, during my 2 whole days there.
On my first morning in Barcelona, 2nd October, I went to Parc de la Ciutadella, where I saw or heard 21 bird species, plus 31 escapee greylag geese. Other birds that I saw or heard included mallard, black-headed gull, jackdaws, coal, blue and great tits, blackbirds, and both species of starling. I also heard 2 short-toed treecreepers, one in the “usual” area by the lower lake and the other between La Cascada and the neighbouring part of the Zoo, but more of a surprise was to hear a cetti's warbler by the lower lake, maybe my first in Parc de la Ciutadella. I then continued along Passeig de Lluís Companys, hearing a greenfinch, and from Arc de Triomf I walked to catch the tram at Auditori i Teatre Nacional. In between I walked along Avinguda de Vilanova past Parc Estació del Nord. Birds along here included 15 alpine swifts, 2 serins, a white wagtail (heard) and more collared doves than I saw anywhere else in the city this time.
From the tram halt at Sant Adria de Besòs I walked to the beach via Parc del Litoral, inland along the walkway at road level as far as the second set of bridges, and then I walked left to catch a tram from the halt at La Catalana. There were more wading and water birds along the river than last time, with 17 of both mallard and moorhen, 3 grey herons, 5 little egrets and a common sandpiper. Kingfishers were often to be seen or heard along the river, including 2 seen at once. Apart from hearing 7 cetti's warblers, I saw or heard fewer warblers than usual, with just 1 blackcap, 2 Sardinian warblers and a willow chiff, all of which were in the most overgrown area just in from the river mouth. A Sandwich tern flew about off the beach, and other species seen along Riu Besòs (total 23) included black-headed gulls, white wagtails, common starlings and just 5 tree sparrows.
I stayed in a hotel on Avinguda Marquès de l'Argentera, which is between Parc de la Ciutadella and Pla del Palau. The 10 species that I saw or heard in and around Pla del Palau included 2 or 3 ring-necked parakeets each day. Much more of a surprise was to see 2 ravens flying over Avinguda Marquès de l'Argentera and Pla del Palau early on the morning of the 3rd. I assumed that the ravens had been roosting in Parc de la Ciutadella and, indeed, eBird includes lots of records of up to 4 ravens there in the previous 2 years.
After breakfast on the 3rd I caught the Metro to Vallcarça and walked to Parc Güell the usual way. As usual when visiting the park from that direction, there were lots of birds to see almost immediately. Thus, on either side of the first little hill, Turro de les Tres Creus, I saw a crested tit and a flock of 8 long-tailed tits.
It was great to have met up with pandachris in Tarragona last month. Following his observations last year, we observed some migration in and over that smaller city, so when I was at Parc Güell I climbed the little pointed hill above the school with the hope of more of the same. What a morning! I was up on the summit for just over an hour and saw 4 species of raptors – sparrowhawk, goshawk, kestrel and hobby. Also flying past were 32 swallows and a house martin, and about 30 alpine swifts could be seen over the hill to the NE. There were also lots of small birds up on the ridge, migrants including single common redstart and northern wheatear, while a flock of 5 cirl buntings flew past. Corvids up there included 18 magpies, and both a raven and a jay flew past. I wonder if the raven was one of the birds that I saw from the hotel that morning? Other species seen or heard in Parc Güell included coal, blue and great tits, blackcaps, blackbirds, green and goldfinches, and serins. Altogether I saw or heard 32 species in Parc Güell.
A number of the more common bird species were present in all of my 3 main sites (Parc Güell, Parc de la Ciutadella and Riu Besòs): yellow-legged gulls, feral pigeons, woodpigeons, collared doves, monk parakeets, robins, Sardinian warblers, magpies, house sparrows and, a bit more of a surprise, grey wagtails.
One slight disappointment this holiday was that I didn't see any Mediterranean gulls, despite visiting places where I'd seen them previously. I walked round Port Vell on each of the 3 afternoons and “dipped” with the species there, too. There was less activity in the commercial fishing part of the port, which might have been the reason for their absence. Other gulls which were there, mostly loafing on roofs, included up to 6 lesser black-backs, and I saw a kingfisher on the first 2 visits. It perched on Moll dels Balears both times.
I added one more species from the train on the way to the airport the next morning, with seeing 2 cattle egrets. Altogether I recorded 51 bird species during my short stay in Barcelona, plus the escapee greylag geese.
