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 total list of species, if not very numerous for three days, was built with many interesting species. The birding highlights of the trip were:

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!

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.