Catalunya Species Lists

Lists for the Birdwatching/Catalunya Tourist Board trip of 4th-8th May. Full report here

Birds
Shelduck
Gadwall
Teal
Mallard
Northern Shoveler
Red-crested Pochard
Common Pochard
Little Grebe
Great Crested Grebe
Black-necked Grebe
Great Cormorant
Little Bittern
Black-crowned Night Heron
Squacco Heron
Cattle Egret
Little Egret
Great White Egret
Grey Heron
Purple Heron
White Stork
Glossy Ibis
Eurasian Spoonbill
Greater Flamingo
Honey Buzzard
Black Kite
Red Kite
Bearded Vulture
Egyptian Vulture
Eurasian Griffon Vulture
Cinereous Vulture
Short-toed Eagle
Marsh Harrier
Montagu's Harrier
Sparrowhawk
Buzzard
Golden Eagle
Booted Eagle
Lesser Kestrel
Kestrel
Peregrine
Red-legged Partridge
Grey Partridge
Water Rail
Moorhen
Purple Gallinule
Coot
Little Bustard
Black-winged Stilt
Avocet
Stone-curlew
Collared Pratincole
Little Ringed Plover
Ringed Plover
Kentish Plover
Grey Plover
Knot
Sanderling
Little Stint
Temminck's Stint
Curlew Sandpiper
Dunlin
Ruff
Bar-tailed Godwit
Curlew
Redshank
Greenshank
Common Sandpiper
Turnstone
Black-headed Gull
Slender-billed Gull
Audouin's Gull
Yellow-legged Gull
Gull-billed Tern
Sandwich Tern
Common Tern
Little Tern
Whiskered Tern
Black-bellied Sandgrouse
Feral Pigeon
Collared Dove
Turtle Dove
Monk Parakeet
Cuckoo
Swift
Pallid Swift
Alpine Swift
European Bee-eater
European Roller
Hoopoe
Wryneck
Green Woodpecker
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Calandra Lark
Lesser Short-toed Lark
Crested Lark
Woodlark
Skylark
Sand Martin
Crag Martin
Swallow
Red-rumped Swallow
House Martin
Tawny Pipit
Tree Pipit
Yellow Wagtail
Grey Wagtail
Pied/White Wagtail
Wren
Dunnock
Robin
Nightingale
Black Redstart
Redstart
Whinchat
Stonechat
Wheatear
Rock Thrush
Blue Rock Thrush
Blackbird
Song Thrush
Mistle Thrush
Cetti's Warbler
Fan-tailed Warbler
Savi's Warbler
Reed Warbler
Great Reed Warbler
Melodious Warbler
Subalpine Warbler
Sardinian Warbler
Whitethroat
Garden Warbler
Blackcap
Western Bonelli's Warbler
Chiffchaff
Iberian Chiffchaff
Willow Warbler
Goldcrest
Firecrest
Spotted Flycatcher
Pied Flycatcher
Long-tailed Tit
Crested Tit
Coal Tit
Blue Tit
Great Tit
Nuthatch
Short-toed Treecreeper
Red-backed Shrike
Jay
Magpie
Chough
Jackdaw
Carrion Crow
Raven
Spotless Starling
House Sparrow
Tree Sparrow
Rock Sparrow
Chaffinch
Serin
Citril Finch
Greenfinch
Goldfinch
Linnet
Crossbill
Bullfinch
Cirl Bunting
Rock Bunting
Reed Bunting
Corn Bunting

Mammals
Common Pipistrelle
Red Deer
Roe Deer
Spanish Ibex
Chamois
Mouflon
Red Fox
Brown Hare

Insects
Small Tortoiseshell
Green-veined White
Large White
Western Dappled White
Orange-tip
Moroccan Orange-tip
Small Blue
Green Hairstreak
Pyrausta despicata

Common Blue-tailed Damselfly

Oxythyrea funesta
Lophyra flexuosa

Herpetiles
Spiny-footed Lizard
Large Psammodromus
Iberian Water Frog

Plants
Wild Tulip
Rush-leaf Jonquil
Woodcock Orchid

Weed Dance In The Rain

This morning's heavy rain didn't put these two off. Great Crested Grebes Podiceps cristatus

Digiscoped with Canon Powershot A640 and Swarovski ATM 80HD x25-50

Common Sandpiper, Ferry Meadows

Seen while dipping the Little Tern Common Sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos

Canon EOS 500D 70-300mm IS USM

Iberian Chiffchaff, Castor Hanglands

Hmm... Come back from a trip to Spain and a week later this turns up. Great find by Kerry Harrison. Needless to say a first for the Peterborough area if accepted. In the field this bird appeared a lot greyer than if does in these photos. Yellowish tones were virtually lacking being only detectable on the upper rump and back. The song sounds right but this bird does habitually add a few notes to the end of the typical song.

Digiscoped with Canon A640 and Leica APO77 x20

Herps, Easton Hornstocks

An interesting outing to Easton Hornstocks before the fun and games at Castor Hanglands kicked off. In addition to these we found two Common Lizards. There were a few Bee Flies and Green Tiger Beetles. More would be likely on a warmer day. These were both under rocks which we replaced immediately without disturbing the animals. Slow Worm Anguis fragilis, immature

Great Crested Newt Triturus cristatus, immature

Canon EOS500D 18-55mm IS USM

Andalucia

Some pictures from a mainly non-birding trip to one of my favourite regions.

