16^th to 26^th August 2003

Author; David Lee, South East Essex RSPB Members Group

?Introduction

This was my second attempt at a birding holiday (see Danube Delta and Carpathians report 2002 for my first). I went mainly to see bird life at the other end of Europe. Ive listed birds in the order I saw them each day and Ive only included the birds I saw personally.

The Trip?

Saturday 16th

The trip began at Portsmouth Ferry terminal where we were all to meet before boarding the P&O ferry Pride of Bilbao for our cruise down the English channel and across the Bay of Biscay to Bilbao in northern Spain. I arrived with three and three quarter hours before sailing (as I had allowed for any delays but got straight through). Soon after arriving I was greeted with Hello Dave from Mark Bridges (the warden of Two Tree Island Nature Reserve) who was travelling on the same voyage with his wife Marylyn. They were with another company and were doing a round ferry trip to see to birds and cetaceans along the way, with only four hours between arriving and departing from Bilbao!

Eventually we were gathered by our leaders, Matt and Peter, and lined up to be guided though the security zone before boarding shuttle buses to the ferry. On board we collected our cabin keys (two people per cabin) and having left our luggage in the cabin we met our two leaders at the main reception for a quick tour of the boat before having our evening meal as the ferry sailed out of Portsmouth harbour at around 20:30. After the meal there was a short time to go on deck before bedtime.

Sunday 17^th?

An early 6:00 wake up brought several of us on to the top deck where there was a magnificent view in all directions except forward, where the bridge interrupted to view. Even then there were plenty of windows so we could get a somewhat distorted view ahead. We were heading down the western English Channel before turning south round France. The only birds on view were Greater Black-backed Gull, Gannet and Fulmar. After breakfast the fog rolled in so we went to a lecture about the whales in the Bay of Biscay and when we emerged at 11:15 the visibility had improved a lot. Except for a lunch break we stayed on deck until 19:30. As we steamed south we saw Storm Petrel, Great Skua and Sooty Shearwater out to sea and a Pied Flycatcher, Reed Warbler, Icterine Warbler and Collared Dove on or around the boat. The Reed Warbler was particularly easy to see as it roosted under one of the lifeboats.

While looking for birds we were also entertained by cetaceans. P&O work with a group surveying whales and dolphins in the Bay and one of their number was on the bridge announcing any sightings to those outside. We saw Minke Whale, Bottle-nosed Dolphin, Pilot Whale, Fin Whale, Striped Dolphin and Tobe Shark. The Fin Whales were particularly impressive. They are the second largest whale and are usually spotted as they blow a column of spray and then roll exposing the fin on their rear back.

After 19:30 it was getting dark so we had a meal and then met to discuss the days sightings before bed.

Monday 18^th?

An early 5:20 wake up to have breakfast before docking gave us our first sight of the Spanish coast. As we entered the harbour and docked at 7:00 at the port of Santurzi where we saw Yellow-legged Gull all over the warehouses, together with a Wheatear. ?

Having disembarked we went for a short walk while our leaders went for provisions seeing only House Sparrow and Feral Pigeon. Our two minibuses arrived at 9:45 (Spanish time one hour ahead of Britain) and having stacked the luggage in the back we set off west, along the coast, and before turning south into the mountains. Along the way we spotted Buzzard, Black Kite, White Stork, Carrion Crow and White Wagtail. A lunch stop was arranged at a restaurant on the outskirts of Poles where we saw a Booted Eagle soaring effortlessly over the hills.

Suitably refreshed with some excellent Spanish fare we set off west to climb the road up into the Picos de Europa mountains for our first hotel in Espinama. Along the way we took a track off the main road to climb up to a small village from which we had a walk through alpine meadows. On the walk we spotted Chough, Short-toed Eagle, Barn Swallow, House Martin, Blackbird, Stonechat, Raven, Honey Buzzard (which obliged us with excellent views of its wing clamping display flight), Nuthatch, Booted Eagle, Griffon Vulture, Sparrowhawk, Serin and a juvenile Red-backed Shrike.

Having arrived at our pleasant hotel in Espinama several of us relaxed outside with a beer while we saw many Crag Martin and a Black Redstart before our evening meal.

Tuesday 19^th?

Starting at 7:00 I had a walk round the village before breakfast sighting House sparrow, Crag Martin, White Wagtail, Spotted Flycatcher, Robin, Great Tit, Grey Wagtail and Black Redstart.

