Road Trip to Spain - El Pinet, El Fondo, Pyrenees and all the bits in between. March 17th - 27th
So here's the post I would have published 2 weeks ago had I not managed to trash my laptop on my travels. Covering the 10 day period from arriving at
El Pinet to all the way back to the French side of the Pyrenees, there was enough here for 2 posts but I want to get back on top of the blog - so a brief round and then the pics.
The salt pans nr
El Pinet was always going to be my final destination, I spent a week here last time around and knew I'd have a good spot to put the van, away from all the other campervans and right next to the salt pans. With the
El Fondo reserve just 20 minutes away I knew that I'd add many new species to the trip list and so it proved. Despite unhelpful NW winds for much of the time it remained warm and sunny and the wind and with the wind switching around to the south towards the end of my stay there was always something happening, birds on the move, wild flowers sprouting and butterflies on the wing. A buddy up with fellow birder / photographer
Paul Coombes was useful and good fun, he knows the area better than me and thanks to him I added
Black Wheatear, Blue Rock Thrush, Rock Bunting, Azure Winged Magpie and best of all
Bonellis Eagles at a nest site. Bird migration was 'steady' rather spectacular - most obvious was the passage of
Hirundines and
Swifts with many
Barn Swallows, House Martins and
Sand Martins heading north with
Red Rumped Swallows, Pallid & Alpine Swifts in smaller numbers. Not masses of waders but both
Teminck's and
Little Stint were noticeable and
Collared Pratincoles came in early. I had my first and only
Wood Sandpiper and
Whimbrel around here. Also my first and only
Redstart, Black Eared Wheatear and towards the end of the week I was around El Pinet, the first
Subalpine Warblers, Cuckoos and
Willow Warblers. Shame I didn't manage a
Hobby but
Golden &
Bonellis Eagle, Montagues Harrier and both
Black and
Egyptian Vulture in the Pyrenees more than made up! Including the birds I added in France I ended up with a total of 210 species in 5 weeks, not bad!
Here's the best of the pics starting with the
El Pinet salt pans &
El Fondo
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Black Eared Wheatear, El Pinet, 24/03/2017
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What a bird that was! It arrived on the morning I set off back up north and was pretty much my last record at El Pinet.
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| Mediterranean Gulls, El Pinet, 17/03/2017 |
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Med Gulls all told at El Pinet, here's a couple of close ups - they look stunning in full breeding plumage!
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| Mediterranean Gull, El Pinet, 17/03/2017 |
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| Mediterranean Gull, El Pinet, 17/03/2017 |
My home for a week ...
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| El Pinet van spot .. perfect! |
Those lovely looking yellow flowers are in fact an invasive species -
Bermuda Buttercup, all over this part of Spain like a yellow rash. Here's a few other 'wilder' bits n pieces of flora I found around and about here ...
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| Barbary Nut, 19/03/2017 |
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| Marsh Gladioli, 19/03/2017 |
What a debate the above sparked up on a forum I use for 'ID'ing flora sp. Could be any of the following - Gladiolus dubious, G. illyricus, G. itallica or G. gallaeicicus ...
Marsh Gladiolus for me!
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| Blue Pimpernel, all around the rough ground nr the van, 20/03/2017 |
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| Yellow Broomrape, on the beach nr the Santa Pola salt pans, 20/03/2017 |
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| Hotentot Fig, beach nr Santa Pola, 20/03/2107 |
Where's there's flowers and warmth there's usually butterflies and this magnificent
Swallowtail was the best of 'em!
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| Swallowtail Butterfly, El Pinet, 18/03/2017 |
Location shots...
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| Salt Pans at El Pinet |
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| High tide at El Pinet with Santa Pola beyond |
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| One of the hides at El Pinet |
That hide is where I've whiled away many an hour or two both this year and back in 2015. In front are the old salt pans and behind are dunes and then the sea. It's not a prime birding spot like El Fondo but it has its moments and this year I had
Collared Pratincole, Little Stint, Greenshank, Redshank, Turnstone, Kentish Plover, Dunlin, Avocet (lots!),
Common &
Sandwich Tern and
Alpine Swift from the above and most interesting for me the colony of
Slender Billed Gulls all in pristine condition and strutting about in their territorial dance like little pink and white soldiers!
