Participants: Richard Prior (author), Barry Carter, Adam Bowley, John Dodd, Bob Marchant, Charley Jackson
This mini-trip was aimed at allowing the 6 participants (two of whom had never visited Spain before) a chance to see the rich variety of species and habitats in the Northern part of the country. With our ages ranging from 30's to 60's this was not a scorch around tick hunt, more of an easy paced break. Nevertheless we managed to clock up a total of 154 species, proving that even in mid-summer there's plenty to see.
Travel
We flew Easyjet from Gatwick to Bilbao for around £60 return, early afternoon flight.Bilbao is the natural destination if you wish to visit the Picos or Pyrenees
Car Hire
Was arranged through Wildwings (www.wildwings.co.uk) whose rate of £360 beat all other quotes. At Bilbao airport we collected the vehicle ( a Peugeot 807 people carrier, just big enough for 6 plus luggage) via the Europcar desk, a slick operation that saw us driving away only 30 minutes after arrival.
Literature
We had read a few trip reports on Surfbirds, otherwise we consulted 'Where to watch birds in North and East Spain' (Helm), RP had also visited the Picos 3 times before.
1st July
Heading west along the dual carriageway from Bilbao to our first 'leg stretch' at Santillana del Mar we soon started seeing the raptors typical of this green coastal strip. Buzzards were commonest but we also saw Griffon Vulture, Black Kite, Hobby, Honey Buzzard, Sparrowhawk, Kestrel and Raven. Santillana is a very pretty medieval village surrounded by low hills and dairy fields , home to breeding Hen Harrier, an adult female was a fine sight carrying prey. Fan-tailed, Cettis and Melodious Warblers, plus Red Backed Shrikes, Serin and Cattle Egret made for a productive stop. We soon turned south through the Cares Gorge towards Potes, stopping to admire the dramatic cliffs we were rewarded with a male Blue Rock Thrush and many Crag Martins.
For our two nights in the Picos de Europa mountains we stayed at Hostal Remona in Espinama , just 3.5kms from the cable car station at Fuente De. They did a good half-board deal, though here, as at all the hotels we used, you need some Spanish to get by. We had pre-booked accommodation at each hotel beforehand by fax, e-mail or phone but none of the hotels were full, so this is not essential except perhaps in August or on Spanish national holidays.
2nd July
Fuente De must be one of the easiest accessed places for Alpine Accentor, Snow Finch, Alpine Chough and Rock Thrush, the first three of which were all seen within 500m of the upper cable car station and the fourth further down below Refugio de Alivia.The views of the Liebana valley and the surrounding mountains are fantastic and the walking is easy and gently inclined. We spent most of the day on the tops, gradually descending on a dusty track back to Espinama. As well as the species above, we tried for Wallcreeper which RP had seen twice in three previous visits, but no luck this time. Other species encountered in this upper area were Griffon and Egyptian Vultures, Water Pipit, Northern Wheatear, Black Redstart, Linnet, House Martin, Red-billed and Alpine Choughs and Golden Eagle.
Lunch can be found halfway down the walk at the Refugio de Alivia .Lower down as we started to pass by hay meadows and trees we had Quail, Yellowhammer, Booted Eagle, Honey Buzzard, Jay and Skylark
NB July 2 is probably not the best date of the year to choose to do this long walk as it is the Avila annual festival day and most of the valley's population drive up the dusty track in their 4 x 4's to picnic, we were completely coated in a film of brown dust by the time we got back down to Espinama. Walking boots are recommended as the track is steep and a little unstable. A few butterflies were seen including the impressive Apollo, mammal highlights were four Chamois and some Snow Voles, plus we saw Marbled and Alpine Newts
3rd July
Most of the party had 'socialised' well into the night with the locals celebrating their special day, so it was a rather fragile crew that undertook a pre-breakfast walk around the village, a nice Middle Spotted Woodpecker and a Short-toed Eagle were the highlights, although a stunning male Common Redstart also showed particularly well.
