This was a family holiday rather than ostensibly a birding trip. Nonetheless, any foray into the near continent always produces the goods when it comes to birds and all-round in your face nature, and this trip was no exception!
From our apartment and surrounding grounds (El Nus de Pedra near Llorà) we were treated daily to great views of the likes of Hawfinch, Griffon Vulture, Egyptian Vulture, Golden Oriole and Western Bonelli's Warbler, while others such as Nightingale, Iberian Green Woodpecker, Nightjar, Cirl Bunting and Scops Owl were heard but largely not seen.
Perhaps most spectacular of all were the butterflies and moths, with fantastic numbers of a host of species, many of them new for me. Highlights included multiple Swallowtails and Scarce Swallowtails, Broad-bordered Bee and Hummingbird Hawkmoths, Iberian Marbled White, Provençal Fritillary, Southern White Admiral, Spanish Gatekeeper, Cleopatra and Two-tailed Pasha. Certainly a stark reminder of the tragically low numbers of invertebrates we have become used to back in the UK.
3rd July
Mostly a day of travelling. Highlights included flyover Hawfinch and Short-toed Eagle and at least two Iberian Green Woodpeckers around our apartment building soon after we checked in, plus the ubiquitous singing Serins. In the evening at least two each of Nightjar and Nightingale were heard from the garden while a flock of at least 40-50 House Martins and a few Alpine Swifts drifted over. Very vocal Midwife Toads and Iberian Common Frogs/Perez's Frogs added to the atmosphere though sadly not the hoped for Scops Owl.
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| El Nus de Pedra - home for six nights |
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| Serin |
4th JulyA little explore of the habitat near our apartment this morning proved very enjoyable with avian highlights including multiple Hawfinch and Iberian Green Woodpecker and a couple each of Firecrest and Western Bonelli’s Warbler. The first Griffon Vultures of the trip were also seen drifting high overhead along with a Sparrowhawk carrying prey. Indeed, by mid morning raptor activity really got going, with several Griffon Vultures and singles of Egyptian Vulture and Common Buzzard seen from our apartment garden.
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| View across some of the grounds at El Nus de Pedra |
A relatively small area of rough grassland by a play park nearby produced a lot of butterfly interest, including
Scarce Swallowtail,
Great Banded Grayling,
Clouded Yellow,
Small Heath and
Cleopatra, while the more wooded edges of the paths on the way up and down yielded
Wall Brown, Iberian Marbled White and
Southern White Admiral, plus a
Yellow Bands Underwing moth. Meanwhile, the small pond in the garden of our apartment hosted
Iberian Painted Frog and
Scarlet Darter. Not a bad start to our first full day here!
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| Great Banded Grayling |
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| Southern White Admiral |
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| Yellow Bands Underwing |
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| Wall Brown |
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| Griffon Vulture |
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| Scarce Swallowtail |
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| Hummingbird Hawkmoth |
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| Iberian Painted Frog |
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| Western Bonelli's Warbler |
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| Scarlet Darter |
For lunch we headed into Girona itself where a short walk around the Aiguamolls De Les Hortes De Santa Eugenia yielded a singing Great Reed Warbler,
Zitting Cisticola, a few Yellow-legged Gulls and the first Ring-necked Parakeet and
Cetti’s Warblers of the trip.
Back at our apartment in the evening, the first and only Goshawk of the trip flew north across the valley, distantly to the east.
5th July
An early walk from our apartment again yielded several Hawfinches and at least two pairs of Western Bonelli’s Warbler. Golden Orioles continued to prove very vocal but typically elusive in the wooded valleys.
Mid-morning we headed to Banyoles to check out the lake there. Despite severe disturbance from water sports and swimming it was good to see dozens of Yellow-legged Gulls, along with a flyover Booted Eagle and our first White Storks, Tree Sparrows and Mandarin Ducks of the holiday.
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| L'Estany de Banyoles |
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| Mandarin Duck |
On the way back to our apartment we stopped at a couple of spots along the river in Saint Gregori which produced Green Sandpiper,
Zitting Cisticola, distant Short-toed Eagle and a Golden Oriole carrying food.
Back at the apartment in the afternoon and it seemed pretty quiet on the bird front but the garden was alive with butterflies including Queen of Spain Fritillary, Two-tailed Pasha and Speckled Wood. Later in the day a walk up the hill behind our apartment also produced the first Spanish Gatekeeper for the trip (another new butterfly species for me).
