FOREWOOD

Pyrenees Species List

Great Crested Grebe - One pair apparently breeding at Artix

Black Necked Grebe - A fleeting glimpse suggests possible breeding at Artix. The information panel didn’t mention this species

Cormorant - Breeding at Artix alongside the Egrets – perhaps 12 pairs, maybe more tucked away in the trees

Night Heron - Breeding and abundant at Artix – where there were spectacular numbers, more so than Cattle Egret. Not seen in the Aragon valley

Cattle Egret - Breeding and abundant at Artix – outnumber Little Egret by a significant number – no numbers, there were just a lot there. Not seen in the Aragon valley

Little Egret - Breeding at Artix, apparently in low numbers when compared with Cattle Egret, perhaps 20 pairs. Not seen in the Aragon valley

Grey Heron – Breeding at Artix – numbers unknown, and recorded in the Aragon valley

Black Stork - One single bird came drifting over the Artix reserve during the first visit. This was the inevitable species not on the “hit list”

Mute Swan - A pair with young at Artix

Mallard - A pair with young, and 2 or 3 males at Artix

Honey Buzzard - Singles of this species were seen at Artix, over the town at Jaca, and in the Hecho valley

Black Kite - Very abundant, common and widespread – everywhere. At Artix, and again near Argeles Gazost, there were tens soaring and circling around

Red Kite - Widespread and common, more so at lower altitudes. In particular, a Red Kite in the Hecho valley gave stunning close views

Lammergeier – Seen in the high mountains, on the way up to Gavarnie, in the Ossoue valley, and well up in the Hecho valley. All sightings were of pairs

Egyptian Vulture – Common and widespread in the mountains. Best seen at Vidalos and in the Aragon and Hecho valleys

Griffon Vulture – More abundant than the previous species at the same locations. Birds were also seen twice high above Gurmençon, well out of the mountains

Short Toed Eagle – Very good sighting of one in the Hecho valley the only record

Montagu's Harrier – A dark-phase bird well seen from the terminal at Pau Pyrenees airport, hunting over the grass beside the runway

Acciper sp - A single bird of this species fleetingly seen in the hills below Gavarnie is generally thought to have been a Goshawk

Common Buzzard - Several sightings both at low level and in the mountains,  but apparently not abundant and completely outnumbered by Black Kite.

Golden Eagle – Seen in the Ossoue valley, and above the woods in the Fôret d'Issaux

Booted Eagle – A single seen very well in the Hecho valley

Bonelli's Eagle - An Eagle seen at great height above Gurmençon on the first evening probably this species but not positively identified. Another positive sighting in the Aragon valley

Kestrel -   Present but not  common – seen at Artix, Argeles Gazost, and in the high passes, also on the Spanish side

Hobby – One sighting in the Aragon valley

Peregrine Falcon – Seen above the carpark at Vidalos, at one stage chasing a Kestrel

Common Pheasant – Present in farmland at Gurmençon

Common Sandpiper – A single sighting among shallow stony “islets” in the Aragon valley

Black-Headed Gull - There were a dozen or so pairs breeding at Artix – nesting in low bushes out in the lake

Yellow-Legged Gull - A pair with young at Artix – nesting on a tree stump out in the lake

Woodpigeon – Scarce – just one single briefly seen near Gurmençon

Collared Dove - Common and widespread at low altitude

Turtle Dove – Recorded in farmland near Gurmençon

Cuckoo – Just one record, remarkably of a bird calling in the snow above Arrète la Pierre St Martin

Common Swift - Common and widespread – very large numbers at Jaca

Pallid Swift – This species breeds in the Citadel at Jaca, where there were several dozen. Also briefly seen at Arrète la Pierre St Martin and above Gavarnie

Hoopoe – One bird heard then seen at the campsite in the Aragon valley near Jaca

Green Woodpecker – Recorded in Gurmençon, near Arrète, and in the Hecho valley

Great Spotted Woodpecker - One active nest was seen at Artix, and there were sightings in the Fôret d’Issau and the Ossoue valley

White Backed Woodpecker – One seen and identified in the Fôret d’Issau. Judging by the extent of the habitat it is possible that records of this species are influenced more by the availability of stopping places for birders in cars, and the accessibility of the woodland

Crested Lark – A probable sighting of one on the concrete apron at Pau Pyrenees airport

Crag Martin Seen in low numbers above Gavarnie and around the ski resort hotel at Astun

Swallow - Common and widespread, less so at altitude

House Martin – Not commonly recorded, but seen above Artix, near Gavarnie, and around Gurmençon

Meadow Pipit – A single record on grass above the Fôret d’Issau

Water Pipit – Very common up in the mountains, especially on or near the snow line

