Canal de Berdún in Huésca to Laguna de Pitillas, Navarra, Spain.

Morning and Evening Visits to the Laguna.

Deb and Ian, Day Forty Seven. 

Ebird List for Laguna de Pitillas Morning. 

Ebird List for Laguna de Pitillas Heat of the Day Spot..

Ebird List for Laguna de Pitillas Evening.

 

Info sign near the closed visitors center.

We started the day with just over an hours drive down to the Laguna de Pitillas, sadly we had to move on as we had really enjoyed staying at the house in Berdún but we had enjoyed this lake a few days earlier and wanted to try and see the Great Bittern (Avetoro Común / Botaurus stellaris) better.

Looking out over the Laguna.

We were on site by 08:30 and settled in our chairs shortly after that, we soon heard the first of the booming Great Bittern's and not much later we were watching a male chasing a female off to our left, they never came close but the size difference between the sexes was very obvious.

Great Bittern (Avetoro Común / Botaurus stellaris).

Great Bittern (Avetoro Común / Botaurus stellaris).

Great Bittern (Avetoro Común / Botaurus stellaris).

We watched the chase for the its last 18 minutes, we had no idea how long it had gone on for before we spotted them but it was amazing to watch.

Grey Heron (Garza Real / Ardea cinerea).

Purple Heron (Garza Imperial / Ardea purpurea).

Purple Heron (Garza Imperial / Ardea purpurea).

In the same area we had a Common Quail (Codorniz Común / Coturnix coturnix), Greylag Goose (Ansar Común / Anser anser), Mute Swans (Cisne Vulgar / Cygnus olor), Gadwall (Anade Friso / Mareca strepera), Mallard (Anade Azulón / Anas platyrhynchos), Red-crested (Pato Colorado / Netta rufina) and Common Pochard (Porrón Europeo / Aythya ferina), Water Rail (Rascón Europeo / Rallus aquaticus), Eurasian Coot (Focha Común / Fulica atra), Common Moorhen (Gallineta Común / Gallinulas chloropus), Black-winged Stilt (Ciguenuela Común / Himantopus himantopus), Little Grebe (Zampullín Común / Tachybaptus ruficollis), Grey (Garza Real / Ardea cinerea) and Purple Heron (Garza Imperial / Ardea purpurea), Griffon Vulture (Bultre Leonado / Gyps fulvus), Western Marsh (Aguilucho Lagunero Occidental / Circus aeruginosus) and Montagu's Harriers (Aguilucho Cenizo / Circus pygargus), European Bee-eater (Abejaruco Europeo / Merops apiaster), Greater Short-toed (Terrera Común / Calandrella brachydactyla) and Calandra Lark (Calandria Común / Melanocorypha calandra), Bearded Tit (Reedling) (Bigotudo / Panurus biarmicus), Zitting Cisticola (Cistícola Buitrón / Cisticola juncidis), Great Reed Warbler (Carricero Tordal / Acrocephalus arundinaceus), Spotless Starling (Estornino Negro / Sturnus unicolor) and Corn Bunting (Escribano Triguero / Emberiza calandra).

Black-winged Stilt (Ciguenuela Común / Himantopus himantopus).

Mute Swan (Cisne Vulgar / Cygnus olor) family.

At the same spot before it got too hot we also recorded Blue / Common Emperor (Anax imperator), Red-veined Darter (Sympetrum fonscolombii), Spotted Fritillary (Melitaea didyma) and Perez's Frog (Rana Común / Pelophylax perezi).

Spotted Fritillary (Melitaea didyma).

Spotted Fritillary (Melitaea didyma).

Spotted Fritillary (Melitaea didyma).

Spotted Fritillary (Melitaea didyma).

By around 10:30 it was getting too hot to sit out so we headed back around to the visitors center where we parked and went up to the far end of the building where there was a nice area of shade with a good breeze which made birding from there quite comfortable as we couldn't check in until later in the afternoon.

Spanish (Yellow) Wagtail (Lavandera Boyera / Motacilla flava iberiae).

From here we added Common Shelduck (Tarro Blanco / Tadoma tadorna), Eurasian Collared Dove (Tórtola Turca / Streptopelia decaocto), Green Sandpiper (Andarrios Grande / Tringa ochropus), Yellow-legged Gull (Gaviota Patiamarilla / Larus Michahellis), Whiskered Tern (Fumarel Cariblanca / Chilidonias hybridus), Great Crested (Somormujo Lavanco / Podiceps cristatus) and Black-necked Grebe (Zampullín Cuellinegro / Podiceps nigricollis), Black Kite (Milano Negro / Milvus migrans), Common Kestrel (Cernicalo Vulgar / Falco tinnunculus), Eurasian Hobby (Alcotán Europeo / Falco subbuteo), Carrion Crow (Corneja Negra / Corvus corone), Crested (Cogujada Común / Galerida cristata) and Eurasian Skylark (Alondra Común / Alauda arvensis), Barn Swallow (Golondrina Común / Hirundo rustica), Sardinian (Curruca Cabecinegra / Curruca melanocephala), Common Reed (Carricero Común / Acrocephalus scrpaceus) and Cetti's Warbler (Cetia Ruiseñor / Cettia cetti), Common Nightingale (Ruisenor Común / Luscinia megarhynchos), Spanish (Yellow) Wagtail (Lavandera Boyera / Motacilla flava iberiae), Common Linnet (Pardillo Común / Linaria cannabina) and European Goldfinch (Jilguero Europeo / Carduelis carduelis).

Common Blue Damselfly (Enallagma cyathinerum).

Common Blue Damselfly (Enallagma cyathinerum).

Iberian Bluetail (Ischnura graellsii).

Iberian Bluetail (Ischnura graellsii).

Iberian Bluetail (Ischnura graellsii).

After a while Deb and I went to check the grass area behind the Center where we found Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina), Small White (Pieris rapae), Clouded Yellow (Colias croceus), Small Heath (Coenonympha pamphilus) and down along the waters edge Iberian Bluetail (Ischnura graellsii), Common Blue Damselfly (Enallagma cyathinerum), Black-tailed Skimmer (Orthetrum cancellatum), Lesser Emperor (Anax parthenope) and Catalonian Wall Lizard (Podarcis liolepis). 

Plaza de Carlos III.

Plaza de los Teobaldos.

At around 14:30 we decided to head for the town of Olite and check into our accommodation, once we had done this we went for a walk around the town which was very nice and full of historical interest.

Palacio Real de Olite.

Later we drove back to the Laguna for an evening visit and added Common Woodpigeon (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus), Common Swift (Vencejo Común / Apus apus), Squacco Heron (Garcilla Cangrejera / Ardeola ralloides), Red-billed Chough (Chova Piquirroja / Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax) and Common Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula) before we headed back and hit the pit.