Another trip to Spain

09th March 2013

Whilst Skye enjoyed some pretty settled winter weather, we disappeared to Spain for a few weeks, primarily to visit family, but also to look for birds in Catalonia and Aragon. Carrying a Skye 'man cold' did not help, and we certainly experienced a range of weather. Barcelona is always a wonderful city to visit and its many parks host a variety of species, many of them escaped from captivity and now thriving. There are several species of parakeet and the image shows a pair of Blue-crowned Conure which we found, one of the rarer species which originates in south America. Over the three weeks we managed to record 126 species and the overseas Gallery on the site displays some of the images. Highlights from local Barcelona sites such as Llogrebrat included some early hirundines, Garganey and Red-crested Pochard. The Ebre Delta is a huge area and after three visits we are starting to get to know our way around. There were loads of Greenshank, Green and Wood Sandpipers with literally hundreds of wintering Little Stint. We only managed to spend a few days in the midi-Pyrenees in Aragon based in a converted farm building at about 3000 feet. Seeing Golden Eagle was a reminder of home and the occasional Lammergeir a bit of a bonus. A flock of 16 Hawfinch and a nice male Brambling, very rare in these parts, were unexpected extras. A pair of Alpine Chough proved very obliging at a nearby reservoir where I spent several hours searching for Wallcreeper - fast becoming a bogey bird for me. This is a wonderful area to visit and I am very happy to provide advice and suggestions on where to go.

Bob

THE BOOK

"A glorious little gem"

AMAZON

"A book such as this has to look backwards and the author does so succinctly, looking at the work of several of the pioneering naturalists before picking out the publications of JA Harvie-Brown and the Rev. Hugh Macpherson. I know this book fills a real gap in the information available for the Isle of Skye and it will surely sell well at local bookshops."

Andrew Currie Miscellany West Highland Free Press

"A total of 238 species have been recorded, with 14 of those 'red listed' as of high conservation concern ... another innovation has been the inclusion of Gaelic names for some birds. While this is not uncommon in a few other books, the addition of some regional Gaelic names is very unusual and very welcome."

Ray Collier Country Diary 'Up in the Skye' The Guardian

"Illustrated with beautiful photographs of current birdlife on the island, the publication also features sketches by Jean Thomas of The Little Gallery, Portnalong, stimulating the reader's interest further and allowing them to identify species they encounter on Skye."

The Hebridean