Spring Birding in Spain April 26–May 13, 2018
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SPRING BIRDING IN SPAIN APRIL 26–MAY 13, 2018 European Bee-eater © Brian Gibbons LEADERS: SANTIAGO VILLA & BRIAN GIBBONS LIST COMPILED BY: BRIAN GIBBONS VICTOR EMANUEL NATURE TOURS, INC. 2525 WALLINGWOOD DRIVE, SUITE 1003 AUSTIN, TEXAS 78746 WWW.VENTBIRD.COM Greater Flamingo at Doñana National Park © Brian Gibbons Victor Emanuel Nature Tours 2 Spring Birding in Spain, 2018 SPRING BIRDING IN SPAIN APRIL 26–MAY 13, 2018 By Brian Gibbons Spain was wonderful this spring, as always. Wine, amazing food, charming villages, stunning mountain scenery, and a few birds made for an excellent trip through this rich country. Starting in the famed marshes of Doñana, we wound our way north, east, and finally southwest through this diverse country ascending mountains, birding coastal marshes, and birding the dry steppe, home to bustards and larks. Finally, we ended in Madrid with our minds full of wonderful experiences and our checklists burgeoning with newly discovered species. Each day held Picos de Europa were the second of three ranges we visited © Brian Gibbons surprises, but there were a few constants: screeching Common Swifts streaking overhead and diving into cracks of ancient stone buildings; stately White Storks and their precarious nests on glorious church steeples; the call of the cuckoo; and Black Kites wheeling effortlessly overhead through gorgeous countryside. The marshes, fields, and woodlands of Doñana held our first lifers. Booted Eagles overhead, White-headed Ducks with young patrolling the pond, Red-crested and Common pochards cruising by, and the furtive Little Bittern that revealed itself for a moment were all tallied on our first morning. After our first of many delicious lunches we sought the rare Marbled Teal; inching along the dike we scanned the reeds for our quarry. Eventually a cooperative pair was found, and we enjoyed great looks at this rare bird. The Bonanza salt works produced many firsts too; Greater Flamingoes vied for our attention while flocks of sandpipers and plovers wheeled past, only to disappear into a distant pond. We worked through this bounty to find some great birds; Bar-tailed Godwit, Slender-billed Gull, Red-necked Phalarope, Little Stint, Kentish Plover, and Curlew Sandpiper were just some of the great birds that we discovered in the salt ponds. Eventually we made it to our lodge for our first wonderful evening meal together. Exhausted after our first birding day, we dined and crashed to do it again the next day. The extensive freshwater marshes of Doñana were productive on our second day as well. Purple Herons, Eurasian Spoonbills, Great Crested Grebes, Western Swamphens, Whiskered Terns, Collared Pratincoles, an amazing Red-necked Nightjar perched on a fence post, and Great Reed Warblers blasting their coarse songs over the marsh all made our day full of wonderful sightings. The next morning, we birded the woodlands of Doñana to find some of the great birds that call the cork oak dehesa and umbrella pine forests home. Near the Acebron Palace we found Victor Emanuel Nature Tours 3 Spring Birding in Spain, 2018 Common Nightingale, the legendary singer of writers for centuries, and the Melodious Warbler, neither a stunner, but their famous voices carried them. Iberian Chiffchaff, Eurasian Wren, a nice White Stork strolling © Brian Gibbons Great Spotted Cuckoo, and a horde of Common House-Martins all put in appearances for us, but the Eurasian Wrynecks were a bit shy that morning. European Bee-eaters were seen daily, and we always delighted in the sightings; their behavior is a cross between kingbirds and swallows, kingbird-like when perched and graceful yet powerful fliers. Our time waning in the south, we had to make our way north to Extremadura and Monfragüe National Park. The open steppe and woodlands of the park held many new experiences for us. We stayed in Trujillo, birthplace of Pizzaro. On our first morning in Extremadura we went into Monfragüe to seek the raptors that make this park so famous. The first stop at Salto del Gitano hosted dozens of massive Eurasian Griffons waiting for the morning thermals to cue their mass departure to the fields near and far in search of their favorite meal. Cinereous Vultures were around too, always in smaller numbers, as they are solitary nesters in the nearby woodlands. Near the river below, a Black Stork dutifully incubated eggs on its cliffside nest. Eurasian Crag- Martins, Red-rumped Swallows, Blue Rock-Thrush, Rock Bunting, and Black Redstarts all tried to distract us from the liftoff overhead. The next raptor spectacle in the park was at Portilla del Tietar. Like the last outcrop, Eurasian Griffons predominated, but there were a few Black Storks flying around trying to take us from our mission. Nearby, the Spanish Eagle had a