This was a great day with a lot of travelling and a lot of species listed, however it was marred by the weather, we had lovely clear skies but it was very windy all day and hot!
We got up early and left the hotel carrying our picnic breakfast, it was just getting light as we pulled away at 6am. It took 20 minutes to drive to El Planeron, a huge area of 'Steppe' managed for the rare Dupont's Lark and other endangered species. The wind was blowing hard as we stepped out of the buses but we managed to hear a DuPont's Lark singing, but after a lot of searching we couldn't find one. Nevertheless we did see a host of other Larks, many Short-toed Larks, Crested Larks, Skylarks and Calandra Larks were seen during that first half an hour, we also saw Red-legged Partridge, a Little Owl and a Southern Grey Shrike.
The next hour was spent searching the surrounding 'steppe' for other species, a Stone Curlew sat very near the track and the photographers ample opportunity to get some great pictures. We also found several Lesser Short-toed Larks as they ran around on the track in front of us, Corn Buntings and Eurasian Magpies were common. But our best sightings included; Black-bellied Sandgrouse, Montagu's and Marsh Harrier and a distant probable Golden Eagle (seen by the group on the second bus).
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| the wonderful and colourful landscape of El Planeron |
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| the Steppe of El Planeron where Dupont's Lark was heard |
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| a common sight in Spain - Storks nesting on the church |
As we drove to Quinton we stopped to watch White Storks, Red Kites, European Bee-eaters and an Egyptian Vulture. At Quinton we stopped for coffee and toast before driving down to the river Ebro,
We spent a couple of hours having great birding and seeing many species. In sheltered areas of reeds and hedges we found Common Kingfisher, Reed and Great Reed Warblers, Melodious Warbler, Cetti's Warbler and we had great views of Common Nightingale. Other species seen were Purple Heron, Golden Oriole, Little Egret, Sand Martins and we heard Penduline Tit. Black Kites we constantly in the air above us and often we saw Griffon Vultures and Booted Eagles. Before we left the area we stopped at another bend of river where shingle banks we found in the river, Little Ringed Plover, White Wagtails and Yellow Wagtails we found there.
We drove to PINAR de Ebro to buy lunch, the church was covered in Stork's nest and we saw a few Jackdaws flying around. Next we stopped in Los Mongols a unique area of hill-steppe where dry scrub and open valleys hold several interesting species. A Spectacled Warbler was found fairly quickly but it flew off before most of the group saw it, however, a pair of Black-eared Wheatears were enjoyed for a long time. The same went for a pair of Dartford Warblers, they too showed well. From then it went downhill, the wind got stronger and time pressed so we decided to move on.
Our trip took us passed Huesca and up through Jaca before we turned into the Hecho valley, birds seen along the way included several beautiful Red Kites, Raven, Carrion Crow, Red-backed Shrike and more Black Kites.
We arrived at our hotel at 6pm, it been a long day, a windy day, but everyone agreed that it was an excellent birding day with 79 species listed.
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| most of the group at Hotel Uson, two are missing - presumed asleep! |
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