ZARAGOZA - PYRENEES & PICOS - DAY 7 - JUNE 16TH .....

TRANSFER DAY   -  PYRENEES TO THE PICOS  - WITH SEVERAL STOPS, NOT MUCH BIRDING AND NOT MANY BIRDS!!!

7:30AM  - breakfast -  another superb morning, clear blue sky not a breath of air and the most beautiful scenery you can image.

8:30am - departure  - we said goodbye to our hosts at hotel Uson and set off on the long journey to the Picos.

9:00am  - our first stop in the mountains of the Anso Valley - very beautiful. we watched an Orphean Warbler singing from a dead twig on the top of a bush. Other birds seen on the journey, Jay, Carrion Crow, Magpie, Griffon Vulture, Black Kite & Red Kite.

Don't laugh - this was a very distant bird!  To hear an Orphean Warbler singing is one of my birding highlights and to see one singing is truly magical

9:30am  -  stop off in the Foz de Binies Gorge. Imagine a gorge twice as high, three times as long and 10 time more impressive than Cheddar Gorge then you have Foz de Binies.  We spent a neck breaking 30 minutes looking for Blue Rock Thrush and Rock Bunting but neither turned up! We did see Black Redstart, Blackcap, Song Thrush and lots of Griffon Vultures.

10:30am  - stop off at the huge reservoir at Yesa on the road to Pamplona, too much water, not enough muddy shoreline. We saw Great Crested Grebe, Great Cormorant, Yellow-legged Gull and a Grey Heron

12 noon   - coffee stop at Logrono - Booted Eagle seen from the bus, lots of Common Swifts.

12:45 - lunch stop on the road to Burgos from Logrono.  Chaffinch and Robin joined us for lunch.

2pm  -  arrived at the Embalse de Ebro on the way the west coast. Again there was too much water and not many birds.  Gadwall, Mallard, White Stork and lots of Black Kites.

4pm -  arrived at San Vicente, a beautiful seaside town on the west coast. The tide was low with the huge salt marsh exposed and lots of mud for waders. What did we see? Zilch!  Not a single wader, only a few groups of loafing Gulls. Yellow-legged, Lesser-black Backed and Black-headed Gulls. Unbelievable!!

5pm  - drove into Unquera and searched the salt marsh there - nothing - no waders!  We logged Stonechat and White Wagtail.

5:30pm we set off for the last leg our journey into the Picos. Passing through Unquera and Panes to arrive at Arenas de Cabrales. The Picos mountains look superb with lots of snow on the peaks, when I say peaks we are only talking about 2600 meters about half the height of the Pyrenees.

6pm - arrived at Torrecerrado Hotel in Arenas. Ready for a cold beer I must say.

Very disappointed with the bird list today. I expected to add 20 new species  - instead we only got 3!