Just four hours on the AVE fast train from Malaga is the delightful City of Zaragoza, capital of Aragon and Spain's fifth largest city. Bob, Elena and I spent a week here exploring the City and the surrounding region and its birds. First stop on the birding tour was the Laguna at Gallocanta where up to 20,000 Common Cranes arrive from the North every Autumn. Winter in Northern Europe was late this year so only about 10,000 had arrived so far, with more pouring in daily. These large statuesque birds make a grand sight as they fly in formations or stand in large numbers in the shallows. They feed during the day in the fields around the lake & come in to roost and drink in the evenings.
Common Cranes - grus grus 
Common Cranes - grus grus Although Cranes were the main attraction there were other birds of note, including a rather nice Merlin that flew across the road in front of our car, too fast for a photo but a great sighting nonetheless.
Unlike in Andalucia the Carrion Crow is quite common here and this one stood nicely on a signpost allowing me to capture it in good light.
Carrion Crow - corvus corone
Raptors were prolific, Marsh Harriers around the Lagoon, Buzzards, Red Kites and Hen Harriers all common in the farmlands and on the steppes. At one memorable stop we counted tens of Red Kites and Buzzards as well as a surprising group of five White Storks all scouring the newly ploughed fields for freshly exposed prey.
Red Kite - milvus milvus
Red Kite - milvus milvus
 Buzzard - buteo buteo |  Hen Harrier - circus cyaneus |
Red Kite - milvus milvus Red Kites are very photogenic so I post three shots of this handsome hunter. They were also less wary than the Buzzards and Hen Harriers so the distant photos of these two are just here for the record.
Small birds were quite interesting, different from those on our home turf. Sizeable flocks of Short-Toed and Lesser Short-Toed Larks were common over the ploughed fields. The flocks twist and tumble in the air as these acrobatic little fliers change direction rapidly, creating sudden flashes as the sun catches their white breasts, the underwings are surprisingly dark and the greater species also has a dark tail underside, unlike its lesser cousin.
Flock of Short-Toed Larks - carandrella brachydactyla
Linnets were also very common and could be observed drinking from puddles along the farm tracks. I was pleased to pick up a Dartford Warbler in the scrub and managed to capture a fleeting shot as it took off in fright at our approach.
Dartford Warbler - sylvia undata
Unfortunately we were not able to find any of one of our target species, the rare Duponts Lark. It was not for want of trying as we checked all the supposedly best locations for this species in Spain, but to no avail. They are apparently much easier to hear than to see as they spend most of the time skulking around on the ground in the cover of grass and scrub.
We had better luck with some of our other target species however, spotting both Black-Bellied and Pin-Tailed Sand Grouse. These are quite difficult birds to get close to so I just have a record shot of the Pin Tailed Sandgrouse, not evidence of a new lifetime species for me as I have seen them before in Extremadura. Unfortunately I was unable to get a recognizable photo of the Black-bellied variety on this occasion.
We had better luck with some of our other target species however, spotting both Black-Bellied and Pin-Tailed Sand Grouse. These are quite difficult birds to get close to so I just have a record shot of the Pin Tailed Sandgrouse, not evidence of a new lifetime species for me as I have seen them before in Extremadura. Unfortunately I was unable to get a recognizable photo of the Black-bellied variety on this occasion.
Pin-Tailed Sandgrouse - pterocles alchata
The landscape here to the east of Zaragoza was originally all Steppe-land but unfortunately much of it has been cultivated recently so it was particularly galling to see men with guns and dogs out hunting on a so-called protected SEO Reserve.
Aragon landscape with "Mesas", or table mountains in the background.
Great Bustards - oris tarda This type of landscape is perfect for Steppe" birds such as the Great Bustard, and indeed we were were lucky enough to spot a flight of about fifteen of these amazing birds coming in to land in some fields on the outskirts of a village called Bujaraloz. As we watched we saw that they had come to join a much larger group that was already there and in all we counted in excess of fifty birds, a fine sight.
