v The magic of dawn on the steppes of Belchite, with singing Dupont´s Larks at close range and flights of Black-bellied Sandgrouse , and nearby our best ever views of Bonelli´s Eagle.
v Enjoying close views of a pair of Penduline Tits in the Ebro valley.
v The atmospheric dusk vigils for Eagle Owl (three birds seeing- we thought we would be lucky to find one!)
v Watching majestic Lammergeier patrolling the sheer cliffs with excellent views of a perched adult at Vadiello near Loporzano.
v Searching for beautiful Wallcreepers in the Guara range (four birds seen, including some incredible close encounters).
v Defying vertigo on a narrow ledge high on the face of Salto del Roldan for brilliant views of Alpine Accentors.
v Studying a remarkably confiding pair of Citril Finches (almost too close for binoculars!) in the tranquillity of San Juan de la Peña.
v The thrill of finally tracking down a group of five Snow Finches after climbing through the snow in the grandeur of the high Pyrenees, with Alpine Choughs calling overhead.
v And, of course, raptors everywhere - kites, vultures, harriers, buzzards, eagles, falcons.
It was the third day of our February holiday in Northern Spain; and the sun was setting behind us as Marjorie,Brian, Josele (our guide and host), and I peered at the low cliffs facing us. We had been here two evenings earlier trying to see an eagle owl that might roost in one of the small caves or ]edges. In one there had been a shadowy figure that looked like an owl but after it had remained motionless for half an hour we had decided it must be a rock. In another small cave we had seen what looked like a dead cat which suggested an eagle owl might be about. Later as it had got dark we had gone above the cliffs, an eagle owl had called below us and Brian had thought he had seen a large shape glide away below and to our right but though we waited we neither heard nor saw anything else. Now we were trying again. There had been a pair in this area but the female had been killed in a road accident the previous autumn. But what would we find now ? Finally the sun set and we were left in the gloaming; within moments we heard a deep hoot and a huge shape appeared from one of the small caves, flew to the left along the face of the cliff, rose and disappeared over it. Josele had shown us our first eagle owl and this would have been a very satisfactory view in its own right, but there was more yet! The owl's deep call was heard several times more from behind the cliff. Then further away to our left another call was heard; this was similar but higher pitched, then a huge owl appeared and alighted on a rock facing us, its long ears were plainly visible against the evening sky. It called again, its higher pitched call indicating it was a female. Then the first owl reappeared from behind the cliff, mounted the female and after a few seconds slipped away and out of our view. The female remained motionless on the rock for several minutes, then as the light faded almost to nothing she moved and was gone.
(Brian Bottomley, Marjorie and 1 flew by Easyjet from Liverpool to Barcelona from where we continued by train and stayed for a week (Feb 25th March 4th)at Boletas Birdwatching Centre where our guide was Josele Saiz.
Neil Hutchin / From West Cumbria Members´Group "NEWS LETTER"
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Flyways and Byways— June 21, 2007
Richmond Times-Dispatch by Jerry Uhlman
Spring in central Virginia is an exciting time for birdwatchers, when our backyards are filled with exuberant early morning singing and turf-defending aerial acrobatics. Bright, splashy migratory songbirds drop into our neighborhoods and parks to feed and rest briefly on their journeys along the Atlantic flyway to northern breeding grounds. For birders, it's the best time of the year!
So, it was with some ambivalence that I headed to Spain in early May for a birding adventure with Josele Saiz of the Boletas Birdwatching Centre in Loporzano, Huesca , Spain . Along with eight other birding enthusiasts, Saiz guided our exploration the Monfrague National Park west of Madrid , the high Pyrenees shared with neighboring France and the Ebro Delta near Barcelona , one of the remaining wetland sanctuaries along the Mediterranean coast.
Instead of our brightly colored North American migratory warblers, we discovered European bee-eaters and European rollers, two of many spectacular species that were passing through the Spanish steppes on their way from northern Africa to breeding grounds in Western Europe .
A rainy spring brought out a profusion of wildflowers and the landscape throughout the countryside was a vast carpet of scarlet poppies and clover. While searching for wallcreepers in the Pyrenees , a highly prized species among European birders, our trails meandered through wild narcissus, corydalis, rare gentians, miniature primroses and purple daphne blossoms. Lungwort sprouted among the mossy boulders not far from melting snowpacks.
Monfrague National Park and the Tajo River valley give birders opportunities to find many raptor and forest species, and tour guide Saiz expertly pointed out nearly a dozen species of vultures, eagles and kites. On our trek through the plains, white storks were busy building stick-nests on barn roofs, church turrets and electrical towers. Some early breeding couples were feeding gangly chicks that teetered precariously atop the huge nests.
Early morning walks were punctuated with the calls of Eurasian cuckoos, calls that sounded just like familiar cuckoo clocks, and by the rapid-fire “who, who, who” of common hoopoes, a strange-looking species with a long down-curved bill and a row of black-tipped feathers the length of its head.
Saiz, our jovial and patient birding guide, worked each day to help us identify the many raptors that we encountered in the steppes and mountains, but, alas, only the most avid had much luck deciphering vultures from bustards, eagles from kites. But, it was a thrill each time we saw a Spanish imperial eagle or lammergeier soar overhead flashing chestnut colors or white facemasks.
Between birding sites, Saiz introduced us to the village of Belchite , destroyed during repeated skirmishes of the Spanish Civil War. The sacked village was abandoned and the survivors rebuilt new homes at the edge of the ruins. Walking the narrow, twisting streets through the gutted village conjured up images from Earnest Hemmingway's writings.
Likewise, visiting Alquezar, the ancient fortress built atop a rocky outcrop to resist Moorish occupation, evokes an image of a medieval village that would have required horrendous physical labor to build and be impenetrable when finished. Saiz used this lofty site to further our raptor education, with no better success.
Lastly, we headed to the Ebro Delta, a treasure-trove of lagoons and cultivated fields filled with waders and assorted waterbirds. The delta is a farming community of rectangular water-filled rice paddies sprinkled with farmers' stone houses at the corners, and tiny commercial villages along the dikes that separate rice fields. Birdlife on the delta was rich and diverse, including water warblers as well as waders and shorebirds. Undoubtedly, the most unusual species was collared pratincole, a bird with a thin brown collar across its throat from eye to eye that looks like a cross between a tern and shorebird.
During our birding adventure in Spain , Saiz introduced us to 196 species either passing through or residing in the country, of which 105 were new to me.
Luckily, after returning to Richmond , I was greeted by a blackpoll warbler in my front yard, a sign that migration was still underway at home.
(For birding tours available through the Boletas Birdwatching Centre, visit www.boletas.org)
* * * You're cordially invited to join The Richmond Audubon Society for meetings and field trips throughout the year. Information is available from the Society at POB 804, Richmond 23207-0804, by telephone at 804-257-0813 or on the internet at: www.richmo n daudubon.org.
Flyways and Byways is a regular birding column that appears on the third Thursday of each month. Send questions or comments to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, P.O. Box 85333 , Richmond , VA 23293 , or email me at flyways@erols.com.
© 2007 Jerry Uhlman. All rights reserved.
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