Dave, who's now joined us from his home in Mijas near Malaga, Dee and I managed to meet up with Steve West from Birding Spain on Tuesday for a day out exploring the Pyrenees.
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| Heading up! |
Setting out from Solsona, around 100Km or so south from the Andorran border we made our way up into the Parc Natural del Cadí-Moixeró.
The Cadí and Moixeró which are connected by the Tancalaporta pass, form an imposing mountainous barrier in the Pre-Pyrenees. They extend 30 km from west to east and offer stunning scenery, not to mention equally as stunning birding. The geography offers a variety of landscapes, such as those of foothill, alpine and sub-alpine areas, as well as rocky environments with their characteristic rich vegetation and fauna. Just outside Solsona on the road up we stopped for while to investigate, encountering
Corn Bunting,
Wood Lark,
Northern Wheatear,
Western Bonelli's Warbler,
Spotted Flycatcher,
Rock Bunting,
Red-legged Partridge and
Stonechat, a
Roe Deer shot across the road before disappearing into the undergrowth.
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| Record shot of Lammergeier - In fact I hadn't even set the camera! |
As we continued our ascent another stop to check out a few soaring raptors produced a displaying
Goshawk and while here the calls of a
Wryneck which, after a few short attempts we never quite managed to connect with. One of the target species for the day had to be
Lammergeier and it wasn't long before we'd nailed it! In fact it took us so much by surprise I hadn't even set the camera. The lower alpine slopes produced
Crested Tit,
Firecrest,
Common Crossbill and
Short-toed Treecreeper, before more raptors included
Black Kite and
Griffon Vulture.
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| Citril Finch - This one in the road |
Prior to lunch at Gosol we passed through the ski resort of El Port de Cante and shortly after came across a small group of
Citril Finch, normally quite accommodating but today a little shy! Although I did manage a photo when one dropped onto the roadside. Dave came up trumps a short while later when he spotted a pair of
Rock Thrush on the overhead wires, I think Steve was pretty impressed with that from a non birder, but he has been well trained! We stayed for a while to enjoy the thrush's and while here
Common Redstart,
Black Redstart and
Subalpine Warbler. A real surprise came when checking out more soaring raptors, as an
Eleanora's Falcon passed through, obviously on passage in these parts and a species I last observed in Majorca a few years back.
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Orphean Warbler - One of three encountered today!
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After lunch we made our final ascent to Mirador de Coll de Port, at 1,650 meters our highest point.
Red-Billed Chough were a feature as we progressed and at the Mirador the slightest chance of
Wallcreeper, but sadly not today! Notwithstanding,
Alpine Chough were a treat and while enjoying the breath-taking views at least two
Cuckoo could be heard in the woodland below. From here it was downhill, pausing to observe
Booted Eagle and
Short-toad Eagle, plus some great views of
Orphean Warbler. The final species for the day were several
Alpine Swift as we continued our descent back to Solsona!! A really terrific days birding and great to catch up with Steve.
More record images of the day:
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| Short-toed Eagle |
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| (Rufous-Tailed) ♂Rock Thrush |
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| (Rufous-Tailed) ♀Rock Thrush |
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| Dee's photo of Orphean Warbler |
Although primarily for the birding a number of butterflies were encountered and the ones I managed to ID included:
Scarce Swallowtail,
Cleopatra and
Brimstone. Mammals:
Roe Deer and
Fox
A full birding day list follows:
