Montnegre and Maigmó

Montnegre

Montnegre & Clot de Galvany – 2 January

Yesterday, 2 January, Steve Saunders and I decided to explore the mountains of Montnegre. Mountain birding is never easy, and in winter it can be even more challenging. That said, conditions were pleasant: around 16°C, hazy cloud, and hardly any wind.

Our first stop got things off to a good start with a confiding Blue Rock Thrush, plus another more distant bird. A very close Black Wheatear showed extremely well, while Dartford Warblers were contact-calling but frustratingly difficult to see. A few Serins announced themselves, and Crag Martins passed overhead.

We spent some time at the Trumpeter Finch site—not that we were expecting them, but it’s usually productive. Not today, unfortunately. Moving further up the valley, Steve picked up Short-toed Treecreeper, Crested Tit, and Black Redstart. Robins were everywhere, as usual.

At the top end of the valley we had a real highlight: 16 Griffon Vultures perched right on the summit. I’ve never seen that before—normally they’re just gliding along the rock faces. No sign of any other raptors today, though.

We then crossed to the other side of the valley to Maigmó, but by now the weather had turned very cloudy and dull, and so had the birding. Coal Tit, Crested Tit, Great Tit, and Chaffinch were about the best we could manage. With that, we cut our losses and headed for Clot de Galvany.

Clot de Galvany – 30 minutes later

Birding at the Clot was much more productive. Along with the usual suspects, we were able to add several good species to Steve’s list, including:

Gadwall

Marbled Duck

Ferruginous Duck

Common Pochard

Red-crested Pochard

White-headed Duck

Black-necked Grebe

Teal

Shoveler

Steve’s species total now stands at 99, and with a few more days to go, he should comfortably crack the century mark before heading home.

Thanks to Steve Saunders for the company and the birds.

I’ve not mentioned every species seen—but you get the idea.

Make some news… go birding.

Cheers Bryan