At the end of September Sjef and Anemiek came from the Netherlands to spend some holidays in the Basque Country and Navarra; they booked our guiding services for three days in which we went to Southern Navarra (day 1: steppe), Central Navarra (day 2: dry farmland, big rivers and wetlands) and Navarra Eastern Mountains (day 3: high mountain and beech forests).

Despite the long drought we are suffering in our region we were able to get a, not very long but, interesting bird list.

The birding highlights during these days were:

- Very good views of two different Golden Eagles in the steppe area.

- A nice flock of Pin-tailed Sandgrouse that showed really well the first day.

- Excellent close views of two of the last 25 Great Bustards remaining in Navarra.

- A Yellow-browed Warbler, a rare bird in Navarra, (first in the season for Spain!) in Caparroso (Central-South Navarra).

We also saw a probable Pectoral Sandpiper in Pitillas Lagoon (days later one was confirmed by another birdwatcher!).

Drought has pushed the autumn and this was very noticeable during this trip in the Pyrinean beech forests that already had wonderful colors… but one month to early! We had no rain during these days, which was good for birdwatching, but this has become a very serious problem for nature here.

Foxes, hares, rabbits, squirrels… were also on our way, and we enjoyed of very good views of many of them.

Bird species list (83 species)

Red-legged Partridge – Alectoris rufa

Grey Heron – Ardea cinerea

Eurasian Spoonbill – Platalea leucorodia

Griffon Vulture – Gyps fulvus

Western Marsh Harrier – Circus aeruginosus

Hen Harrier - Circus cyaneus

Eurasian Sparrowhawk – Accipiter nisus

Common Buzzard – Buteo buteo

Golden Eagle – Aquila chrysaetos

Red Kite – Milvus milvus

Northern Lapwing – Vanellus vanellus

Great Bustard – Otis tarda

Common Sandpiper – Actitis hypoleucos

Green Sandpiper – Tringa ochropus

Pin-tailed Sandgrouse – Pterocles alchata

Eurasian Collared Dove - Streptopelia decaocto

Common Woodpigeon - Columba palumbus

Rock Dove – Columba livia

Iberian Green Woodpecker – Picus viridis sharpei

Great Spotted Woodpecker – Dendrocopos major

Common Kestrel – Falco tinnunculus

Eurasian Hoopoe – Upupa epops

Southern Grey Shrike – Lanius meridionalis

Eurasian Magpie – Pica pica

Red-billed Chough – Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax

Alpine Chough – Pyrrhocorax graculus

Carrion Crow – Corvus corone

Common Raven – Corvus corax

Calandra Lark -  Melanocorypha calandra

Woodlark – Lullula arborea

Thekla Lark – Galerida theklae

Crested Lark – Galerida cristata

Sand Martin – Riparia riparia

Eurasian Crag Martin – Ptyonoprogne rupestris

Barn Swallow – Hirundo rustica

Common House Martin – Delichon urbicum

Coal Tit – Periparus ater

Crested Tit – Lophophanes cristatus

Marsh Tit – Poecile palustris

Eurasian Blue Tit – Cyanistes caeruleus

Great Tit – Parus major

Long-tailed Tit – Aegithalos caudatus

Eurasian Nuthatch – Sitta europaea

Eurasian Treecreeper – Certhia familiaris

Short-toed Treecreeper – Certhia brachydactyla

