Mirua es una empresa dedicada a las actividades en la naturaleza y que ahora ha puesto en marcha un servicio dedicado a la observación de aves y su entorno llamado MiruaBirds. Nuestro ámbito de trabajo es Navarra (Pirineo Occidental y norte del Valle del Ebro, España). En este blog encontrarás información sobre este territorio y nuestra oferta para conocerlo de la mano de nuestros guías.
Mirua is a local company dedicated to organize activities in nature. We now also offer birdwatching tours and nature guided tours with local experts with MiruaBirds. We work mainly in Navarre, although we also organize tours in the Pyrenees and Ebro Valley area (NortEast of Spain). You’ll find everything you need to know about us in this blog.

Three intense days of birding in Navarra

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Entrance of the Lumbier Gorge, in the Navarra Prepyrinees.
Renée, Jeanet and Boukje came from the Netherlands to learn Spanish and for some birding and nature experience in the Basque Country and Navarra. This short trip of three days was made during the first half of October and we had to design an itinerary that visited as many habitats as possible to get a general oversight of what our area offers: steppe, beech forests, high mountain, gorges and cliffs, oakwoods, Mediterranean shrub and wetlands.

The Bardenas steppe is one of the most amazing landscapes in the Iberian Peninsula.

Belagua Valley in the Navarra Pyrenees. 

The total list of species, if not very numerous for three days, was built with many interesting species. The birding highlights of the trip were:
-       - A flock of more than 50 Dotterels in the steppe.
-       - Several groups of Pin-tailed Sandgrouse flying around us also in the steppe.
-       - Two late Alpine Swifts that were still in the area.
-       - A Wallcreeper found in a Prepyrenean gorge, the first down here after the breeding season.
-       - Two adult Bearded Vulture flying over us very close before going to sleep in the cliffs in the last day.    

A bad picture (made with mobile phone through the scope) of three of the Dotterels we found in the steppe.
Boukje, Jeanet and Renée in Southern Navarra.
Weather was very nice (to warm and dry for the season, we need urgently some rain) which made our birding experience easier. We also visited some magic places like the ‘enchanted’ beech forest of Urbasa Nature Park or the ancient oakwoods in Sakana Valley (with some trees that are 300-400 year old).
Most of the trip was made in Spanish, so that Renée, Jeanet and Boukje could improve the language, but I had to rescue the Dutch bird names from my mind, names that I learned when I was a child!

The Enchanted Beech Forest of Urbasa, in Northwestern Navarra.
Bird species list (82 species)

Mute Swan – Cygnus olor
Northern Shoveler – Anas clypeata
Gadwall – Anas strepera
Mallard – Anas platyrhynchos
Northern Pintail – Anas acuta
Red-crested Pochard – Netta Rufina
Common Pochard – Aythya ferina
Tufted Duck – Aythya fuligula
Little Grebe – Tachybaptus ruficollis
Black-necked Grebe – Podiceps nigricollis
Ardea cinerea – Grey Heron
Bearded Vulture – Gypaetus barbatus
Griffon Vulture – Gyps fulvus
Red Kite – Milvus milvus
Common Buzzard – Buteo buteo
Western Marsh Harrier – Circus aeruginosus
Eurasian Coot – Fulica atra
Northern Lapwing – Vanellus vanellus
Eurasian Dotterel – Charadrius morinellus
Ruff – Calidris pugnax
Common Snipe – Gallinago gallinago
Common Redshank – Tringa totanus
Black-headed Gull – Chroicocephalus ridibundus
Rock Dove – Columba livia
Pin-tailed Sandgrouse – Pterocles alchata
Alpine Swift – Apus melba
Common Kestrel – Falco tinnunculus
Peregrine Falcon – Falco peregrinus
Iberian Green Woodpecker – Picus viridis sharpei
Southern Grey Shrike – Lanius meridionalis
Eurasian Jay – Garrulus glandarius
Red-billed Chough – Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax
Alpine Chough – Pyrrhocorax graculus
Eurasian Jackdaw – Corvus monedula
Carrion Crow – Corvus corone
Common Raven – Corvus corax
Woodlark - Lullula arborea
Crested Lark – Galerida cristata
Eurasian Skylark – Alauda arvensis
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
Short-toed Treecreeper – Certhia brachydactyla
Wallcreeper – Tichodroma muraria
Eurasian Wren – Troglodytes troglodytes
Zitting Cisticola – Cisticola juncidis
Common Chiffchaff – Phylloscopus collybita
Eurasian Blackcap – Sylvia atricapilla
Sardinian Warbler – Sylvia melanocephala
Dartford Warbler – Sylvia undata
Dunnock – Prunella modularis
European Robin – Erithacus rubecula
Common Redstart – Phoenicurus phoenicurus
Black Redstart – Phoenicurus ochruros
European Stonechat – Saxicola rubicola
Whinchat – Saxicola rubetra
Northern Wheatear – Oenanthe oenanthe
Black Wheatear – Oenanthe leucura
Blue Rock Thrush – Monticola solitarius
Eurasian Blackbird – Turdus merula
Song Thrush – Turdus philomelos
Mistle Thrush – Turdus viscivorus
White Wagtail – Motacilla alba
Grey Wagtail – Motacilla cinerea
Meadow Pipit – Anthus pratensis
Water Pipit – Anthus spinoletta
Cirl Bunting – Emberiza cirlus
Common Chaffinch – Fringilla coelebs
Common Crossbill – Loxia curvirostra
Eurasian Bullfinch – Pyrrhula pyrrhula
European Goldfinch – Carduelis carduelis
Eurasian Linnet – Carduelis cannabina
Citril Finch – Carduelis citrinella
European Serin – Serinus serinus
Eurasian Siskin – Spinus spinus
House Sparrow – Passer domesticus
Rock Sparrow – Petronia petronia

Renée, Jeanet y Boukje vinieron a comienzos de octubre para aprender castellano, pero aprovecharon su viaje para visitar Navarra, guiadas por nosotros, durante tres días. Aunque continúa la sequía, que es muy desfavorable para las aves de la zona, pudimos observar bastantes aves interesantes tales como chorlito carambolo, ganga ibérica, treparriscos y quebrantahuesos.