Delta de l'Ebre

   

Durant les vacances de Nadal vaig passar uns dies al Delta de l'Ebre juntament amb uns companys. Feia molt de temps que no hi anava i va ser una molt bona experiència poder ensenyar part del que sabia a amics amb ganes d'aprendre. Tot i que l'última vegada que hi vaig anar era petita, en tinc el record molt clar. Penso que en aquesta segona visita vam trobar un Delta que, tot i les adversitats a les què s'enfronta actualment i la situació desastrosa de plaga de cargol poma que va destacar sobretot el passat estiu, segueix fort i acollint una gran varietat d'espècies.

  

Circus aeruginosus

Egretta garzetta

Així doncs, el parc està generalment en bones condicions i molt actiu a nivell d'ocells. Al ser molt extens, però, apareix una dificultat en moure's d'un punt d'interès a l'altre. Tot i això, com que és una zona d'observació popular, els millors llocs i estanys estan perfectament identificats, fet que facilita les coses.

Nosaltres vàrem visitar la zona de la Tancada i l'Encanyissada, al cor del parc. Ens hagués agradat poder recórrer la Banya i arribar també a l'Ampolla, però el poc temps de què disposàvem no ho va permetre. Tot i això, van ser uns dies destacables i m'encantaria tornar al Delta aviat. El paisatge característic i la quantitat d'ocells que s'hi troben el fan un indret del que mai em cansaria. Vam tenir la sort de veure un arc de Sant Martí sobre els aiguamolls, i les fotos son increïbles.

  

Remiz pendulinus

Plegadis falcinellus

Vam poder observar totes les espècies hivernants més recurrents, i també algunes que aquí al Gironès són una mica més escasses però que allà vam veure diferents cops durant el dia, com el teixidor (Remiz pendulinus) o el cabussó collnegre (Podiceps nigricollis). Ens va sorprendre positivament l'elevadíssim nombre de capó reial (Plegadis falcinellus), arpella comuna (Circus aeruginosus) i martinet blanc (Egretta garzetta) present a la zona, així com la varietat de limícoles.

Estols de desenes de capons ens van sobrevolar tot el dia i tampoc no van faltar els roquerols (Ptyonoprogne rupestris), blauets (Alcedo attis) flamencs (Phoenicopterus roseus), cabussons emplomallats (Podiceps cristatus), agrons blancs (Ardea alba) i territs menuts (Calidris minuta) i variants (Calidris alpina), entre altres.

Plegadis falcinellus // Actitis hypoleucos // Saxicola rubicola // Phylloscopus collybita // Podiceps cristatus

During the winter break from uni I was able to visit the Delta de l'Ebre natural park in Catalonia with some friends. It had been a long while since I last was there, so it was great to be back and also able to teach my friends, who were all willing to learn, more about birding. Last time I visited the park I was really young, but I still have a clear memory of it. I think it's fair to say that despite all the difficulties that it's facing and the extreme plague of Pomacea which was particularly disastrous last summer, a birds still block there for the winter, which makes me proud to say. As said, the area is in good shape and is definitely a fantastic birding spot. The only problem we encountered was related to transport, since the park is big and moving around can be difficult. Even though, since it's a popular place for bird-watching, the best spots are well-known, which makes everything much easier.

Alcedo attis

We visited two of the most relevant sports in thesouth of the park (called la Tancada and l'Encanyissada, in Catalan) . We would have enjoyed being able to go further and see more places, but we didn't have a lot of time so had to choose. Still, it was an incredible experience and I am looking forward to visiting the area again soon. The characteristic scenery and the huge number of birds present make the park a place I could never get tired of. We were lucky enough to see a rainbow form over the wetlands, which made the perfect photo.

We were able to see all of the most present wintering species, and also some others which are not as common where I live but appeared more than once there. Examples are the Eurasian penduline tit (Remiz pendulinus) and the Black-necked grebe (Podiceps nigricollis). We were positively surprised by the amount of Glossy ibis (Plegadis falcinellus) Western marsh harrier (Circus aeruginosus) and Little egret (Egretta garzetta) individuals present. We also encountered a large variety of waders, and even though most of them were far from the sighting hides identification was possible with the right equipement.

Flocks of tenths of ibis flew around all day, and we could also see Eurasian crag martins (Ptyonoprogne rupestris), Common kingfishers (Alcedo attis) Greater flamingos (Phoenicopterus roseus), Great crested grebes (Podiceps cristatus), Great egrets (Ardea alba), Little stints (Calidris minuta) and Dunlins (Calidris alpina), to name some.