After picking up food etc in Potes we headed south out of the Picos towards Palencia, stopping at the Puerto de Piedrasluengas which gives a great view back at the mountain range. Soon afterwards the landscape turned from green to brown, the first White Storks were seen and the temperature started climbing towards 30 degrees. Good butterflies and some passing Crossbills enlivened our picnic near Guardo as we proceeded to the wetland reserve of Fuentes de Nava just west of Palencia, in what was otherwise a very dry area. It held good numbers of Spanish Wagtails, Tree Sparrows, Marsh and Montagu's Harriers, Purple and Grey Herons plus commoner watery species. A Whinchat proved to be the only one of the trip.
We then struck west to Zamora where we checked into the Hostal del Rey Sancho. That evening we drove east to Toro and south alongside the Duero river.Crossing over a dam near Castronuno we birded the land on the east side of the river until dusk and had numerous Bee- Eaters, Hoopoe, Iberian Magpies, Crested Larks plus one stonking close and three distant Pin-tailed Sandgrouse. A nice 'v' of 30 Cattle Egrets flying towards Zamora in the sunset finished the day in style.
4th July
An early start with fresh orange juice at the 24 hour café beside the hotel and we headed north from Zamora as dawn broke, our destination the Lagunas de Villafafila, a real oasis of wetland in a dusty arable landscape. Very good numbers of breeding Avocet, Black winged Stilts, Gull-billed Terns and Mallard were present, plus a Dunlin, Black tailed Godwits, Redshank, 4 Spoonbill, Little Egret, Greylag, Teal, Yellow legged and Black headed Gulls, Marsh and Montagu's Harriers, Calandra Larks and a Kingfisher ! After a tense 30 minutes during which the rest of the group were beginning to wonder if RP had imagined a distant Great Bustard, a female with young was seen stealthily walking along a field edge.
Thereafter up to 30 more of these enormous creatures were watched in flight and on the ground. The local Mayor drove up and after some animated conversation about local politics which only he really understood he invited to follow his little Renault 5 'off road' to look for more 'bustardos'. We saw a few more, but to everyone's delight we drove right up to a female Little Bustard, which took flight showing the large amount of white in the wing. Things then took a surreal turn as for the next 2 hours or more the Mayor showed us around two of his underground caves, sitting us down for copious amounts of his own wine, bread and chorizo and increasingly raucous conversation !
Then on to the nearby semi-deserted village of Otero on the southern edge of the lagoons, home to a large colony of Lesser Kestrels which allows close views, as did some Rock Sparrows, some showing the sometimes hard to see yellow throat patch. The local Short-toed Eagle with a pale throat was on the same telegraph poles as it had been in 2003, posing for photographs.
With the wine effect kicking in, most of us snoozed our way across country south-east for a few hours towards Sepulveda, a few Southern Grey Shrike and an Iberian Magpie seen en route. Just west of Sepulveda on the road in from Cantalejo we stumbled across a gathering of raptors, including 15 Black Vultures, well north of their nearest breeding area, Red Kite, Booted Eagle and Raven also present.
After checking in at the Hostal Villa de Sepulveda we drove up to the well known track to the Ermita de San Frutos. At 19.00 it was still 34 degrees and Sunday trippers from Madrid were still to-ing and fro-ing. Despite the heat and passing vehicles and lack of birdsong we still managed to locate Thekla Lark,Stone Curlew, Woodchat and Southern Grey Shrikes, Hoopoe and two juvenile Peregrine Falcon tormenting a passing Egyptian Vulture.
5th July
Having agreed a 9.30 breakfast we left at dawn to go back to the 'Lark track'.En route Iberian Magpie and Little Owl and we soon notched up six species of lark, Crested, Thekla, Short-toed, Skylark, Woodlark and Calandra, the lark song was memorable considering the date.