As we gradually moved North towards the Pyrenees the landscape changed with more hills, rocky outcrops and trees, so naturally the wildlife changed too. Above is a colourful Fox that ran across the road and into the scrub, while below are some of the Griffon Vultures that seemed to adorn every hilltop, large numbers of them.
Griffon Vultures - gyps fulvus
Griffon Vulture - gyps fulvus Griffons were to become a feature of our travels in Aragon. On occasion we observed dozens, or even hundreds of them wheeling around in the thermals or just roosting on every ridge and peak. I often wonder how so many birds find enough to eat, but obviously they manage and seem to be thriving. We never did see either Black or Egyptian Vultures, but close to the Pyrenean village of Hecho we were lucky to see three Bearded Vultures, or Lammergeiers wheeling around a relatively low hilltop
Lammergeier - gypaetus barbatus The Bearded Vulture is not closely related to other Vultures and is in fact a seperate genus. Its closest relative is the Egyptian Vulture with whom it shares the lozenge or diamond shaped tail. Its sparse population is generally found at high altitude (above 2000 m.) in Old World mountain ranges, where they are often seen just above the forest tree line. This was one of our target species and we considered ourselves lucky to have seen three of them in one place.
The river valley above Hecho known as the Boca del Infierno (Mouth of Hell) has spectacular scenery, particularly in Autumn with the deciduous leaves turning red and gold. The narrow entrance was once a well known location for spotting Wallcreepers, our most elusive and almost mythical target bird. These days they are seldom seen here any more and although we tried hard we did not strike it lucky this time.
The river valley above Hecho known as the Boca del Infierno (Mouth of Hell) has spectacular scenery, particularly in Autumn with the deciduous leaves turning red and gold. The narrow entrance was once a well known location for spotting Wallcreepers, our most elusive and almost mythical target bird. These days they are seldom seen here any more and although we tried hard we did not strike it lucky this time.
Typical scene in the Hecho Valley (Boca del Invierno)
Lammergeier - gypaetus barbatus We also went up above the Gabardito Mountain Refuge and walked out through the forest to the crags and steep high mountain walls which we were told is now a more likely location for Wallcreeper. We spotted Fox, various small birds, Alpine Chough and some raptors overhead, but not our target bird. I am hopeful of returning one day and finding it, the holy grail of European birdinging, the Wallcreeper.
Despite our lack of wallcreeper success, watching Lammergeiers wheel around over the trees in such spectacular surroundings was memorable and well worth the trip on its own.
Despite our lack of wallcreeper success, watching Lammergeiers wheel around over the trees in such spectacular surroundings was memorable and well worth the trip on its own.
Mountain Scenery as the weather closes in.
From the Pyrenees valleys we made our way back towards Huesca/Zaragoza via Ayerbe with a stop at the Embalsa de Sotonera where we spotted some different birds, a Great Egret and a few Oystercatchers, very surprising. We also passed by more spectacular scenery at the rock formations of the Mullos de Riglos near La Pena.
Gret Egret - casmerodious albus (archive)
 Grey Shrike - larus meridionalis I have not listed all the birds seen but others of note include Peregrine, Golden Eagle, Alpine Chough and Grey Shrike. I look forward to returning to and exploring more Pyrenees valleys which are lovely and are an often overlooked part of Spain. |  Autumn Leaves |
Bob on the road through the Valley above Hecho
On our final day of birding before returning to enjoy the sights and culture of Zaragoza, we visited a pleasant reserve around a lake at Sarinena. Here I saw my first Penduline Tit, close-up views of a superb adult male who unfortunately did not allow me time to take a photograph. I did however manage to get a nice shots of a Reed Bunting and a Zitting Cisticola.
Reed Bunting - emberiza schoenichus
Zitting Cisticola - cisticola juncidis
There were a variety of water birds on the lake including Greylag Geese, Pintail and Shelduck. We spotted Kingfisher around the reeds and in flight were Skylark and a single Barn Swallow. in total we managed a respectable 70 species which included some very nice birds, two lifers for me (Black Bellied Sandgrouse and Penduline Tit) and a first for Spain (Merlin).
