So I've made it into Spain at last, way behind any schedule I may have aspired to and already I've had to accept that my travels will not take me any further than somewhere south of
Valencia - its not worth chasing about and a leisurely 3 weeks on the east coast of Spain in Spring is the best option I have after my various disruptions.
I've already made it down to the
Ebro Delta but that I'm saving for my next post. My first Spanish destination is the wetlands of
Emporda, deep into
Catalan country.
The weather all the way from
Saint Flour into southern France was totally dire, I'd wanted to stop around
Perpignan but it was cold, raining and very windy so I didn't bother. I pressed on, skirting the
Pyrenees at
Perthus and into Spain. The
Aiguamolls d'Emporda in
Cataluna is one of the best wetland areas in northern Spain. Last time I was here was just a fleeting visit en route to Ebro, I was impressed then, so gave the place a good couple of days this time around.
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| Corn Bunting, nr Empuriabrava, 04/03/17 |
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| Farmland nr Empuriabrava |
After a grueling 4 hr drive all I wanted to do was stop the van, have a cup of tea and get my feet up - so that's just what I did (one of many benefits of campervan!). Anywhere will do and I found myself in a patch of typical Spanish farmland just outside
Empuriabrava. Couldn't rest, had to walk and was straight into singing
Chiffchaffs and
Blackcaps, Cattle Egrets, Crested Larks, Corn Buntings, Meadow Pipits and huge flocks of
House Sparrows - nothing special, just lots of birds and in sharp contrast to the neat and tidy, intensively farmed fields in the UK. Fat chance of it ever happening but a bit more mess around our farms and farmland and we might get our flocks of
Sparrows and
Corn Buntings back.
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| Farmland nr Empuriabrava |
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| Farmland nr Empuriabrava |
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| Farmland nr Empuriabrava |
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| Farmland nr Empuriabrava |
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| Farmland nr Empuriabrava - old style irrigation methods |
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| Wild flower fields nr Empuriabrava with the Pyrenees in the background |
Later on I found a good overnight for the van in a car park next to the beach at
San Pescadore and took a walk down the beach. Earlier on, the Pyrenees, an ever present force on the skyline around here were looking serene and majestic but come late afternoon a huge thunderstorm with lots of fork lightning made for some great light for these wader shots ....
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| Dunlin & Grey Plover, San Pere Pescadore, 04/03/17 |
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| Dunlin, San Pere Pescadore, 04/03/17 |
Throughout the day and alerted by their constant calling, I'd had several flocks of
Common Cranes heading north high overhead. This small flock made it over the
Pyrenees ok but a similar sized group an hour later hit the storm and I watched them make a swift u turn!
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Common Cranes, very high & northward bound, over Empuriabrava, 04/03/17
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| Estany de Vilaut, 05/03/17 |
Next day and the day after I did the two main birding sites in the area -
El Cortalets and
Estany de Vilaut. The former being the main, visitor centre type thing, and the later the more wild wet fieldy sort of thing!
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| Estany de Vilaut, 05/03/17 |
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| El Cortaletts, 06/03/17 |
Cracking birding without anything megatastic at both, lots of ducks including
Wigeon &
Pintail and
Greylag Goose is always a good record for Spain. About 10
Water Pipits, lots of
Water Rail, White Stork, Black Tailed Godwit, Green Sandpiper and a pair of
Egyptian Goose mating whilst I was snapping some nice male
Shoveller were some highlights.
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| Mating Egyptian Geese, El Cortalets, 06/03/17 |
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| White Storks, El Cortaletts, 06/03/17 |
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| Grey Herons coming into roost, Estany de Vilaut, 05/03/17 |
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| White Storks into roost, Estany de Vilaut, 05/03/17 |
El Cortalet has to have one of the highest and most spectacular bird hides ever ...
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| Bird hide at El Cortalett with the Pyrenees as a backdrop! |
In one of the other hides there I was buzzed by this bee, big black thing I don't know the name of but probably quite common around here ...
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| Bee species, El Cortaletts, 06/03/17 |
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| Cattle Egret with frog, Estany de Vilaut, 05/03/17 |
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| Northern Shoveller, El Cortaletts, 06/03/17 |
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| Pintail, El Cortaletts, 06/03/17 |
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| Marsh Harrier, El Cortaletts, 06/03/17 |
Although its nice and warm by UK standards and lots of sun, Spring is only just beginning even here ... some but not a profusion of wild flowers, some but not clouds of butterflies and only the odd
Swallow every now and then. Not a single
Yellow Wagtail or any warbler other than
Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Sardinian and ubiquitous
Zitting Cisticolla. No worries, its good to wait!
Them migrants are back! .. not Syrians, Ethiopians or Poles and not looking for work in the vegetable fields, just birds migrating from north to south at this time of the year and using the UK as a handy stop off point on the journey down. The map on the right shows the main migration routes for Eurasian birds that choose to head south for the winter and although it excludes Greenland & Iceland (where many of our wildfowl & pipits head in from) it's clear that the UK is handily placed to experience this annual event.
