The region’s landscapes change month after month, season after season. And the birds we can observe also follow the rhythms of nature. Some species live here all year round, while there are migratory species that only appear at certain times of the year, others that only come to nest and others that visit us to spend the mild winters here.
Western black-eared wheatear © Sergi Sales
The season for wintering birds. The Ebro-Secans-Pyrenees corridor is a common wintering area for many species on their journey to warmer climes. Variable temperatures in central Europe affect the numbers of birds arriving: in more extreme winters, “our” fields are full of hungry birds fleeing the cold in search of warmer lands. February, however, marks the beginning of the breeding season, especially for birds of prey and some nocturnal birds.
In the Pyrenees, the snow brings species such as the alpine accentor and the white-winged snowfinch closer to areas of human habitation in search of food. It is also the peak of the breeding season for griffon vultures and bearded vultures, which can be easily spotted over the high escarpments.
In the drylands, when the mist permits, we can see lapwings and wintering birds of prey such as the merlin and the increasingly scarce hen harrier. By February, the first migrant from sub-Saharan Africa is arriving, the greater spotted cuckoo.
In wetlands such as the Sebes Nature Reserve it is a good time to see bitterns and great cormorants. In the Ebro Delta it is the time of year for large flocks of ducks and white storks, while glossy ibis and cattle egrets gather in great numbers in the floodlands. At some points in the delta spoonbills can be found wintering and great flocks of flamingos can be seen everywhere.
April and May are good months for exploring the drylands of Lleida, with the fallow lands in full bloom after the spring rains. Most of the fields are green, there are flowers everywhere, and the local birds are busy singing and claiming their territory. The eagle owl, the pin-tailed sandgrouse, the European roller, the bee-eater and the spectacular little bustard are some of the highlights, alongside stone curlews, choughs, kestrels, and larks. At night we hear the calls of the long-eared owl, the red-necked nightjar and the scops owls that have just arrived from Africa.
In the Pyrenees the snows are gradually retreating, the birds are moving to higher altitudes and the new arrivals include rock thrushes, black kites, short-toed eagles and Egyptian vultures. It is also a good time to see white-throated dippers, rock bunting, Northern wheatear and the middle spotted woodpecker (in the Val d’Aran). On the sunnier slopes it is possible to spot butcherbirds, European stonechats, red-billed choughs and Alpine choughs. At night, in higher mountain locations, you can hear the hooting of Pyrenean owls.
In Terres de l’Ebre, we can spot wild goats in the Els Ports massif, and birds such as choughs, black redstarts, warblers, including the Western Bonelli’s warbler, and nuthatches. On the beaches, the Kentish plover starts nesting in March, while in the Ebro Delta, thousands of migratory birds take advantage of the abundant food supply, and noisy colonies of Audouin’s gulls, slender-billed gulls, Sandwich terns, common terns and little terns return to the sites where they have always nested.
Summer is a good time to start or continue visits to the high mountains of the Pyrenees.. Durant el juliol hi ha menys risc de tempestes de tarda i els ocells estan acabant de niar. Podreu gaudir d’ocells de muntanya com la llucareta, el trencapinyes, la merla de pit blanc o el raspinell pirinenc. També còlits grisos, grassets de muntanya i verderoles. Mirant al cel, pot passar volant l’àguila daurada, i al Pre-Pyrenees (Boumort and surroundings) are the only place in Europe that the continent’s four necrophagous birds (bearded vulture, griffon vulture, black vulture and Egyptian vulture) can be observed together.
In the drylands birdwatchers must get up very early, as the mid-morning heat makes it difficult to see any birds out and about. Species such as the European roller are still active, and it is possible to spot Thekla’s larks, crested larks, calandra larks, the greater short-toed lark and the rare Dupont’s lark. These undistinguished looking birds have a beautiful song, and this is one of the few places in Europe where they can be found. The pin-tailed sandgrouse are nesting and to find them you must listen carefully for their call.
In Terres de l’Ebre, the Mediterranean mountain ranges such as those of Cardó and Boix are ideal for spotting rock sparrows and short-toed eagles. In the Ebro Delta, the heron colonies are still busy, including species such as the little bittern. The whiskered terns are also gathering and will cross paths with other species on their way to their African wintering grounds. Sandwich terns can be seen on the beaches and common shags from the colonies on the Balearic Islands gather on the rocks. The flocks of flamingo are at their most active now.
The abundance of fruit at this time of year in the Mediterranean forests and highlands attracts great numbers of birds, which stop to build up their energy reserves before continuing their journey to the wintering grounds. During September and October many soaring birds and birds of prey pass over on their way south. This is a good time to visit well-established viewing points to see groups of European honey buzzards, but also sparrowhawks, western marsh harriers, Montagu’s harriers, ospreys and the Eurasian hobby.
It is also the season when beech and riverside forests are at their best. Some overwintering species will have already arrived, and they are easier to spot as the leaves fall from the trees. As the first cold weather arrives, meanwhile, species like the wallcreeper move to lower altitudes, and can now be spotted in places such as the sides of the Mont-rebei gorge.
The wetland areas are full of birds, especially waders. In the lagoons of the Ebro Delta, black-necked grebe, divers and the red-breasted merganser are arriving. When the stubble is ploughed into the rice fields, they swirl with gulls, herons and huge flocks of flamingo, a fantastic spectacle in the late evening light.
On the Lleida plain we may see some migratory cranes passing through. And in the Pre-Pyrenees, it is an excellent time to observe the spectacular flight of the red kites in their wintering grounds.
The texts in this section are based, in part, on the contents of the book When and where to watch birds in Catalunya (Ricard Gutiérrez, published by Tundra), which is available in Catalan, Spanish and English. Ornithologist Sergi Sales has also revised and added to the text.
An initiative of:
Rambla Ferran, 18 3r pis
25007 Lleida
+34 973 245 408 info@aralleida.cat
iònic.web