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| Queen of Spain Fritillary |
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| Two-tailed Pasha |
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| Speckled Wood (nominate aegeria race) |
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| Spanish Gatekeeper |
6th July
A morning around the apartment grounds produced the now familiar array of species including Golden Oriole and Nightingale. A late morning walk up into the hills yielded multiple of both these species plus the first Sardinian Warbler of the trip. Best of all though were the butterflies which were on the wing in great numbers in possibly the warmest temperatures of the week so far. Among those identified were Swallowtail, Scarce Swallowtail, Southern White Admiral, Cleopatra, False Ilex Hairstreak, Provençal Fritillary and Small Heath, plus several Broad-bordered Bee Hawkmoths nectaring on Echium on a sunny bank near our apartment.
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| Cleopatra |
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| Swallowtail |
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| Broad-bordered Bee Hawkmoth |
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| Southern Skimmer |
A lunchtime jaunt out to Canet d’Adri for lunch proved worthwhile with 13 Griffon Vulture, Egyptian Vulture, Honey Buzzard, two Hoopoe and a Crested Lark seen from the car on the way there and back. In addition, a stop by the river between Saint Gregori and Llorà resulted in both Kingfisher and Red Kite being added to the trip list.
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| Honey Buzzard |
Back in the apartment garden and the very first bird that greeted us was a Hawfinch in a tree near the car park - this following on from a family party in the same area earlier in the day. It was warm but cloudy for the rest of the afternoon and evening which made for good skywatching conditions, the clear highlights being a rather unexpected and very vocal trio of Eleonora’s Falcons hunting together high overhead and a Short-toed Eagle characteristically hanging in the air above the nearby hillside. In the evening the second Lesser Spotted Woodpecker of the trip was heard calling in trees south of our apartment.
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| Hawfinch |
7th July
A morning walk from the apartment produced the usual fare - Short-toed Treecreeper, Golden Oriole, Western Bonelli’s Warbler and a bonus Lesser Spotted Woodpecker calling again in trees down the road.
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Golden Oriole
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Early afternoon we headed up to Figueres to visit the Parc Natural dels Aiguamolls de l’Empordà, an almost 5,000-hectare Ramsar reserve on the Costa Brava, generally regarded as the finest wetland in the region after the Ebro Delta. One afternoon sadly wasn’t enough to see it all but just a couple of hours here still produced an impressive selection of species, many of them new for this trip, including Spoonbill, Black-winged Stilt, Green Sandpiper, Marsh Harrier,
Greater Flamingo, Glossy Ibis and Whiskered Tern. On the way out back towards Llorà, other new species for the holiday list (seen from the car) included Purple Heron, Lesser Black-backed Gull and
Iberian Grey Shrike.
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| White Stork |
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| Spoonbills |
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| Black-winged Stilts |
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| Blue-headed Wagtail |
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| Nightingale fledgling |
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| Observatory tower at Parc Natural dels Aiguamolls de l'Empordà |
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| ...and the view from the top! |
A walk out from the apartment late in the evening at last produced a couple of Scops Owls calling high in the wooded valley to the north, along with the daily Nightjars churring.
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| View across the fields near our apartment |
8th July
Our penultimate day started with a short walk up the road from our apartment early morning. In addition to the now ubiquitous Western Bonelli’s Warblers, Short-toed Treecreepers and Firecrests, new species for the trip list included singing Turtle Dove and a heard only Siskin. Mid-morning saw the raptors getting up locally with at least five Griffon Vultures, two Hobbies and an Egyptian Vulture seen from the apartment garden.
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| Egyptian Vulture |
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| Turtle Dove |
There wasn’t much else in the way of birding or butterfly action today although a trip out for lunch did produce another Hoopoe and
Common Buzzard (not a species we saw many of throughout the week). In the evening a
Booted Eagle and three Hawfinches flew over our apartment while a presumed family party of four
Western Bonelli’s Warblers were flitting about in trees near the car park.
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| Booted Eagle |
9th July
As was the case on day one, today was another day dominated by travelling, with farewell birds at our accommodation at El Nus de Pedra including Golden Oriole, Western Bonelli’s Warbler and Nuthatch. Last minute additions to the holiday species list included Red Underwing Skipper in the apartment garden and two Monk Parakeets across the road as we drove back to Barcelona airport.
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| Red Underwing Skipper |
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