Northern Spain/Pyrennes - where to visit? (1 Viewer)

[MTem]

We are taking a trip on the Portsmouth/Santander ferry, then driving to a friends place in Collioure on the Med near the French/Spanish border. We can take any route between the two and have no major time constraints, although we probably need to keep to a more or less straight route.

Will be in a low two-seater so no major 'off-roading' access!

Looking for good birding places en-route. Any advice please?

Waders/Warblers/Raptors are favourites - so good wetlands areas?

Mick

 

[Stephen C]

NE Spain birding

We are taking a trip on the Portsmouth/Santander ferry, then driving to a friends place in Collioure on the Med near the French/Spanish border. We can take any route between the two and have no major time constraints, although we probably need to keep to a more or less straight route.

Will be in a low two-seater so no major 'off-roading' access!

Looking for good birding places en-route. Any advice please?

Waders/Warblers/Raptors are favourites - so good wetlands areas?

Mick

This appears to be a little off my patch but it might help if you could say when. I'm currently on holiday but will take a look when I get back and post if I come up with anything.

Have a great trip regardless.

All the best

 

[Borjam]

If coming on the Portsmouth-Santander ferry, have a look at the Santoña marsh, maybe the most interesting in Northern Spain.

Just drive from Santander to Bilbao (anyway, that's your route on your way to the French border) and visit a village called "Santoña".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santoña,_Victoria_and_Joyel_Marshes_Natural_Park

http://www.turismosantona.com/english/marismas.php

Not the best time of the year to visit (the peak period runs from September to May) but it can be nice anyway.

Another spot you can visit is Urdaibai. There's even a sort of museum/birding centre. I haven't visited yet, despite the fact that I live in Greater Bilbao, but I visit the marshes now and then. Again, the best time to visit is between September and May.


http://www.birdcenter.org/en

http://www.birdingeuskadi.net/menu2...+EKmq8n6WtuQ==&IdMP=FDo1qPcjwrrlGuz1VCst1Q==&

A bit more to the South, but less than an hour drive from Bilbao, Salburua in Vitoria.

http://www.birdingeuskadi.net/menu2...+EKmq8n6WtuQ==&IdMP=FDo1qPcjwrrlGuz1VCst1Q==&


Enjoy!

 

[rosbifs]

I guess the main choice is which route - you can stick to the spanish side or cross in France.

The Spanish side takes in the plains and then onto Barcelona. Stephen is your man there. I stopped at Estany D'Ivars near Leida last year - a good wetland en-route although took some finding. I love aguamolls near Girona as well.

The french side comes past me. There are a couple of good stops this way both wetlands and mountains (nr Lourdes) for the raptors fairly close to the motorway. There are some great places near where you are going - bascally from Narbonne (about 1hour) down.

 

[njlarsen]

If you stay on the Spanish side, there is Parque National de Ordesa with Torla as one town that contains both hotel and camping facilities. That area is good for Vultures including Lammergeier and other raptors, and there is a beautiful gorge for general sightseeing. A little further west is the area around Hecho (sometimes spelled Echo) that likewise is good. If you go further south, you have the steppes around Zaragoza for lark including Dupont's.

On the north side of the Pyrenees, the valley south of Lourdes is good for birds (but check the timing if you do not want to collide with Tour de France).

There are probably many other places worth mentioning, but these are at least a good place to start.

Niels

 

[MTem]

Sorry I could have been more precise about timing - we will be on the ferry next Tuesday 22 July. And we will stick to the Spanish side until near Andorra.

Current plan is the marshes at Santona and Hecho valley/San Juan de la Pena to stay at Jaca, then to Benasque the following day. Could do with another good spot along the N260. Only have two days to make the journey to Collioure alas so it will not be as leisurely as we prefer.

We will be doing the salt marshes/lagoons near Narbonne after Collioure on the way to our place near Brive.

Thanks for the input. Looks like a good area, but at the wrong time of year. The latter cannot be helped this time!

Any experience of the Portsmouth Santander ferry? I understand best chances are in the Bay of Biscay rather than the Channel ….. which is good because the ferry leaves at 5pm so most of the CHannel will be during the night.

Mick

 

[njlarsen]

Torla is only a few KM off the N260: https://www.google.dm/maps/place/22...m2!3m1!1s0xd57f97ff7df695b:0x71c631ca26f2301c, so that would definitely be my choice. I have been to the area twice, one of which was in August -- not too far off the period you are there. I enjoyed San Juan de la Pena, but if you are after birding rather than the monastery and time is limited, then I would not use the time there. I would use more time in Hecho and around Torla instead.

