It was nice to be back in my homeland, in the Basque Country, and breathe the fresh mountain air every morning. During my previous trips to Europe, we would always spend all our time in the Basque Country, and visit areas in the vicinity. So it was interesting to begin our trip to Europe in Switzerland and end it in the Basque Country. It was also interesting because this would be the first time I ever go birding in the Basque Country, despite my numerous trips in past, which is why I was very excited when my dad told me he wanted to bring me to this spot where he used to go hiking when he was younger.
This locale is the Mount Iraty, one of the myriad summits that compose the Pyrenees, connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea. My dad remembers seeing many raptors here when he was younger, so I was optimistic about our day. As we ascended, we could see the small villages in the valley decrease in size. We finally pulled over and seated ourselves in some old, dilapidated hunting blinds, used during open season to hunt migrating pigeons (which fortunately wasn't the case when we were there). The first birds we began noticing when we were in the blinds were a few
Eurasian Griffons, the emblematic birds of the Basque Country that have been subjects of the numerous tales in Basque folklore. Although their ranges are somewhat restricted in Europe, they are nonetheless abundant within that range. I remember being a kid in the Basque Country and seeing the sky darkened by the sheer numbers of these soaring raptors. Although there weren't quite as many of these raptors at this time, it was nonetheless exciting to see, as it had been a few years since the last I had seen these birds.
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Eurasian Griffon
(notice the broad wings with "fingers" at the tips,
and the white on the underwings) |
As these vultures flew above us, another raptor flew above us but in the other direction. It was a gorgeous
Red Kite, and it offered sublime views, where I was able to see the intricate underwing pattern.
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Red Kite
(notice the distinctive angled wings and long, "forked" tail,
the white strip on the primaries and the red tail) |
Aside from the raptors, the blinds didn't yield much of interest. However, as we were heading back to our vehicle, I noticed something zip by quickly. My instinctual thought was "hummingbird", but I realized how preposterous that statement was, right as I thought it. It turned out this was actually a species of sphinx moth, a moth that rapidly beats its wings, and gleans the nectar from flowers thanks to its remarkably long proboscis. It was an exciting find indeed.
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| Sphinx Moth |
The remainder of our day consisted in driving along the tortuous and meandering road, and stopping whenever we spotted anything. The first bird we stopped for was a
Water Pipit, a species I previously saw, for a brief moment, while on Mount Pilatus in Switzerland. My previous views were fleeting, so I was happy to see this pipit perched atop a pole in plain sight, being a cooperative subject, unlike every other bird on that continent.
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Water Pipit
(notice the supercilim, and the sharp beak) |
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Water Pipit
(notice the distinctive face pattern, the dark scapulars,
the faint streaking on the flanks, and the buffy underbelly) |
I hopped out of the car to get better shots of this bird, and as I did so, I noticed the a decently-sized kettle of raptors circling, so I decided to study each bird, to enhance my european raptor identification. They were all
Eurasian Griffons and
Red Kites, the most expected raptors at this altitude. However, I noticed a thinner and smaller raptor circling with them, further away from the main kettle though. It had a white body with black primaries and secondaries. I suddenly gasped, and realized that this was an
Egyptian Vulture, a species that I didn't think I would see at all! Unfortunately, it flew off before I could snap a shot of it, but I was still enchanted but this unexpected sighting.
We continued driving and we noticed another kettle. After our exciting find, we figured it would be wise to scrutinize this flock as well. Although there weren't any raptors of interest in this area, I noticed a medium-sized passerine hopping along the rocks. It finally perched on top of an open rock, and I was able to identify this bird as a
Northern Wheatear. I was worried that I would dip on this species during my time in Europe, so I was greatly relieved when this stunning bird made an appearance.
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Male Northern Wheatear
(notice the black face mask and wings, the gray back,
and the sharp beak) |
I had studied this bird many times in the past (in hopes of perhaps coming across one in the Bay Area), but never truly realized the subtle elegance of this bird. Seeing how clean and crisp this alternate plumaged adult appeared, it made me realize how spectacular this species actually is.
As the wheatear flew off, we too drove off. We came across a large flock of choughs, so we pulled over to check them out. But as we did so, I saw a white figure slowly drifting in our direction. It was the
Egyptian Vulture! It had returned, offering me another chance to photograph it. It flew right above us, and we earned incomparable views that have been indelibly engrained in my memory. It was truly an incredible sight and the photos do not do justice to the magnificence of this bird.
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Egyptian Vulture
(notice the yellow head, the white body,
and the black primaries and secondaries) |
To our dismay, this bird didn't stick around, and as soon as it arrived, it vanished. Now that we weren't distracted, we could focus on the massive chough flock. I assumed they were all
Yellow-billed Choughs, but when I put my binoculars up, I realized that this massive flock consisted entirely of
Red-billed Choughs, another lifer!
The flock soon dispersed and I started heading back to the car. But as I do so, some movement in a nearby shrub caught my attention. I looked to find my lifer
Dunnock, a species notorious for being difficult to spot due to their surreptitious behavior and cryptic plumage. Also known as the
Hedge Sparrow, this species frequents a variety of habitats, but tends to stick with thickets and other shrubs, which explains its presence here up in mountains. Not only that, but it also had a chick with it, peeping stridently.
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Dunnock
(notice the brown mantle with darker streaks,
the gray body and the streaks along the flanks) |
This concluded my first day of birding in the Basque Country. Seeing some species typical to alpine climates was very fun, and the lifers sure made this outing that much more special. After a phenomenal first day, I couldn't wait to see what else the Basque Country had in store for me.
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| The view from the top of Mount Iraty |
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