30 May 2017

Catalunya (Spain) / Catalogne (France)

Here’s a post from someone that the forum shows as coming from me … it wasn’t me though and I don’t know who wrote it.  But thanks whoever you are (I wish I could fix this glitch in the system here)! Please let me know so I can correct the authorship!

jon

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A few tips for alternative mammal watching sites in North Spain and South France:

  • Spanish ibex can be seen in the Parque natural dels Ports in south Catalonia (Spain) in an impressive landscape with abrupt cliffs in a limestone massif. It can be easily combine with visit to the Ebre delta for bird watching. I saw few ibex during short day walks last week.
  • Fin whales can be seen from Canet en Roussillon near Perpignan (south of France) from April to June. “Decouverte du vivant” organize day-trip every weekend (Saturday or Sunday according to weather conditions) from April to October. Detail information about sightings can be found here (in French) https://www.decouverteduvivant.org/sorties-en-mer/baleines-dauphins-canet-en-roussillon/bilans-des-sorties/ General information in english can be found here https://www.decouverteduvivant.org/english-corner/ . Did the day trip twice this year, and saw 5 fin whales the first time, and 10+ fin whales the second time (plus bottlenose dolphins and striped dolphins). Ziphius are also possible but rare (once a year on average…).
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4 Comments

  • 30 May 2017
    Nicolas

    Hi John,
    I submitted this post through the forum website, don’t know what went wrong.
    Thanks for posting it anyway.
    Nicolas

    • 30 May 2017
      Jon Hall

      Thanks Nicolas – yes, this is entirely the fault of the website. You did everything right! Could you try logging out and logging in again. Hopefully this might clear the issue so next time you post in your own name. Thanks for the report too! Good info. jon

    • 31 May 2017
      geomalia

      Hi Nicolas,

      Do you know of any sites for Pyrenean Desman? I’m going to a conference in Barcelona in July, and I was hoping to try for that strange mammal.

      Thanks,
      Ben
      http://www.tremarctos.com

  • 8 June 2017
    mikehoit

    Nice to know some good stuff is available close to Barcelona! I’ve just returned from from my 5th trip in as many years, and I’ve only ever seen bats of various sizes and shapes, and the odd Norway Rat and House Mouse, not that I’ve really been looking!
    However, this year I did have some prolonged looks at what must have been Kuhl’s Pipistrelles – they looked a touch bigger and had a different foraging style from the Common/Soprano Pips I’m used to seeing. Large numbers were leaving a disused building and foraging around streetlamps just before dusk in Badalona, a northeastern suburb of the city. The presumed roost building (fenced off, but might not be too hard to access for the determined!) is the dropped pin in the below link, with bats foraging in particular along the Passeig Maritim (beachside footpath/cycle path). This area is being developed for tourism currently, but in the meantime it might be worth a look for anyone in the area.
    https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/41%C2%B026'20.2%22N+2%C2%B014'35.9%22E/@41.438943,2.2422669,290m/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0x0!8m2!3d41.438943!4d2.243301

    cheers
    Mike

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