At 9:30 we then were driven about 5km up the valley to Fuente De where we caught a cable car up to the top of the mountains. While waiting for our turn in the cable car we saw Chaffinch, House Martin, Jay and Firecrest. The top gave us magnificent views in sunny weather where we saw Griffon Vulture and Egyptian Vulture effortlessly soaring over the mountain tops. We then had to walk the trail which led round the mountains before slowly descending to Espinama bring us back to the main road right next to our hotel.

At the top we saw Alpine Accentor, Alpine Chough and Black Redstart before a detour for lunch to try to see Wallcreeper but no luck. After lunch the cloud began to build up as we began our long decent seeing many more of the vultures along the way. An afternoon stop at a restaurant situated well above the tree line brought us a juvenile Rock Thrush and a pair of Lesser Kestrel. Descending further brought us Water Pipit, Wheatear, Whinchat and Tree Pipit before we got to the tree line and a short shower as we walked down the fairly steep, up to 1 in 4, winding track back to our hotel. This last section was particularly painful on tired feet as the feet were pushed to wards the toes of the shoes. I arrived at 18:30 but some of group, who had been stopping to examine alpine flowers, got really close views of a Pine Marten as it feasted on a tree of young plums, only about 5m from them as they neared the village at 19:00.

Wednesday 20^th?

An early start at 7:00, with a cloudy sky, took four of us up the beginnings of the track we had descended yesterday. It was still fairly dark but we managed to see a Buzzard. Two of our party had seen the Pine Marten the previous day and showed us the tree. While they stayed I walked on only to be quickly called back to see the Pine Marten back in business. He was surprisingly agile on the thin branches and seemed to inspect each fruit carefully before picking one and moving to a sturdy, horizontal branch to eat it before setting out again for the next treat. Eventually he disappeared into the tiny streambed between us and the tree. Waking back to the village brought us Wren, Spotted Flycatcher, Pied Flycatcher, Black Redstart, Great Tit, Nuthatch, Carrion Crow, White Wagtail, House Sparrow, Greenfinch and Robin. All of this within a quarter of a mile of our hotel.

Several of us had suffered from the walk yesterday and we were glad to hear that todays walk would be a Gentle Walk beside a river. This Gentle Walk turned out to be a one and a half hour climb up a narrow path that was sometimes narrow and as steep as 1 in 4. This we were assured at the top was a gentle walk for the Picos! This led through mostly open land with some trees and bushes. On the way up the sky cleared, leaving white cumulus, and we saw Goldfinch, Willow Warbler, Blue Tit, Crag Martin, Barn Swallow, Stonechat, Egyptian Vulture, Honey Buzzard, Wood Pigeon and Griffon Vulture. At the top we had a half hour rest. While some of the party searched for butterflies we saw Wren and Peregrine.

Our descent was by way of a wide, paved track that wasnt nearly as steep. Much of the return route was on the side of the mountain and lead through coniferous woodland. A couple of mixed tit flocks were seen with Coal Tit, Tree Creeper, Firecrest, Blue Tit and Great Tit, with Chiffchaff, Blackcap and Cirl Bunting also seen on the descent. The Cirl Bunting was found by our Leader Peter, who heard it calling. Even in the telescope it was only small and Peter did a good job finding it perched on top of a distant tree.

A late lunch at Espimana left some of our group going on an afternoon walk along the valley floor, while I, with the others whose feet had had enough stayed in Espinama. I went back, with a few others, to the Pine Marten tree in the hope of getting a picture but between 16:00 and 19:00 there was no sign, by which time it was getting gloomy. We did see Buzzard, Grey Wagtail, Jay and a female Blackcap, which gave us false hope when it started pecking the fruit and causing the tree to shake as though the Pine Marten was climbing it.

One final sighting for the day was a bonus. Our leader Matt had to go outside during dinner to take a call on his mobile phone. During this a Convolvulus Hawk Moth flew in front of him and started to feed on the flowers in the window box. This was particularly exciting as it looks like a large humming bird as it hovers pushing its long proboscis into the flowers. Im not sure what the hotel staff thought when half our group got up in the middle of dinner to go outside to look at it.

Thursday 21^st?

We woke to a clear sky, which turned into sunny day. Before we left Espinama some of us got up early again for a final chance of the Pine Marten which duly made an appearance between 7:13 and 7:26. Those who didnt get to see it, which included our two leaders, referred to it after as The Ferret.

After leaving Espinama we had a short stop at Poles, where the leaders went to buy provisions and the rest of us bought water bottles for the hot plains. Looking down from a bridge over the river we saw a Dipper standing motionless on a large stone in the middle of the river. A Kingfisher was also seen briefly as it flew along the river. Overhead were Crag Martin, Barn Swallow and Short-toed Eagle.

