Ben Macdonald Birding

Introduction: Following up on an exhaustive trip to Extremedura in winter followed by some excellent birding on Mallorca in April, there were several areas of Spain left to tackle, but one lent itself to summer quite nicely, and so I flew to Alicante to spend two days birding with Jules Sykes of Oliva Rama Tours in south eastern Spain. Jules is one of those rare people who you feel able to call a friend after two days – he is fantastic company and much more than a guide and comes highly recommended. Out of respect for the sensitive nature of certain birds and the fact that these sites are not mine to publicise, I won’t add the usual site guide to this trip report.

Target Birds: The aim was to locate certain Spanish wetland and dry montane specialities that breed in the Valencia region, mainly :

- White-headed Duck

- Slender-billed Gull

- Gull-billed Tern

- Red-necked Nightjar

- Roller

- Black-eared Wheatear

- Rufous Bush Chat

- Spectacled Warbler

- Savi’s Warbler

- Rock Sparrow

- Trumpeter Finch

Also, to gain good views of Little Bittern and Marbled Duck and enjoy as many exotics – such as Bee-eater, Hoopoe, Oriole etc. as time would permit. Having agreed a list of target species beforehand, these became the focus of the tour and considering the twin problems of heat haze and post-breeding dispersal, we did remarkably well., locating all the named species except the tricky Spectacled Warbler and Marbled Duck.

Logistics: I flew from Bristol to Valencia where a flawless public transport system got me to Gandia, near to Oliva, from where I was picked up. EasyJet run regular flights to Valencia and from here, many bird sites are virtually on the doorstep. See www.olivaramatours.com for  details.

Sunday 22^nd June: Alicante area, El Hondo & Monnegre:

After a smooth journey on the efficient Spanish Metro I was picked up for Oliva Rama and had barely fallen asleep when it was time to get going before the heat haze struck in. Jules drove us down towards Alicante where, in the pre dawn light a Black Wheatear was an unexpected find on a roof-top and at the Clot de Galvany, a tiny nature reserve nestling in suburbia, Pallid Swifts and Red-rumped Swallows – a smart, overdue lifer– were joined by the usual Mediterranean species: Sardinian Warbler, Hoopoe, Little Owl, Crested Lark and Serin. On the scrape itself it wasn’t long before the diminutive form of a 1^st year male White-headed Duck appeared at close range, later joined by a female. Purple Gallinule and Black-winged Stilt were also present here. Having enjoyed good views of the much talked about duck, we moved on towards Santa Pola.

 White-headed Duck - Clot de Galvany, nr Alicante

Here, in an area of roadside dwarf pine scrub, it was only minutes before a stunning Rufous Bush Chat flew in, and was soon tracked towards a nest where, from a safe distance, we enjoyed stunning views of the male bird singing and juggling a grub in its beak – flashing its superb tail. A rare breeder even in Spain, this was an awesome sighting. With Southern Grey Shrike, Spotted Flycatcher and Zitting Cisticola noted, we made for the Salinas.

Despite the haze, the numbers of Greater Flamingos were for me overwhelming, only having seen them in their tens before. A mobile Glossy Ibis flock drifted over the reeds as did a surprise Night Heron, whilst two Squacco Heron gave superb views. Little and Whiskered Terns fished overhead whilst Audouin’s and our first Slender-billed Gulls flew past. The saltpan waders – Black-winged Stilt, Avocet and Kentish Plover – were all present and correct. A little further on, another Salinas provided me with my first ever real views of Slender-billed Gulls – superb, elegant things with a pinkish flush and red-black bill; the gull answer to the roseate tern.

 Slender-billed Gull - Santa Pola Salinas, Alicante

As the heat rose we began to get in land as activity trailed off. Yet on the outskirts of El Hondo, Jules showed me a bird that was always a symbol of hot places and a bit of a myth. A pair of nesting Rollers: rolling, feeding, perching and glinting blue and purple in the heat, absolutely magic. Several birds were seen but the close encounter with two mails, engaging in their rolling display right past us, was phenomenal. In addition, an exotic Plain Tiger butterfly – something I just wasn’t expecting – was an equally spectacular butterfly lifer, reminding me how much I should get back into studying these fragile creatures.

Having been dazzled by Rollers, we moved on, where we were all distinctly un-dazzled by a Lesser Short-toed Lark, another lifer, as it ran around on the sand, displaying its salient features – some streaking, and a collar. Collared Pratincoles, however, were stunning and everywhere; performing their injured wing display barely ten feet from our car. A Bee-eater hawked past, sadly our only sighting of the holiday, and a few heat-hazy Montagu’s Harriers were also noted, before we headed inland and into the hills.