nest, and we knew one would eventually fly over; one did, but it was high and not satisfying for such a great Victor Emanuel Nature Tours 4 Spring Birding in Spain, 2018 bird, so we continued our wait. Black Kites, Short-toed Snake-Eagles, and Red-rumped Swallows kept us entertained. Eventually the Spanish Eagle cruised out of the nearby woodland carrying an oak branch to refurbish its nest, first in its foot, then in its bill. It circled overhead and eventually left, but not until everyone had good views of this rare Iberian endemic. In a nearby cork oak dehesa, we scoped a nice Western Orphean Warbler and got our first looks at Eurasian Nuthatch. The next morning, in the wide open space of the Caceres Plains, we quickly found displaying Great Bustards, three males strutting back and forth in half-hearted display; eventually one turned its wings inside out, tail up and head back, to disappear in its bizarre “foam bath” display. Calandra, Crested, Thekla, and Greater Short-toed larks all sang around us while we enjoyed the bustards. We did finally catch up with a very distant Little Bustard; sadly, these birds are rapidly disappearing from the countryside. Down the road we searched for European Rollers and found several where they occupy nest boxes originally placed for kestrels. Also in these boxes were a few kestrels, jackdaws, and a couple of Little Owls. After a great lunch in the bustling square of Trujillo, we had a short break before heading out for an European Bee-eaters were one of the most stunning evening outing to try to track down better birds we saw © Brian Gibbons looks at the Sandgrouse, which before lunch were moving blobs in the heat haze. Corn Buntings buzzed throughout the evening, and eventually we refound the sandgrouse right where we had left them; now, with better light, we were able to discern more than twenty of the larger Black-bellied Sandgrouse and a couple of pairs of the Pin-tailed Sandgrouse still distant, but at least this evening we could identify them! We returned to Trujillo for another fantastic meal lubricated by a wonderful Spanish wine. Our final day in Extremadura still had many birds for us. We sought the great warblers in a scrubby mesa. We had good looks at both Dartford and Spectacled warblers, two handsome warblers in contrast to most of the Old World warblers. In the charming town square of Jaraicejo we had the sublime luck to see a Pallid Swift swoop into its nest hollow on the façade of a sixteenth century church. We were able to scope this bird and see the finer details of its plumage that distinguish it from the ubiquitous Common Swift; it’s not often one gets to study perched swifts. Next up was Arrocampo Reservoir, where we reacquainted ourselves with some old Victor Emanuel Nature Tours 5 Spring Birding in Spain, 2018 friends of the marshes down south. One new addition was the grasshopper-like buzzing song of the Savi’s Warbler; we even saw this critter a few times lurking in the cattails surrounding the lake. Our next destination would be the scenic mountains of Gredos which, as we approached, still had a great deal of snow at the higher elevations. Indeed, the next morning we walked through a little snow on our way up the old Roman road to the alpine habitat favored by our quarry, the charming Bluethroat. Interrupting us along the hike up were Dunnocks, Rufous-tailed Rock-Thrush, Northern Wheatears, Ortolan Buntings, and Eurasian Skylarks. Around the patches of broom the Bluethroats prefer, there was still plenty of snow, but the birds were there— singing, chasing, and conspiring to get the best territory for the arrival of the females. We had at least four males duking it out. On the rocky outcrops surrounding us, the Ibex Bluethroat male © Brian Gibbons relaxed in their alpine playground. In the afternoon we found the local breeding European Pied Flycatchers of the iberiae race and a pair of Citril Finches building a nest. Alfonso’s food is worth mentioning; we dined very well on our two nights in Gredos. After a great couple of days in Gredos we headed to the Parador de Cervera and its spectacular surroundings of Fuentes Carriones Natural Park. The oak woodlands around the Parador produced a few new birds for us including Western Bonelli’s Warbler, Eurasian Green Woodpecker (in flight), Marsh Tit, and Wood Lark. We eventually caught up with a target bird at an overlook featuring distant views of the Parador. A striking male Eurasian Bullfinch was very confiding with a little encouragement from Santi—what a bird! Also in the area were some Crested Tits, Firecrest, and a Blackcap and Whitethroat that wouldn’t stop chasing. From Peidrasleungas Pass we could see our next destination, the snow-capped picturesque Picos de Europa. The new green of just-opened beech leaves on the slopes below us provided a wonderful contrast to the stark mountain scenery.