Eurasian Wren – Troglodytes troglodytes

European Robin – Erithacus rubecula

Willow Warbler – Phylloscopus trochilus

Yellow-browed Warbler – Phylloscopus inornatus

Common Chiffchaff – Phylloscopus collybita

Eurasian Blackcap – Sylvia atricapilla

Sardinian Warbler – Sylvia melanocephala

Spectacled Warbler – Sylvia conspicillata

Dartford Warbler – Sylvia undata

Cetti’s Warbler – Cettia cetti

Zitting Cisticola – Cisticola juncidis

Spotted Flycatcher – Muscicapa striata

European Pied Flycatcher – Ficedula hypoleuca

Common Redstart – Phoenicurus phoenicurus

Black Redstart – Phoenicurus ochruros

Whinchat – Saxicola rubetra

European Stonechat – Saxicola rubicola

Northern Wheatear – Oenanthe oenanthe

Mistle Thrush – Turdus viscivorus

Eurasian Blackbird – Turdus merula

Blue Rock Thrush – Monticola solitarius

Dunnock – Prunella modularis

European Starling – Sturnus vulgaris

Spotless Starling – Sturnus unicolor

Western Yellow Wagtail – Motacilla flava

Grey Wagtail – Motacilla cinerea

White Wagtail – Motacilla alba

Tawny Pipit – Anthus campestris

Meadow Pipit – Anthus pratensis

Water Pipit – Anthus spinoletta

Corn Bunting – Emberiza calandra

Common Chaffinch – Fringilla coelebs

European Greenfinch – Chloris chloris

Common Crossbill – Loxia curvirostra

European Goldfinch – Carduelis carduelis

Eurasian Linnet – Carduelis cannabina

European Serin – Serinus serinus

House Sparrow – Passer domesticus

Sjef y Anemiek vinieron desde Holanda a finales de septiembre y estuvimos guiándolos durante tres días visitando diversos ambientes de Navarra y Huesca: bosques, roquedas, estepa, humedales, alta montaña. La gran sequía que estamos padeciendo no facilita la observación de aves, pero aún así logramos ver varias aves muy interesantes: águila real, ganga ibérica, avutarda y un mosquitero bilistado, una rareza en Navarra.

Early September can be a very interesting time for birdwatching in Navarra, as we still have many summer birds in the area and migration is in one of its peaks (especially for some passerines and many raptors). This has been a very dry year and it seems that there is not much food and because of that some of the usual birds have been more hard to find. Although this we had a quite good trip during three days with Nöelle (from Belgium) who came for some birdwatching in the second week of the month.

During these days we visited different habitats all along Navarra: beech forests, gorges, wetlands and steppe. The highlights in those places were 2 different White-backed Woodpeckers in Irati forest, Bonelli’s Eagle in Lumbier, a couple Ferruginous Duck in Pitillas Lagoon and steppe birds such as Black-bellied Sandgrouse, Tawny Pipit, Greater Short-toed Lark and Eagle Owl, among others. Other interesting birds that came along were Spectacled Warbler, Iberian Green Woodpecker, Southern Grey Shrike, Thekla Lark, Golden Eagle, Booted Eagle, Red-billed Chough and others. We were lucky with the weather, as it was warm and dry, but the land needs to get good amounts of rain in the next months to recover.

Bird species list (89 species)