Grey Wagtail – Seen in the torrents everywhere in the mountains, and around an old mill near Gurmençon

White Wagtail - Common everywhere

Dipper – Seen at relatively high altitude in the Ossoue valley, and another sighting of a bird carrying nest material near to Arrète

Wren - Widespread but thinly distributed – present at high altitude provided there was tree cover

Dunnock – Absent from lowland habitat, but common in the mountains, even above the snow line

Robin – Thinly but widely distributed in woodlands and lowlands

Nightingale – One heard and briefly seen at the campsite in the Aragon valley

Black Redstart – Common everywhere, even above the snow line

Whinchat – One seen high on the Spanish side near to Astun

Stonechat – One seen in the Aragon valley

Wheatear – Common but not abundant in the mountains, even above the snow line

Ring Ouzel – Many singing males in the pines around the ski chalets at Arrète la Pierre St Martin

Blackbird - Widespread and thinly distributed – not very common

Song Thrush – Uncommon and recorded only in Gurmençon, and among the chalets at Arrète la Pierre St Martin

Mistle Thrush – 3 records, at Vidalos, the ski village at Arrète la Pierre St Martin, and at Astun. Obviously not put off by snow

Cetti's Warbler – One record of a bird singing by the river in Gurmençon

Melodious Warbler – One record of a bird in scrub near Artix

Blackcap – Abundant, common and widespread – this species was everywhere, even up in the hills, and was the commonest small passerine after House Sparrow

Chiffchaff - Uncommon and scarce –singing birds near Gurmençon and in the Fôret  d'Issaux

Garden Warbler – One record of a bird by the campsite in the Aragon valley

Goldcrest – Recorded in the Fôret  d'Issaux - uncommon

Firecrest – Recorded in the Fôret  d'Issaux - uncommon

Crested Tit – Recorded in the Fôret  d'Issaux - uncommon

Coal Tit – Recorded in theFôret  d'Issaux and at Arrète la Pierre St Martin - uncommon

Blue Tit - Recorded in the Fôret  d'Issaux and at Arrète la Pierre St Martin - uncommon

Great Tit - Surprisingly uncommon – seen at Artix, Gurmençon, the Ski village at Arrète Pierre St Martin, and in the Aragon valley

Nuthatch – One record of a bird calling at Fôret d'Issaux

Short Toed Treecreeper – One record of a bird in riverside trees at the campsite in the Aragon valley

Golden Oriole - One record of a bird in riverside trees at the campsite in the Aragon valley

Red Backed Shrike – Present at Astun and in the Aragaon and Hecho valleys

Woodchat Shrike - One record of a bird in roadside bushes near the campsite in the Aragon valley

Jay – Uncommon but widespread

Magpie - Apparently uncommon, but present at varying altitude – 2 seen near Pau Pyrenees airport as we left, and there was a pair around the farm in Gurmençon. There was one sighting well up in the hills towards Gavarnie, and another in the Somport Pass. On the Spanish side, 3 sightings

Yellow Billed Chough – Large flocks of this enchanting bird at Gavarnie, Arrète la Pierre St Martin and the Ossoue valley

Red Billed Chough – Present in small numbers among the Yellow Billed Choughs, but individual pairs also seen in the Ossoue valley

Carrion Crow - Common and widespread at low altitude, less so, but present up in the hills

Raven – Common and seen in wooded and open habitat, including the  snow covered peaks. Not recorded away from the mountains

Starling – Uncommon, a few in the village, at Gavarnie and the Aragon valley

Spotless Starling –Recorded at Jaca citadel and the campsite in the Aragon valley

House Sparrow - Widespread and abundant – not present at altitude

Tree Sparrow – Recorded among the House and Rock Sparrows at Jaca citadel – just one bird!

Rock Sparrow – Hundreds around the citadel at Jaca

Chaffinch - Common and widespread at all altitudes

Serin - Widespread and thinly distributed – seen throughout including the mountain tops

Citril Finch – Eventually found among the pine trees and snow at the Ski village at Arrète la Pierre St Martin. Good views obtained although the birds very restless, and difficult to find at first

Greenfinch - Not common, our sightings were restricted to villages and farmland

Goldfinch – Recorded at Gurmençon, high up near Gavarnie, and in the Fôret d'Issaux

Linnet – Recorded in the snow above Arrète la Pierre St Martin

Bullfinch – Recorded above the trees at Fôret d'Issaux

Yellowhammer – Suprisingly present at high altitude, and recorded more or less everywhere we went, at low density

Cirl Bunting – Good sightings in and around Gurmençon, and up in the mountains at Gavarnie

Corn Bunting – One record from the Aragon valley