Part Four - Birder in a Camper van - James Dee fb.com/campervanbirder Birder in a camper van - European Tour – Part Four France 3 On the 11th November I took a ferry back to France. The only sighting of interest from the ferry was a single Great Skua. Shooting season was well underway in France so some sites where I had previously seen numerous species had turned up very little to see apart from dead ducks. The most notable sighting on the way south was a Black Woodpecker that flew across the road in front of me about 22km North of Angoulême. An unexpected van tick! On the 14th November, I arrived at Reserve Ornithologique du Teich thirty kilometres SW of Bordeaux, the best spots I’ve visited in France to date. Over a seven and a half hour period I managed to record 68 species. The highlights were a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, 12 Night Herons, an Osprey, 7 Kingfisher, 3 Little Stint, 2 Firecrest, 10 Water Rail, 2000 Brent Geese, 13 Great White Egret, 7 migrating Redwing, and a Tawny Owl hooting as early as 1700. Coypu At high tide, 82 Spoonbill, 1200 Curlews, 200 Black-tailed Godwit and 600 Dunlin came off the mudflats to roost in front of hide 16. 1 Part Four - Birder in a Camper van - James Dee fb.com/campervanbirder Spoonbills Over the next ten days I stayed in a house near Viella, Occitanie, looking after some cats and dogs. The most noteworthy sighting during the stay was a ringtail Hen Harrier weaving through the landscape at dusk one evening. Also of interest: 180 Common Crane heading South overhead. Woodcock and numerous garden birds were present amongst the attached wood, whilst close by, along the fringes of the patchwork vineyards, winter thrushes scavenged. Beyond that, in a shallow valley, up to 3000 Woodpigeons dominated. Common Cranes 2 Part Four - Birder in a Camper van - James Dee fb.com/campervanbirder Spain 22nd November En route to the Spanish border, at least fifteen bright and healthy looking Red Kites floated across the greenist of landscapes. Across the border near Canfranc, a fleeting view of a Dipper hurtling up river. Van tick! Heading South-west I began to see species such as; Griffon Vulture, Zitting Cisticola, Cirl Bunting, Crag Martin, Sardinian Warbler, Spotless Starling and Red-Billed Chough. Because of the incessant rain I altered my intended route from Galicia and Northern Portugal to a more Southerly latitude. With a few weeks of continuous rain forecast, (and with a fair amount already endured) I decided to seek out brighter weather. Being ‘vanbound’ in wet weather can be miserable, but weeks of it is intolerable. Zitting Cisticola 24th November The first interesting area I arrived at during this latest visit to Spain, and where, incidentally, it wasn’t raining, was Bardenas Reales. After a significant amount of time searching I was pleased to come across 70 Pin-Tailed Sandgrouse, and seven Black-bellied Sandgrouse. Also here was a lovely male Hen Harrier, 150 Calandra Lark, several Rock Sparrow, a number of Dartford Warbler, a Hoopoe and one Lesser Short-toed Lark. Ten White Stork heading South were the first of many that lay ahead of me as I joined them in heading South. 3 Part Four - Birder in a Camper van - James Dee fb.com/campervanbirder Dartford Warbler I had the reserve at Embalse de las Canas in Navarra all to myself, recording 53 species. A low pass by a Golden Eagle was exciting, as was my second male Hen Harrier in a matter of days. Also here, 100 White Storks, with somewhere between 20 and 50 Marsh Harriers coming to roost in the reeds. I had difficulty accurately counting them with all the back and forth flights they do before settling down for the night. A very large Magpie roost numbering several hundred birds often distracted me from my duty. Also present: a handful of Serins and Cirl Bunting. On the 26th November I noted the first Iberian Grey Shrike of the trip, but after this, they would became a regular feature when encountering suitable habitat. 4 Part Four - Birder in a Camper van - James Dee fb.com/campervanbirder Iberian Shrike The next day at Laguna de le Nava de Fuentes, in windy conditions, I encountered my first Great Bustards from my van having missed them in Hungary. A total of 55 counted with over 80 the following day alongside roads to the North of Villafafila. Red Kites were notably common to such an extent I stopped noticing them, but there were at least thirty seen in an hour at one point. Great Bustard 5 Part Four - Birder in a Camper van - James Dee fb.com/campervanbirder A Ring-necked Duck on the 28th was a bonus bird (van tick!), which only required a very small detour. I passed into Monfrague NP on the 29th November and it didn’t take long to see a couple of Black Vulture perched on the rocks above the roads. I logged nine more that day, but the highlight was a new bird for the van, a Spanish Imperial Eagle. 