Another Barcelona Holiday

24th May 2015

With family living in Barcelona we are regular visitors to the city and to the huge diversity of habitats which make up Catalonia. These holidays are never exclusively about birding but we had never visited in May, and looked forward to catching up with some summer visitors and migrants. It proved a very hot spell but the birds did not disappoint. As ever I was a regular visitor to the Llogrebat delta, and we managed a day trip to Aguamolls, and several days in the Balaguer area. Predictable species included Bee Eater, Roller and Golden Oriole. Alpine Swifts screaming near our family's apartment was unpredictable, as was 12 Red-footed Falcons on the Balaguer dry lands, and Collared Pratincole at Llogrebat. It was good to see Black-eared Wheatear and the two species of Rock Thrush, as well as Woodchat Shrike and Rock Sparrow. Montague's Harrier was viewed in stunning evening light and the overall numbers and abundance of birds seemed to be in stark contrast to parts of Skye. However, the catalonian scenery is just as spectacular and we are fortunate to be able to enjoy this fantastic region on a regular basis. On this self-guided tour we managed to record 126 species.

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