Last days in Slovenia and the journey home 9th - 20th June

Until this trip I hadn't realised that Slovenia had a coast but then it's only around 20km long so it's easily overlooked.  We stopped in Piran at the Campsite Fiesa which is on the coast and next to a small lake. The lake had singing Reed Warbler and the sparrows here were both House and Italian.

Piran central square

After an evening meal in the old town of Piran we visited the nearby Parco Naturale delle Saline di Sicciole which are working salt pans. It was very hot when we were there, 34°C, and it's a large area that would be worthy of several days rather than our few hours but we saw Kentish Plover, Avocets and Black-winged Stilts, more Italian Sparrows, breeding Yellow-legged Gulls with young and quite a few Little Terns.

Italian Sparrow

From Piran we drove in to Italy and to Camping Realto on the outskirts of Venice. A 5 min bus ride took us into Venice, our first visit since stopping here in 1979 on our overland trip to India and Nepal. We took a 20€ boat trip which lasted about four hours and visited the islands of Murano and Burano.

Venice Grand Canal

Burano

After Venice we drove to the Italian Lakes stopping at Camping Orta by the beautiful town of Orta San Giulio but still no sign of the Muscovy Ducks there. Crossing in to Switzerland via the Simplon Pass we saw Water Pipits and Whinchats but as the temperature here dropped to 12°C and the wind picked up we moved further in to Switzerland and stopped in the hills above Sion. In the morning during a short stroll I could here the distinctive cho-eet call of Western Bonelli's Warblers and after some time I located a male that was also occasionally giving short bursts of their trilling song. The plumage was a little worn but I can put up with that for one of my favourite warblers!

Western Bonelli's Warbler

More Red-backed Shrikes and several Black Kites were in the area.

From Sion we drove in to France via Chamonix and onward to Samoens for a few days with my brother and his wife.

A trip up the Col de Joux Plane produced a nice pair of alpestris Ring Ouzel feeding young in the nest. 

Ring Ouzel - male of the alpine race alpestris with very scaly underparts

I had heard that the Bearded Vultures at Salvagny had been unsuccessful this year so I decided to have a look in the Fer-a-Cheval. As I walked down the track I met a shepherd who asked me what I was looking for and if I had seen the Gypaete. I mentioned the birds at Salvagny but he said no here in the Fer-a-Cheval to which I replied no. I wondered on and about 15 minutes later caught a glimpse of a Bearded Vulture flying close to the rock face before it disappeared. I walked to the area I had last seen it and after several minutes scanning the rock face found it on the edge of a large cave. Frustratingly it was only visible from certain places on the track and there was no way to get closer but I got some record shots of what is perhaps a second breeding pair in the area.

Bearded Vulture

 Finally we left the Alps stopping overnight south of Chaumont and again near Calais before taking the Tunnel back to the UK and bringing another European superb trip to an end.

Back to Spain 4th September - 8th October 2017 Part 2 Tarifa to the French Alps

From Tarifa on the 17th we headed north for Granada, we made a few stops and added Dipper, Grey Wagtail and 4 Rock Bunting to our trip list. on the 18th we drove up to the ski village of Sierra Nevada. Not many birds here but much cooler and great views also plenty of Crag Martins feeding around the ski village.
Continuing our northward journey we next stopped at Motril where I visited the small reserve of Charco Suarez which is still one of the best places in Spain for Crested Coot, thanks to a reintroduction programme. There was some interaction between the two species of coot and it seemed to be the Cresteds that were chasing the Eurasians. The photo shows the pale trailing edge to the wing due to the paler secondaries which is restricted to just the secondary tips in Crested, Also has Purple Swamphen, a single male Ferruginous Duck and several Spoonbill.

Crested Coot chasing Eurasian Coot

Crested Coot

Next stop was the rocky headland of Cabo de Gata, a place I had heard of but never visited before. It is famous as one of the only places in Spain and Europe where Trumpeter Finch can be found. I searched the headland around the lighthouse but without success although a Black Wheatear showed nicely. I always think of them as birds of the mountains but they are just as happy on the coast.

There is a large hill just inland from the lighthouse, the vegetation on the coastal side had clearly been damaged by fire which didn't look good but as I started to walk around its lower slopes I disturbed a small finch, a Trumpeter Finch. I remained motionless and scanned the hillside picking up several more until I had counted 20 of them!

Trumpeter Finch

We stayed on a campsite a few kilometres inland and from there I could walk over some rough ground to a coastal pool called Rambla Morales. Here I saw Southern Grey Shrike, Subalpine and Spectacled Warblers, Black-necked Grebe, White-headed Duck and several Red-rumped Swallows. Gulls were coming to bath in the fresh water and as I got closer I could see that they were all Slender-billed. Almost all were adults and some were very pink on the breast and outer primaries.

Slender-billed Gull - adult

Continuing up the coast for another 150km we stopped at Mazarron, just short of Cartagena. The rough dry scrub between the town and the coastal port was typical of the area and produced more Black Wheatears and at least a dozen Subalpine as well as 4 or 5 Spectacled Warblers which I spent some time trying to photograph.

Subalpine Warbler juv - they yellow flowers have given this bird a yellowish cast to mantle

Spectacled Warbler - juvenile

Spectacled (left) and Subalpine Warblers

Spectacled Warbler

Black Wheatear

We did the short distance from Mazzaron to Cartagena on the 24th September and stayed in the town for a couple of nights. From here we visited the lagoon at San Pedro del Pinatar. This was amazing for Black-necked Grebe I estimated 600 on the first visit and then counted 740 on my second visit which included two leucistic birds.

Black-necked Grebe including leucistic bird

The area was also very good for Slender-billed Gulls with some birds very close to the promenade which crosses the lagoon. 

