First post from my second road trip to
Spain, and about time ... been giving it the big easy since leaving my sisters house in
Montmorillon, France and 4 days of merriment and music making over New Year. Before crossing over into Spain I spent a few days around the wetland areas around
Narbonne and filled my boots with some nice
Flamingoes |
| Greater Flamingoes, St Pierre, nr Narbonne |
Plenty of birds about and some great weather once I cleared a belt of mist and rain across central France, lovely light and a chance for some landscape pics nr
port Leucate
 |
| Port Leucate, with the Pyrenees in the background |
 |
| Dartford Warbler, early morning shot. |
My best effort yet of a
Dartford Warbler and some nice flying
Great White Egrets were useful sign off pics from my last good outing in the south of France, but I could sense Spain beckoning, and I crossed the Pyrenees on the 5th Jan. Didn't stop ... it was dark and just too cold and bitter this time of year, be better on the way back!
 |
| Great White Egret |
...and so to my first landing spot in Spain -
Aiguamolls D'Emporda.
Been here 5 days now (so it must be good!)... just exploring this rich and varied coastal area in
Catalunya. There's a major 'parc naturel' at
'El Cortalet' but the whole area between the 2 rivers
Muga and
Fluvia is impressive, well managed and in this part of Spain second only to the
Ebro Delta in terms of wildlife importance.
 |
| Marsh Harrier, El Cortalet |
El Cortalet is a wetland area to rival the best ... all the usual suspects I guess but I never tire of watching Marsh Harriers do their stuff...
 |
| Marsh Harrier, El Cortalet |
....
Water Rails all over the place but as ever - the devils own business to photograph! Of half a dozen seen and more than treble that heard, these were my best efforts -
 |
| Water Rail, El Cortalet |
 |
| Water Rail, El Cortalet |
The
White Storks here are just about to start breeding and making a right racket with all that bill rattling! There was a big nest just above my van in the car park at the reserve but right across the patch they weren't exactly difficult to photograph!
Like I say, tis the breeding season here for storks ... think she's giving the nudge to a slow starter?!
 |
| Penduline Tit, El Cortalet |
Last time I was in Spain (Nov/Dec 2013) I was totally thrilled to get my first ever
Penduline Tit in the
Brazo del Este. It was a good view, but fleeting and no chance to get the camera out. Double, nay treble my thrills, add ecstasy and a bar of Cadbury's Whisper Gold for good measure and what you get is not one but a flock of said Tits... and I got to take pictures!
 |
| Penduline Tit2, El Cortalet |
 |
| Penduline Tit3, El Cortalet |
 |
| Penduline Tit4, El Cortalet |
I was totally captivated by these fantastic wee birds, counted 8 in total, feeding on mast heads and actually stripping some kind of goodness out of the reed stalks (pic3). At the risk of sounding like David Attenborough, as I watched them flit from reed to reed, I was struck by how totally adapted they are to this environment.. swaying and sinking down on mast heads (like a pendulum doh!) and the way their feet fit the exact diameter of a reed stem... awesome!
 |
| Bluethroat, El Cortalet |
First day in Spain was already beyond expectations and it kept going.... fancy a bit of
Bluethroat?
 |
| Bluethroat2, El Cortalet |
 |
| Bluethroat3, El Cortalet |
Amazingly, my dear mother had given me a framed picture of a pretty bird she stumbled across in an antique store ... turned out to be a limited edition print of a
Bluethroat! She wasn't to know but I love these cunning little birds ...aren't mums brilliant!
 |
| Chiff Chaff, El Cortalet |
Sticking with wee birds and as with the last time I was in Spain, the wintering numbers of
Chiff Chaffs here is as staggering as ever, along with
Starlings, Stonechats and
Reed Buntings they are the most populous bird out here.
A few more
Willow Warblers than last time too but not got a decent pic yet!
Every remaining fruit bearing bush and tree has some kind of bird in it and if its not a
Blackbird its a
Blackcap ... here's a female devouring a fruit I should be familiar with. Blueberry?
 |
| Female Blackcap, El Cortalet |
The terrain is dominated by salt loving shrubs and plants, with lots of
saltmarsh rocket, sea bindweed and tree-wise the short and stubby
Salt Cedar trees.
Great for
Meadow Pipits, Linnets, Goldfinch, Wood & Crested LarksAlthough there's an abundance of wet fields I've not had huge numbers of wading birds .. a few
Spotted Redshank, Green & Common Sandpiper, Curlew and
Lapwing
 |
| Lapwing, El Cortalet |
and from the highest and most impressive bird hide I've ever clambered into, and I was breathless when I got to the top of this one ...
 |
| Mega bird hide at El Cortalet! |
.....some cracking views of the reserve
 |
| El Cortalets from the tower hide |
 |
| Not the prettiest, but of all the bird hides on all the reserves I've ever visited, this is certainly the tallest .. and with the Pyrenees behind mighty impressive! |
 |
| Common Snipe flock, El Cortalets |
.... and from the top of that very hide, a passing
Marsh Harrier put up a ton of
Common Snipe ... not the sharpest of pics by any means but as a spectacle I enjoyed every frame ... when was the last time you saw a flock of 200+ Snipe!
 |
| Common Snipe flock, El Cortalets |
Wow, nearing the end of my first week in Spain and I haven't hardly moved from
Emporda, believe me I could have doubled the number of pics in this post with worthwhile shots but not bad for a start and already topped 100 bird species.
 |
| Hoopoe, San Pere Pescadore |