Niels

 

[MTem]

Excellent Neils, and thanks. Do you (or anyone) have any more detailed advice on specifically where to go around Toria and in the Hecho Valley …… or will it be obvious when we get there?

We both like to take our time and watch/photograph birds rather than just 'tick and move on', but it is a bit annoying when time is limited to have spent a couple of hours at an OK location only to find a brilliant one a bit further on when time has run out!

Help appreciated

Mick

 

[njlarsen]

It has been some years, but here is some details pulled out from memory:
We stayed at a campground a little north of Hecho itself. Even from that campground did we have good observations of vultures. Going on the paved road north from Hecho will take you to the infinierno del diablo (or something similar, where the road and the river come very close). This seemingly used to be a breeding spot for wallcreeper, but you are probably too late in the year for finding it here, just as we were. Beyond that spot is the higher valley, with a monestary of some type from where the trail goes into some interesting areas (sorry, I am vague on the details there).

Around Torla, we stayed at the campground just N of town that sprawls up to the left of the road. From the campground we could look across the valley at a big rock with Chough, Peregrine, vultures, and short toed eagle observed from right there. Continuing up the valley, the entry for Parque National the Ordesa is on your right: we could not enter due to having a dog with us, but that is famous for its birdlife. What we did instead was to take the left turn (a really low vehicle might have a problem with one of the dips on this unpaved road? - we drove a regular hatchback), and go to the end where the roman bridge is the start of a trail going up towards the French border. I remember seeing Golden Eagle in that area. Driving south of Torla and going east, you will after a while get to a small paved road going back towards Torla that is passing through a fantastic gorge (this was a one-direction road when I visited). There were breeding vultures on the cliffs along this road and the scenery is fantastic. I think it was where that road ended that a trail goes into another part of the PN, again with good raptor views.

I wish I was going back, thinking of all this!

Niels

 

[Nohatch]

If you do go via San Juan de la Pena (worth it for the monastery), then the area around Ayerbe is very scenic (particularly the rock formations of Mallos de Aguero) and there's a great spot for photographing Griffon Vultures just west of Loarre castle.
Have a nice trip!

N

 

[rosbifs]

Check out this for info
http://www.ornithomedia.com/observations.html

So at the moment at Gruissan are White Winged Black Tern and Eleanoras Falcon. The latter should still be around by the time you get to the area - early evening is best apparently.

The LPO building is by the 'roc' and they are helpful although don't speak much english (including knowing bird names). The building always looks closed up but there is generally someone about....

 

[MTem]

Feedback

First of all let me say another big thanks to those of you who responded above. Your advice was heeded in a number of ways (and thwarted by the weather in a few others). So a bit of feedback for anyone else coming this way…

Bear in mind we had to keep a move on to get to our friends in Collioure in 2 days!

Ferry to Santander

Smooth and calm seas, sunny with light winds - which is unusual for the Bay of Biscay I think. Very few birds apart from a flying wedge of 60 Common Scoters just off the IoW until the last 2 hours into Santander (3 long distance Cory's in between), then lots of Cory's and a handful of Great's. Lots of dolphins but no whales.

Santona estuary

Just east of Santander. The supposedly small road from Cicero through the salt marsh to Santona was very busy on the morning of our visit so stopping along it was harder than anticipated, but there is an excellent hide just before the causeway to Santona. Lots of good stuff - kites, stork, plovers, curlews in abundance and a Sandwich tern and a small wader I am going to call upon this fine forum to help identify!

Hecho Valley (N off A21 between Pamplona and Jaca)

Great views of R&B kites, STE (see below) and long distance Griffons. Interesting drive through the canyon above the town! No Wallcreeper though. Worth the visit for the picnic spot if nothing else!

Stayed in Jaca (nice town, lots of accomm options)

Weather (dodging thunderstorms) prevented planned visits to Torla and Benasque, but the cliffs to the right of the N260 just before the first of two tunnels into Boltano yielded my first Egyptian vulture, and further along the N260, again just before the tunnel along the Val de La Noguera, gave us great close-up views of Griffon and not as close of Lammergeier (see photos below)

So most of the raptors I was hoping for!

Thanks

Mick

 

[njlarsen]

Yes, that Lammergeier is clear enough!

Niels