Day 13 - Pelagic and The Ebro Delta

Today we drove a frantic and rapid hour north to find a port to find a boat and to find, more than a few local birders, to make a pelagic birding boat trip. But first we had to find a park.

Okay - all went well. And the boat fit the description of being spacious and comfortable. The local birders moved aboard and we set out on a three hour voyage.

Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale, 

Audouin's Gull

A tale of a fateful trip 
That started from this tropic port 
Aboard this tiny ship. 

The mate was a mighty sailing man, 
The skipper brave and sure. 
many birders set sail that day 
For a three hour tour, a three hour tour. 

The weather was not that rough, 
The ship was comfortable, 
But If not for the staring of a knowing few 
Few seabirds would be seen, Few seabirds would be seen.

The birds were seen from the top deck while Maria threw out fish 
With Russell Lamb 
and Kenneth too, 
Lismore Postman and his wife, 
Vince Lee and Ray 
Janice England and Karen, 
Here with Steve and Steve West.

Alright a particularly silly song that doesn't quite work.

Yellow-legged Gull

Steve West doing some pre-pelagic Karaoke

singing was difficult because while the verses were in english - the chorus was sung in Catalan

Maria feeding gulls with sardines

Balearic Shearwater

Shearwaters sailing in front of the city

Now we saw a few of the target species; Balearic and Mediterranean, [or Yelkouan shearwater] , the Storm Petrel, Great Skua and persistent gulls; Audouin's. Yellow-legged plus, early on the trip - Sandwhich Terns. We also saw two Mediterranean Gulls on the docks before we left. Common Swifts were also common on the water.

Birding out of the wind in the Ebro Delta

The afternoon was spent birding around the delta once more. A few passing passerine migrants on passage had turned up. The most interesting species was probably an Icterine Warbler or two. This is a rare vagrant - a Hippolairs warbler and a sibling species to the resident [although too a migrant] Melodious Warbler. We also saw two flycatcher species plus Kentish Plover and a few other waders, and Red footed Falcons.

Spotted Flycatcher

Female Pied Flycatcher

handsome Yellow Wagtail

Kentish Plover

Red-footed Falcon - male