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| Slender Billed Gulls, El Pinet, 17/03/2017 |
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| Slender Billed Gulls, El Pinet, 17/03/2017 |
.... and I couldn't resist yet another
Audouin's Gull portrait pic!
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| Audouin's Gull, El Pinet, 20/03/2017 |
Around El Fondo ...
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| Stone Curlew, in fields around El Hondo, 17/03/2017 |
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| Pallid Swift, El Fondo, 17/03/2017 |
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| Black Winged Stilt, El Fondo, 22/03/2017 |
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| Little Ringed Plover, El Fondo, 22/03/2017 |
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| Red Crested Pochard, El Fondo, 22/03/2017 |
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| Marbled Duck, El Fondo, 22/03/2017 |
The new boardwalks around the visitor centre at El Fondo are great for getting the camera to grips with dragonflies .... the most numerous by far were these
Vagrant Emporers
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| Vagrant Emporer, El Fondo, 22/03/2017 |
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| Vagrant Emporer, El Fondo, 22/03/2017 |
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| White Headed Duck, El Fondo, 22/03/2017 |
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| Red Knobbed Coot, El Fondo, 22/03/2017 |
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| Collared Pratincole, El Fondo, 17/03/2017 |
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| Collared Pratincole, El Fondo, 17/03/2017 |
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| Redstart, Torreviega, 23/03/2017 |
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| Montague's Harrier,Torreviega, 23/03/2017 |
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| Montague's Harrier,Torreviega, 23/03/2017 |
Not often you get to observe a pair of one of Europe's rarest eagles at a nest site and my guide come birding buddy Paul certainly earned his lunchtime bevvies with this one.
Bonelli's Eagles & both birds showed well and although shooting from a distance the light was good and these are ok shots.
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| Bonelli's Eagle nesting site, nr Crevillente |
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| Bonelli's Eagle, nr Crevillente, 22/03/2017 |
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| Bonelli's Eagle, nr Crevillente, 22/03/2017 |
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| Bonelli's Eagle, nr Crevillente, 22/03/2017 |
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| Bonelli's Eagle, nr Crevillente, 22/03/2017 |
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| Bonelli's Eagle, nr Crevillente, 22/03/2017 |
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| Griffon Vulture, en route to Belchite, 25/03/2017 |
My return trip up through Spain and into France via the
Belchite Steppes was always going to be a bit of a slog -
Belchite was great though (added
Calandra, Short &
Lesser Short Toed Larks, Black Bellied &
Pin Tailed Sandgrouse and
Golden Eagle) ,
Jaca less so (weekend and a stranded bus in the snow completely wrecked my plans!), a stop off nr
Alcaniz brought my best ever
Alpine Swift pics and then over on the French side of the Pyrenees in the
Val d'Ossau a couple of completely unexpected species,
Black and
Egyptian Vulture - get in!
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| Alpine Swift, over Le Estanca, Alcaniz, 25/03/2017 |
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| Alpine Swift, over Le Estanca, Alcaniz, 25/03/2017 |
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| Belchite Steppes, 25/03/2017 |
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| Belchite Steppes, 25/03/2017 |
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| Juv Golden Eagle, Belchite, 25/03/2017 |
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| Juv Golden Eagle, Belchite, 25/03/2017 |
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| Juv Golden Eagle, Belchite, 25/03/2017 |
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| Nr Jaca, Spanish Pyrenees |
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| Nr Jaca, Spanish Pyrenees |
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| Val d'Ossau, French Pyrenees |
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| Bedous, Val d'Ossau |
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| Grey Wagtail, Bedous, 26/03/2017 |
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| Early Purple Orchid, Bedous, 26/03/2017 |
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| Black Vulture (record shot), Bedous, 26/03/2017 |
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| Egyptian Vulture, Bedous, 27/03/2017 |
Ok, almost done and if you've managed to scroll down this far very well done indeed! My last best pics on this leg were extremely fortuitous. Camped out in the Pyrenean village of
Bedous and just about to head up through France, aided and abetted by the local butcher who puts offal out for the local Kites, I couldn't believe my luck when in amongst the scores of
Red &
Black Kites, Griffons and
Buzzards, in came a couple of
Egyptian Vultures. Mega French record for me and the early morning sunshine set them off to a tee!
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| Egyptian Vulture, Bedous, 27/03/2017 |
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| Egyptian Vulture, Bedous, 27/03/2017 |