Greylag Goose – Anser anser

Mute Swan – Cygnus olor

Northern Shoveler – Anas clypeata

Mallard – Anas platyrhynchos

Eurasian Teal – Anas crecca

Red-crested Pochard – Netta rufina

Common Pochard – Aythya ferina

Ferruginous Duck – Aythya nyroca

Tufted Duck – Aythya fuligula

Red-legged Partridge – Alectoris rufa

Little Grebe – Tachybaptis ruficollis

Grey Heron – Ardea cinerea

Red Kite – Milvus milvus

European Honey-buzzard – Pernis apivorus

Griffon Vulture – Gyps fulvus

Egyptian Vulture – Neophron percnopterus

Short-toed Eagle – Circaetus gallicus

Western Marsh Harrier – Circus aeruginosus

Golden Eagle – Aquila chrysaetos

Bonelli’s Eagle – Aquila fasciata

Booted Eagle – Hieraaetus pennatus

Common Buzzard – Buteo buteo

Eurasian Sparrowhawk – Accipiter nisus

Lesser Kestrel – Falco naumanni

Eurasian Coot – Fulica atra

Pied Avocet – Recurvirostra avosetta

Black-tailed Godwit – Limosa limosa

Ruff – Calidris pugnax

Green Sandpiper – Tringa ochropus

Black-bellied Sandgrouse – Pterocles orientalis

Rock Dove – Columba livia

Stock Dove – Columba oenas

Little Owl – Athene noctua

European Scops Owl – Otus scops

Eurasian Eagle Owl – Bubo bubo

White-backed Woodpecker – Dendrocopos leucotos

Great Spotted Woodpecker – Dendrocopos major

Iberian Green Woodpecker – Picus viridis sharpei

Eurasian Jay – Garrulus glandarius

Common Raven – Corvus corax

Carrion Crow – Corvus corone

Eurasian Jackdaw – Corvus monedula

Red-billed Chough – Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax

Woodchat Shrike – Lanius senator

Southern Grey Shrike – Lanius meridionalis

Thekla Lark – Galerida theklae

Crested Lark – Galerida cristata

Greater Short-toed Lark – Calandrella brachydactyla

Calandra Lark – Melanocorypha calandra

Common House Martin – Delichon urbicum

Sand Martin – Riparia riparia

Eurasian Crag Martin – Ptyonoprogne rupestris

Barn Swallow – Hirundo rustica

Coal Tit – Periparus ater

Crested Tit – Lophophanes cristatus

Marsh Tit – Poecile palustris

Eurasian Blue Tit – Cyanistes caeruleus

Great Tit – Parus major

Long-tailed Tit – Aegithalos caudatus

Eurasian Nuthatch – Sitta europea

Eurasian Treecreeper – Certhia familiaris

Short-toed Treecreeper – Certhia brachydactyla

Cetti’s Warbler – Cettia cetti

Willow Warbler – Phylloscopus trochilus

Zitting Cisticola – Cisticola juncidis

Eurasian Blackcap – Sylvia atricapilla

Sardinian Warbler – Sylvia melanocephala

Spectacled Warbler – Sylvia conspicillata

European Robin – Erithacus rubecula

Black Redstart – Phoenicurus ochruros

Northern Wheatear – Oenanthe oenanthe

Whinchat – Saxicola rubetra

Eurasian Blackbird – Turdus merula

Mistle Thrush – Turdus viscivorus

Dunnock – Prunella modularis

Spotted Flycatcher – Muscicapa striata

European Pied Flycatcher – Ficedula hypoleuca

Spotless Starling – Sturnus unicolor

White Wagtail – Motacilla alba

Grey Wagtail – Motacilla cinerea

Tawny Pipit – Anthus campestris

Cirl Bunting – Emberiza cirlus

Corn Bunting – Emberiza calandra

Common Chaffinch – Fringilla coelebs

European Greenfinch – Chloris chloris

European Goldfinch – Carduelis carduelis

Eurasian Linnet – Carduelis cannabina

House Sparrow – Passer domesticus

Drake Common Pochard tagged in the bill; we saw it and another one in the Pitiless Lagoon. Later we found that it came from France.

A comienzos de septiembre nos visitó Nöelle, de Bélgica, para observar aves en Navarra. Visitamos bosques, foces, humedales y estepas en los que logramos ver hasta 89 especies a pesar de la sequía que ha provocado que algunas aves sean más complicadas de encontrar este año. Lo más destacado fueron pico dorsiblanco y porrón pardo, por mencionar solo un par.

David, from Canada, and Irina, from Ukrainia, visited Navarra in late August this summer. It was their first time in the Western Pyrenees area and they wanted to bird visiting different type of habitats and birding spots, so we designe dan itinerary that took us to high mountains, gorges, forests, mediterranean scrubland, steppes and wetlands.

2018 has been a quite dry year and this has their consecuences in birds. There’s fewer food as the plants didn’t grew so much as other years and didn’t produce as many seeds as they used to, this means fewer invertebrates and birds have noticed it. This year has become a hard year for birds and also for birders that want to find them. So to go out in search of them was a tough challenge; nota ll the birds we wanted to find were found, but we managed to see several interesting species… some of them even ‘lifers’ for our guests.