Eventually we heard one or two Dupont's Larks uttering their subdued fluty 'song' and spent an extremely anxious 25 minutes until eventually one perched up showing its distinctive profile, a lifer for five of the group! The quiet and cooler morning encouraged more bird activity, other highlights were very photogenic Black eared Wheatear and Tawny Pipit, Hoopoe, Chough, Red-legged Partridge and an elusive Sardinian Warbler. As others have pointed out in reports, the area off the track is out of bounds and friendly wardens are often present, our experience is that good views of all the birds can be had without leaving the track, Dupont's Lark especially shy if you even get out of your vehicle. At the end of the track is a car park and more open accessible terrain to the gorge edges with its raptors and views.
Sepulveda itself is a stunning hilltop town 100kms north of Madrid with the river gorge curling around it, and dry gorges on its northern edge. These were also productive for us, with Rock Bunting, Rock Sparrow, Golden Oriole, Grey Wagtail and a juvenile Rock Thrush.
Heading north from Sepulveda through the villages of Uruenas and Navares we paused by a riverside wood where Bonelli's Warblers were easy to hear and see, plus Golden Oriole, Wryneck and Nightingale. Northern Wheatears were particularly common in this area as well.
Motorway driving up to Burgos, across to Vittoria and Pamplona brought us in to the Pyrenees region, Red Kites clearly have a stronghold in the area as they outnumbered Buzzards en route.
Time constraints meant our visit to the rock pillars at Riglos, northern outpost of Black Wheatear, was shorter than ideal. Taking a wrong turn as we walked up took us to an inaccessible part of the cliff base and we 'dipped' on the 'dark one'. A few 'trip ticks' were added though, namely Alpine Swift, Cirl Bunting and Rock Dove. Blue Rock Thrush was present, plus nesting Kestrel and Peregrine. No sign of Lammergeier.
We were staying well up the Hecho valley at Siresa, in the Hotel Castillio D'Acher which at 36 Euros per person half board was good value, especially considering the quality and quantity of the food! Obviously if one was staying a week in the region a hotel down in or near Jaca would be a better base, but with only 2 nights left, Siresa, being well up the valley, allowed us short drives to our target sites.
6th July
In the valley Red Backed Shrikes and Cirl Buntings were common, and Dippers and very high densities of Grey Wagtails had bred along the river. Just 20 minutes from the hotel saw us at the Gabardito refuge, with Coal and Crested Tits all around and fly over Citril Finches.
Following the track as described by James Walsh and group in their May 2003 report we climbed up through the trees and final zig-zags to the concave cliff where immediately a Wallcreeper flew out of a cleft in the rock and onto the cliff face. Both male and female were on view at times as they collected food. Woodpeckers calling from below were finally confirmed as Green (despite some wishful thinking!), the views down the valley and across to distant peaks were superb, as were some of the raptors on show, a huge Goshawk, Booted and Short-toed Eagles, Griffon and Egyptian Vultures, Sparrowhawk and Kestrel. No sign of Lammergeier.
Sadly the rain now set in and spoilt our afternoon trip up the Anso valley, which looked really interesting where the gorge opens out at the top and becomes alpine pasture and broken woodland. A few raptors were seen in showery stops by the road. No sign of Lammergeier.
7th July
We had debated whether to try Riglos again en route to Bilbao and our flight home, but as no Lammergeiers had yet shown themselves we decided to do a last attempt pre-breakfast jaunt to the top of the Hecho valley. It was cloudy, windy and cool, but the rain had stopped as we dodged the rock falls and tree debris from the rain overnight, eventually the valley opened out just as the Anso valley does. Spirits were sinking as the clock ticked on towards departure, when gliding down around the hillside right in front of us came an immature Lammergeier, quite agile for such a large bird. High fives all round as finally everyone had had a new bird on the trip, back to the hotel for a big breakfast. Common Sandpiper, Bullfinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Goshawk and Dippers were also seen, plus a Red Squirrel.
Leaving Hecho at 11.30 we had time for a final stop south east of Bilbao in the Urquiola National Park for more Bonelli's Warblers and Crested Tits, arriving at Bilbao before 15.00.