A long climb up winding roads brought us to the top of the mountains with a magnificent view back over our route. Here we saw Griffon Vulture, Buzzard and Willow Warbler. A short drive across the flat top of the mountains brought us to a car park where we then walked out across the grass and bushes searching for birds before returning for our picnic lunch. On our walk we saw Kestrel, Stonechat, Whinchat, Coal Tit, Skylark, Rock Bunting, Chaffinch, Melodious Warbler, Water Pipit, Dunnock, Chough and Yellowhammer. After lunch we then descended and drove out onto the plains, where it was much hotter. En route we saw Cormorant, Black Kite, Montagus Harrier, House Martin and Collared Dove.

Arriving at Benevente at 17:30 we had a short freshen up before setting off at 18:00 to drive to Villafafila. This is a region, east of Benavente, where the land is farmed in a way that supports a rich bird life. There are plenty of signs by the road saying it is a bird reserve and not to pass the signs by walking away form the road. Our main target was soon sighted as we saw three Great Bustard in the distance. While driving down the road we passed another five which were closer to the road so we stopped and looked and took photographs before they flew off gracefully, looking rather like short necked swans. We saw more bustard as we drove around the area together with Marsh Harrier, White Stork, Red Kite, Lesser Kestrel, Wheatear, Pied Flycatcher, Fan-tailed Warbler, Tree Sparrow and Cattle Egret.

Out target was a lagoon and shortly before arriving we saw a perched Osprey. At the lagoon the sight of many birds in the setting sun was superb. There were Ruff, Avocet, Black-tailed Godwit, Mallard, Greylag Goose, Ringed Plover, Wood Sandpiper, Greenshank, Dunlin, Lapwing, Black-headed Gull, Common Sandpiper, Gadwall and Grey Heron. Perched on a notice beside the lagoon was a Short-toed Lark.

Returning in the gradually darkening sky we saw Spotless Starling and Jackdaw on top of a radio aerial in Benavente.

Friday 22^nd?

An early departure at 7:30 took us on a two hour drive via Zamora to Miranda de Duoro, just over the border into Portugal. En route we saw Spotless Starling, House Sparrow, Buzzard, Black Kite, Carrion Crow, Magpie, House Martin, Collared Dove and Cormorant. Again the sky was mostly sunny although we did pass through two showers. At Miranda we went to a landing stage where we bought tickets for a two-hour cruise in a glass-topped boat up the Duero (Spanish spelling) or Duoro (Portuguese spelling), which forms the border between the two countries. Although we had been told by Matt that, when he did the cruise before his guide spoke Portuguese, Spanish and English, our guide only spoke Portuguese. We were given an English translation of the leaflet that accompanied our ticket however. Although we had to stay under cover while we listened to the guide we were allowed out onto an upper deck at the stern for the last half hour. The cruise produced Alpine Swift, Golden Oriole, Blue Rock Thrush, Red-rumped Swallow, Black Redstart, Egyptian Vulture, Crag Martin, Golden Eagle, Red Kite and Griffon Vulture. Unfortunately most of the small birds were only seen briefly as they flew past. At one point we had a Red Kite, two Griffon Vultures, an Egyptian Vulture and a Golden Eagle all soaring it the same thermal.

We then drove up to the top of the gorge into Miranda and, while Matt arranged lunch we looked from the courtyard of a church into the gorge below. We saw a young Woodchat Shrike and many House Sparrows. Lunch was taken in a very pleasant restaurant in Miranda where the young waitress was keen to practice her very good English. Indeed the reason for trying the restaurant was that the menu was in English as well as Portuguese.

After Lunch we returned to Spain and to a water hole beside the road where we went for a walk, leaving some in the shade of our air-conditioned minibuses. We saw Thekla Lark, Black-eared Wheatear, White Wagtail, Southern Grey Shrike, Booted Eagle, Stonechat, Pied Flycatcher, adult Woodchat Shrike and Rock Bunting. A short drive and another walk gave us Woodlark, Chaffinch and a large number of vultures soaring high on thermals. By now the sky was clouding up and it looked distinctly ominous to the southeast. Indeed our return drive took us through two very heavy rain showers where maximum speed windscreen wipers were essential. Although it was dry back at Beneavente we saw on the Spanish Television, in the bar, that some places had had flooding and massive hail stones.

Saturday 23^rd?