Western Dappled White Euchloe crameri


Lesser Kestrels Falco naumanni, Seville Cathedral






Glossy Ibis Plegadis falcinellus, Rocio Lagoon




Griffon Vultures Gyps fulvus, Coto Doñana






Azure-winged Magpies Cyanopica cyanus mobbing a Raven Corvus corax


Cattle Egrets Bubulcus ibis, coming into land at Valverde VC


White Storks Ciconia ciconia




Canon EOS500 70-300mm IS USM

Early Thorn

Not trapping on these cold nights but some moths are out early in the night before the temperature drops too much. This female Early Thorn was at our kitchen window last night and is there again tonight. This shot taken by the light of a head torch.

Early Thorn Selenia dentaria, female

Canon Powershot A640

Whooper Swan Moon

Spent a bit of time tonight looking at the stars, planets and moon. Fabulously clear conditions and a big surprise to hear the distinctive three note trumpet of a Whooper Swan making its way north along the river valley in the darkness. A first for the garden. There were also geese and what sounded like Teal calling distantly from the river and some very noisy Wood Mice in the garden fences.


Digiscoped with Canon Powershot A640 and Leica APO77 x32

Tagged Red Kite

At least 5 kites active over the garden today. Two were tagged, one hatched locally last year and this one with blue on the right wing indicating it was raised the year before.

Red Kite Milvus milvus

Canon EOS500D 70-300mm IS USM

Orange Underwing in garden

Great day in the garden once the sun came out midday. Tons of insects including this incredible Orange Underwing moth. Tied to birch, it's a dayflying species I've only ever seen at good birch woodland around here. The four birches in front of the house must be just enough.

Also 7 Bee Flies, Brimstone, Small Tortoiseshell and loads of bees. Wood Mice, Bank Voles, Frogs, Siskin, Red Kites, etc.

Orange Underwing Archiearis parthenias

Digiscoped with Canon Powershot A640 and Leica APO77 x32

Green Shield Bug Palomena prasina

Canon Powershot A640

Great Grey Shrike

Well there's a chance this bird has been here all winter as it was report late last autumn. However it was two days ago that it was first seen this year and has showed well since. I first saw it yesterday fairly distantly but it was a bit closer today.

Gave a great performance catching bees and butterflies (Peacock) and nearly getting a Reed Bunting on one occasion. The star turn though was a 40 second hover over the field shown in this video.


Great Grey Shrike Lanius excubitor


Digiscoped with Canon Powershot A640 and Leica APO77 x32

Courting Nuthatches

Ok, not brilliant photos but this is something you don't see that often let alone photograph. The amount of Nuthatch and woodpecker (all three species) activity this morning at Old Sulehay was impressive.

Nuthatches Sitta europaea


Canon EOS 500D 70-300mm IS USM

Juniper Shieldbug

I think this is a first for me. This shieldbug appeared at my office window today. They use garden cyprusses as well as juniper and as a result have spread a great deal. This is an adult that has overwintered and is now hoping to breed.

Juniper Shieldbug Cyphostethus tristriatus

Canon Powershot A640

Nene Washes

A great lunchtime on the Nene Washes. My best views of a Merlin for a long time. Watched one leave a post and chase a Snipe for some time. It easily gained on the Snipe, missed a couple of times then brought it down. However it then emerged without the Snipe and I wonder if it was robbed by this female Sparrowhawk that landed in front of me soon afterwards. It has a prey item of about the right size and colour but it's difficult to be sure what species.

Sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus, female with prey


Stock Dove Columba oenas


Digiscoped with Canon Powershot A640 and Leica APO77 x32

Clouded Drab

A few moths turning up at the garden actinic trap over the past few nights in cool but calm conditions. Small and Common Quakers, Hebrew Characters and a Double-striped Pug but the most numerous have been Clouded Drabs. This example is an unusually well-marked, pale form for here, with most being the dark reddish types.

Clouded Drab Orthosia incerta


Canon Powershot A640

Glossy Ibises

Found yesterday by Jonny Taylor on the Nene Washes and present again today. Nice!

Glossy Ibis Plegadis falcinellus



Digiscoped with Canon Powershot A640 and Leica APO77 x32

Blast from the past

I was reminded of this bird seen on one of the first ever Natural Stone trips by a post to Katie Fuller's timeline on Facebook. This was at some manky looking pools in Sanlúcar de Barrameda south of Seville in Andalucia, Spain on 21st May 2005. This reworked version of one of the photos is very pleasing and a reminder of how good the 3MP Nikon Coolpix 995 really was. It ain't all about pixel count ya know!

Little Bittern Ixobrychus minutus

Digiscoped with Nikon Coolpix 995 and Leica APO77 x20

Snow Buntings - Digiscoped

I was quite pleased with the last set of shots from the DSLR but just got around to checking these digiscoped shots and, if anything, I prefer them. The A640 really is a magnificent beast.

Snow Bunting Plectrophenax nivalis




Digiscoped with Canon Powershot A640 and Leica APO77 x32