Here is the list of species (74) we saw in the two days they came to Navarra:

Common Quail – Coturnix coturnix

European Honey Buzzard – Pernis apivorus

Egyptian Vulture – Neophron percnopterus

Griffon Vulture – Gyps fulvus

Short-toed Eagle – Circaetus gallicus

Eurasian Sparrowhawk – Accipiter nisus

Red Kite – Milvus milvus

Black Kite – Milvus migrans

Hen Harrier – Circus cyaneus

Montagu’s Harrier – Circus pygargus

Common Buzzard – Buteo buteo

Booted Eagle – Hieraaetus pennatus

Common Kestrel – Falco tinnunculus

Great Bustard – Otis tarda

Great Spotted Woodpecker – Dendrocopos major

European Turtle Dove – Streptopelia turtur

Common Woodpigeon – Columba palumbus

Rock Pigeon – Columba livia

European Bee-eater – Merops apiaster

Red-billed Chough – Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax

Alpine Chough – Pyrrhocorax graculus

Eurasian Jay – Garrulus glandarius

Eurasian Jackdaw – Corvus monedula

Carrion Crow – Corvus corone

Common Raven – Corvus corax

Woodchat Shrike – Lanius senator

Crested Lark – Galerida cristata

Calandra Lark – Melanocorypha calandra

Eurasian Skylark – Alauda arvensis

Sand Martin – Riparia riparia

Eurasian Crag Martin – Ptyonoprogne rupestris

Barn Swallow – Hirundo rustica

Common House Martin – Delichon urbicum

Coal Tit – Periparus ater

Crested Tit – Lophophanes cristatus

Great Tit – Parus major

Marsh Tit – Poecile palustris

Long-tailed Tit – Aegithalos caudatus

European Nuthatch – Sitta europea

Short-toed Treecreeper – Certhia brachydactyla

Eurasian Wren – Troglodytes troglodytes

Zitting Cisticola – Cisticola juncidis

Cetti’s Warbler – Cettia cetti

Willow Warbler – Phylloscopus trochilus

Common Chiffchaff – Phylloscopus collybita

Iberian Chiffchaff – Phylloscopus ibericus

Eurasian Blackcap – Sylvia atricapilla

Garden Warbler – Sylvia borin

Sardinian Warbler – Sylvia melanocephala

European Robin – Erithacus rubecula

Spotted Flycatcher – Muscicapa striata

European Pied Flycatcher – Ficedula hypoleuca

Common Redstart – Phoenicurus phoenicurus

Black Redstart – Phoenicurus ochruros

Whinchat – Saxicola rubetra

European Stonechat – Saxicola rubicola

Blue Rock-Thrush – Monticola solitarius

Eurasian Blackbird – Turdus merula

Mistle Thrush – Turdus viscivorus

Dunnock – Prunella modularis

Yellow Wagtail – Motacilla flava

Grey Wagtail – Motacilla cinerea

White Wagtail – Motacilla alba

Water Pipit – Anthus spinoletta

Spotless Starling – Sturnus unicolor

Cirl Bunting – Emberiza cirlus

Common Chaffinch – Fringilla coelebs

Eurasian Linnet – Linaria cannabina

Common Crossbill – Loxia curvirostra

European Serin – Serinus serinus

European Greenfinch – Chloris chloris

Citril Finch – Carduelis citrinella 

Eurasian Goldfinch – Carduelis carduelis

House Sparrow – Passer domesticus

A finales del pasado agosto estuvimos guiando a David, de Canadá, y a Irina, de Ucrania. Era su primera visita a nuestra zona y, a pesar de haber sido un año muy seco que ha hecho escasear a algunas especies de aves, pudimos ver muchas otras de lo más interesantes, incluyendo avutarda, mosquitero ibérico y verderón serrano, entre otros.