I awoke the next morning at 6:45, which caused a certain panic as we were due to leave the hotel at 7:00. I did manage it though only to find that our departure was delayed by nearly half an hour. The morning was partially cloudy but got sunnier as the day progressed. Our first target was a two hour drive to a field that had been deliberately left fallow to encourage birds. We were hoping for Little Bustard. Along the way we saw Magpie, White Stork, Carrion Crow, Great Bustard, Raven, Kestrel, Lesser Kestrel (many of these on the telephone wires), House Sparrow, Spotless Starling, Coot and Mallard. Just before we reached our field we nearly annihilated a flock of Red-legged Partridge that were wandering in the road. We reached our field at 9:45 and soon saw distant Little Bustard both on the ground and flying. We also saw a flock of Pin-tailed Sandgrouse also flying away from us. Also seen were Corn Bunting, Yellow Wagtail, Red-rumped Swallow, Barn Swallow and Swift. Driving down to the River Duero for lunch we passed a Green Woodpecker. Our lunch stop was right by the river beside a railway bridge. Here we saw many Bee-eaters wheeling over the river and perched on the telephone wires. We also had Grey Heron, Purple Heron, Reed Warbler, Great Crested Grebe, Little Grebe, a loud Cettis Warbler, Cormorant, a flock of Black-tailed Godwit flying over, and Black Kite.

We then drove to the other side of the river and walked through a sandy area looking for birds in the bushes. It was very hot and so we only had Sand Martin, Booted Eagle and a very fast running Hare. A short drive brought us to a shaded walk beside a line of trees, which formed a nature reserve going down to the river. Here our first sighting was by Marie, our young Scottish lady who called out Theres a Crinkly Wee Bairdy over here. This was a Wryneck, which gave good views. Also seen among the trees were Pied Flycatcher, Cuckoo and Turtle Dove. As we walked towards the river four Black-winged Stilt were spotted on a lagoon behind some protective fencing. Walking besides the river, under the trees brought us Hoopoe, Goldfinch and Tree Sparrow. We also had a running Red Fox. Before departing we had a very short walk away from the trees to scan a stony field for Stone Curlew. We only got brief views of their heads though amongst the bushes.

Sunday 24^th?

We left Benevente bound for Bilbao at 7:00. For the morning we returned to Villfafila. While driving towards the lagoons we saw Magpie, Carrion Crow, Kestrel, Spotless Starling, House Sparrow and Great Bustard and Little Bustard at the same time, although at different distances. Further on we saw Cattle Egret, Southern Gray Shrike, Lesser Kestrel, Motagus Harrier, Grey Heron, Black Kite and White Stork.

Arriving at the lagoon we saw Shoveler Duck, Avocet, Marsh Harrier, Black-tailed Godwit, Peregrine (a nice view of one on the ground), Greylag Goose, Mallard, Common Sandpiper, Little Egret, Greenshank and Teal. An excellent view of the Spanish variety of Yellow Wagtail was had on a bush nearby. We then moved round the corner to a rather odd observatory on the first storey of a building. The odd thing was that both the roof and the floor sloped but in different directions. Here on a mound of earth behind the observatory we saw Wheatear, Tree sparrow, Woodchat Shrike, Corn Bunting and Crested Lark, while Barn Swallows flew overhead. Driving on through the reserve gave us Tawny Pipit, Swift, Whinchat, Red Kite and Hobby.

We then commenced a long drive to Bilbao, which gave no further chance for birding stops. We arrived at 18:30 with the city reaching the end of its fiesta.

Monday 25^th?

A morning walk around the centre of Bilbao gave me House Sparrow before we had to depart at 11:00 to drive to the port at Santurzi. As the ferry left at 11:45 (British Time on the boat) we had hazy views of the coast and a last chance to see the Yellow-legged Gulls. Out to sea we had a Turtle Dove hitching a ride on a rail. No other birds were seen despite the fact that we were on deck from 12:00 to 19:30. We had some Fin Whale blowing in the distance and, for those who stayed on deck long enough, the view of one Fin Whale only 20m off the port side swimming in the same direction as the ship as it blew twice before being left behind.

Tuesday 26^th?

A start at 7:00 as we started up the English Channel gave us Gannet, Turnstone and a female Redstart. After breakfast there were a few showers but we managed to spend most of the time on deck seeing Willow Warbler, a flock of Sanderling with one Snipe flying over, Yellow Wagtail and a Turtle Dove on the ships bridge. Later a Pomeranian Skua flew past the bow and we saw the fin of a Basking Shark pass us on the port side. At 14:15 we sighted the distant chalk cliffs east of the Needles of the Isle of Wight. We then steamed up and round the eastern side of the island before very slowly making our way into Portsmouth harbour where we saw our final birds: Common Tern, Black-headed Gull and Common Gull to finally dock at 17:10 ending our cruise.

Complete List of Birds Seen?

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