Spring Birding in Central and Northern Spain Apr 25—May 10, 2006
Posted by Peter Roberts
Peter Roberts
Peter Roberts is based in Britain, lives in the north of Scotland, and has been a keen naturalist since childhood in London. While birds remain his main interest, close con...Related Trips
This was my 14th Spain tour?and it still brought surprises and new birds. Although this tour is so finely honed now that it would be difficult to improve upon, Alberto, my steadfast Spanish co-leader, and I always rack our brains to tweak the itinerary into something even more productive without excessive travel schedules. While all the sought-after species are nowadays just about guaranteed, and we know precisely when and where we'll find them, there are odd, quirky, and unexpected sightings to keep Alberto and I as keen as ever to run this delightful tour.
During our stay on the Spanish steppes, in the cool dawn redolent with the fragrance of crushed herbs, as the sun cast orange and ochre patterns on the mesas, we stood quietly, listening and looking for the elusive Dupont's Lark. A wonderfully enigmatic "LBJ with attitude," this bird's world range is confined to central Iberia and a small area in northern Africa?and declining all the while as its habitat is destroyed by conversion into unneeded cereal fields. This was the only mandatory early rise of a fairly laid-back tour, because this wistful little lark sings its plaintive song only before and just after dawn. It usually sings from the sparse saltbush cover that is its entire life. We watched with patience, and it eventually made a move, sat atop a 6-inch-high shrub, and gave us that most precious and privileged view before slipping away into obscurity again. Into this hallowed vigil interjected the most bizarre (almost crude) sight and sound, as the throbbing hum of a huge, white Mute Swan flew directly overhead in this waterless semi-desert landscape! Alberto and I were speechless with mirth. The localized, globally threatened, and secretive Dupont's Lark is found virtually every year in this one spot; the swan was our first ever on this tour. Which was the rarer bird?
On the last day of an excellent tour we experienced another of those odd moments that make birding such a fascinating experience. Working our way up through the wetlands of the Ebro Delta, we had stunning views of Little Bitterns, Collared Pratincoles, Pied Avocets, and Slender-billed and Audouin's gulls?all the riches and specialties of this great birding region, and especially exciting for a group of American birders fairly new to Europe. A phone call from what exists of the birding grapevine in Spain alerted us to something technically far more special. We pulled up to a tidal inlet full of glorious breeding-plumaged Curlew Sandpipers and Little Stints, and in their midst was a Wilson's Phalarope?only the second or third record for Spain. I was elated; the group was politely interested to see this virtual "yard bird" somewhere different. Birding is a very personal experience!
In between these extremes were moments that we all agreed were A-1/first-rate/top notch memorable: phenomenal aerial displays from a pair of close Spanish Eagles in Monfrague; a Bonelli's Eagle on its nest; the high Pyrenean picnic with virtually hand tame Alpine Accentors, Ring Ouzels singing around us, and immense wheeling flocks of Yellow-billed Choughs in the air; finally finding good looks at that most special of raptors, the Lammergeier, at a spot where Alberto's colleague (who is studying the species) provides the occasional handout of old bones; the flamboyant pink and black flights of sunlit Greater Flamingos and the equally dazzling Wallcreeper for the hardy few who persisted in that particular quest; the ethereal Barn Owl feeding young in the ancient church tower after we'd found that wonderful Red-necked Nightjar which so beautifully sat on the track in our headlights; and flocks of 35 Great Bustards in flight, gently grouped and feeding, can't be forgotten. All in such wonderfully rich and historic settings, and with time to enjoy both the birds and their environment?how many stops did we make for photos of those unbelievably dense fields of intensely red poppies?