Conclusions
Considering the time of year we achieved a creditable 154 species, including 20 species of raptor. A little more research might have given us Black Wheatear and perhaps Black Woodpecker, however 2035 kms in 6 days is enough travelling, everyone saw new birds and great scenery, plus getting a feel for the real Spain off the normal tourist trail.
Bird list
Great-crested Grebe
Little Grebe
(Great) Cormorant
Grey Heron
Purple Heron
Little Egret
Cattle Egret
White Stork
(Eurasian) Spoonbill
Greylag Goose
Shelduck
(Eurasian) Teal
Mallard
(Western) Honey Buzzard
Black Kite
Red Kite
Lammergeier
Egyptian Vulture
European Black Vulture
Eurasian Griffon
Short-toed Eagle
Hen Harrier
Montagu's Harrier
(Western) Marsh Harrier
(Eurasian) Sparrowhawk
(Northern) Goshawk
(Common) Buzzard
Golden Eagle
Booted Eagle
Lesser Kestrel
(Common) Kestrel
Hobby
Peregrine
Red-legged Partridge
(Common) Quail
(Common) Moorhen
(Common) Coot
Great Bustard
Little Bustard
Black-winged Stilt
(Pied) Avocet
Stone-Curlew
(Northern) Lapwing
Little Ringed Plover
Black-tailed Godwit
(Common) Redshank
Common Sandpiper
Dunlin
Yellow-legged Gull
Black-headed Gull
Gull-billed Tern
Pin-tailed Sandgrouse
Rock Dove
(Feral Dove)
Woodpigeon
(Eurasian) Collared Dove
(Eurasian) Cuckoo
Little Owl
Alpine Swift
(Common) Swift
(Common) Kingfisher
(European) Bee-eater
(Eurasian) Hoopoe
Wryneck
Middle-spotted Woodpecker
Great-spotted Woodpecker
Green Woodpecker
Calandra Lark
(Greater) Short-toed Lark
Dupont's Lark
Crested Lark
Thekla Lark
Woodlark
Skylark
Sand Martin
Crag Martin
(Barn) Swallow
House Martin
White Wagtail
Spanish Wagtail
Tawny Pipit
Tree Pipit
Meadow Pipit
Water Pipit
Goldcrest
Firecrest
(Black-bellied) Dipper
(Winter) Wren
Alpine Accentor
Dunnock
(Rufous-tailed) Rock Thrush
Blue Rock Thrush
(Eurasian) Blackbird
Song Thrush
Mistle Thrush
Zitting Cisticola
Cetti's Warbler
(Eurasian) Reed Warbler
Melodious Warbler
Willow Warbler
(Common) Chiffchaff
Western Bonelli's Warbler
Blackcap
Garden Warbler
(Common) Whitethroat
Sardinian Warbler
Spotted Flycatcher
(European) Robin
(Common) Nightingale
Black Redstart
(Common) Redstart
Whinchat
(Common) Stonechat
Northern Wheatear
Black-eared Wheatear
Long-tailed Tit
Coal Tit
Crested Tit
Marsh Tit
Great Tit
Blue Tit
(Eurasian) Nuthatch
Wallcreeper
(Eurasian) Treecreeper
(Eurasian) Golden Oriole
Red-backed Shrike
Southern Grey Shrike
Woodchat
(Eurasian) Jay
Iberian Magpie
(Black-billed) Magpie
(Red-billed) Chough
Alpine Chough
(Eurasian) Jackdaw
Carrion Crow
(Common) Raven
Spotless Starling
House Sparrow
Tree Sparrow
Rock Sparrow
(White-winged) Snowfinch
Chaffinch
(Common) Crossbill
(European) Greenfinch
(European) Goldfinch
(Eurasian) Linnet
(European) Serin
Citril Finch
(Eurasian) Bullfinch
Yellowhammer
Cirl Bunting
Rock Bunting
Corn Bunting
Grey Wagtail