50 Iberian Magpies entertained nosily during a lunch break although they had no interest in treats or buying Birder in a Campervan souvenirs. Five Hawfinch and four Blue Rock Thrush added further interest. I estimated somewhere in the region of 400 Griffon Vultures. Black Vulture Blue Rock Thrush 6 Part Four - Birder in a Camper van - James Dee fb.com/campervanbirder 30th November Near Cacares, Extremadura, I searched unsuccessfully for Little Bustard but encountered; eight Hoopoes, 10 Iberian Shrikes, 50+ Great Bustards, a Spanish Imperial Eagle, 250 Spanish Sparrows, 30 Pin-tailed Sandgrouse, 25 Black- bellied Sandgrouse, 100+ Iberian Magpies, four Common Crane, plus Calandra and Thekla Lark. Greater Flamingo 2nd December Amongst the paddy fields NW of Isla Major, on the edge of Donana National Park, water birds gather in abundance. Greater Flamingoes and Black Storks, Glossy Ibis and Black-winged Stilts all prove fascinating, but even more appreciated was another van tick: up to five wintering Black-Winged Kites. I had a look for the recently seen Lesser Flamingo amongst their larger cousins but no joy. That would have been a van tick extraordinaire. A Jack Russell type dog yapping and chasing an Iberian Lynx along on the edge of an orange grove was one of those rare moments that’ll never to be repeated. A duo of larger canines noisily supported their little buddy from behind a fence, but their presence must have been enough to deter the Lynx, and it instantly disappeared. I waited and watched until ark but it didn’t show itself again. 7 Part Four - Birder in a Camper van - James Dee fb.com/campervanbirder 5+ kilometres from my sighting Black Storks wintering in Donana NP 8 Part Four - Birder in a Camper van - James Dee fb.com/campervanbirder Portugal I spent about a week exploring the Algarve all the way from the Spanish border to Cabo de São Vicente at Europe’s most south-westerly point in weather akin to June in England. I failed to find a Little Bustard in the appropriate habitat but did see another male Hen Harrier. I seem to have seen this species in every country apart from England and Scotland. Booted Eagles and Ospreys can be seen regularly at many sites along the coast, as can Greater Flamingos, Caspian Terns as can the much less common Slender-billed Gull. Waders of several species such as Grey Plover, Little Stint and Kentish Plover are widespread as are Bluethroats. One of my favourite of the winter visitors, Ring Ouzels are few and far between, so each sighting was a highlight. Slender-billed Gull When I located a Brent Goose at Faro Beach, a handful of local twitchers tuned in. 7th December My next Portuguese rarity find was just a few days later: a Fieldfare amongst the orchards of villas on the Eastern side of Ria de Alvor estuary and marshes. During a one-kilometre walk on the marshes there, before the first day visitors arrived, I counted nine Blutethroats with at least 80 Chiffchaffs also present. The latter were absolutely everywhere along the entire Algarve coast. A number of Dutch ringed Spoonbills were also present here. 9 Part Four - Birder in a Camper van - James Dee fb.com/campervanbirder Andalusia, Spain On the 9th December I arrived back in Spain heading directly to El Pantano where Laughing Doves have often been seen. Another unlikely van tick if I could manage to locate one, but it wasn’t to be. They returned a few days later of course. But as a consolation, White-headed Duck was added to that van list that evening. Also in this area south of Seville were: 100+ Red-crested Pochard and 23 Night Heron. Whilst failing to find Marbled Duck at Laguna de Medina the second Golden Eagle of the trip passed overhead. 13 Black-necked Grebes were presents amongst White- headed Ducks and other wildfowl. A Squacco Heron at La Janda at dusk on the 10th December was to be a rare sighting of this species for me, this trip and my first and only one to date at La Janda. The next morning, an unseasonal surprise when an adult male Montagu’s Harrier flew south along the main canal, as 270 over-wintering Common Cranes fed nearby. Also that day: 38 Spoonbills, two ringtail Hen Harrier, up to five Black-winged Kites, 30 Western Swamphens, one Osprey, 20 Waxbills and a Bluethroat. A visit to Barbate Marshes on the 12th turned up a minimum of 40 Stone Curlew and 20 Audouin’s Gulls.