I counted 30 on the first day but over 100 on the second but surprisingly I only saw 2 birds in first summer plumage which are pictured below.

Slender-billed Gulls - both first summer

There were a few shorebirds, mainly Sanderling which again were very confiding but I also had Little Stint and Kentish Plover.

Kentish Plover

Next stop Calpe, similar birds with plenty of migrant Subalpine Warblers in the scrub on the outskirts of town. Alpine Accentors move down from the mountains to winter here but it will be sometime yet before they arrive. A flock of Yellow-collared Lovebirds were in the trees by the campsite when I arrived, I'd seen Monk Parakeets in most of the towns on the Mediterranean coast but these were new for me.

Yellow-collared Lovebirds - I think the blue one is a colour morph

We carried on the Ebro Delta, I was here in Spring 2016 and it's a fantastic area with a huge breeding colony of Audouin's Gulls but by 27th September when I arrived I only saw about a dozen birds and all adults. At least 500 Greater Flamingo were a real spectacle, especially as they left the lagoons in small groups on a morning presumably to feeding grounds on the coast.

Greater Flamingo

In the bushes there were a few migrant Pied Flycatchers and Common Redstarts and in the evening Scops Owls called from the small wooded campsite where we stayed but day-time searches failed to reveal them. I looked for a Pacific Golden Plover which had been seen in recent days but the weather had turned and it was raining and I couldn't find it so spent some time photographing a yellow wagtail. I think this is a 1st winter male Blue-headed Wagtail.

Blue-headed Wagtail - 1st winter male

Pam was flying home from Barcelona on 2nd October and we had planned to stay over in the city before she left but with the Catalonian independence election taking place on 1st October and demonstrations planned we decided to stay over in Tossa de Mar. The was quite a bit of trouble in Barcelona but the elections went off peacefully in the smaller villages we visited. Not many birds to add here but nice views of Firecrest and I caught up with a Two-tailed Pasha in the hills above Tossa. Not the freshest example but they are superb butterflies.

Two-tailed Pasha

Having dropped Pam at the airport I headed north in to France finally stopping on the top of the Col du Galibier. After the heat of Spain it was quite a contrast to be in the French Alps. The temperature dropped to a frosty -3°C overnight which made quite a pleasant change! As I drove up to the col a small group of passerines flew across the road and proved to be Alpine Accentors and with the sun shining I managed some decent photos.

Alpine Accentor

I also had a group of 20 White-winged Snowfinch but they remained distant on inaccesible slopes so sadly no photos. The only other birds on the col were Water Pipits which appeared to be crossing the col and Alpine Chough. Leaving the col and after a coffee and croissant at the restaurant I stopped in the valley at Bonnenuit and had barely exited the van when a Lammergier crossed overhead.

Lammergier or Bearded Vulture

I stopped for a few days at my brothers just outside Samoens before the final drive to Calais and the ferry back to Dover getting home on 8th October after another great trip.

Samoens and the Grand Massif

Still very overcast when I arrived in the valley of the Haute Giffre, with low cloud cover so I decided to stay down in the valley and visit the Fer-a-Cheval just a few kilometres east of Samoens. As I was getting out of the van with the camera a local guide asked me what I was hoping to photograph and said there was a small group of Bouquetin, or Alpine Ibex, just a few hundred meters down the road. I soon located them, it looked like four youngsters, the smallest of which looked to be in a very precarious position on the cliff face. 

Bouquetin - youngster

I took a few photos then headed further in to the valley on foot, there was a mother group of about 8 Bouquetin this party including 2 adult males with decent horns. There were Ravens over the cliff tops and Crested and Marsh Tits among the trees but not sign of the Alpine Swifts which breed on the cliffs having returned yet.

Bouquetin - males

Returning to Sixt I went to Salvagny and a well known breeding site for Lammergeier. A French birdwatcher was the only other person in the car park and he was watching a Lammergeier as I arrived. A second bird soon appeared, both adults and they circled in front of the cliff for 15 or 20 minutes before finally landing, one bird in a cave and the other nearby. Not close for photography but a good view through a telescope.

Lammergeier

The following day, Sunday, was forecast to be clear and so it was, a clear blue sky all day. I decided to get up high using the ski lift in Flaine which goes up to 2200m. I walked on the snow to the Tete de Pelouse, an area where I have regularly seen Snow Finch. It was 20 minutes or so before I first heard and then saw a Snow Finch. It was quite a distance away, several more appeared but were feeding on an inaccessible cliff face. I spent several hours in the area, an Alpine Accentor started singing from the rocks and I eventually picked it up having a preen.

Alpine Accentor

I followed the Snow Finches and eventually two birds came a little closer on to an area where there had been a small avalanche. The disadvantage for me was that stood watching them every so often a rock would come bounding down the slope to land on the snow quite close to where I was stood.

Snow Finch

Sometimes when I have been in this area the Snow Finches have come to the cafe by the lift but not today. I returned to the lift and took some more photos of the Alpine Choughs. When the light reflected off the snow catches the birds underside it is amazing how it lights up the black plumage.

Alpine Chough

This morning I did a walk towards the Refuge de Bostan in an area of old deciduous woodland. I was very pleased early on to flush two Hazel Grouse off the side of the path. They landed and ran in to the cover of the woodland giving no opportunity for a photo. That's the first time I have seen Hazel Grouse in all my years of visiting this area so I consider myself lucky to have seen them. It's a bird I would like to photograph so hopefully will get more chance later on.
Having reached the French Alps this really concludes Part 1 of my trip. I had decided at the outset that I wanted to spend more time in eastern Europe and Scandinavia than in western Europe so I have purposely dashed around Spain and France. Tomorrow I am heading for Slovenia and Croatia to begin Part 2.

Route completed at 11th April