2008 Tour Narrative
In Brief: This year’s “Grand Tour” really did endure the best and the worst of Spanish spring weather, but thankfully even the worst didn’t keep us from enjoying some of Europe’s finest spring birding. To start with, our days in the Pyrenees were on the whole very pleasant, with some prolonged sunny spells during which we enjoyed Lammergeier, several Golden Eagles, Black Woodpecker, Crested Tit, Firecrest, large numbers of Rock Buntings, and Black Redstarts. On one day, though, we left the sun behind and watched Alpine Choughs digging in the snow while more snow fell!
In Detail: The wind had picked up by the time we reached Sepulveda, but we still managed to see Spanish Green Woodpecker, Eurasian Wryneck, Black-eared Wheatear, Western Orphean and Spectacled Warblers, Blue Rock Thrush, and a couple of out-of-place Golden Orioles. And then the unthinkable happened: the sun shone, and for nearly 10 minutes a Dupont’s Lark sat on top of a rock and sang! This was just one of several species of lark seen that day including Calandra and Short-toed. Nearby we saw a flock of Citril Finch with Eurasian Siskin and Common Crossbill.
Extremadura is always a delight, and the wind and rain that we put up with each day there couldn’t dampen our spirits given that we still managed incredible views of Spanish Imperial Eagle, Black-shouldered Kite, Eurasian Eagle Owl with a chick, Great and Little Bustards, noisy parties of Great Spotted Cuckoos, European Rollers, flocks of Montagu’s Harriers, Little Owls, Stone-curlews, Red-legged Partridges, Hoopoes, Black Vultures, and a couple of flocks of Pin-tailed Sandgrouse.
By the time we reached the Coto Doñana, the weather had improved, but water levels were still high. Specialties included Red-knobbed Coot, White-headed Duck (against a carpet of purple flowers), 1,500+ Greater Flamingos, Eurasian Spoonbill, Little Bitterns singing just yards away from our hotel, large flocks of Glossy Ibis, Whiskered Tern, Collared Pratincole, and another distant Spanish Imperial Eagle. Time spent in the various sections of the reserve also gave us great views of Purple Swamphen, Squacco Heron, Iberian Chiffchaff, Azure-winged Magpie, Gull-billed and Black Terns, Savi’s and Great Reed Warblers, more Great Spotted Cuckoos, Marsh Harrier, and Red-crested Pochard.
En route to Tarifa we saw even more Flamingos, Black-necked Grebe, flocks of Slender-billed Gulls, Osprey, Curlew Sandpiper, and a Mediterranean Gull. In addition to all this we watched Little Swifts near a site where some of the few pairs in Europe breed, a real privilege.
Our final surprise on the weather front was the famous Levante wind blowing at Tarifa. This certainly slowed raptor passage, but we did see several Honey Buzzards (our 21st raptor species of the trip) and had exceptional views of more Short-toed and Booted Eagles, another Bonelli’s Eagle, and a Western Bonelli’s Warbler. Brief seawatches produced a handful of Cory’s Shearwaters and a Great Skua leaving the Mediterranean, while Los Lances beach held a single Audouin’s Gull.
All in all another great trip to Spain, and one that even the weather couldn’t spoil.
- James Lidster
Updated: April 2008