24/12/2021 Grasslands and steppes around Lleida
We spent the whole day driving in the grasslands and steppes around Lleida, mainly in the east. We visited three sites that day: Mas de Melons, Secans Belianes-Preixana, and Casa de la Salina. The weather was still cloudy as the previous two days, and in the afternoon, it became foggy now and then. That weather reminded me of my last birding experience in the winter meadows in Beijing, though it was much warmer in Catalonia.
We departed early that day and arrived at Mas de Melons when it was still dark. We tried to find some roosting birds by the road, but what we got were only rabbits. When it turned to light, large flocks of European Starlings came there. We parked at a building that looked like a tourist center and walked around. Farmed orange or olive trees also dominated open areas and habitats. Besides Eurasian Jackdaws and Carrion Crows, there was a collection of wintering passerines. European Robin, Black Redstart, Song Thrush, European Serin, Hawfinch, and Eurasian Linnet were all fairly common there. This combination reminded me of the breeding birds in Sweden. Common Chiffchaff was the most common warbler there. For Sylvia warblers, we met several Eurasian Blackcaps and one female Sardinian Warbler in a bush above a tiny hill. Out of expectation, we spotted an Iberian Woodpecker in an isolated bush among a large field. All the Picus woodpeckers I had ever met were pretty forest-restricted species and hardly ever occurred in other habitats. Crested Larks and Thekla’s Larks were in the field like the previous day.
Those open areas are optimal places for predatory birds. Some birds of prey occasionally flew over during that morning. Eurasian Marsh Harriers were the most common species. We had some Red Kite and Common Kestrel as well. There was also a highlight that we saw two giant eagles fighting just above us. I presumed it to be the Golden Eagles at that time. However, I was not 100% sure since they flew away immediately. Following the road, there were Iberian Grey Shrikes on the electrical wires every few hundred meters. On the educational signs from the tourist center, we learned that there were possible sandgrouses, mainly Pin-tailed, and the birds were now under conservation attention, which was pretty nice to know. Sadly, we had no luck for them at that time.
At noon, we moved to the following site, Secans Belianes-Preixana. That was another open area to the east of Lleida. The landscape was dominated by fields or steppes, with scattered patches of bushes and woods. In winter, that was an ideal place for larks. We saw several flocks of Calandra Larks there, most in flight. The most common birds were still European Starlings, mixed with House Sparrows, Eurasian Jackdaws, and Eurasian Magpies. In addition to previous birds of prey, we also have a Common Buzzard hovering here. We saw another 2 Iberian Woodpeckers there, which confirmed that the open area should be a regular habitat for them. After that, we had a cute Little Owl staging on its tree hole and a Peregrine Falcon. All the birds there were surprisingly more timid than the same or similar species in China and could be flushed over hundreds of meters, probably indicating a relatively high hunting pressure. We saw a Red-legged Partridge trying to pass the road as we drove back. Unfortunately, due to the traffic, it soon gave up.
After passing a messy bush area, we just realized a big branch stuck in the bottom of the car. It made a loud noise when touched by the road, but the bottom of the car was not high enough to contain a person to get rid of it. Unfortunately, we found no jack in the car to solve that issue. My friend, who has plenty of fieldwork experience, came up with the idea to get a big, flat stone and move one wheel of the car upon it to lift. He learned that from the Tibetan herders he had been working with. Though I doubt it, it finally worked! I crawled into the bottom of the car and took out the branch soon.
In the afternoon, we visited Casa de la Salina, a reservoir west of Lleida. It was a last-minute decision since around 2 P.M., we felt we couldn’t get any motivation to stay in the steppes and decided to make some changes. We would need to return to Barcelona by evening, so my friend suggested visiting this reservoir, a different habitat that might be interesting during winter.
It took roughly one hour to arrive there. On the way, it turned out to be heavily foggy multiple times, making it mysterious. However, when we arrived at the reservoir, we realized it had almost wholly dried because of the season. There were, sadly, no wild fowls or waders but a few Larus gulls flying. Some ruined buildings were around, and we had yet to learn their functions. A few larks were around, maybe Woodlarks. On the way back, we met 4 Red-legged Partridges. This time, they finally became patient and tame enough to allow us to stop for a while and take a look. I had to admit they look more elegant than Chukars. On the way back, we spotted a red fox by the road.
On the road back to Barcelona, most other cars drove fast, perhaps because they were eager to go home for Christmas. But I was not perfect with driving and did not dare to exceed the speed limit either. I just kept a speed below the limitation displayed on Google Maps on my phone. We arrived at Barcelona city after a 3-hour drive when it got dark. We would spend our last one and a half days in Catalonia in the city and then depart for Madrid.
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