EBRO DELTA AUGUST 2006

The Ebro Delta (1/2 day)

Tour leaders: Iben Hove Sørensen & Cristian Jensen Marcet

Tour members: Francesco Castelli & Michelle Bühlmann

74 bird species recorded

Trip report written by Iben Hove Sørensen

Sunday August 6th 2006

Waking up to yet another sunny day in the Ebro Delta, we headed out for a morning of birdwatching in the southern part of the delta. As Michelle and Francesco were staying in the village of Eucaliptus, we started off in the nearby organic rice fields of Riet Vell. Lapwing, Black-tailed Godwit, Ruff, and Curlew Sandpiper, were present among the usual Black-winged Stilts and numerous Black-headed Gulls, and we stayed for a while observing them as they were foraging in the early morning light.

From Riet Vell we continued on towards the lagoon of Alfacada, and on the way we stopped at an experimental field which is currently empty of crops. The field was practically swarming with shorebirds, and the first scanning of the field was almost stressfull - carefully checking out each bird is not always easily combined with the desire to scan for anything unusual, particularly as several American vagrants have been seen in the delta this summer! In addition to the species encountered in Riet Vell, this site held Wood Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper, Greenshank, Little Stint, and even a single Temminck's Stint. A couple of Marsh Sandpipers were foraging alongside the varicoloured groups of Ruffs in the field, and Curlew Sandpipers in all shades of red were interspersed between the numerous other shorebirds. A group of Glossy Ibis passed overhead, and Purple and Grey Herons were foraging in the surrounding rice fields. After watching the spectacle for a while, Iben suddenly discovered an unusual bird next to a couple of male Ruffs. Smaller, with paler legs and a distinctly striped breast; the Pectoral Sandpiper was still to be found in the delta! A great surprise for Francesco, who wasn't aware that a Pectoral Sandpiper was around, and a new species for Iben, who had so far managed to miss this bird on numerous birding trips.

We went on to the tower at Alfacada in high spirits. One of the first birds entering our field of view was a Great Cormorant passing the observatory, from where we also had great views of Night Heron, Squacco Heron, Great White Egret, Little Egret, Cattle Egret, and Little Bittern. Whiskered Terns were hunting elegantly over the channel along with Barn Swallows and Sand Martins, and several groups of Black Terns were passing by the beach. Purple Gallinules followed by their large and long-legged offspring were demonstrating their foraging techniques, and a Kingfisher was calling repeatedly from its hiding place somewhere below the observatory.

On the other side of the channel, in Illa de Buda, a group of Flamingos added a touch of pink to the drab colours of the numerous moulting ducks foraging in the lagoon. The first Greylag Goose of the season had settled down on the island, and the Ruddy Shelduck seen since the 28th of July was also still present. Yellow Wagtails occupied every little bush, and a group of Avocet were foraging in the shallow water. An adult Mediterranean Gull in winter plumage testified to the fact that summer is coming to an end, but nevertheless we were happy to see it.

Our next stop was at Pont del Través, where we encountered both Little and Great Crested Grebes with chicks. Although relatively common to most birders, the sight of a Little Grebe feeding an even smaller one is always worth an extra few minutes. Some Red-crested Pochards slowly paddled along, and large groups of Coots were starting to form in the open areas of the lagoons of Encanyissada and El Clot.

Our last stops were around the salty lagoon called La Tancada. Here, we added Slender-billed Gull, Sandwich Tern, and Lesser Short-toed Lark to our list, and we also had superb views of Avocets with their young at close range. Just before lunchtime we called it a day and agreed to meet again soon.

Thanks to Francesco and Michelle for a great morning. See you soon.

Species list

1. Great Crested Grebe - Podiceps cristatus
2. Little Grebe - Tachybaptus ruficollis
3. Great Cormorant - Phalacrocorax carbo
4. Grey Heron - Ardea cinerea
5. Purple Heron - Ardea purpurea
6. Little Egret - Egretta garzetta
7. Great Egret - Egretta alba
8. Cattle Egret - Bubulcus ibis
9. Squacco Heron - Ardeola ralloides
10. Night Heron - Nycticorax nycticorax
11. Little Bittern - Ixobrychus minutus
12. Glossy Ibis - Plegadis falcinellus
13. Greater Flamingo - Phoenicopterus ruber
14. Greylag Goose - Anser anser
15. Ruddy Shelduck - Tadorna ferruginea
16. Common Shelduck - Tadorna tadorna
17. Mallard - Anas platyrhynchos
18. Garganey - Anas querquedula
19. Common Teal - Anas crecca
20. Northern Shoveler - Anas clypeata
21. Red-crested Pochard - Netta rufina
22. Common Kestrel - Falco tinnunculus
23. Common Coot - Fulica atra
24. Purple Swamphen - Porphyrio porphyrio
25. Common Moorhen - Gallinula chloropus
26. Water Rail - Rallus aquaticus
27. Pied Avocet - Recurvirostra avosetta
28. Black-winged Stilt - Himantopus himantopus
29. Northern Lapwing - Vanellus vanellus
30. Little Ringed Plover - Charadrius dubius
31. Dunlin - Calidris alpina
32. Curlew Sandpiper - Calidris ferruginea
33. Little Stint - Calidris minuta
34. Temminck's Stint - Calidris temminckii
35. Pectoral Sandpiper - Calidris melanotos
36. Common Redshank - Tringa totanus
37. Common Greenshank - Tringa nebularia
38. Marsh Sandpiper - Tringa stagnatilis
39. Common Sandpiper - Tringa hypoleucos
40. Wood Sandpiper - Tringa glareola
41. Green Sandpiper - Tringa ochropus
42. Ruff - Philomachus pugnax
43. Whimbrel - Numenius phaeopus
44. Black-tailed Godwit - Limosa limosa
45. Black-headed Gull - Larus ridibundus
46. Mediterranean Gull - Larus melanocephalus
47. Yellow-legged Gull - Larus michahellis
48. Lesser Black-backed Gull - Larus fuscus
49. Audouin's Gull - Larus audouinii
50. Slender-billed Gull - Larus genei
51. Sandwich Tern - Sterna sandvicensis
52. Common Tern - Sterna hirundo
53. Little Tern - Sterna albifrons
54. Black Tern - Chlidonias niger
55. Whiskered Tern - Chlidonias hybridus
56. Feral Pigeon - Columba livia feral
57. Eurasian Collared Dove - Streptopelia decaocto
58. European Turtle Dove - Streptopelia turtur
59. Common Swift - Apus apus
60. Common Kingfisher - Alcedo atthis
61. European Bee-eater - Merops apiaster
62. Skylark - Alauda arvensis
63. Crested Lark - Galerida cristata
64. Lesser Short-toed Lark - Calandrella rufescens
65. Barn Swallow - Hirundo rustica
66. Northern House Martin - Delichon urbica
67. Sand Martin - Riparia riparia
68. Yellow Wagtail - Motacilla flava
69. Eurasian Reed Warbler - Acrocephalus scirpaceus
70. Zitting Cisticola - Cisticola juncidis
71. Eurasian Magpie - Pica pica
72. House Sparrow - Passer domesticus
73. Eurasian Tree Sparrow - Passer montanus
74. Common Starling - Sturnus vulgaris

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