♫ Golpes Bajos - Cena Recalentada ♫
A Birds Eye Birds-Eyes View of 7 months in Spain
Plenty to go through - the good news is that Jack Loftus did not die. My mea culpa for the absence is that I tired of the weekly summary format. I find that difficult to keep that routine creatively different each time. On that creativity, I do think it's important to structure your time to allow the creative process to take shape. The generation of so many ideas are interrupted at their most interesting by our phones, our commitments, our other ideas too. Existing with so many superficial distractions, I would go further and say that the block of time to create something ought to be more forced. My intentionality was missing.
Going by Merlin Bird ID, In 7 months I've comfortably found 45 new bird species. I'm confident about getting to 50 by the time I'm out! These are the birds I've comfortably laid eyes on. I've definitely missed some by talking too loud or looking down. I've probably missed the songs and calls of many more by having my headphones in.
The last one I logged in Australia was the Eastern Whip-bird (they make laser noises) and the first one I found in Spain was the Eurasian Magpie. My most recent was the Egyptian Goose, who must have become very very lost because he was in Madrid, waddling on a dock.
One of the benefits of birdwatching in this list-making manner is I remember where I was, who I was with and what I was doing with every identification. The birds are colourful markers of my times travelling to places where I might never see again. I present to you my highlights, these heavyweight champions, the best of their field. These are birds which stick out to me the most.
On those Eurasian Magpies
November 6, 2025 "first sighting"
"a covey of magpies muttered in hawthorns and then dispersed, dragging up their baggy broomstick tails..." (Peregrine J.A. Baker)
Alongside the house sparrows and the wood-pigeon, these are the most prevalent in Valladolid. We have a curious shortage of regular city pigeons, maybe owing to the lower building density or flat meseta environment, if I had to guess. Instead, these magpies seem to operate largely on their own, only sometimes in pairs or small groups. They're cheeky buggers, and apparently one of only three birds to pass the self-awareness mirror test. They make a sound like a camera shutter going off, which may convince you you're being followed from time to time.
Any city is lucky to have a strong magpie population. Their intelligence clearly lends itself to adapting to our modern cities, and they have such strong personalities.
WHITE STORK
March 22, 2026 "nests on church bells"
On storks - those baby carrying, stately white birds. It's funny seeing them up close, living in and among the city. Like seeing a bald eagle (I imagine), it's strange to see storks with my own eyes. They like to construct these big nests on the bell towers, completely reshaping the building. I'm not sure why they choose these towers specifically but they definitely make themselves at home. When someone visits I always point them out, flying overhead. They definitely remind me of the bin chickens back home, but more sophisticated and European. Like if they went to a Zara, and smoked more.
COMMON CUCKOO
April 17, 2026 "naeem and emma with cows"
Cuck-oo! Cuck-oo!
The best birdwatching moments are the unexpected, when you're not looking for one. On the banks of the dam of Aguilar de Campoo, we started hearing an actual cuck-oo sound. And it was just so unmistakable, no need to bring up a bird identifier app or nothin'. Once we heard the call, a two hour long search began. We figured out the call is so loud that it was coming from the other side. Crossing over and involving ourselves in a few side quests, we climbed another hill and found a group of free roaming cows. Naeem and I would stalk the cuckoo sound, making barely any sound like we were truly hunting one for food. Whilst there was no intent to eat one, the pursuit awakened a quite primitive instinct in us I do believe. As hunters, we began using hand signals, and intense eye movements to capture our prey (on camera).
Eventually, we were successful in the sighting, but the cuck-oo proved too flighty for my camera.
Also these birds are parasitic, did you know?
EURASIAN SCOPS-OWL
April 16, 2026 "while group doing hand bird whistles"
What's better than going birdwatching? Birdwatching with friends! This is admittedly a tough one to rally new people with sometimes, but sometimes the appeal of the birds does that for you. On a spooky night out telling ghost stories by the river pisuerga in Valladolid, we came across a cool owl sound. Six of us went looking up a tree, hearing its call but completely unable to see it. Giving up, we resorted to making our own bird sounds, perhaps to attract it. Everyone learned the bird whistle that night. Niccolò, the Sicilian, is the master at it.
GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKER
January 11, 2026 "hell yeah"
Another one from the movies!
EUROPEAN ROBIN
December 26, 2025 "Maisie Morris Ollie Pub"
Found this one at the pub.
Common Hoopoe / Abubilla / Moby Dick
UNDATED & UNKNOWN
@jarrodscanlon
I've been looking for this guy since November 2025. The name given, 'common' seems like an added insult because I cannot find this fucking bird under any rock, I've asked around in every bar in town, all the facebook groups yield nothing!!!
Based on the photos I've seen, it seems to me the best bird in the world which supposedly inhabits this entire Iberian peninsula. I've failed to find one everywhere to Pais Vasco down to Huelva. Failing to find an Abubilla might attest to my bad birdwatching skills - I have no binoculars, and I generally travel loudly, with friends. There is some kind of curse on me - my friend Naeem claims he saw one fly away when I wasn't looking and he knows it would break my heart too much to lie about that. So I may need to come to terms with this white whale of my life. The undiscovered bird, that futile goal we all reach and reach and reach for, until we die.
RED-LEGGED PARTRIDGE
April 5, 2026 "pair of them by river in valley"
My whole stay at the Andalusian cortijo, I was searching for the common hoopoe. But as it happens, I found another instead. Literally on my way out, in Marco's red pick-up, I looked down below and there were two of these partridges, unmistakably new to my eyes. They have a more vertical shape from the other birds of the area, and are plenty colourful. My favourite part is their red eye-liner, weirdly not pictured in my friend Maria's family taxidermy of one:
EURASIAN JAY
January 3, 2026 "Iza and Morris Snow Walk"
Though it was the dead of winter, I found a bunch of really cool poland birds. Well, this one's Eurasian but the one I met spoke Polish. Near Iza's house just outside of Warsaw, there's forest to walk around in. During the winter the snow is heavy and the ice is frozen over. It's absolutely beautiful.
HOODED CROW / THE ROOK
January 5, 2026 "Antek and Morris in Snow"
Double ! These two were grazing the same ground next to each other and I got to see a live comparison. They both have rather sinister, or morbid appearances. The hooded crow looks like your classic executioner, the Rook looks like the harbinger of death. In particular I remember this day for Antek - a very impressive multilingual roommate of Iza's, studying journalism. Owing to his passion for global events, he was the single best tour guide of the city possible. He was an incredible person for Morris and I, hanging out with us while Iza went to work. He showed us to the bullet holes and Nazi hideouts of the WW2 German occupation, and orientated us to the old and new towns since the war. Antek was one of those people I'd do anything to share another Polish soup with. I felt that these two birds, in their gothic and wintry attire, fit in perfectly with the environment. But that goes without saying.
EUROPEAN GOLDFINCH
March 22, 2026 "with Naeem Medina del Campo"
Birdwatching can also be a distraction when normal life gets a little boring. Give yourself a goal - find X. When Naeem and I were in Medina Del Campo (see blog post MAR WK3-4), safe to say there was nothing going on in that town. With several hours to kill, we resolved to find the European Goldfinch, and that we did! Near the castle on the hill, in a tree, he was there.
Geese
:)