 Collared Pratincole - El Hondo, Alicante

Stocking up on much needed coffee and crisps – especially for Jules, considering he was only yesterday back from the Picos – we wound up towards the hilly hamlet of Monnegre. I soon eyeballed a superb Two-tailed Pasha butterfly gliding across the windscreen, whilst on arrival, I gained only too-brief views of a Trumpeter Finch – a flash on pinkish-buff and no more – as it flew away from the roadside. Despite several calling birds in the next few hours, it was to be our only view. The birding that followed was gritty and more like the kind expected in the UK, but the end reward included several Red-rumped Swallows, a handful of singing Black Wheatears, Rock Buntings, a Blue Rock Thrush, some Thekla Larks;  a superb lifer in the form of a male Black-eared Wheatear, and a less inspiring one in the form of a heat-obscured Rock Sparrow on a distant wire. The heat was keeping the birds down but the sparrows were particularly infuriating, calling in view but unseen against a rocky outcrop. Also at this site, we finally gained flight views of the much lauded Iberian Green Woodpecker which, after taking the piss for some considerable time, flew along a rocky gully. So we headed back with some quality birds and I spent the remainder of the day basking and gorging on the illustrations in the Handbook before hitting a steak, then bed.

Monday 23^rd June: Pego Marsh, Denia & Val de Gallinera:

A laid-back start at a mere 6:00am saw us arrive at Pego Marsh whilst it was still cool enough for a fleece, and immediate the siege of birds began, but not before a family of Wild Boar – only my second sighting – were seen trotting off the path ahead. Seeing adult Purple Herons is always great for me, and several flew past the observation tower. Night and Squacco Herons and Purple Gallinules were noted here in addition to a various heard-only reedbed species before we worked our way round to the back of the reserve with Whiskered Terns and Black-winged Stilts all around.

After having had several false alarms regarding the insect-like call of the Savi’s Warbler, the real thing now blasted forth at close range and with some little persuasion, popped up right in front of us, giving superb views. A long awaited lifer, it was fantastic to actually see this elusive species, now rare and suppressed in the UK. Back at the watch point, things got better when I located two Little Bittern perched up in the reeds at some distance, after years finally enjoying prolonged views of this smart, undersized bird. A Great Reed Warbler blasted away in full view before we left and several Yellow Wagtails moved through.

With the day fully beginning, we pulled into an area of suburbia near the town of Denia, where Jules soon located a Monk Parakeet as the token plastic of the trip – squawking well atop a palm. Back to real birding, we then moved up towards the Val de Gallinera, where after a longish drive came a bombardment of my favourite continental birds at the superb Barranco Encantado, or enchanted valley. A Wryneck – ridiculously obliging – called in full view from a telegraph wire whilst several Golden Orioles became more and more obliging, with two males perched right out in the open for several minutes. Nightingales showed well, as did Turtle Dove and Woodchat, before we gained excellent views, after some waiting, of a family of Melodious Warbler – my first since 2002 and a very smart species. Failing again on Rock Sparrow we headed back towards the coast, eyeballed Golden Eagle for a few seconds and an overhead Bee-eater before making for the rice fields at Cullera. Here another Mediterranean speciality came to us with great ease – the strange Gull-billed Tern, gave point blank views flying and on deck, and completed the diurnal target list of likely new birds on this holiday. Surrounded by fields of Cattle Egrets, Purple Herons and Whiskered Terns, we headed home.

After the habitual read, sleep and steak, Jules kindly took me out to Pego Marsh again earlier than expected in order to locate Marbled Duck. Sadly there was little to see as the vegetation had grown too tall, so instead we stationed ourselves ready for the Nightjar spectacular,  but were both taken aback when the first bird calling was a European Nightjar, which I tracked into a tree where it sat tight for some time, a possible rare breeding record after Jules saw one here in May. Then the fun began as it grew dark, as the first Red-necked Nightjars fluttered down to warm themselves on the tarmac paths, getting closer and closer until we gained obscene views to a few feet, enjoying every subtlety of this cryptic bird, ironically much closer than any Nightjar I have seen back home. After gorging on this fantastic sight, it was time for bed for the early train next morning.

        Red-necked Nightjar - Pego Marsh, Valencia

So many thanks to Jules for a fantastic two days and putting in more work than for which he was prepared to accept money. An excellent variety of birds in such a short period of time, including a great ten lifers. As it stands, there remain the following mainland Spanish birds left to see, before the lure of Eastern Europe, with cheap accommodation and bountiful birds, calls me away:

- Black Stork

- Lesser Kestrel

- White-rumped Swift

- Dupont’s Lark

- Western Orphean Warbler

- Iberian Chiffchaff

- Western Olivaceous Warbler

- Spectacled Warber

- Citric Finch

So all in all, western Europe shaping up nicely, and still more to come. This August sees a return trip to the Pyrenees and the Picos de Europa, where in addition to some spectacular butterflies, we hope to gain further views of Wallcreeper and Lammergeier amongst others, whilst hopefully add the chiffchaff. Here's to hoping.